After many disappointing visits to the center for career services, and lack of opportunities at job fairs it can appear that there are few options for liberal arts majors after college.
Merriam-Webster defines liberal arts as “areas of study that are intended to give general knowledge rather than to develop specific skills needed for a profession.” It may seem that because these majors, or anything from journalism, chemistry, biology, philosophy or to just about any thing in the college of arts and sciences, do not immediately translate into a well paying job straight out of college, or that with the recent $15 million donation by the Hess corporation for STEM research, there is little money left.
Fear not freshmen considering declaring a major or graduating seniors contemplating the job market, here are five reasons why studying liberal arts is worth it in the long run.
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Many world leaders majored in liberal arts
Pres. Obama majored in political science. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, studied psychology. Mitt Romney studied classics and our own Gov. Matt Mead studied liberal arts.
They’re laid back
There’s often less pressure to go into one specific field after graduation. The world is open. It is completely possible to have five people with the same degree go into five different careers. A liberal arts degree opens the world up, instead of limiting it.
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Public universities offer a variety
UW is an energy school, but as the only four-year public university in Wyoming we are in the unique position of helping attract a wide variety of students—the creative and scientific types. Liberal arts fields are able to attract students and visiting artists that any university needs to be a well-rounded institution and remain culturally relevant.
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They pay off in the long run
Studies conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) show that the average lifelong earnings of liberal arts majors do match those of other degrees. So don’t think that a liberal arts degree is a career kiss of death. It may take longer to pay off than pre-professional degrees, but it will eventually catch up.
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Liberal arts are versatile
Liberal arts are great ways to get into law school, medical school or a wide variety of other graduate programs. Diversity is the key to survival. What happens if a highly specialized degree is no longer needed? We have to adapt to the changing job market. A great place to start is to study a field that is already constantly changing and headed in many different directions. Look at people who are leading the world. Chances are high that many of them studied some sort of liberal arts field.
A liberal arts degree isn’t a marginalized, underfunded, career death wish, but a great start to help change the world. It is time to take pride in your chosen field, STEM, pre-professional, liberal arts or otherwise.
