Every student who is a liberal arts major has either read somewhere or has heard something along the lines of, “Aren’t you worried you won’t find a job after you graduate from college?”, “You won’t make a lot of money doing that.”, or my personal favorite, “That’s more of a hobby than an actual career.”
As a liberal arts student, I get offended when people put down my major because I feel like I either need to change my major to something I am not going to enjoy doing with my life. or find a job that pays well but would dread going to every day.
But, what a lot of people don’t realize is that now more than ever, we need people with a liberal arts degree according to a Washington Post article called “Why we still need to study the humanities in a STEM world.”
George Anders, author of the book You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of a Useless Liberal Arts Education, states, “the human touch has never been more essential in the workplace than it is today. He goes on to say that, “the job market is quietly creating thousands of openings a week for people who can bring a humanist’s grace to our rapidly evolving high-tech future.”
In other words, our technologically advanced world needs more employees with a liberal arts background since they are more than likely to understand how technology works and functions.
Without further adieu, I present to you the top four reasons why I believe liberal arts students should stay committed to their majors.
1. Employers are looking for employees with a liberal arts degree
Although majors such as Business, Nursing and STEM seem to be what employers look for in potential employees today, a liberal arts degree can go a long way for undergraduate students looking for a job after finishing college.
A liberal arts education teaches students “employability skills” such as reading, writing, and critical thinking which are crucial skills to have in every profession for an organization to run efficiently and effectively.
2. It’s a diverse field of study
Not only does a liberal arts education cover courses such as creative writing, theater, and fine art, it also covers courses such as philosophy, sociology, and anthropology. This gives students a wider variety of choices to choose from when looking for general education humanities courses to take their freshman and sophomore years in college and majors or minors their junior and senior years of college too.
3. Liberal arts open you up to be an overall well-rounded individual
With so many courses offered in the liberal arts field, undergraduate students who major within this field of study can expect to have a better understanding of people and the world around them.
Going back to the point I made in reason number 2, a liberal arts education is broad and diverse, opening students to many opportunities to explore different humanities courses to take as a general education requirement or elective during their college career.
This allows them to open their minds, eyes, and ears to diverse cultures, beliefs, and traditions practiced by others, giving them a sense of respect and tolerance for others not like them.
4. Unemployment rates are low for liberal arts degree students
According to a Huffington Post article called “We Need the Liberal Arts More Than Ever in Today’s Digital World”, CNN host Fareed Zakaria points to a study that shows that liberal art majors make slightly more money on average than STEM majors later in their careers. Not only that, but the unemployment rates even out as well.
I hope with this information in mind, liberal arts students will continue to stay committed to their majors and stay positive about the future they have ahead of them.