Would you let your child study liberal arts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Straight up English major here. Employed for decades. Doing what I love to do.

And the bonus is a great salary.

Definitely telling our kids to consider as they consider what they will study in college that investment in education should help take them to a career they love but also provides well for them.

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And before anyone flames me for being an English major who added a comment with with typos let me translate. We are definitely telling our kids as they consider what they want to study in college, they should ask how engaged are they in the subject? Is it something they enjoy? Love? Or just something they are good at/and might lead to a great salary but not really interesting?

And yes, a major that leads to a career that helps them provide well for themselves is essential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am unsure if I want to finance a college education if he will come out with only a B.A. in some liberal arts discipline. I'd hate the thought of him suffering with unemployment and a low paid career.

What do you think?

If DC plans to major in something pre-professional I'm going to require them to double in an arts or humanities area if they want me to keep paying. DC is generally humanistically inclined, so it wouldn't be much of a stretch. If DC were more technically inclined I might think differently, but no way am I forking over college tuition without some pure, 'impractical' learning involved. Thinking and reading and writing have inherent value that I am not willing to let DC pass up during the narrow window of life designated for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am unsure if I want to finance a college education if he will come out with only a B.A. in some liberal arts discipline. I'd hate the thought of him suffering with unemployment and a low paid career.

What do you think?

What is the matter with you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am unsure if I want to finance a college education if he will come out with only a B.A. in some liberal arts discipline. I'd hate the thought of him suffering with unemployment and a low paid career.

What do you think?

My liberal arts niece was recruited by a top consulting firm months before she graduated college. Her starting salary is in six figures. Her sister who majored in biochemistry two years ago, still trying to get into a medical school. Even if she get in next year, still 4 years of no income and then at least 3 years of low income.

[Anonymous]

Of course. We need all the well-rounded critical thinkers we can get right now.

[Anonymous]

STEM is a more straight and guaranteed path, liberal arts can be a hit or miss. At full pay, ROI is different than someone getting a free or low cost degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am unsure if I want to finance a college education if he will come out with only a B.A. in some liberal arts discipline. I'd hate the thought of him suffering with unemployment and a low paid career.

What do you think?

My liberal arts niece was recruited by a top consulting firm months before she graduated college. Her starting salary is in six figures. Her sister who majored in biochemistry two years ago, still trying to get into a medical school. Even if she get in next year, still 4 years of no income and then at least 3 years of low income.

Four years of no income and high COA, isn't free so in 4 years loosing $400k+ income and likely spending $250-400K, may round up to a million.

[Anonymous]

Maybe? We can pay for college so the kid wouldn’t be in debt - but college is the extent of our help. We won’t be able to pay for a house or finance their lifestyle in adulthood, so I would let them do it as long as they understood the earning potential and what that means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe? We can pay for college so the kid wouldn’t be in debt - but college is the extent of our help. We won’t be able to pay for a house or finance their lifestyle in adulthood, so I would let them do it as long as they understood the earning potential and what that means.

Good education is the best gift a parent can offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe? We can pay for college so the kid wouldn’t be in debt - but college is the extent of our help. We won’t be able to pay for a house or finance their lifestyle in adulthood, so I would let them do it as long as they understood the earning potential and what that means.

You don’t have to. They’ll build their own life according to their own income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course. My DD is an anthropology major but pre-health so so taking all pre requisites to go to PA school.

DS is a foreign affairs and history double major. He also will be fluent in at least one language when he graduates.

I’m quite certain both will be able to lucrative jobs. I am also a liberal arts graduate who has been well employed my entire life.

Your daughter should the study of Global Health, at a grad school of public health.

I think she would really like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:STEM is a more straight and guaranteed path, liberal arts can be a hit or miss. At full pay, ROI is different than someone getting a free or low cost degree.

There are plenty of posts on there about how useless a bachelors egree in biology is (e.g., lab jobs demand long hours and pay very little), as well as laments about how hard jobs are for PhD's in the basic sciences (e.g., few tenure track positions anymore, very low paying post-doc positions required, constant struggle to get grants). So, I think you are exaggerating what a "golden ticket" STEM degrees are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course. My DD is an anthropology major but pre-health so so taking all pre requisites to go to PA school.

DS is a foreign affairs and history double major. He also will be fluent in at least one language when he graduates.

I’m quite certain both will be able to lucrative jobs. I am also a liberal arts graduate who has been well employed my entire life.

Your daughter should the study of Global Health, at a grad school of public health.

I think she would really like it.

I am steering her a bit to public health, thanks for the suggestion!

[Anonymous]

Yes! Both my husband and I are Liberal Arts majors. Loved it. Learned how to think critically, write well, and articulate views. We are both very successful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes! Both my husband and I are Liberal Arts majors. Loved it. Learned how to think critically, write well, and articulate views. We are both very successful.

Daughter is a liberal arts major from Princeton. Very successful now . Finished Princeton in 3 years. Not sure she is a good person to refer to. She e dan do virtually anything when she sets her mind to it. I didn't push her or ever monitor her grades or studies. If I couldn't add value, I focused on other aspects of parenting. And I sure didn't have anything to add academically to her