<p>This proposition may sound contradictory at first, but I believe that a balance of these two things makes for the ideal education. I am drawn to the autonomy, power, influence, and prestige and social status that arises from the higher social function of professional work. However, I do not like the fact that professional work requires so much specialization in a certain area. Ultimately, I would like to become a polymath, and eventually a writer on all sorts of different subjects. I like to operate according to the big picture, and although being a professional, such as an engineer, may serve a higher social function, I wouldn't be able to shake the fact that I am just one cog in the corporate machine, and my contribution to this higher social function is as minimal as my area of focus and expertise is narrow. On the flip side, a liberal education may be reasonable if I planned to go to grad school, but to my understanding, a bachelors degree in the liberal arts typically doesn't prepare you for a specific career at the undergraduate level. I have to factor in the practicality of such a degree, considering I am paying for school using student loans, and I do not know whether I will go to graduate school. </p>
<p>Given this, what would be the best educational path to get the best of both worlds? How do I become a liberal professional, with skills and knowledge that not only qualify me for a desirable job, but also allow me the opportunity to apply these competencies to a wide variety of areas and drive social change on a large scale?</p>