[sciguy125]

I think it's more of a cultural issue than an education problem. I think that most people, whether they know it or not, will have decided their major long before entering college. Your going to graduate with a major in something you're interested in. If you don't like what you're doing, you would have changed your major long before graduating. A few people in my programming class changed their majors because they found out that they don't like programming (one of them decided this in the middle of a midterm, leaving half way through to change his major). People that like math will go into something more math oriented (math, science, engineering...). People that are more artistic probably won't even consider those majors.

While this may sound like it could be fixed by changing the educational system, I think it's more than that. Americans want to be rich. You don't get rich with an engineering degree. You'd be better off with business or medicine or even law. Most engineers work toward the middle of the corporate food chain with little room for advancement. The business folk, however, have the opportunity to work their way up all the way to the top. Few will make it, but they'll have a better chance up there. The same goes for doctors. It's not uncommon for higher level doctors to make over 150k. Higher level lawyers could easily double that. Most engineers will top out at 100k. When's the last time you even heard of an engineer making over 150k? I'm not talking about those that have some new revolutionary idea, just those that are good at their jobs.

I've lived in Silicon Valley my entire life, so my view of the world has been biased toward science and technology (and the associated economic values that come with giant companies). So maybe people outside of my little corner of the world have different views.