<p>I was browsing through some old threads today and someone said something along the lines of, "an education at a small liberal arts college isn't worth much without going to grad school." I think he/she might have been talking about job prospects and the like, but I'm not sure. Now, I'm sure that's generalizing, but nevertheless I found his/her statement interesting. Is there a grain of truth to it? What do you all think?</p>
<p>By the way, this was in a thread discussing Williams/Amherst/Pomona/etc. (I forget the specifics)</p>
<p>There's truth to it only when you don't know how to market yourself or your degree. Many liberal art colleges shell out students who go on to work in Ibanking/finance jobs without grad, schools like Amherst come to mind.</p>
<p>One could easily major in a liberal art at a regular research university, and still find themselves with the same job prospects of a student who went to a LAC, of course the exception would be places like Harvard, etc.</p>
<p>Really, a liberal arts degree by itself will get you nowhere. People are employed right out of college with liberal arts majors, but it's not like most of the coast on to great jobs for the rest of their lives without graduate school. </p>
<p>There are "vocational" majors like engineering where one can get by with a bachelors and work experience. However, they might want an MBA before they can move up to management positions. On Wharton's website they say that a bit more than half of the undergrads who come out do not feel the need to go back for an MBA. However, it's Wharton, and the same can't be said of most business majors looking to go into fancy fields like banking or consulting.</p>
<p>Students from top LACs like Williams will get hired by top banks right out of undergrad. However, many of those analyst positions right out of undergrad are terminal after a few years. A very common path is undergrad -> banking/consulting -> MBA/law school.</p>
<p>In this day and age it is very hard to get a "good job" that "pays well" without a graduate/professional degree.</p>
<p>"In this day and age it is very hard to get a "good job" that "pays well" without a graduate/professional degree."
Well, that's true in some fields, but the entire world is not made up of financiers, lawyers and doctors. In fact, most people don't work in these fields and many of them make pretty excellent salaries. There is an endless list of fields that most college students have never even thought about. I know all too many people who got specific degrees (business, engineering) with a goal of a specific career only to find out 10+ years down the road that their career choice doesn't really exist any more and they have to switch gears. New careers are popping up daily, as old ones take a nose dive. So... should you invest in specific training or should you go to a school where you can explore a variety of fields?<br>
I believe that the school you go to doesn't matter at all. You have to sell yourself to get a job and your ability to do that is what counts. You either have the confidence and chutzpah to do that or you don't. You might have more confidence if Harvard accepted you, or might have more confidence if you went to a small college where a professor invested his/her time and energy into mentoring you. Decide what works for you and go that way. And remember that no decision is final-- if it doesn't work, try something else.</p>
<p>Let me rephrase what I said. Anyone with a liberal arts major (from a LAC or university) is in the same boat. A liberal arts degree from undergrad really gets you nowhere in life, except for the fact that it's an undergraduate degree. Getting a BA is a big deal and opens you up for many careers in the future. However, it doesn't teach you any concrete skills like an engineering degree or a plumbing degree. It is up to you to go out into the world and get work experience, work hard, and make something of yourself.</p>
<p>If you want to be a doctor or lawyer you need a professional degree after your bachelors to practice. If you want to be a research scientist, you need a PhD to move along in your career. If you want to be a high school teacher you are probably fine with a BA, but you might need higher degrees in education if you want to move up to a school administrator. If you are an engineer you can get by with a BS, but you probably need an MBA to move up in management. </p>
<p>It doesn't matter if you went to a LAC or a university, you can get a fine job upon graduation with a BA in a liberal arts field. However, you might find down the road that you need a graudate/professional degree to move up in your field or to swtich fields (why many people go back for an MBA). This is not true of all fields and is not true for all people, but occurs often enough that you should keep this in mind.</p>
<p>
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So... should you invest in specific training or should you go to a school where you can explore a variety of fields?
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I never said that one should go into a specific training for undergrad. I did say, however, that one probably needs to down in many lines of work.</p>
<p>A BA is a BA whether its from a LAC or an big U. YOu can go into business, but any professional career absolutely requires grad school. Even in business MBA's are common. But this has nothing to do with a LAC per se. In fact the stats for LAC students getting into grad schools, esp. the top ten LACS, are fantastic.</p>
<p>
[quote]
A liberal arts degree from undergrad really gets you nowhere in life
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</p>
<p>I've had a varied career, working for Fortune 500 companies, internet startups, my own company, a well-known economist, and as an independent software consultant. My BA was in economics from a top liberal arts college and my career has been in information technology. No graduate degree. Gee, I guess I'm just nowhere in life by your standards. Fortunately my standards are different.</p>
<p>If S2 wants to attend a liberal arts college, you bet I'm going to encourage him. In my view, a good education is a viable goal in and of itself. What better foundation to have in an economy in which most workers will have 2-3 different "careers" over the course of their lifetime?</p>
<p>"A liberal arts degree from undergrad really gets you nowhere in life, except for the fact that it's an undergraduate degree."</p>
<p>What's a "liberal arts degree?" You major in a subject area, not in a college type. If you go to a university, you don't get a "university degree." A BA in biology is a BA in biology. You can get that degree at almost any college in the country whether it is an LAC or a major university. The list of possible majors is similar at most schools, as well, though there are often more and more narrowly focused degrees available at larger schools. And the value of that degree should be measured by the person WITH that degree-- what did you want to accomplish? Did you accomplish it? Most employers will be looking at who you are and what your skills are without regard for the name of the college you graduated from. There are exceptions to that rule, but nowhere near the number you would expect from reading this forum. A liberal arts degree will get you where you want to go if you are motivated to get there. Nothing will get you where you want to go if you lack that motivation.
I'm with vballmom-- the economy is changing rapidly and the best way to deal with that is to have a well rounded education where you are challenged to learn to think. LACs do that really well.</p>