
Me, eight-plus years ago and a month into my freshman year of college: “I’m majoring in philosophy.”
A college buddy of mine, majoring in business: “Uh, what can you do with a degree in philosophy?”
Me: “Well, anything, really. I read somewhere that John Elway and Jay Leno were philosophy majors.”
Buddy: “Yeah, but you stink at football and aren’t funny. [Long pause.] But hey, I bet you can fetch a premium in the marketplace because you have all these deep- and critical thinking abilities and skills.”
Me: “Yeah! Good point.”
Reality: “Uh, see the chart below of average starting salaries for college graduates, by major.”
Me: “D’oh!”

Source: The NYT’s Freakonomics blog.
Play, think…
J.R. Atwood
Filed under: Education & Learning, People & Society , college major, Jay Leno, John Elway, philosophy, philosophy major, salary, thinker, thinking