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It's such a worthless degree. Do people actually think a general studies degree will make them competitive in the job market?
In fact, I think a general studies degree may actually hurt your chances of getting hired when compared to someone with no degree.
Just think about it for a second. If someone, for the past 4 years, thought that the most productive use of their time and money was to obtain a general studies degree, would you really want them working at your company?
Hmm. Maybe employers should start doing educational checks on people who don't list any education, just in case they're hiding their general studies degree.
Hmmmm....I think perhaps you are trying to take your personal opinion, and use it as justifiable fact. Sorry, it doesn't quite work that way!
I have a liberal arts degree. I figure that is just about equivalent of a general studies degree. I don't regret my choice for a second...and for what it's worth, I'll explain my motivation behind getting the degree. I returned to college at age 28 after dropping out many years earlier. Back then, I had earned an Associate's degree in electronics technology, and was looking to get a four year degree in engineering. Well, almost none of my two-year degree credits transferred into the engineering program (I spent two semesters in "general engineering"). I then spent another two years dabbling in various subjects...and was "undecided" for another two semesters. At this point, I decided to drop out.
Fast forward five years or so, I didn't have a Bachelor's, but I was working in a pretty good position in real estate. As part of my job, my company paid for us to take college courses in real estate from the local public university. I earned about 15 credits in those free classes.
Then I was in a car accident. I contacted my old university, just so that I could take some more classes. I really didn't think there was any chance of me earning a degree, since I had NEVER settled on a major really. Well my advisor said that I definitely could. I could meet the requirements for a liberal studies degree if I transferred in all my credits, completed 30 upper division hours in humanities, and took another 12 hours of a specialty (I actually chose business, which was outside of the College of Arts & Sciences...but that was ok). That's what I did. And in 3 semesters, I had a Bachelor's degree.
I went on to work at a college. What people don't realize is that you spend a minority of your overall required credit hours taking coursework in your major. In most programs, you have almost two full year of required general studies and college core classes. Since every major (including general studies) takes these same classes, everyone has the same foundation. The major is where you can specialize and shine....but then again, many, many college graduates go on to work in fields that aren't even related to their majors!
As far as job preparation, traditional degrees are overall poor preparations for the working world. My professional experience was in real estate, insurance and customer service. There are no "majors" for any of those fields (well unless you count actuary science...but that is a very specific job within the insurance industry). So your major doesn't really matter. Also, I knew that I wanted to go to graduate school. So instead of focusing on a major, I focused on tacking coursework that would give me the needed pre-requisites to enter the programs I had my eye on. My tactic worked...I was able to shave of 24 required credits in my MBA program when I was admitted.
Very few things in this world are utterly "worthless". One man's garbage is another man's treasure. If someone wants to focus more on the name of one of my degrees, instead of my verified skills, experience, and professional demeanor, then it was never meant to be anyway.
The General Studies major allows students to create their own academic path. As long as students incorporate some basic university requirements (core courses, areas of concentration) they are good to go. Students are required to meet with their advisors and create a solid academic plan based on the educational and career goals of the individual student instead of the goals and requirements as laid out by individual departments.
There is a common conception that General Studies students take nothing but twelve units of Basket Weaving each semester. That is far from the truth. Most(?) General Studies programs require students to select from a specific area or areas of concentration. I earned my B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in biology and chemistry. In the end I had more biology courses under my belt than the average biology student; I had more chemistry under my belt as well; and I even had taken more math than any biology or chemistry students cared to as well. I was on the five-year plan, though.
Off the top of my head if I remember correctly, the majority of Indisc. Studies students in my class did a sort of business/psychology combination. They were interested in the "social engineering" aspect of advertising it seemed for the most part. Another big combo was education/psychology. I remember one student who had an interest in the effects of classroom design on learning outcomes.
In short, a General Studies degree allows students to earn a degree in a major not offered by the university or for those who may wish to deviate from the academic plan laid out by Department X. In my opinion that makes General Studies students more competitive for both employment and graduate school.
I agree. If a job requires a degree, then you are MUCH better offer than someone with no degree. The person with no degree won't be qualified at all. I know of people who completed general studies, interdisciplinary studies, and liberal arts degrees just to check the box. This included people who worked in IT for years and people who work in public safety (law enforcement, corrections, firefighting) who couldn't move up without a degree.
While I don't recommend interdisciplinary degrees in most cases since they often won't be recognized by HR software, the people obtaining these degrees are often not unfocused. I guess you could say my BA is sort of interdisciplinary. It's in social science. My foci were psychology and criminal justice. My BA is just as useful as those two oversaturated fields. I've been called in for many interviews that required or preferred psychology, sociology, criminal justice, or similar degrees. I always make it clear on my cover letters that my degree focused on criminal justice and psychology. The one minor advantage I have is that my degree is actually more flexible than just CJ or psychology, alone, even though there is a lot of overlap between the two as far as available jobs goes. I've interviewed for security management positions that wouldn't even consider a psychology degree. I've also interviewed for social service jobs that wouldn't consider a CJ degree.
I got a general studies associates degree which transferred nicely into my Bachelors program. Allowed me to get a Bachelors and later a Masters. I don't consider that time or effort wasted.
I agree with all the reasons above. Also general studies is good for someone who is financially set but never earned a degree... but enjoys learning for the pure sake of learning. And not learning alone.
I got a general studies associates degree which transferred nicely into my Bachelors program. Allowed me to get a Bachelors and later a Masters. I don't consider that time or effort wasted.
That's another reason why some of the people I know have gotten interdisciplinary degrees. They already knew they were going to specialize in graduate school. Some of them have gone on to masters programs in counseling, business administration, and public health/biostatistics. I went on to complete a masters in security studies and am currently in a doctoral program for criminal justice. My degrees did help me land a job teaching college courses.
I agree with the OP, I think that it is a worthless degree too. I mean, I know you take a lot of courses with it and you can even take business courses like one person did that I know, but I would still hire a degree in business before I hired someone with a general studies degree with business classes.
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