Top Five College Degrees in Today’s World

A reader just sent me this excellent infographic on the top five college degrees for the 21st Century.  No surprise here: environmental sciences is right up there.

I’ve spoken with hundreds of young people – including my own two children – about this very subject.  Talk about a can’t-lose!  We’re entering a time in humankind’s history where the entire question of survival depends on how quickly we can figure out certain things we don’t fully understand – from disappearing bees to overfished oceans to melting glaciers and desertification of farm land.

I would say to budding environmental scientists, “The world is your oyster.”  The problem is: they’re disappearing.  In fact, oysters are “functionally extinct” in many locations around the globe due to disease and overharvesting, a 2011 study found.  How about “The world is your coal mine.”  They don’t seem to be going anywhere.  No, too pessimistic.  I’ll have to work on this and get back to you.

Seriously, young folks, the demand for answers in this field is not going away anytime soon.  Go for it.