Is there any reason at all to be forced to take subjects wholly unrelated to your degree...

Is there any reason at all to be forced to take subjects wholly unrelated to your degree? Is this done to inflate college prices or what?

It's almost like universities are supposed to be institutions of higher learning and not just job training centers.

Nobody gives a fuck about "higher" learning IRL.

this.

but op is right in some regard, not to inflate prices but some courses and in extension faculties would not have the enrollment they do without blanket prereqs. like calculus for science degrees no doubt helps pads the math department while perhaps being unnecessary for social sciences

>mfw Yanks aren't allowed to just do their subject

Nobody gives a fuck about you IRL.

Yep, you hit the nail right on the head. I have had the opportunity to get close to cal-state internal operations and have learned that they are a corrupt fat bureaucratic mess that only exists to suck money out of the students pockets while padding there own wallets. Go to community college first, then transfer to where you really want to go. No one cares where you start, only where you graduate.

Social sciences rely heavily on statistical methods, which are best developed with a strong calculus background.

this is the reasoning, right. it is good to know and valuable, but many degrees will not use calculus at all beyond the mandatory course, or the sorts of work throughout the degree will involve no calculus. calculus isn't necessary to understand statistics. likely whatever job you get with a social science degree will not use calculus, either. i'm not saying it's not important, but it is unnecessary for many people and it certainly pads departmental enrollment

I did this, sucked for me as a math major

>no serious courses by january of my junior year
>had nothing impressive on my file
>couldn't get into REU
>couldn't perform as well on the putnam
>didn't get into dream grad school

i did get into a good school, but transferring from a community college holds you back if you're serious about studying a subject.

The claim is that it's togive you a "well rounded" education, but in reality it's done to drain your wallet.

unless you are a supreme autismal shitter, you aren't just going to be sitting in a cubicle turning the crank on some math problem all day. if you really want to do that for 40+ years, just go to a vocational school.

as a white collar professional you are eventually going to find yourself in a position where you are writing proposals, dealing with politicians from the local municipality, dealing with the press, managing employees, etc. your job will not be "all science, all the time" so being well rounded is actually important and those classes are proof of efficacy that you can wear multiple hats.

i can't believe i have to explain this to you guys.

>as a white collar professional you are eventually going to find yourself in a position where you are writing proposals, dealing with politicians from the local municipality, dealing with the press, managing employees, etc.
No you won't.

Yes, an art history course will surely help with that and is a valuable investment of one's time.

sure, if you just stay a cubicle monkey bitch for your entire career. maybe you should look beyond entry level. you think your major's department head doesn't do all those things?

Every single person I know in social sciences has a terrible statistics education. They just pass statistics by the skin of their teeth and only take some toothless version of calc 1.

>your major's department head
He works in academia, that career relies on being able to eat ass well. Creative writing courses won't teach you that.

last time i checked most schools had multiple options for what humanities courses you can take. sorry you registered at the last minute or didn't put any thought into the classes you were going to take.

you are still trying to dodge the fact that white collar STEM workers do more than just science. if you have any ambition at all you ARE going to end up in management, whether it be in academia or industry. if you really think otherwise, enjoy your stagnated career.

>you ARE going to end up in management
if you actually want to do that, sure
the majority of people in STEM aren't interested in that
people who want to become managers go for business degrees and such

thats not how it works. business majors don't have the technical expertise to do those managerial/administrative tasks.

I know, it's fucking stupid right? In real life you never have to step outside your comfort zone.

I understand that
that's beside my point, though

i get your point. most STEM majors don't want to do that kind of stuff, its "not what you signed up for". i don't like doing it either. the fact remains that its still part of the job and as so sarcastically eluded to, employers are going to want proof that you can step outside your comfort zone to do it.

If I want to get a biology degree for my four year and then move on to a master program how bad would two years at a CC look?

>how bad would two years at a CC look?

nobody cares if you went to community college. in fact, the topic of this thread is particularly salient to the issue because you can typically take humanities courses there that are expedited versions of what you get at a normal 4 year. i did compressed weekend courses that were a month long where you'd come in pretty much all day on saturday/sunday. i would have wanted to shoot myself if i had to slog through 4 months of that garbage.

>supposed to be institutions of higher learning and not just job training centers.

A modern myth. The first universities in the world were formed to train clerics. In the United States Universities were founded to ensure a continual flow of homegrown elites to manage the business of the colonies. Clerics and Lawyers.