Do science

It was Nov. 4, 2008, and I was a freshman in the Forbes addition watching the final stages of the 2008 presidential election on TV. A friend was there too — eagerly rooting for Obama and beset with angst with every state he lost to McCain. When the news broke that Obama had won, my friend leapt off the futon and ran to the door to celebrate with our hallmates, tripping over his laptop power cord in the process. His laptop smashed to the ground and electronic shrapnel flew everywhere. For an indelible second, he was torn between joy and despair, but eventually opted for the former as he bounded out the door.

Obama’s election was supposedly a turning point. In fall 2008, the economy was tanking and Princeton seniors were panicking, but not all was lost — or so we thought. We figured that the election of a president who ran on a platform of “change” would mean exactly that. Change happened, but not the kind that we predicted — or hoped for. As freshmen, we were sure that jobs would come roaring back long before we graduated. Now, three years later, it is clear that when we leave the Orange Bubble, we will encounter a world quite different from that of when we went in.

Studying the humanities is a great way to expand your horizons and become a more interesting conversationalist, but it won’t help you come senior year. Granted, jobs in science and engineering have become scarcer as well, but majoring in the sciences has certain immutable benefits over other fields of study.

First, majoring in a science gives you a degree of flexibility that is often overlooked by students. Because of the quantitative skill required to succeed in many of the sciences, graduates of science programs are highly valued in today’s job market. This is not to say that humanities majors don’t have those skills, but majoring in a science sends a much stronger message to employers. As a science major, you do not need to spend your post-graduate days cloistered in a lab or teaching classes to undergraduates. In fields from finance to education, an education in science — and math for that matter — is considered a huge asset. I have friends concentrating in economics who complain that the investment jobs they are pursuing are often snatched up by engineers — who have no direct experience in the field, but who are known to have the brains to make numbers work. I am in the teacher preparation program, and I have been told that my marketability as a teacher would be amplified if I became certified in science and math. An education in science enables you to do anything and gives you an edge over other applicants in a wide array of fields.

A second, but related, point is that a country’s collective science and math skills are often used as a measure of that country’s intellectual well-being, which is made manifest in the support a government gives to those who specialize in those areas. Follow the public discourse, and it’s not hard to figure out why. As in the 1950s, when perceived U.S. socio-political superiority was threatened by the Soviet Union, our perceived industrial and economic power is now being threatened by today’s up-and-comers, mainly India and China. In both cases, U.S. policymakers have attempted to promote the study of science and math by funneling funds toward various programs and speaking publicly on the importance of science and math modern world, given the increasing importance of technology in our lives. This should mean a lot to us, because even though we might not personally agree on the importance of science, the reality is that grants, scholarships and funding for the sciences will become much more accessible as the science powerhouses of China and India loom larger in our collective consciousness.

While I’ve been here at Princeton, the world outside has changed. Though there are certainly admirable qualities to studying what you love and are passionate about, we must also consider the political and economics landscape in which we live. This is bad news for people like me, who favor the humanities as a matter of both interest and ability. I’m not saying that we should push ourselves to do something we hate or to eschew that which we love. For example, if I could do it all over again, I would still major in psychology. What I am saying is that those of you with the ability and drive to study sciences at Princeton, but are also considering the humanities, should give science a little extra consideration. The economy isn’t improving anytime soon, and you’ll need a job before you know it.

David Mendelsohn is a psychology major from Rockville Centre, N.Y. He can be reached at dmendels@princeton.edu.