By Jurin Katayama Flores

Dr Margaret Leighton’s latest article, “Labor market returns to college major specificity”, co-authored with Dr Jamin Speer from the University of Memphis, evaluates whether there is a relationship between an individual’s choice in college major and their earning potential. By categorizing the majors into two, in which general majors are those that could equally apply to several careers, while specific majors could only be useful for few, Dr Leighton establishes that specific majors earn more for all ages. On the other hand, she has also found that those with general majors are more likely to become managers and entrepreneurs in the future. Therefore, for students who are struggling with their course choice – should they take general or specific majors? 

Watch the video to understand Dr Leighton’s perspective and know the answer.