It’s Time to Stop Major Shaming

Not familiar with major shaming? It is all those times someone says “Oh you’re a communications major? Your classes must be so easy,” or the most recent one I’ve heard, “My classes are so much harder, of course you have a better GPA.”  

These comments demean and ignore the hard work students put in daily, regardless of their major. It doesn’t matter if someone is going to college for physics or fine art, they are utilizing their strengths differently, in the way that best works for them. No one deserves to be disrespected for the major they chose.

Of course not everyone can do science and math easily, but I would like to see a biology major conduct interviews and write an article every week for the campus newspaper, or a math major take a child development class and teach a first grader how to read. The point is that people choose career paths based on their strengths, and for someone to assume they work harder than everyone else is ignorant to the struggles every college student goes through to understand and master what they are passionate about. Don’t disrespect others by basically telling them you work harder than they do because their “classes are easier.” 

Why is it that education majors have to answer the common “How will you make money?” Liberal arts majors are met with a condescending “What are you going to do with that?” Communications majors have to answer the always awkward “But isn’t the newspaper industry dying?” (As if the newspaper industry is the only career route for communications majors.) And even nursing students face the “Oh so you just didn’t want to go to med school?” WE ARE ALL WORKING HARD. We are all struggling. We are all pulling all nighters. We are all drinking too much coffee and eating too much crappy dorm food. If you knew every single thing about every major, you probably wouldn’t be going to school to get your bachelor’s degree. 

Next time you want to act like you deserve more respect for your major, just stop. Recognize that everyone is in college to get a job and live a life they enjoy. If you feel the need to complain about how much harder you work, realize that you chose that major, and if you’re struggling “more than everyone else,” maybe, just maybe, you didn’t choose a major that plays to your strength.The rest of us would appreciate if we didn’t have to explain to you how hard we work day in and day out. 

Rant over. 

• college life
• humanities
• Major Shaming
• majors
• science