[AT] OT two university STEM majors to avoid

[James Peck]

Private Marietta College started a Petroleum Engineering program in the 1970s. It survived at least one boom and bust cycle. Marietta is near the intersection of the Ohio and the Muskingum Rivers. 
https://www.marietta.edu/program/petroleum-engineering
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Muskingum_River


It is interesting that the Petroleum Engineering program  shares a department with geology. Also interesting is the median salary of graduates,  [link] "According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for a petroleum engineer in 2017 was $132,280". That figure probably includes degree holders who are working in managerial jobs.

Are there any tractor related jobs that involve 4 year degrees? 

[Jim Becker] Oil companies have a lot of geologists, as do other mineral related businesses.  Employment in geology is expected to have a 14% growth rate.  Tractor mechanics growth is expected to be 7% and pays about 15% less.
 
[James Peck] Here is one. https://www.bhc.edu/program/agriculture-mechanics-technology-aas/
 
I encountered a fiftyish man in a McDonalds wearing a full antique McDonalds uniform. Turned out he had worked for McDonalds right out of High School, went to college, and having graduated with a couple of dud (my assessment, not his) majors, eventually came back to them. He had graduated with BS degrees in Astronomy and Geology. 
 
We had a short conversation about the telescope on top of Mt. Haleakala, Hawaii, which we both knew something about.
 
An Associate Degree in Tractor Mechanics would be of far more help to people who work on tractors of any age.