I recently stumbled upon the article “A Letter to People Who Think My Major is Easy,” and while I understand the sentiment, I cannot help but to respectfully disagree with some of the points that were made. There were several points that definitely set off a red flag, and here are just a few of them.
- “Just because my major requires different classes to graduate, doesn’t make it easy.”
Now, of course, getting a college degree, no matter what the major is a massive accomplishment. It is no easy feat and should be respected in the highest of ways. That being said, there are differences between majors. That is just a fact of life. Taking classes like Leadership, or European History, or English, have their struggles, sure. However, is taking a class like calculus or analytical chemistry or genetics going to be a great deal more rigorous? Heck yeah. Now I know people have different skill sets and things like math come naturally to some while are a major struggle for others. And yes I have accounted for that.But even still, the difference is obvious. Getting a 4.0 with a major like social work or journalism compared to a major such as engineering or bioinformatics is completely different, no matter how you want to look at it. Now in no way am I saying that they don’t hold equal importance, but to call them equivalent in rigor is just inaccurate.
2. “Communication, theater, social work, journalism and more get ragged on for having ‘easy classes’ simply because they are not required to take a lot of math and science.”
Like I said before, the fact that a “theater appreciation course” is going to be a great deal easier than a “trigonometry course” is just a given. There is a reason that when people pursue things such as medicine or engineering, more time will be invested. By the time one has completed undergraduate studies, medical school, residency and fellowship, almost ten years of their lives have gone by, whereas other fields of study can be completed in much less time. Is this a problem? No. Does this imply that one is good and the other is bad? No. Look at it this way. When analyzing baseball versus soccer, they require completely skill sets and aren’t really comparable on every single level. However, does a sport like soccer require more agility, endurance, and speed? Yes. Does a sport like baseball require better hand-eye coordination, catching, and throwing skills? Yes. Which is my point exactly. Similarly, does a field like engineering require more intellectually challenging courses than does a field like education? Yes it does. And that’s okay.
3. “I understand that a class called ‘Teaching Elementary Level Math’ sounds like an easy A but it’s not.”
I couldn’t agree more. A class like this may very well not be an easy A, neither are most classes for that sake. However, thankfully, not all fields of study hold the same level of expectations as others. A 3.0 GPA for a pre-med student will result in a very low chance in getting into medical school, whereas for something like nursing, or business, that would be a lot more acceptable. A pre-med student would typically have to find themselves passing the MCAT with flying colors, getting a good amount of shadowing hours, being involved in numerous organizations, displaying great leadership, and showing versatility, along with having a stellar GPA all before they could even consider APPLYING for medical school, while someone studying something such as cosmetology or literature would not have the same type of standards to meet. The expectations for the different fields hold a night and day difference. There is a lot more wiggle room in certain fields as opposed to others. Now I know some are probably thinking “good for you, you’re the one who CHOSE such a difficult major.” And you are absolutely right in saying that. No one wants any pity for what they have to go through. But requesting that your field of study be seen for what it is is not too much to ask for.
So I say all of that to say this:
Finals week for a business student versus an engineering student probably looks a heck of a lot different. One is likely going to have to put in a lot more hours than the other. And guess what? That’s OK. Our differences make this world go round. The Earth needs every type of person from all walks of life to keep itself spinning. And that-- that is the beauty of it.
