Research

2023 College Major Satisfaction Survey

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With recent changes in higher education and the value of a degree increasingly being questioned, it's more important than ever to understand how Americans think about their college experiences. Did they feel personally fulfilled and prepared for the job market, or do they regret what they studied?

College is a big commitment in terms of time and money, so Dreambound set out to learn more about how everyday Americans think about their degrees. Dreambound is a platform that helps tens of thousands of people change careers every month. We work with countless people who wish they did their education a bit differently. In an effort to help guide others on their major choices, we surveyed over 1,000 U.S. adults about their educational history and reflections on whether it was worth it.

Key findings

Over 4 in 10 (44%) of U.S. adults regret their college major.
Half of millennials regret their college major. Baby Boomers were the generation least likely to, at 37%.
Education and Business majors were most likely to regret their college major. Arts and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors were least likely to.
The most common reason U.S. adults regret their major is interest in another subject (56%).
If Americans could do it all over again, they would have preferred to study Computer Science (13%) and Business (8%) instead.
37% of Gen Z studied STEM in college, higher than any other generation.

Our recent study confirms a lot of oft-given advice and trends: STEM majors are most likely to be satisfied with their major choices, likely because of the higher salaries and job opportunities. It’s also no surprise that Computer Science is so popular given how the field has exploded in recent years.

However, there are some surprising findings as well: Arts majors are the 2nd highest group to be satisfied with their major, counter to the popular narrative that arts degrees aren’t as useful. We’ll delve further into each key finding to gain some more information on people’s educational preferences.

Who regrets their majors

Although a slight majority of Americans (56%) were content with their educational choices, nearly half (44%) expressed dissatisfaction. Let’s dig into who these Americans are.

By Education Level

51% of Americans with an Associate’s Degree and 49% of those with a Bachelor’s Degree regret what they studied in college. Given that many people choose their majors before they have much work or academic experience, it makes sense that many didn't make the right decision. And when college can come tied with years of studying plus tens of thousands of dollars of debt, it’s not surprising that more and more people are becoming disillusioned with college.
Surprisingly, those who had only some college education were less likely to regret their major (40%). Even though they ended up not completing the degree, they were happier studying for the brief period compared to those who followed through!
A much smaller percentage (37%) of Graduate Degree holders wish they studied something else. It makes sense that this percentage is lower versus Associate’s and Bachelor’s Degree holders. Those that obtain Graduate Degrees are often those who wanted to dive further into their field. It's also possible that many of the 37% are those who enrolled in graduate school in order to study what they wished they studied during their undergraduate program.

By Location

We also took a look at responses by location. Regional job markets and industries differ, impacting the relevance and availability of career opportunities tied to specific majors:

Among the 44% expressing regret for their major, the top three states with the highest percentages of regret are Florida at 62%, Maryland at 61%, and Illinois at 56%.
Conversely, Ohio, Kentucky, and Georgia have the lowest, with just around 30%.

By Gender

We did not find a significant difference in major satisfaction across genders:

44% of women wished they studied something else in college
46% of men wished they studied something else in college

By Age

Gen Z adults (38%) were among the least likely to regret their major. This makes sense as many of them are still in college, so they have recently picked. However, it’s concerning that nearly 4 in 10 regret their major already, as the oldest are only a few years out of college.
Millennials (50%) were the most likely to regret their major. After a few years in the workforce, millennials have had some time to reflect as to whether or not their major was the right decision. And the data is stark: half of Americans millennials believe they made the wrong choice.
Baby Boomers were the least likely (37%) to regret their major. We also see improved satisfaction from Gen X Americans, compared to millennials. One possibility: perhaps adults' regrets decline as they age, as they see they ended up okay, no matter what they studied in college.

By Major Category

Now that we've delved into education, location, gender, and age, let's look at satisfaction by major category:

Education majors (53%) were the most likely to wish they studied something else. Teacher burnout is real. It’s hard to see that so many of those who wanted to teach the next generation instead found that it wasn’t worth it in the end.
Business majors and Humanities & Social Sciences majors were close behind, at 49% and 48% respectively.
The least likely to regret their majors were Arts majors (40%) and STEM majors (38%). It’s not too surprising that STEM majors were the most satisfied with their major choice, given the job opportunities and pay in the labor market. Arts majors weren’t too far behind, either—reassuring for those who might be concerned about studying the arts.

Reasons why Americans regret their majors

Now that we’ve dived into the “who” of those who regret their chosen majors, let’s dig into the “why.” We asked those who wished they studied something else the biggest reason why they felt that way.

The narrative around college is largely focused on jobs and economic opportunity. Yet, we find:

The most common reason Americans wished they studied something else is that they were interested in another subject instead (56%).
Lack of job opportunities was the next most common reason (23%), followed by job opportunities having low pay (21%).

So, if a student has a doubt about whether they should pursue their passions or not, they should strongly consider going for it, lest they regret it in the future. In addition, students should aim to get knowledge and experience in many fields before deciding what to study. Otherwise, they may find later in life that their true interest lies somewhere else.

Although not as big of a reason as a student’s interest, economic opportunity was another common reason why someone wished they studied something else. The federal government has been pushing for transparency on salary data via College Scorecard, the Gainful Employment Rule, and other efforts. However, data efforts have largely been focused on helping students pick schools, rather than majors. Data on this might be challenging to gather—as names of majors vary per college. However, data on economic outcomes for majors would make a huge difference in helping students make better-informed choices.

We also found that reasons varied significantly by field of study:

STEM, Health, and Business majors were more likely to regret their major choice because they were interested in other subjects instead. Health majors rarely regret their choice over salary concerns, while STEM students seldom worry about job availability.
Arts majors found a lot of fulfillment from their area of study. Lack of job opportunities weren't their primary concern; instead, low pay was the biggest reason they regretted studying art in college.
Humanities & Social Sciences majors were pretty split across the three major reasons. Over 40% found they were interested in other subjects, but still, economic concerns overall weighed on them more.
Education majors didn't find pay to be their largest issue. Instead, they surprisingly struggled with both job availability and interest in the education field as a whole. Although there is a nationwide teacher shortage, it's possible that certain desirable jobs within teaching (e.g. specific districts or subject area) are hard to get.

This matches labor market data: STEM, healthcare, and business-related jobs have grown more quickly compared to other fields, so job outcomes are less of a concern. However, many students attracted to these fields for job prospects end up regretting their choice when they realize they aren't interested in the subject. On the other hand, many students who studied other fields found both economic challenges and lack of interest in the subject.

Preferred major if given another opportunity

We also asked respondents if they could choose their major all over again, what would they choose. Responses varied significantly, but we saw some trends:

The most popular majors were largely pre-professional majors: computer science, engineering, nursing, business, and finance were the most popular major choices. This indicating that as Americans enter the workforce, they take into account the practical aspects of education and educations' economic impact on their careers. The exception was history!
Computer Science was the most popular alternative choice. This matches trends in the labor market as people are looking to pivot into tech, after an explosion of jobs and pay.

Education trends across generations

We also saw some interesting trends across generations. In our survey we found:

Gen Z was the generation most likely to study STEM in college at 37 percent. In contrast, only 24 percent of millennials studied STEM.
Gen Z was much less likely to study Humanities and Social Sciences compared to other generations, but more likely to study Arts.
Business majors are on the decline—23% of Boomers studied Business while only 14% of Gen Z did.

These Gen Z trends match another study saying Gen Zers are more pragmatic and value job stability compared to other generations.

Methodology

This study involved a sample of over 1,000 U.S. adults. Respondents were surveyed in October 2023 using the Prolific survey platform. While the sampling process aimed to encompass a diverse range of ages, college education levels, races, and geographic regions, the results may not be fully representative of the entire U.S. population. As such, the findings should be considered as indicative rather than definitive of broader public opinion.

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