Psychology majors across the country are less than psyched after 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush dissed their field of study.
The Republican contender implied at a town hall in South Carolina on Saturday that psychology degrees don't lead to good job prospects.
“Universities ought to have skin in the game,” the Republican contender said at a town hall in South Carolina on Saturday. “When a student shows up, they ought to say ‘Hey, that psych major deal, that philosophy major thing, that’s great.’ It’s important to have liberal arts ... but realize, you’re going to be working at Chick-fil-A.”
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Bush went on, according to the Washington Examiner, to say, “I don’t think we should dictate majors. But I just don’t think people are getting jobs as psych majors. We have huge shortages of electricians, welders, plumbers, information technologists, teachers.”
Psychology students and graduates quickly mobilized, tweeting their stories of personal and career successes using the hashtag #ThisPsychMajor.
"#ThisPsychMajor would rather make a difference than make six figures," tweeted one student.
Bush cited psychology as the most popular major in the U.S., but according to stats from the Department of Education, of the nearly 1.8 million bachelor’s degrees given in 2011-2012, the majority were in business, followed by social sciences and history, health services and related fields. Psychology came in fourth.
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Higher education is a hot topic of this election cycle, and that’s no accident: 19 percent of all voters in 2012 were aged 30 and under. For most college students, 2016 will be their first time voting in a presidential election.
