What are recent liberal arts majors doing now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the feedback, although it is not so encouraging! DC will be attending a good state school, not an elite private university, and no moneyed family to fall back on. He did choose state school for undergrad so that there would be something left in the 529 for grad school. He won't have undergrad debt. Law school is an obvious choice, but what other graduate degrees do humanities types pursue to make them more employable outside of academia (assuming he doesn't choose that path)?

Honestly? What's done is done. He's either already enrolled or about to, right? Let him enjoy college and grow up and figure it out. He'll have advisors and classmates to consult with. He doesn't need his parents for this. It's all part of growing up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several of my friends with such degrees are relying on wealthy parents and volunteering. A few are working low paying jobs in non profits. I have an engineering degree, had much more luck finding work quickly. class of 2013.

Our children relied on wealthy parents and grandparents and volunteered and may very well end up working low paying jobs in non profits. And what of it? That's the beauty of coming from money -- you don't have to major in something you don't want or take a job that doesn't interest you for the money. And it's important that people volunteer because they're doing important work.

Our children would be very, very unhappy as engineers no matter what they were paid.

I completely agree. Science is not for everyone. I absolutely agree that society can benefit from more volunteers. However, without the luxury of wealthy parents, I believe it is important to understand the pros and cons of liberal arts education. Without strong networks, it would be very difficult to find a well paying - or any - job that would related to their education or would be interesting. I know many people who payed 100k for education and are now working as low level staff in non profits, performing simple tasks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the feedback, although it is not so encouraging! DC will be attending a good state school, not an elite private university, and no moneyed family to fall back on. He did choose state school for undergrad so that there would be something left in the 529 for grad school. He won't have undergrad debt. Law school is an obvious choice, but what other graduate degrees do humanities types pursue to make them more employable outside of academia (assuming he doesn't choose that path)?

Honestly? What's done is done. He's either already enrolled or about to, right? Let him enjoy college and grow up and figure it out. He'll have advisors and classmates to consult with. He doesn't need his parents for this. It's all part of growing up.

+1. I would not agree with the above if the child is taking on student debt though.

[Anonymous]

'06 graduate of a SLAC, social science major. I now have a PhD from a major research university and direct a department at a nationally-recognized non-profit. I work with a guy who graduated two years after me, also a social science major, and he is very well compensated as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:'06 graduate of a SLAC, social science major. I now have a PhD from a major research university and direct a department at a nationally-recognized non-profit. I work with a guy who graduated two years after me, also a social science major, and he is very well compensated as well.

Is he well endowed though

[Anonymous]

PR, communications, policy work, sales, project management, there's lot's of directions someone like this can go. Intern, get experience, and a demonstrable ability to write and produce quality work product. The breadth of types of work happening in corporate in America can be astounding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:'06 graduate of a SLAC, social science major. I now have a PhD from a major research university and direct a department at a nationally-recognized non-profit. I work with a guy who graduated two years after me, also a social science major, and he is very well compensated as well.

Is he well endowed though

Not like an Executive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PR, communications, policy work, sales, project management, there's lot's of directions someone like this can go. Intern, get experience, and a demonstrable ability to write and produce quality work product. The breadth of types of work happening in corporate in America can be astounding.

I agree with this. It's not as cut and dry as people are making it sound.

[Anonymous]

English major- I worked on federal policy and regulations for 5 years, then reviewing legal documents and FOIA, now onto my new job as a financial analyst. 80k.

Loved math as a kid, but had no clue there were careers in math. Engineering would have been an excellent fit, but chemistry and bio turned me off of all sciences in high school.

[Anonymous]

My DH's undergrad degree is economics. He is a programmer/statistician (masters in statistics).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 25yo nephew graduated three years ago with a Philosophy degree. He is making $80k as a new reporter working for a MY publication after having changed jobs twice (he was recruited for this job by someone he met in his first job).

My niece with an English degree is working for a financial services company doing PR. She is 25yo and makes about $60k with excellent benefits.

I find it odd that you know your niece's and nephew's salaries and benefits. Tacky for them or their parents to tell you, or tacky for you to ask. We have no idea what our own kids are making, yet again our siblings' kids.

You come from an uptight family.

Quite the opposite. We are a family that doesn't focus on salary to measure success and that doesn't encourage our children to either.

But even if we weren't, how many people on this board know their nieces' and nephews' salaries and benefits? Seriously. That's weird. Sorry.

NP here -- We don't measure success by salary, but I knew my son's salary during the 3 years he worked for a not-for=profit organization before starting med school. This subject came up because he occasionally asked for advice about financial matters. Although I grew up in a family that never talked about money, my husband's family was more open about it. In my view, their approach was saner and helped my husband and his sibs develop good financial skills. (BTW, my FIL was a college professor, so, again, money was not their measure of success.) I think our marriage and family benefited because we adopted this more open approach to talking about financial matters with each other and with our kids.

Ok . . . but the salaries and benefits of nieces and nephews?

Sure. Lots of people talk about starting salaries. I know the starting salaries of several of my DDs friends because we compare notes about what the kids are doing. Parents have told me what their kids are earning. Not in a bragging way at all -just sharing info. We are talking starting salaries not mid career. And I knew what my nephew's starting salary was last year along with perks (3 meals a day, health club, education benefits, etc.) It's at Google so the benefits are pretty well known.

This falls into the category of "get a life." When we talk to our kids about what their friends are doing, our reaction is typically "that's nice, good for her," not "how much money is she making?" It's just not a question that's ever occurred to us to ask.

I'm not asking the question about starting salaries. And frankly it's usually shared in the context of how difficult it is to live on said salary, or why the kid is living at home. The kids share this info because it's relevant to them - what can they earn in various jobs. It's great that your kids are above all this but for most kids in expensive urban areas the $ are important.

[Anonymous]

This is all very interesting information. But, the fact of the matter is that the liberal arts are here to stay. Much has been written about its demise but certain graduate schools and professions do thrive on the LA and students who do well in undergrad find jobs and/or go onto to grad or law school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 25yo nephew graduated three years ago with a Philosophy degree. He is making $80k as a new reporter working for a MY publication after having changed jobs twice (he was recruited for this job by someone he met in his first job).

My niece with an English degree is working for a financial services company doing PR. She is 25yo and makes about $60k with excellent benefits.

I find it odd that you know your niece's and nephew's salaries and benefits. Tacky for them or their parents to tell you, or tacky for you to ask. We have no idea what our own kids are making, yet again our siblings' kids.

You come from an uptight family.

Quite the opposite. We are a family that doesn't focus on salary to measure success and that doesn't encourage our children to either.

But even if we weren't, how many people on this board know their nieces' and nephews' salaries and benefits? Seriously. That's weird. Sorry.

NP here -- We don't measure success by salary, but I knew my son's salary during the 3 years he worked for a not-for=profit organization before starting med school. This subject came up because he occasionally asked for advice about financial matters. Although I grew up in a family that never talked about money, my husband's family was more open about it. In my view, their approach was saner and helped my husband and his sibs develop good financial skills. (BTW, my FIL was a college professor, so, again, money was not their measure of success.) I think our marriage and family benefited because we adopted this more open approach to talking about financial matters with each other and with our kids.

Ok . . . but the salaries and benefits of nieces and nephews?

Sure. Lots of people talk about starting salaries. I know the starting salaries of several of my DDs friends because we compare notes about what the kids are doing. Parents have told me what their kids are earning. Not in a bragging way at all -just sharing info. We are talking starting salaries not mid career. And I knew what my nephew's starting salary was last year along with perks (3 meals a day, health club, education benefits, etc.) It's at Google so the benefits are pretty well known.

This falls into the category of "get a life." When we talk to our kids about what their friends are doing, our reaction is typically "that's nice, good for her," not "how much money is she making?" It's just not a question that's ever occurred to us to ask.

I'm not asking the question about starting salaries. And frankly it's usually shared in the context of how difficult it is to live on said salary, or why the kid is living at home. The kids share this info because it's relevant to them - what can they earn in various jobs. It's great that your kids are above all this but for most kids in expensive urban areas the $ are important.

+1

My liberal arts grad son asked me for advice on negotiating his salary for his second job out of school. I helped him with an approach, research on what the field pays, etc.

It is a real concern for the vast majority of recent grads (and the rest of us too).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 25yo nephew graduated three years ago with a Philosophy degree. He is making $80k as a new reporter working for a MY publication after having changed jobs twice (he was recruited for this job by someone he met in his first job).

My niece with an English degree is working for a financial services company doing PR. She is 25yo and makes about $60k with excellent benefits.

I find it odd that you know your niece's and nephew's salaries and benefits. Tacky for them or their parents to tell you, or tacky for you to ask. We have no idea what our own kids are making, yet again our siblings' kids.

You come from an uptight family.

Quite the opposite. We are a family that doesn't focus on salary to measure success and that doesn't encourage our children to either.

But even if we weren't, how many people on this board know their nieces' and nephews' salaries and benefits? Seriously. That's weird. Sorry.

NP here -- We don't measure success by salary, but I knew my son's salary during the 3 years he worked for a not-for=profit organization before starting med school. This subject came up because he occasionally asked for advice about financial matters. Although I grew up in a family that never talked about money, my husband's family was more open about it. In my view, their approach was saner and helped my husband and his sibs develop good financial skills. (BTW, my FIL was a college professor, so, again, money was not their measure of success.) I think our marriage and family benefited because we adopted this more open approach to talking about financial matters with each other and with our kids.

Ok . . . but the salaries and benefits of nieces and nephews?

Sure. Lots of people talk about starting salaries. I know the starting salaries of several of my DDs friends because we compare notes about what the kids are doing. Parents have told me what their kids are earning. Not in a bragging way at all -just sharing info. We are talking starting salaries not mid career. And I knew what my nephew's starting salary was last year along with perks (3 meals a day, health club, education benefits, etc.) It's at Google so the benefits are pretty well known.

This falls into the category of "get a life." When we talk to our kids about what their friends are doing, our reaction is typically "that's nice, good for her," not "how much money is she making?" It's just not a question that's ever occurred to us to ask.

I'm not asking the question about starting salaries. And frankly it's usually shared in the context of how difficult it is to live on said salary, or why the kid is living at home. The kids share this info because it's relevant to them - what can they earn in various jobs. It's great that your kids are above all this but for most kids in expensive urban areas the $ are important.

+1

My liberal arts grad son asked me for advice on negotiating his salary for his second job out of school. I helped him with an approach, research on what the field pays, etc.

It is a real concern for the vast majority of recent grads (and the rest of us too).

SON. Not NIECE or NEPHEW. Not sure how many times I have to say this.

[Anonymous]

OP- someone strong in the humanities would do well as an intelligence analyst for the NSA/FBI/CIA etc, knowing how to think about information and write clearly about it are skills that will transfer