The 13 Most Useless Majors, From Philosophy to Journalism

In just a few weeks hordes of freshly minted college graduates will be thrown out into the real world with one huge question on their minds: what now?

Some, unfortunately, will be saddled with the unsettling feeling that their degree is not marketable in this tough economic environment, but for students with a few years to settle on a major, The Daily Beast looks into the numbers to find the 13 most useless college majors.

This year we started with new research (PDF) from Georgetown University—which drew from two years of census data to determine the prospects for myriad majors—to narrow down our list to more than three dozen popular college majors. We also used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, equally weighing the following categories to determine current and future employment and earnings potential for our final ranking:

Recent graduate employment
Experienced graduate employment
Recent graduate earnings
Experienced graduate earnings
Projected growth in total number of jobs, 2010–2020

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Unemployment, recent grad: 12.6 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 7.3 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $30,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $45,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +5 percent
Related occupation: Craft and fine artist

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Unemployment, recent grad: 7.8 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 8.8 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $26,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $45,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +4 percent
Related occupation: Actor

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Unemployment, recent grad: 12.9 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 6.7 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $30,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $50,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +9 percent
Related occupations: Film and video editor; photographer

Matthew Lloyd / Getty Images

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Unemployment, recent grad: 11.8 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 7.5 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $32,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $49,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +13 percent
Related occupation: Graphic designer

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Unemployment, recent grad: 13.9 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 9.2 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $36,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $64,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +24 percent
Related occupation: Architect

Patrick Chatelain, AFP / Getty Images

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Unemployment, recent grad: 10.8 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 6.8 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $30,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $48,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +17 percent
Related occupation: Postsecondary teacher

Guang Niu / Getty Images

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Unemployment, recent grad: 9.2 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 6.2 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $32,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $52,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +6 percent
Related occupation: Writer and author

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images

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Unemployment, recent grad: 7.7 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 6.0 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $32,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $58,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: -6 percent
Related occupations: Reporter, correspondent, broadcast news analyst

Rick Smith / AP Photo

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Unemployment, recent grad: 10.5 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 6.2 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $28,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $47,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +21 percent
Related occupations: Anthropologist and archeologist

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Unemployment, recent grad: 9.1 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.7 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $32,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $53,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +8 percent
Related occupation: Lodging manager

Richard Drew / AP Photo

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Unemployment, recent grad: 9.2 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.5 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $30,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $45,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +10 percent
Related occupations: Musician and singer

Max Whittaker

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Unemployment, recent grad: 10.2 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.8 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $32,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $54,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: +18 percent
Related occupation: Historian

Franka Bruns / AP Photo

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Unemployment, recent grad: 9.1 percent
Unemployment, experienced grad: 6.0 percent
Earnings, recent grad: $35,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $65,000
Projected growth, 2010–2020: +8 percent
Related occupation: Political scientis

MORE COLLEGE RANKINGS:
13 Most Useful College Majors
America's Happiest Colleges
America's Druggiest Colleges
America's Most Rigorous Colleges
America's Most Gay-Friendly Colleges

PLUS:
Admissions Data: Who Got in This Year?
All the Gossip From Harvard Sex Week

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The 13 Most Useless Majors, From Philosophy to Journalism

The Daily Beast finds the 13 most useless majors, from philosophy to journalism.