The decline in English majors precedes an overall decline in college attendance, I hope. Regarding STEM long term prospects, well, a lot of graduates there simply aren’t very good. Rigorizing standards would lower the STEM unemployment rate. But every school’s got to make a buck.<p>Maybe instead of English majors, these kids could spend a stint in the military. Or join an orchestra. Or work in sales at a car dealership. Something that involves developing a skill and exercising discipline.
This is all nonsense. You know, it's like when we say communication is important in the workplace. I don't want to replace my engineer with a communications major. I want all the engineering prowess and the communication skill multiplies that effectiveness. If I get a comm major I get engineering prowess of zero multiplied by some amount of comm skill and that's useless. I don't want that.
This arguments in this article aren't convincing.<p>Having well rounded citizens is good, but I don't think that means we need more English majors struggling to make a living.