In Economics this article implies students sacrifice a lot of potential income for certain majors.?

[Sanaz]

Most Lucrative College Degrees

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)--Math majors don’t always get much respect on college campuses, but fat post-grad wallets should be enough to give them a boost.

The top 15 highest-earning college degrees all have one thing in common--math skills. That’s according to a recent survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which tracks college graduates’ job offers.

What happened to well-rounded? There are far fewer people graduating with math-based majors, compared to their liberal-arts counterparts, which is why they are paid at such a premium. The fields of engineering and computer science each make up about 4% of all college graduates, while social science and history each comprise 16%....“It’s a supply and demand issue,” he added. “So few grads offer math skills, and those who can are rewarded.”

-- Julianne Pepitone

What Does Your Major Pay? 2009 Survey
Major Median Starting Salary
Chemical Engineering $65,700

Computer Science $56,400

Civil Engineering $55,100

Management Information Systems $51,900

Economics $50,200

Finance $48,500

Accounting $46,500

Business Administration/Management $42,900

Marketing $41,500

Political Science/Government $41,300

History $38,800

English $37,800

Sociology $36,500

Psychology $36,000

Source: “PayScale College Salary Report,” http://www.PayScale.com, 2009. Used with permission of PayScale, Inc.

This article implies that students sacrifice a lot of potential income when they major in English, Sociology, or Psychology. Is such behavior rational?

[Chris Davidson]

Yes it is rational for those people. When anyone makes a decision they look at their costs and benefits. For these people the benefits they gain from majoring in something they like out ways the costs of the wage lost by majoring in it. Fortunately for me I found a major that I both loved and that will pay the bills.

[Bored Gremlin]

yes it is rational. Different majors have different preferences.

Math is hard to learn, especially for liberal-art kind of people. Majoring in math-based subject would be a huge cost in terms of time and effort spent on studying. Further, costs are today, and rewards are in the future. More patient people care more about the future, less patient prefer easy life now to future rewards.