A new study reveals a surprising trend about Millennials and college majors

We all know the stereotype: the lazy, entitled Millennial who’s too busy eating avocado toast and surfing Tinder to worry too much about getting a job. Which is why some might find it surprising that a new study revealed that money and earning potential now play a significant role in Millennials’ choice of majors. It seems more Millennials are snagging technical degrees instead of degrees in subjects like English and Philosophy.

Which makes sense, because the truth is that cost of living is higher than it’s ever been, and many jobs don’t provide anywhere near the bonuses and safety nets they once did. Just making ends meet is harder than it’s ever been before, and (gasp!) it turns out plenty of Millennials are more practical than they’re given credit for.

A survey by FiveThirtyEight found that Millennials appear to be flocking towards more “useful” degrees like business, health care, and biomedical science in state schools. Basically, the majority of people going to college are choosing majors that will best position them to find work.

Business, by the way, constitutes nearly 20% of all degrees and there are nearly twice as many business students as people studying to become nurses and doctors. And based on the numbers, unfortunately, our programmers, nurses, and doctors are still the face of student debt in America — despite having chosen super “hirable” majors.

These findings are interesting on many levels, not least of which being that the “lazy, impractical” Millennial stereotype is completely unfair and pretty much unfounded. So can we put that one to rest already?