Recent analysis has revealed the university degrees that lead to the highest life satisfaction, with Celtic studies and sports science coming out on top. At the bottom? Bad news for those who studied sociology, politics, creative arts or media and communications – these degrees are associated with a negative impact on wellbeing. Turns out all those money-minded parents are right – it’s better to be a rich but artistically thwarted oncologist than a starving artist.
As someone who did three of these subjects (clearly a sucker for punishment), I want to mount a defence of so-called misery degrees. The government would love nothing better than to shovel all young people into a Stem-shaped pipeline that produces exemplary doctors, scientists and engineers, and God knows we badly need all three. But not everybody’s career will line up so exactly with their subject. For every med student who knew they wanted to specialise in cardiology from the age of 13, there’ll be a dreamy 18-year-old who signs up for a design course because they like the idea of drawing for three years.
