As a proud history major, I’ve always been an unabashed fan of the liberal arts. I know for certain that I learned essential critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills that proved invaluable in my legal and higher education careers. In recent years, however, the value of a liberal arts education has come into doubt. Many well intentioned parents urge their children to pursue business or STEM majors assuming there will be greater job and career security in these fields. “Who will hire an English major?” they ask? Well, it turns out that lots of people would. When I was at Georgetown University I recall the large banks and consultancies coming to campus every year to recruit. They were never there just to hire the business majors - they absolutely loved the liberal arts majors as well!
Still, many people remain unconvinced. Every year I can count on a certain number of parents insisting that their children major in STEM or business so as to be employable. I try to explain - sometimes successfully and sometimes not - that they will be employable with a liberal arts degree. Am I against business and STEM majors? Absolutely not! They teach essential skills and are the right choice for many students whose interests and talents lie in those areas. But what about the student who is neither interested in nor particularly strong in those fields? Should they be encouraged to pursue those majors anyway? My answer has always been a steadfast NO. Students should pursue their interests and, with few exceptions, the employment opportunities will present themselves.
An article recently came out in Inc.com predicting the resurgence of liberal arts majors in 2020. It posits that the skills learned in these majors are less susceptible to automation than many of the STEM skills. It also brings up the fact that the essential critical thinking and other skills taught in these majors will be necessary to the future success of almost all businesses and professions. Here’s the link to the article. I do hope you’ll check it out!
