In connection with a survey it conducted in collaboration with Chegg, McKinsey & Company issued a report titled Voice of the Graduate from which we learn that half of all college graduates express regrets. If they had it to do over again, they’d pick a different major or school. Nearly half are in jobs that don’t require a four-year degree. Four in 10 couldn’t find jobs in their chosen field. Many end up in retail or hospitality jobs. Many felt unprepared for the workplace (consistent with employer concerns that graduates are poorly prepared). But there are significant differences depending on one’s major and school.
According to McKinsey:
Liberal-arts and performing-arts graduates tend to be lower paid, deeper in debt, less happily employed, and slightly more likely to wish they’d done things differently. By contrast, those who majored in business management or science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields feel readier for the workplace and more satisfied overall.
The students who had the most regrets over their choice of major: those who studied visual and performing arts; language, literature and social sciences; and accounting, economics and finance.
Not surprisingly, graduates from top 100 schools who gained experience outside the classroom (e.g., internships, jobs or employer-sponsored mentorship programs) felt better prepared for the workplace.
I’ve been harping on this topic in past posts and will continue to do so: choose a high-quality, competitive school and program and gain some valuable experience along the way.
Finding My College 
That’s odd — the quoted text is directly contradicted by the charts presented on page seven of the report:
65% of students who attended four year private colleges are in jobs that require a four year degree, compared to 55% of those who attended a four year public college.
While 59% of Business management majors are likely to be in jobs requiring a four year degree compared to 55% of language, literature, and social science majors, that’s only a 4% difference. That’s almost statistically insignificant — and then when you consider that 66% of Education majors are likely to be in a job that requires a four year degree, Business degrees don’t look that good. We also need to consider that Education majors are often double majors in math, history, English, etc.
The two year to four year numbers on “feeling prepared” really doesn’t mean much. People go to two year colleges for vocational degrees, but once they have those degrees, those specific jobs are all that they’re qualified to do with their degree. Non-vocational degrees provide skills and background for a wider variety of jobs, but since they’re not vocationally-oriented, it’s natural for students to feel unprepared. That does not mean that they aren’t, however. What it means is that schools need to do a better job explaining to students how they have been prepared, and perhaps need to emphasize internships more.