By Misha Lakhani

A recent study released by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) shows that college freshmen are driven primarily by the incentive of money. The study surveyed 267,449 freshmen at over 113 colleges and universities. According to the survey, “developing a meaningful philosophy of life” now takes a backseat to the desire to make money.

Students at Northeastern have discovered that certain majors, seen as more profitable, may not be in sync with their strengths and actual interests.

“It cost me a year and a half of attempting both engineering and computer science to grasp finally that it was not intended for me, though I was urged by many authorities towards it,” said Naif Khoury, a middler economics major. “But I have no regrets, I’m more than sure and happy now.”

According to the study, earning more money, obtaining a better job and preparing for a career have taken precedence over expanding one’s knowledge.

“[My major will] help me navigate effectively in the business world and land myself a rewarding and, of course, high paying job,” said Karishma Mahtani, a middler marketing major.

Playing it safe may limit some student’s career paths — but Aliya Saporova said she’d rather be safe than sorry.

“I wanted to keep my options open because I’m not sure what exactly I want to do in diplomacy,” the junior political science major said.

Nevertheless, a number of students do not regard expansion of knowledge a primary concern but instead are looking to channel themselves into high-profile careers.

“I picked my major based on my interests and not money. There’s not a lot of money in philosophy,” said Andrea Grier, a freshman philosophy major.

Students are taking the constantly fluctutating economy and competitive job market into account when picking a career, rather than putting more emphasis on interest, said Kirsten O’Neil, a senior nursing major.

“A lot of people in nursing are just in it because they know they’ll have a job when they graduate and they can sit behind a desk and make a lot of money,” O’Neil said. “The economy has a lot to do with it.”

When making such an important decision as a choice of career, taking financial security into consideration may be necessary.

“[Financial stability should be considered] to an extent, but as long as you’re doing something you like I’d like to believe that financial stability will follow,” Grier said.

– News staff Sarah Metcalf contributed to this report.