The other day I was browsing Facebook and came across a post discussing that majors within the Liberal Arts are just as difficult as Science majors. I’ve seen this “debate” before. College students pitting themselves against each other in the argument of “my major is harder than yours”. I don’t get it. I really don’t.
What’s the point of this debate? What do you get if you win? A pat on the back and the validation that you’re working hard? We’re all working hard.
I consider my major to be a mix of both worlds. I’ve taken linguistics courses and neuroscience courses. I’ve learned about speech and hearing science and I’ve written essays. I will not sit here and tell you that one facet of my major is easier than another because it’s simply not true. Each part is difficult in its own right.
My major falls under the college of health professions, but my minor is Psychology and that’s about as Liberal Arts as they come. I’m friends with Theatre majors, Business majors, Education majors, Computer Science majors, Engineering majors, and Biochemistry majors. I’ve talked to them about their classes and although some of these majors might appeal to me more than others, I wouldn’t agree that one is “easier” than the other.
One thing I wish we could do is encourage each other instead of putting down the struggles of another person. You have a scene to memorize for tomorrow? I have a neuroscience exam. They both require memorization but just in different ways. I’m so tired of seeing people in “easy” majors be told that they aren’t working hard because, like I said, we’re all working hard.
College isn’t easy. If it were easy, what would be the point in going? What would any of us learn? Instead of turning everything into a competition, let’s build each other up and say “hey, I know you’re working hard and it sucks you have so much coursework but you’re gonna get through it and so am I”.
Instead of competing, let’s start encouraging. Our generation has always been so competitive but, really, what’s the point of that? Why make more enemies instead of making friends?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. What have you learned in your years as a college student? Has anyone told you that your major is easy? How did you feel?
ugh I love this! I am an ED major and so many people always complain about how easy it is compared to theirs. Truth be told, it is actually very tough! x, kenz http://sincerelykenz.com
I have been told before that my major is easy (Communication) which frustrates me, since it is not! I am on the view point that no major is truly easy. For me to be a math or science major, it would be such a challenge since those subjects aren’t my strengths! And for someone gifted in those subjects, it would be very hard for them to pursue studies and careers in liberal arts, etc. The beauty of college is that everyone can pursue what they want!
xoxo A
http://www.southernbelleintraining.com
I totally agree with you! It’s not nice to say that some majors are harder than others. Like you said, college is difficult, why make it more difficult by introducing competition into the agenda?!
Just shared this on Twitter because – YES! I have heard people complain and complain about their major being “the toughest” and putting down/looking down on others who have an “easy major”. I truly don’t believe that you can look at all majors through the same lens and compare which is harder – they are all different and they all require a lot of work! GREAT POST!
YES to this!
I was a Comm major with a focus in PR and people would constantly say that their major was so much more difficult than mine which was beyond frustrating.
I am no math or science guru so I would find those subjects infinitely harder than I do English and other more writing based majors.
xoxo, Jenny
Im sorry, but some majors are less hard than others. And do you really think EVERYONE is working hard? no. There are plenty of people in less hard majors who don’t work hard. Who put in the bare minimum. Taking Organic Chemistry will always be more challenging than taking sociology classes. Its important to recognize that some classes/majors ARE harder than others. If it was easy to become a doctor, more people would do it. Having difficult classes means that only people who truly work hard, and really put forth effort will be rewarded in the end. We shouldn’t say that all majors are created equally, because they aren’t.
And as someone who admits to being in an easy major (Communications) I do not do NEARLY as much work as someone in nursing, or pre-med. I just don’t. and I’m okay admitting that. Some majors are harder than others, who cares, thats life.
Completely agree! I lived with a biochemistry student and a nursing student and I myself am a psych student and I saw SUCH a huge difference in how much work was required for all of them. I think that Kayla’s point is right though that we shouldn’t shame certain majors because they’re easier because even “easy” majors require work. But I agree with you. That’s why there are fewer doctors or engineers or computer science people–they’re just harder.
I was not a science or math major in college – hello to my fellow poly sci peeps- but my roommate was. I’m not saying that their major is “harder” but some are more time intensive than others. I never had to take multiple 3 or 4 hour labs in my semester, while a lot of the time science majors do. Yes, other majors have group projects and such – but it is not to the scheduled time commitment of a science lab. There are give and takes to every major, but I do see where you’re coming from. Everyone wants to make it into a competition!! I don’t like that aspect. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I think this whole debate is absolutely ridiculous. Everyone picks their major for a reason, because they’re passionate about it. Yes, some majors are harder than others, but people shouldn’t try to fight each other over it…
Kendal // Life With Kendal
I absolutely love this post! Whenever I mention that I’m an apparel merchandising major, people automatically assume that I must not work as hard as a science or math based major does. Totally untrue! Just because the workloads are different doesn’t mean that it’s any harder/easier than anything else. Thank you for sharing!
I agree, Kayla. I feel if your a communications major or a neuroscience, math, etc. we’re all working so hard! thank you for this!
Sunny – astoldbysunny.com
YES! I totally agree with you. I feel like so many times it’s a competition of who has more work and who’s work is more difficult and it makes no point. We’re all working our butts off to graduate and get a job that we enjoy, so why put others down in the meantime?
XO, Rachel
http://www.seahsellsandsparkles.com
I couldn’t agree with you more! I can relate to this post on so many levels because my Master’s is in Integrated Marketing Communications–so there are both creative aspects and analytical/math-based aspects as well. I hate when people say, “Oh, that’s basically marketing so it must be easy.” What people don’t realize is that it’s a combination of everything related to a company or client (PR, marketing, financial, social media, business planning, strategic development, etc.) But, your underlying point is right–we are all working hard, so why put each other down for studying what we’re are passionate about? Such a great post, Kayla!
Ugh amen, girlfriend. I know nursing majors that work their ASSES off and barely ever sleep but I also know some that skip classes and fail. I’m a business major and when compared to pre-med students, my major is considered “easy,” but it all depends on what you put into it and how hard you work. COLLEGE IS HARD. EVERY MAJOR HAS HARD PARTS. *jumps down from soapbox*
Emma | Seeking the South
I can’t tell you how many times my roommates have tried to start this argument with me. I’m a history major and the majority of what I do for classes is write essays and do research, while my roommates are both in the sciences. If I complain about even one assignment I get the whole lecture on how sciences are the hardest major, and basically get attacked for having an easy major. I say basically the same thing you say in this post, every major is hard in its own way, and it’s difficult I guess for some to see that from their own point of view. I’ve learned to just kind of give up when this kind of thing starts, but thank you for finally writing a post about it!
xo
Sami
http://www.theclassicbrunette.blogspot.com
This is so true. Everyone always tells me that my major (PR) is easy and it aggravates me so much. It’s just as much work in its own way. It drives me nuts.
xo
Lauren
The Fashionista’s Diary
I have an English degree and the number of times people told me my major was “easy” borders on uncountable. You try reading and annotating an entire Shakespeare play, then a work of modern fiction in the same night and try telling me it’s easy.
Anyways, I was required to take an introductory linguistics course. By far, the HARDEST class I have ever taken. I hated it then, but love it now.
I wish I could tell you that people stop calling degrees easier or harder once you get into the work force; it doesn’t.
Really enjoyed this!
I so agree with you! How many times have I heard that because I was a communication major, I must have it easy? You have absolutely no idea how hard it can be. I’ve spent countless nights staying up until early in the morning just to finish a paper on time or studying for an exam. Just because it’s not science doesn’t mean it doesn’t require hard work!
Amelie xo
http://awanderersadventures.wordpress.com
Preach it girl! I haven’t been to collage yet, mostly because it has taken me forever to figure out what exactly I want to do. But from what I have heard from friends (who are doing various majors) college is hard, and you must study to do well in your classes.
I totally agree! When I was in college, people were always competing with each other over who had the toughest major. I think everyone’s coursework is difficult in their own way!
Kayla || Keynotes from Kay
I LOVE THIS. I’m the only business major out of the majority of my friends who are biology majors and I always feel like they think my course is a walk in the park. We all have different ways of learning and different things to learn. Every major is going to be challenging.
Thanks for sharing this and hope you have a great day!
xoxo
Amy | Pastel N Pink
Omg I absolutely hate that! First of all I never judge anyone based on their major since it is YOUR choice and no one else’s.
My university with a Facebook page where there’s always either a liberal art student or science student picking on the other students. I’m actually really sensitive about it because I’m a liberal art student and from my first day at campus I’ve had people laugh at my face and tell me how I’m not going to get a job.
I think people just need to calm down and focus on their own majors and not everyone else’s.
I choose liberal arts because I liked it (and coz I suck at science) but it is still challenging and time-consuming
YES. I’m no longer in college, but I absolutely hate when people say this about my profession. As a teacher, I always hear, “you’ve got the summers off….you have the weekends off…” blah blah blah! Yes, those are both true. But there is so much more to it than meets the eye. People are so easy to judge without knowing all the facts. Yes, I do have the summers off, but I work through the summer often attending trainings, cleaning my room or prepping for the new year. The weekends are often spent with some time in the classroom or grading papers. Every job is difficult in it’s own way. Keep your opinions to yourself unless you’ve experienced that profession/college major first hand!
Excellent post, girl!
xo Ashley
YAAAS! This post is 100% true. I don’t even understand the need as to why people feel like they need to debate whose degree is harder!
-Olivia
Miss Olivia Says
I have this argument with my human biology major friends ALL THE TIME. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses, and we should use them to help each other not put them down! This is such a great post!
xoxo
Almost all of my friends went on to engineer-studies after high school where as I opted for Literature and Linguistics – so I’m definitely familiar with the whole “downtalking” on the so-called “beta sciences”.
However, when I show them my courses on French Syntaxe, they definitely have to admit they understand about as much of it as I do of their neuroscience notes, or even less!
As you said, it’s just a different sort of “difficult” and “intelligence”, but both sorts are needed!
Hi Kayla! I’m a biology major, but most of my friends are business or communication majors. I don’t “downtalk” my friends who are not in science because, just like me, they have a lot on their plate 🙂
100% agree! As a communications major, I hear about how easy my coursework is, which is true – for me! It may not come easy to others to struggle to write naturally or think creatively. It all depends on what your own strengths and weaknesses are!
The fact that you have enough time to blog should be a sign that your major is easy.
I completely agree with you that all majors are hard, so we need to stop shaming people from the “easier” majors. And for that reason, the debate is kind of pointless since we should be encouraging each other!! However think credit is due to the biochem kids and the engineers and the pre-med students… those majors are way tougher than others! I lived with a nursing student and a biochem student my first two years of school and the amount of work they needed to do compared to the English student I also lived with to get the same marks was incredible. BUT, just because it’s harder doesn’t mean that others should be shamed and doesn’t mean that they are “better” than other students!! So I completely agree with this post, I just think we should give some credit to the people in majors that are really quite demanding. 🙂
Amen & amen! I love this so much! I have thought much along the same lines as you! It takes a lot of humility to admit that your major isn’t the “hardest” out there and to admit that we’re all in this together. <3
Preaching to the Choir! I am an education major and when I tell people they literally say “wow that must be easy” it irritates me!
Also, I love how short and concise your blogs are. They are quick enjoying read!
This is so true! People are in different majors because they have strengths in areas that may be harder for some. But those “some” have strengths that are difficult for others! That’s like the whole point of college. Finding our strengths and expounding on it, then working together with others in our community. I’m an education major and it feels like we’re always assumed to be the “easy major” around here and I hear “those who can’t do, teach” all the time. It’s sad.