These Are the College Degrees People End Up Regretting

Foreign languages attract students who love communication, travel, literature, culture, and the idea of working across borders. They may imagine becoming translators, interpreters, diplomats, teachers, international business professionals, or aid workers. The degree feels useful because speaking another language seems like an obvious advantage in a global world.

The regret often comes when graduates realize language ability alone may not be enough. Employers usually want fluency plus another skill, such as business, law, healthcare, intelligence, education, or technology. Recent coverage of New York Fed data also named foreign language among the lowest early-career wage majors, which makes the payoff feel uncertain.