Why Is a Liberal Arts Degree Not a Good Idea

A liberal arts degree includes the report of history, literature, writing, philosophy, sociology, psychology, creative arts and more. Liberal arts programs are designed to help you codify compelling arguments, communicate well and solve problems.

Studying liberal arts can equip you lot "with a myriad of colors to pigment with to create a vibrant career picture," said Torian Parker, a career advisor at Southern New Hampshire Academy (SNHU). That's considering the degree programs are designed to develop soft skills such as:

• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Critical Thinking
• Effective communication

"With these skills, liberal arts (majors) take a unique opportunity to enter varying career paths through a holistic approach," Parker said. Earning a liberal arts caste can be an effective way to testify employers y'all have the skills necessary to be an asset in a range of fields.

What Exactly Does Liberal Arts Hateful?

Liberal arts is a broad term that can be encompass everything from theater arts to economics.

As a discipline, these subjects are intended to give you general cognition and the ability to think critically and acquire any subject – instead of specific skills needed for a technical profession. Instead, liberal arts sharpen your research, writing and disquisitional thinking skills.

As to what you tin can do with a degree in liberal arts, the benefits go far beyond the specific bailiwick knowledge from a detail degree. When information technology'southward fourth dimension to enter the job market, liberal arts majors accept a huge assortment of possibilities available to them, including many in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stalk) and business.

What is a Liberal Arts Degree Good For?

With further training, nearly all liberal arts degrees can lead to careers in education, allowing graduates –  with the right qualifications – to share their passion with others. These degrees also lend themselves well to further studies and enquiry. Many liberal arts majors are likewise interested in giving dorsum and connecting with people, which leads them to careers in politics, public service and other helping professions.

These are some of the more than traditional paths for liberal arts majors, but graduates can be found in nearly all industries and professions. Their ability to call back critically, adapt rapidly and solve problems is in demand in Stalk and business fields where liberal arts graduates may find their niche in areas such every bit marketing, sales, strategy or relationship-driven work such as customer relations and business relationship direction.

Their skills in reading, research and making complex information digestible tin help them get up to speed quickly on technical subjects, even when they may not have a formal technical groundwork.

Liberal arts majors often know how to connect with others and tin can excel at adding the "human touch" to whichever field they enter. "Liberal arts (majors) arroyo problems in the workplace and the world from a unique vantage indicate past tapping into the humanistic qualities and dynamics at times overlooked due to a narrowed and single arroyo to problem-solving," Parker said.

What Jobs Can You Go with a Liberal Arts Degree?

Y'all can look forward to entering a number of careers in business, government, teaching and healthcare thank you to the transferable skills a liberal arts education provides. Below are some popular majors and career paths you can consider.

Advice

With a advice caste, you tin can learn key skills to work in industries such as journalism, public relations, advertising and more. Coursework in public speaking and graphic design helps you lot come to work prepared to deliver presentations, create publications and reports, and convey messages through digital media.

Some jobs in the communications field include:

• Advert, Promotions and Marketing Manager: Boost interest in various products and services beyond industries as an advertising, promotions or marketing manager. Professionals in these roles programme paid advertising campaigns across radio, tv set, spider web and other media; develop corporate or product-based websites and create promotional campaigns. The median annual salary for advertising, promotions and marketing managers was $141,490 in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
• Graphic Designer: Are you able to tell a compelling story through infographics and photography? Graphic designers draw upon their inventiveness and artistic skills to create visual concepts for corporate websites, media outlets and print publications. They earned a median annual bacon of $53,380 in 2020, according to BLS.
• Public Relations Specialist: Are you lot interested in shaping the public perception of a company, organization or product? Drawing upon their strong speaking and writing skills, public relations professionals craft media releases and develop social media programs to increase awareness and measure engagement. They earned a median annual salary of $62,810 in 2020, co-ordinate to BLS.

Discover what else you tin can do with a communications degree.

English language

English caste majors specializing in English language language and literature take courses in history, social science and literary theory and are prepared for jobs as writers, historians or museum curators. With related paths such as a available's in creative writing or journalism, you can focus on storytelling in nonfiction, news, fiction, screenwriting or poetry genres.

The curriculum is also designed to prepare you for jobs in public relations, film, theater and advertising, to proper noun a few.

Some jobs in the field include:

• Editor: Practice you lot showroom strong writing skills and attention to particular? Editors work in a variety of industries and support both print and online publications. They earned a median salary of $63,400 in 2020, according to BLS.
• Technical Writer: Technical writers create pedagogy manuals, spider web content and other supporting documents for products and services. They earned a median bacon of $74,650 in 2020, according to BLS.

Discover what else you tin can do with an English caste.

History

Understanding the past is key to helping organizations interpret significant historical events and prepare for the hereafter. Drawing upon your strong enquiry and analytical skills, you may exist able to work every bit a curator, historical interpreter or policy counselor with the assistance of a history degree.

Although history majors oft work in politics, they are also qualified to piece of work in other roles in business, journalism, law or education. A major in history can prepare you for police school, also.

Some jobs in the history field include:

• Archivist, Curator and Museum Worker: Archivists review, process, itemize and preserve historically valuable records. Curators oversee art collections and historical artifacts and may present their inquiry on behalf of an institution. Museum technicians and conservators restore objects and documents and prepare museum collections and exhibits, according to BLS. They earned a median bacon of $52,140 in 2020, according to BLS.
• Historian: Historians enquiry, clarify, interpret and write about the past by studying historical documents and sources, according to BLS. You lot tin can observe work in museums, archives, historical societies and research organizations. Historians earned a median salary of $63,100 in 2020, co-ordinate to BLS.

Discover what else you tin exercise with a history caste.

Psychology

The report of the human mind, a psychology degree focuses on human behavior and how to apply concepts to social and organizational issues that touch on us globally. You can look forrard to pursuing roles in human resource, marketplace enquiry and social services. Some jobs in the field include:

• Human being Resource Specialist: If you are interested in resolving employee conflicts, interviewing, hiring and retaining employees, you might enjoy working as a human resource specialist. To exist successful, you need strong interpersonal and communication skills. Human resources specialists earned a median salary of $63,490 in 2020, according to BLS.
  Marketplace Research Analyst: Strong analytical and critical thinking skills help market research analysts determine what products people want, who volition buy them and what cost they are willing to pay. They earned a median bacon of $65,810 in 2020, according to BLS.
• Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder and Mental Health Counselor: In this role, you lot can help individuals recover from alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, mental health issues or other mental or behavioral issues. They earned a median salary of $47,660 in 2020, according to BLS. Additional education and licensure is commonly required for these roles.

Discover what else you tin can do with a psychology degree.

Folklore

Focused on social behavior and how people behave in groups, sociology coursework includes history, faith, geography and social science research, to proper name a few. In this field, y'all can gain an sympathise of gild'due south historical, economic and political issues and how people can work together to solve problems. Roles open to sociology majors include jobs in social services, criminal justice or public health. Some positions in the field include:

• Health Educators and Community Health Worker: To exist successful in one of these roles, y'all need strong interpersonal and communications skills to develop and evaluate health programs and create materials on diverse health topics. Health educators and community health workers work in hospitals, government and non-profit organizations. They earned a median annual bacon of $48,140 in 2020, according to BLS.
• Social and Community Service Manager: Working in one of the "helping professions" requires you to identify and evaluate programs that run across the needs of special populations such as veterans, the elderly or children. You lot may likewise focus on serving people affected by substance abuse or poverty. They earned a median annual salary of $69,600 in 2020, according to BLS.

Discover what else you can do with a sociology degree.

What are the Benefits of a Liberal Arts Instruction?

Pursuing a degree in the liberal arts helps you succeed in a fast-paced earth that requires individuals to develop creative solutions today to solve the complex challenges of the future.

It's no surprise, then, that business leaders are speaking out in defense of these foundational subjects. Harvard Business Review looked at three books about how the humanities prepare students. Humanities, the books' authors contended, are about the ability to acquire, enquire the correct questions, identify the real problem and never lose sight of existent human needs.

An Associate of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) survey plant that the learning outcomes of contemporary liberal teaching, including the liberal arts, are valued as "somewhat" or "very important" to nine out of 10 employers.

"Learners need a strong foundation in the liberal arts, which provides a foundation for enhancing their verbal and written communications, critical thinking and ethics for career success," said Tom Patria, a career advisor at SNHU.

Soft skills are essential to beingness a good leader, communicator and disquisitional thinker and are often developed in general teaching courses. The implications of a liberal arts background extend far across that, though.

Foreign languages teach another way to view language itself. This translates into an employee who can move seamlessly between computers, employers and customers, better understanding each perspective, limitations and needs. Philosophy encourages logic and inquiry, which translates into an employee who effectively assesses unexpected situations.

Does Liberal Arts Include Science?

Basic math and science are as well part of the traditional arts. The problem solving, analysis and ascertainment skills established in those subjects are essential for a lasting career when artificial intelligence (AI) and other new technologies are causing hereafter changes in the workplace.

The Hereafter of Liberal Arts in the Workforce

Consider this – the job market place changes quickly, and the most in-demand skills in the time to come may very well be the humanities. Automation and AI are affecting more than and more than industries. Only skills similar critical thinking, relationship-building and storytelling resist automation and will go along to be needed in the workforce.

The Humanities Indicators report from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences shows that the number of humanities degrees conferred in 2018 was ii% beneath the previous yr and fourteen.one% below the highest number of degrees conferred in a single year – dorsum in 2012. And yet, competencies developed through foundational subjects, such every bit getting a liberal arts degree, matter more than than ever.

Automation and AI accept limits considering of unanticipated nuances to a task or its man and emotional elements. AI needs capable humans to manage and pull the best from information technology.

Today'south highly digitized, AI-supported environments have a heightened need for employees with interpersonal skills, nimble minds and the power to work aslope motorcar learning.

AI is being used to a remarkable effect in nearly every sector. For case, companies in the healthcare and insurance industries can gather information to determine customers' rates via the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors that capture one'southward driving and lifestyle habits. A virtual claims adjuster can fifty-fifty minimize fraud equally it handles settlement and payment following an accident.

And yet, a frightened driver calling their motorcar insurance company from a ditch on the side of the highway wants to speak to a homo. That customer service representative must be able to heed sympathetically, get together the relevant information and clearly instruct the driver on immediate next steps. At that moment, the insurance company needs employees with problem-solving and communication skills.

In a doctor's office or hospital, AI tin can collect and process more comprehensive and authentic information than a human being could always hope to. Only rather than replace the nurses and office administrators, this automatic adequacy frees them to focus on what they do best — educating patients and providing unique back up and communication.

Force per unit area to compete for STEM careers continues to grow in a world increasingly supported by and reliant on engineering. Liberal arts studies emphasize enduring skills in an era when technology and automation will increasingly replace workers, according to Dr. Ruth Lahti, associate vice president of liberal arts and social sciences at SNHU.

Soft skills are still relevant in the workplace, and students who tin can demonstrate their creativity in areas such equally writing, communication, critical thinking and collaboration, will go on to be attractive to employers. There is a growing trend for experts in the "digital humanities," who tin can bring digital resource into their enquiry, teaching and publishing to brand scholarship more accessible to others, Lahti said.

Preparing for the Workforce

Although they're well-equipped for many dissimilar roles, liberal arts majors may have a less lucent road to the perfect job than some graduates. Hither are some suggestions for liberal arts majors entering the job market.

• Build Your Personal Brand: Liberal arts students are adept at storytelling and communicating complex ideas. When it's time to enter the task market place they need to harness tho
  se skills to tell their own story, and they can do that through establishing a personal brand.
• Diversify Your Skill Ready: Since liberal arts majors can be helpful in many fields, ane way to stand up out from other applicants is to learn new topics and skills transferrable to your industry or organization of interest. For example, if you're a communication major looking to work for a technology company, yous might consider edifice on your vocabulary and understanding of the field of study with an Information technology elective. Yous could besides subscribe to technology journals to stay up-to-engagement on industry news.
• Think Outside of the Box: Exist willing to explore different industries with an open listen and gain new skills and knowledge. Publishing houses are non the simply employer of English majors; your background and willingness to learn can exist beneficial in other job markets as well. "As a liberal arts major myself, how y'all utilise your educational activity to your career growth is entirely upwardly to you," saidRyan Bernier, a benefits specialist at SNHU and sometime career advisor.

Why Do Employers Like a Liberal Arts Education?

In his book, "You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Ability of a 'Useless' Liberal Arts Education," Forbes contributing editor George Anders writes that companies await for v key qualities in potential employees:

1. Eagerness to tackle uncharted areas
2. Ability to solve murky problems
3. Well-honed analytic methods
4. Keen awareness of group dynamics
5. Ability to inspire and persuade others

"It just seemed as if in that location was this tremendous disconnect between public rhetoric that said 'you've got to go the Stem road and there is no route just Stem,' and so all of these interesting new chore openings that were coming upward for people with liberal arts degrees," Anders said in a USA TODAY College story. "It was this hidden forcefulness of the economic system that nobody wanted to write virtually or talk about."

A caste can modify your life. Observe the SNHU liberal arts program that can best assistance you meet your goals.

Rebecca LeBoeuf 'eighteen is a writer at Southern New Hampshire University. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Source: https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/liberal-arts/what-is-a-liberal-arts-degree

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