http://twentytwowords.com/a-scared-straight-intervention-for-college-kids-with-liberal-arts-majors/
I know this is parody, but I’m not sure what it’s criticizing - liberal arts majors, or those who have preconceived notions of what liberal arts majors do with the rest of their lives?
Do people understand that many liberal arts majors, with a BA, do NOT expect to get paid for writing poetry or reading books?
I was a Comparative Literature major. Although I quit work many years ago to raise my daughter, the degree served me well during my working career. Right after graduating with my B.A., I sent out resumes to any and every white-collar job I saw advertised. I cast a wide net, not just looking in my hometown or college town. I got a job at a Chicago patent law firm as a law library clerk (and the only one - they couldn’t afford to hire a librarian with a Master’s…) They needed someone who could translate French documents, could write correspondence, could manage the library singlehandedly, and who could do library research and interlibrary loans. I fit the bill, as I had worked part-time in my university’s library. It paid decently, enough for me to move to Chicago, get my own apartment in a good neighborhood, support myself comfortably, and have enough left over to not only pay back my standout loans, but save a little.
A few years later, I decided I wanted to get a Masters in Library and Information Sciences and actually get paid what a librarian should… So I did, and I worked as a reference librarian for a few years before I finally quit to raise my daughter. My B.A. allowed me to pass the GRE and obtain that Master’s degree.
I enjoyed being a reference librarian. I love research, I love libraries. It was the ideal job for me.
This was all over 20 years ago, and I know the economy is not as good now, but liberal arts majors are still more than qualified for a variety of jobs. The trick is to think outside the box. The thing is, liberal arts is often not as specific as something like Finance or Engineering. So the job hunt is not so clear-cut.
These majors are not designed to be a training camp for any specific career - they are meant to be, simply, an education.
Finally, not everyone is cut out for finance or tech jobs or the medical field.
I’m just tired of all of the talk of Liberal arts being “useless”. Trust me, I’ve heard it all of my adult life. It gets old, and much of it, imo, is not even valid.
=D>
I refuse to even open the link. I’m sick of this short-sighted ignorance.
Among the jobs I had with my BA in English: paralegal, corporate copywriter, technical writer/software education, Manager of Technical Communications for a large software company, Manager of Corporate Communications for another company, MIS consulting including co-author of publications that sold 30K+ copies.
Well, that was two minutes I’ll never get back.
I wish someone would do an intervention on the anti Liberal arts crowd. On Friday, Schlumberger announced it was laying off thousands of employees- but you’ll never get the “petroleum engineering is a guaranteed ticket for life” crowd to admit that timing the market on something as cyclical as petroleum is more art than science. Radiology has been outsourced to India (and a couple of other diagnostic- heavy medical specialties are soon to follow) but medicine is considered a sure proof, never fail, “can’t be laid off” profession here on CC (all evidence in the real world to the contrary). And my own company moved a chunk of our tax and accounting functions off-shore (so much for accounting and finance and indeed- any “business” degree being more secure than majoring in anthropology or history).
A kid who wants to be an engineer- great. A kid who loves math and wants a math heavy major- great. A kid who loves chemistry more than anything else in the world- fantastic. But to push your kid into a major out of a misbegotten belief that it will mean job security forever and ever- hey, I was around the last time the tech bubble burst and it was especially painful for the 23 and 24 year olds who had studied CS and were told, “you will never been downsized” until a year later- they were downsized.
Dumb title since Liberal Arts includes STEM, Econ, etc, as well as Humanities. An intervention is needed for 17 year olds who, of all the things in the world to dream of, dream of the soul suffocating world of investment banking.
^ Exactly. “Liberal arts” refers to “the arts” in the same way “doctor of philosophy” refers to “philosophy.” No one ever says, “I heard you’re getting a PhD in computer science. Good luck trying to make a living as a philosopher!”
I don’t worry about the Ibanking kids since most of those skills are fungible. I worry about the kids who are on narrow vocational paths where the skills don’t lead to much else. 16 year olds who are worrying about direct admit pharmacy programs (haven’t taken chemistry yet but they know or have been told they love pharmacy). 17 year olds who post here worried that they can’t get into a good OT program for grad school. HS kids of all ages who obsess about whether it’s better to major in sports management and then law school if you want to become an agent, or just be “pre-law” (like that’s a major). When I get asked these questions I usually say, “Why not take a “history of anarchy” course or take a class in Renaissance art before you think you’ve got your life figured out”.
I know lots of former I-bankers in real life and they are doing lots of interesting things with their careers. A few years in banking to help pay off the loans early while figuring out “what do I want to be when I grow up” is not a bad plan.
My daughter a recent liberal arts college graduate, majored in philosophy, just started at Google. Some companies and employers know better… If you look there are companies looking to hire smart educated passionate people, and they will train you. Oh, my other daughter is a chemical engineer major
After switching from engineering 30 yrs ago in my sophomore year b/c I hated it (even then I was pushed towards the allure of STEM before it was even vogue), I graduated with a degree in Economics and a minor in art history. I went on to a career in banking and commercial real estate. I wouldn’t trade my liberal arts education for anything - it taught me critical thinking, communication and writing skills that have been invaluable in a deal making environment. My biggest issue as an employer is finding candidates who can actually write a cohesive thought or make a compelling argument. I get the technical knowledge required in some fields, but at some point you move up the chain past engineer and need to know how to write. It is shocking to me some of the work product I’ve seen from otherwise very accomplished individuals.
Investment banking being soul sucking is as tired of a claim as liberal arts majors being unemployable.
What I have been observing is that top companies hire graduates from top schools with high GPAs regardless, for the most part, of major. Camusish, what school did your D attend and what was her GPA?
I have found with my own kids and students I teach that majors matter more for small business’s and obviously for professional occupations like accounting, education and engineering.
My S applied for a job that required a business or math major. He is a physics major and math minor from a top school. He did not get an interview. He knows someone who did that graduated with a business degree from our local state school that only had pre-calc. Really? But he did not have the stated degree.
I am finding this to be more the case.
Gettingschooled–hahaha. Agree.
Parody or not, the interventionist is talking about racking up 300,000+ in debt for an undergraduate and graduate degree in Studio Art. Over a quarter of a million dollars in debt is a bad investment for even the most lucrative of fields at the most elite of schools - the supposed consequences of majoring in the “liberal arts” (or, what they actually mean, humanities and social sciences) like living at home have a lot more to do with the debt than the degree. A software engineer is gonna be hard pressed to make ends meet if they have mortgage sized student loan payments on top of an actual mortgage.
STEM is important but the world is not a zero-sum game. We can still push students (especially those who have traditionally been marginalized in various fields of STEM like women and people of color) to pursue Engineering, Computer Science, and Pharmacy without constructing some huge campaign against History and English majors.
My oldest is in a PTA program. My middle will be entering engineering. My youngest is a brilliant writer. She is also good at math, doesn’t love it, but good at it.
I have told her she could certainly pursue liberal arts, but NOT if it wracks up a lot of debt. She also shouldn’t dismiss engineering, just because she is a fantastic writer.
In either case, the bottom line is going to be the debt incurred in either pursuit.
My dad, a Purdue grad and a hydraulic engineer, liked to say:
“Before I graduated from Purdue I could not even spell engineer. Now I are one.”
I’ve commented before on this forum that it’s not always your major or specific knowledge that matters for future employment but your skillset, your interests, your aptitudes. For example:
Are you creative? Are you hard-working? Are you optimistic? Do you work well with others? Are you a leader? Do you work well in teams? Do you have command of foreign languages? Can you write computer code? Can you design things? Are you a good researcher? Can you write well? Do you know applied statistics? Do you have international experience? I’m sure you could come up with other life skills to add to this list.
My advice to my own kids when entering college was “you can major in anything (but graduate in 4 years).” But I also advised them to focus on developing a range of skills and experiences. One majored in economics, the other in industrial design. But their careers since graduation build at least as much on those ancillary skills as they do on the courses of study in their majors. They are not currently working as an economist or an industrial designer. But they draw on their knowledge and experience in those fields.