Why did you major in liberal arts?

[InDebtInDC]

My friend's family all majored in liberal arts, and are struggling to find jobs after college. I'm trying to understand why anyone would do that.

I minored in sociology. I didn't major in it because I know you can't get a job after you graduate. I think if you're set on a liberal art major you should at least major in something else as well.

Are those people chasing a pipe dream, or do they not care about money? Thoughts?

[Cassandra]

My dad was an engineer major and he told me at their graduation all the liberal arts kids were shouting things like "Dorks! Losers!" at the engineers.

The engineers replied by shouting, "We have jobs, yes we do! We have jobs, how about you?"



I read an article in the NY Times that said more women major in the liberal arts and that contributes to them earning less than their male counterparts at the same job.

Part of the reason I'm majoring in Math (besides from the fact that I love Math) is that I may change my mind about what I wan to do later on. For now, I'm almost positive that I want to go into Law Enforcement, but if I do change my mind, I will have a degree that I can do almost anything with. You don't get that with a degree in Theater or dance.

Cassandra

[ceejay74]

I majored in Liberal Arts because literature, writing, film and history were what I loved to study. Honestly, at 18 I wasn't really thinking about careers; I was just a kid. I also went to an expensive school that favored intellectual exploration over practical training.

My dad paid for part of it, my school for part, and I got student loans for the rest. I didn't really understand what a pain loans would be, but I handled it, paid the minimum on time, and this year I paid them off! (10 years--piece of cake! :-) )

There weren't a ton of jobs I was specifically qualified for, but I do all right--$47K a year, currently, working as a proofreader/copy editor. Lots of liberal-arts grads do OK at about my level or even better. Some of my other liberal-arts friends worked regular jobs for awhile and then went back to school--getting advanced degrees in teaching, advertising, law, psychology--so they're making really good money (well, in the case of teachers, extended vacation is the big reward!).

I don't regret it for one second!

[MonkeyMama]

Oh, interesting. I see this A LOT with my high school peers. Along the same lines everyone taunted me for going to State (a bright crowd). Fast forward 10 years and I was well into a well-paying career. So MANY of them were going back to state for a real degree and living with mommy and daddy. So ironic. But the area I live in and the crowd I hung with - well that is the norm. Most of them are taken care of by mom & pop though so yeah. Reminded me an old friend on his MySpace page said "like most people I have useless expensive degrees" or something like that. I am thinking, "most people, whatever." Such a bubble of privelege I come from in a sense.

As for me, my parents always expressed the importance of loving my job, excelling my job (both usually go hand in hand) and being smart about it by opting for the higher paying job. I wanted to be a bookeeper, the said become a CPA. When I wanted to be a musician they encouraged me to know I would most likely be broke or need a real job to help. Just very realistic. I really enjoy learning and writing and all that though so I minored in Humanities. The first 2 years before I really knew what I wanted to major in I took a mostly Humanities course load (when you take english/history anyway) and absolutely loved it. Then I focused on my business courses and CPA license.

For the long-term I would love to write and figure I make enough to probably retire pretty early (or semi-retire) and go back to school and work on a writing degree. I have a goal to write a book, but figure it is something I would be better at with more age and wisdom on my side. I also have made profit from my music skills and is another great skill to fall back on. For me personally I Would not love a career in those areas though. I might have arranged my life differently if writing was my #1 passion. But instead I find it is a wonderful asset at my job since most CPAs aren't much of writers. I feel like I have the freedom to do what I Want the rest of my life too, starting with the high paying job.

This whole thing was very important to my family though. My dad came from a very poor background and wanted to be a TV repairman. A community college counselor talked him into going for an engineer degree, which radically changed his life, and he loves the job as much (or more) than he would have loved reparing TVs. So the whole idea of finding a job you love and pays well is very important to my family. I roll my eyes when people tell me I am so lucky to be where I am. Like it just fell in my lap. IT took much soul searching and thought to pick a career that I Would excel at and would pay the bills easily.

On the flip side some of my liberal art friends have done very well for themselves. A very young english professor comes to mind. & also for one, my husband's family pushed him into a business degree he didn't want. HE wanted to major in film, and minored instead. These days he spends his days volunteering on movie sets, volunteering at the public TV station, and doing wedding videos and other video production for profit. No matter how much his parents tried to steer him in another direction, it didn't really work. I am kind of annoyed at them for not supporting him. HE could get some pretty decent jobs if he had the degree and will probably go back to school for it. A good decade of his career building lost. SO basically I think you can do anything you want to do. But you shouldn't go into it blindly and be surprised when you have trouble supporting yourself on a liberal arts degree. If it's your passion you'll figure it out.

Sorry so long, just a passionate topic of mine. I see too many people wasting degrees, but worse, too many people miserable at their jobs. I think a little thought and preparation into your life-long career could go a long way.

[cschin4]

I think that when you are 18, you don't have a clue. Couple that with overindulgent parents who want their kids to "follow their dreams" and you end up with alot of kids who really have no marketable degree.
But, it isn't always cut and dry to say "study X and earn Y". That is true for some professions, but not all. However, I would advise my children to study some profession that requires a certain license/education in order to be practiced.

[eisor]

I have to say this has definitely impacted my DH. He was a History major. He always intended to teach. But, No Child Left Behind was started the year he graduated. He took a year off to do some missionary stuff. Then, no one would hire him for teaching. He wasn't "highly qualified." He was looking at another two years of school to enter a career he decided just was NOT for him. Now he works at a bank. He'll be going to get his masters next year for sports administration. Something he loves and will actually have a job after it!

I am going to school for business ed, I plan to teach afterwards.

When we have kids and they start preparing for college, we are definitely going to encourage them to pursue an educational path that has a defined career at the end of it. I just know way to many people who have degrees that aren't doing them any good.

[gackle]

Some very good posts, especially MonkeyMama. I majored in Liberal Arts (specifically speech communications) because I found the information very intriguing. But like others have said, I was only in college and just didn't realize that the job prospects for a Liberal Arts major are slim. In general, you pretty much have to have a masters degree to make any money with a liberal arts degree. After college I was unemployed for three months. My first job was as a temp filing papers, then once full time I was making collection calls - hardly my dream job.

Now I am pursuing my MBA with a specialization in Marketing for a career change and as a safety net in case I lose my current job for some reason. My company is paying for my degree and I could have kicked myself for not taking advantage of this when I started 8 years ago. Oh well.

MonkeyMama accurately defines the problem at hand - people need to pursue something that they enjoy, but you also need to be able to make money with it as well. Marketing is not my first choice, but it's getting more interesting the more I study it.

[InDebtInDC]

I majored in computer science and business management from a pretty decent school. I also minored in engineering math and women's study. I would have really loved to major in women's study except I didn't have enough money. The last 2 years in college were really expensive since I financial aid stopped after 4 years.

I understand following your dreams and what not, but at some point you have to pay bills and stop being a burden on other people.

Right now I would love to go back to law school, but the only thing holding me back is my debt. I would love to pay off my debt within 5 years and go back to school.

While I'm at it, I'd also love to get a master in women's study. My real dream is to have enough to retire and get a PhD in women's study and teach on the college level.

[cptacek]

My dad was an engineer major and he told me at their graduation all the liberal arts kids were shouting things like "Dorks! Losers!" at the engineers.

The engineers replied by shouting, "We have jobs, yes we do! We have jobs, how about you?"



I read an article in the NY Times that said more women major in the liberal arts and that contributes to them earning less than their male counterparts at the same job.

Part of the reason I'm majoring in Math (besides from the fact that I love Math) is that I may change my mind about what I wan to do later on. For now, I'm almost positive that I want to go into Law Enforcement, but if I do change my mind, I will have a degree that I can do almost anything with. You don't get that with a degree in Theater or dance.

Cassandra

Can I suggest you also minor in Physics or Computer Science? I found that I could get a job with a Math degree by teaching math, working for the Census Bureau (friend of mine did that) or working for the NSA. Those last two involve moving to Washington, DC...ick, not for me. But, I applaud you for majoring in math.

[InDebtInDC]

Can I suggest you also minor in Physics or Computer Science? I found that I could get a job with a Math degree by teaching math, working for the Census Bureau (friend of mine did that) or working for the NSA. Those last two involve moving to Washington, DC...ick, not for me. But, I applaud you for majoring in math.

You know, I found out that the Census Bureau pays the most out of all the federal government agencies. I really don't know why though.

Since federal government employees get the best benefits, if you add on the highest paying government job it sounds like a good job on paper.

[Broken Arrow]

My degree is technically Criminology. So, it suppose to be next-to-useless, not completely useless.

As for why, I believed in doing what interests you. It's true the career viability of said degree didn't really enter my mind. I mean, it sort of did since I started out as a Sociology major, but also knew that it didn't have much of an oomph in the job world. Hence the switch halfway.

The truth is, I was and probably am still a bit of an idealist. I am motivated largely by what I believe in, rich or poor. But as you can see, I am also much more pragmatic about things now than what I used to be.

In the end, I really can't tell you why things ended up the way it did for me. It just did. That's the pragmatic me talking. It is what it is, and now it's only a question of what to do to advance my life... while still living my life as I see fit. That's the idealistic me talking.

[pearlieq]

My degree is in psychology. I honestly chose that major because it was the fastest way out of college. I was able to finish in just over 3 years, and that was with changing my major 4 (count 'em, 4) times and taking some interesting electives.

I haven't found my degree to be too big of a deal when it came to finding a job. As long as one had a degree, it wasn't too important what it was in. I write database logic. My colleagues have degrees in everything from business to fashion.

That being said, I would certainly pick a different major if I could do it over. But it's not the end of the world. I do just fine.

[InDebtInDC]

My degree is in psychology. I honestly chose that major because it was the fastest way out of college. I was able to finish in just over 3 years, and that was with changing my major 4 (count 'em, 4) times and taking some interesting electives.

I haven't found my degree to be too big of a deal when it came to finding a job. As long as one had a degree, it wasn't too important what it was in. I write database logic. My colleagues have degrees in everything from business to fashion.

That being said, I would certainly pick a different major if I could do it over. But it's not the end of the world. I do just fine.

A person graduated from my school in 1 year with a BS in math. I don't really see the point to his madness because no one will hire an 18 year-old with a math degree to do professional work. I certainly wouldn't, which is why he went back to grad school.

Some programs are stacked a certain way in that no matter how hard you try, you don't have enough prerequisites to complete the program. For example, my school had this computer hardware class that all computer majors have to pass to graduate. This class is only offered in the fall, and if you try to take it your 3rd year they won't let you and you won't pass because you haven't taken enough prerequisites to understand the materials.

I did mine in 3.5 years, which was the fastest humanly possible, due in part to that hardware class. That was the last class I had to pass to graduate.

Plus I noticed that if I took courses out of sync with the rest of the majors the course tends to be easier. I guess they gear it towards people who failed the first time and have to retake to pass.

[Fern]

The value of college isn't just in teaching you about the subject you've chosen to major in.

For me, it really opened up my mind to a wide variety of new thoughts, new learning and new experiences, socially and academically.

I agree that generally a liberal arts major doesn't always seem to make as much money as, say, someone who majors in accounting or engineering, fields in which there's a greater demand for graduates.

I think there are generally 2 schools of thought. ONe is that you carefully choose a major that will have the best chances of securing you decent employment in the future. The other is that your choice of major shouldn't solely be focused on your future income, and that a student should be able to pick out a major based on what truly interests them, let them pursue their interests and allow them to develop freely, without being burdened by thoughts of economic security and making money.

College only comes around once for most people.