> Literature and gender studies are not alternatives to "useful" fields of study, they are useful. Culture matters.

I believe "useful" in this context refers to having a higher chance of being able to land a job with a decent pay.

It's not unheard of parents of non affluent families trying hard to convince their children to pursue career paths that would give them certain economic self sufficiency rather than something they might like more, when economic success in that field is (perhaps incorrectly) perceived as a gamble.