Which Degrees Have the Worst Return? An Honest Look at “Useless” Majors
No degree is useless, but some have a much worse return than others, and it is rarely the subject that decides it. Here is what actually drives the outcome, and what to do if you already chose one.
No accredited degree is useless, but return varies enormously, and the subject is not the main thing that decides it. Three factors matter more: what you paid, whether the field has a defined route from graduate to job, and what you did outside the classroom.
The majors that consistently show the weakest earnings are those with no direct professional pathway and heavy graduate supply — typically some fine arts, general studies and several humanities fields. But the same degree at a low price with two internships behind it can beat a technical degree bought at full price with none.
Key takeaways
- Return is earnings minus what you paid. A cheap degree with modest earnings can beat an expensive one with high earnings.
- The weakest performers usually lack a defined route into a specific job, not intellectual value.
- Averages hide everything. Variation within a major is far larger than variation between majors.
- Internships, a portfolio and demonstrable skills move outcomes more than switching subject does.
- If you already chose one: do not switch late. Add a minor, a certification and experience instead.
Lists of “useless degrees” are among the most-shared and least-useful content on the internet. They rank subjects by median starting salary, present that ranking as a verdict on the subject’s worth, and quietly ignore that the same list would have called a computer science degree a poor bet in 1985.
The question underneath is real, though, and it deserves a proper answer. If you are about to spend four years and a large amount of money, you are entitled to ask what you get back. So here is what the evidence actually supports, and where it stops.
What “return” actually means
Return on a degree is not salary. It is what you earn, minus what you paid and what you gave up to be there. Two students with identical degrees and identical salaries can have completely different returns.
| Student A | Student B | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree | History | Business |
| Institution | Public, in-state, lived at home | Private, out-of-state |
| Total cost | Low, small loan | High, large loan |
| Starting salary | Lower | Higher |
| Position after 10 years | Debt-free earlier, more flexible | Higher salary, servicing debt |
This is not a trick. It is the most under-discussed fact about degree value: the price you pay is as much a lever as the subject you choose, and it is a lever more students can actually pull. Changing your major is hard and consequential. Choosing a cheaper route to the same qualification is often straightforward.
What the weakest-performing majors have in common
Earnings surveys across many countries consistently place a similar group near the bottom: fine and performing arts, general studies, some liberal arts subjects, and several social science fields when taken no further than a bachelor’s degree.
What they share is structural rather than intellectual:
- No defined pathway. Nursing graduates become nurses. There is no equivalent job called “philosopher”, so the graduate has to construct the route themselves, and many are never told this is their job.
- Supply exceeds demand at the entry level. Many people want to work in media, museums, publishing and the arts. That competition pushes entry wages down regardless of ability.
- The degree alone is not the credential. In the arts a portfolio is the credential. In psychology and social work the licence is. The bachelor’s is a step, not the qualification, and students who did not realise this are the ones who report the worst outcomes.
- Skills are real but not legible. These degrees genuinely teach analysis, argument and writing. Employers value those and cannot see them on a transcript, so the graduate has to make them visible with evidence.
Why the averages mislead
Three specific problems make salary-by-major rankings much weaker evidence than they appear.
Variation within a major dwarfs variation between majors
The spread of earnings among graduates of a single subject is typically far wider than the gap between the medians of two subjects. A well-placed English graduate substantially out-earns a poorly-placed engineering graduate. Choosing a major moves your median a little; what you do within it moves your position a lot.
Starting salary is measured, lifetime earnings mostly are not
Rankings almost always use earnings at graduation, because that data is easy to collect. Fields differ enormously in how steeply earnings rise afterwards. Some technical fields start high and flatten; some professional and management tracks start low and climb for decades. A ranking of year-one salaries tells you about year one.
Selection effects are everywhere
Students do not choose majors at random. Differences in earnings partly reflect who chose the subject and what else they were doing, not what the subject did to them. It is genuinely difficult to separate these, and rankings almost never try.
The related question: which majors are easiest?
People searching for the easiest degree usually want one of two different things, and it is worth separating them.
If you want the least demanding path to a credential, the honest answer is that difficulty is mostly personal. Subjects with lower reported workloads tend to be those with fewer sequential technical prerequisites and more essay-based assessment. But a student who cannot write finds those brutal, and a student who cannot do mathematics finds engineering impossible. “Easy” almost always means “aligned with what you are already good at”.
If what you actually want is to graduate without failing, which is often the real question, the answer is different and more useful: choose the subject you can sustain attention on for four years. The most common cause of not finishing is not difficulty, it is disengagement. A hard degree you find interesting has a far better completion rate than an easy one that bores you.
What actually improves the return, whatever you study
- Internships. The single strongest predictor of employment at graduation in most surveys. Two beat one. Relevance beats prestige.
- A quantitative or technical minor. Statistics, data analysis, accounting or computing attached to a humanities degree changes which jobs you can apply for, and it usually fits inside a BA’s free electives.
- Something you can show. A portfolio, a repository, a published piece, a dissertation someone can read. Evidence beats claims.
- Reduce the price. Community college transfer, in-state tuition, living at home, scholarships. This lever is fully under your control and it changes the return directly.
- Know the licence. If your field requires one, plan for it from year one. Psychology, social work, teaching, accountancy and counselling all have a step after the degree, and the graduates who struggle are usually the ones who found out late.
If you have already chosen one of these
Do not panic-switch in your third year. The arithmetic rarely supports it: switching late can add a full year of cost to escape a difference in median salary that your own choices could close anyway.
Do this instead. Add a minor or a certificate in something concrete. Get an internship, then get a second. Build one substantial piece of work you can show a stranger. Find out now, not in your final term, whether the field you want requires a licence or a graduate degree, and plan for it. Then learn to describe what your degree actually taught you in the words an employer uses, because “I can find the weakness in an argument and write clearly about it under time pressure” is a marketable sentence and “I studied philosophy” is not.
For what different qualifications require, see how a degree is structured. For the choice between broader and more technical versions of the same subject, see Bachelor of Arts versus Bachelor of Science.
Read next
Related pieces in the same guide
Frequently asked questions
What are the most useless degrees?
No accredited degree is useless, but earnings surveys consistently place fine and performing arts, general studies and some humanities and social science fields near the bottom for starting salary. What they share is the absence of a defined route from graduate to a specific job, rather than a lack of intellectual value.
Which degree has the best return on investment?
Return depends on cost as much as on earnings. Engineering, computer science, nursing and accountancy tend to show strong returns because they combine solid earnings with a direct route into named jobs. A lower-earning degree bought cheaply can still out-return an expensive high-earning one.
What is the easiest major?
Difficulty is mostly personal. Subjects with fewer sequential technical prerequisites and more essay-based assessment are often reported as lighter, but they are hard for students who struggle to write. The subject you can sustain attention on for four years is the one you are most likely to finish.
Should I switch my major if it has poor job prospects?
Rarely after your second year. Switching late can add a full year of cost. Adding a quantitative minor, securing internships and building a portfolio usually closes the gap for less time and money than switching does.
Do employers care which major you took?
For most roles, less than students expect. Many graduate postings ask for a degree in any field. The exceptions are licensed and technical professions, where a specific accredited programme is a legal requirement rather than a preference.
Is a humanities degree worth it?
It can be, and the deciding factors are price and what you build alongside it. Humanities degrees teach analysis, argument and writing, which employers value but cannot read off a transcript. The graduates who do well make those skills visible through internships, a portfolio and a technical minor.