The promise of a degree is often a lifelong career guarantee, but for millions, it leads only to crippling student loan debt and disillusionment. Career expert Shane Hummus (the original source of this analysis) highlighted this risk by revealing his own six-figure debt from a Pharm.D. degree he quickly came to hate, even with a six-figure salary. His motivation is clear: to provide a critical reality check that prevents others from making similarly devastating financial mistakes.

This comprehensive guide details the worst college majors to pursue today, identifying the seven dead-end college degrees that typically offer a terrible return on investment (ROI) compared to the time and financial commitment required.

In-Depth Analysis: Why These Degrees Fail to Deliver

1. Psychology Bachelor’s Degree (B.A.) : Dead-end College Degrees

The Psychology Bachelor’s degree is arguably the most common culprit in the high-debt, low-return category.

The Over-Saturation Problem: Psychology is the third most popular degree in the U.S., with over 120,000 graduates annually. This creates a hyper-competitive market where a four-year degree is no longer a differentiator.
The Master’s Tax: The core issue is credential creep. To practice professionally, or even land entry-level research roles, you must obtain a Master’s or Doctorate. This advanced schooling can cost an additional $50,000 to $150,000, turning a bachelor’s into a mere prerequisite for a degree that might only net an average salary of around $65,000/year.
The Alternative Outcome: Without a graduate degree, many graduates are left competing for low-level, high-burnout jobs like social work or research assistance, often making a salary of only $35,000 to $45,000.

2. Biology Bachelor’s Degree (B.S.) : Dead-end College Degrees

Often incorrectly seen as a safe bet in STEM, the Biology B.S. is referred to as the “participation trophy of STEM degrees” due to its overly general curriculum.

The Med School Trap: A vast number of students choose Biology as a pre-med track. If they fail to gain admission to medical, dental, or pharmacy schools, they are left with a non-specialized, borderline dead-end college degree.
Lack of Marketable Skills: While you learn about cell structure, employers in lucrative sectors are looking for specialized, applied skills. Companies need Engineers, Computer Scientists, and Data Analysts, not employees whose main qualification is memorizing the Krebs cycle.
The High-ROI Alternative: Students aiming for health professions should consider more versatile majors (like Biomedical Engineering, Public Health, or even Computer Science) that still fulfill professional school requirements while providing a strong career fallback.

3. Communications : Dead-end College Degrees

The Communications major has long been the default for students who want a degree that doesn’t require intensive math or science, earning it the moniker of “the athlete’s major.”

Vagueness is a Vice: Communications is inherently too broad. Employers, faced with thousands of applicants, often assume the degree simply means the candidate is capable of writing emails—a skill most entry-level workers possess without a six-figure debt load.
Internship Dependency: Success in this field relies heavily on networking and unpaid labor through multiple internships just to build a relevant portfolio. Without substantial connections or highly specialized skills (e.g., digital media production or targeted SEO writing), the degree itself provides almost no competitive edge.

4. Liberal Studies & General Studies : Dead-end College Degrees

These generalist paths are designed for students who cannot commit to a major, which is a major red flag in today’s specialized job market.

The Inability to Commit: A Liberal or General Studies degree signals to potential employers that the applicant lacked the focus or discipline to master a specific field. In a world that values specialists, a generalist degree with no clear skills is a non-starter.
The Expensive Wikipedia Degree: Students are essentially paying $80,000 to $100,000 for a broad education they could largely achieve through self-study, making it one of the most glaring examples of a dead-end college degree. The outcome is typically low-growth office or administrative work.

5. Sociology, Anthropology, and Archaeology : Dead-end College Degrees

These degrees, while intellectually fascinating for studying human culture, behavior, and history, offer minimal career opportunities outside of academia.

Academic Gatekeeping: These fields require, at minimum, a Master’s, and realistically a Ph.D., to secure a professional job as a researcher, scientist, or academic. Competition for these elite positions is brutal.
The Pyramid Scheme Analogy: The expert argues that the only people reliably making a good living in these fields are the professors who are teaching the subject, creating an unsustainable system.
The Reality for Graduates: Many graduates from these fields, even those from prestigious universities, end up in jobs like bartending, retail, or basic customer service, completely unrelated to their studies.

6. Art History and General History : Dead-end College Degrees

For those passionate about culture and historical context, this is a painful choice, as the passion rarely translates to professional employment.

Extremely Low Demand: Well-paying jobs for Art History or general History majors (like museum curator or archivist) are globally scarce. They demand a Ph.D. and significant industry connections.
The Financial Toll: Graduates often find themselves making $30,000 to $40,000 a year while simultaneously drowning in educational debt. The utility of knowing the difference between Baroque and Rococo is rarely worth the $100,000 price tag.

7. Gender Studies : Dead-end College Degrees

Gender Studies is presented not as inherently worthless, but as a topic that should be pursued as an interest, not an expensive core credential.

Free Education is Available: All essential theories and concepts can be explored completely free through online lectures, communities, and books, making the hefty tuition payment unjustifiable.
A Call for Marketable Skills: The most effective way to drive change in social justice issues is to pair passion with power. The advice is to become a lawyer who fights for equality, or a data scientist who exposes bias—using a high-ROI degree to finance and fuel your advocacy.

Conclusion: Investing in High-ROI Degrees and Certifications

To avoid the fate of these dead-end college degrees, students must shift their perspective from viewing education as an abstract good to viewing it as a calculated career investment.

The expert advice is to prioritize:

Specialized, Marketable Skills: Focus on majors like Engineering, Computer Science, Finance, and specialized healthcare that reliably lead to high-demand careers.
Accelerated, Affordable Degrees: For careers that simply require a box to be checked (any bachelor’s degree), consider accelerated, accredited, and low-cost models like those offered by Western Governors University (WGU) or Thomas Edison State University, which can cut time and debt dramatically.
Professional Certifications: Skip college altogether for certain high-demand trades or tech roles by pursuing professional certifications, which are significantly more affordable and lead directly to in-demand jobs faster than a traditional degree.

Don’t let the pursuit of a diploma ruin your future. Choose your education with financial wisdom and a clear focus on marketable skills.