Parents who don't allow their kids to major in liberal arts

[Anonymous]

Are doing them a major disservice. And fundamentally misunderstanding how a competitive economy works and will look like in 20 years
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/09/02/meet-the-parents-who-wont-let-their-children-study-literature/?

[Anonymous]

I liked the article too.

[Anonymous]

I did social science, sister is a lit major, dad was a surgeon, people should do what they are good at and work hard and smart- you'll figure out a way to have good life. This wa say dad's advice an i believe it- if you love what you do and work harder and better than everyone else you will succeed. If you don't, you won't. My husband majored in history/poli sic and makes 3x more than my cousin who is a business major.

[Anonymous]

College is NOT a vocational school that should read.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, being able to write well is a critical skill in any job, it just isn't enough in and of itself.

I say excel in whatever undergraduate major you possibly can (philosophy, whatever it is) and then and minor in something technical at least and then decide on grad school.

[Anonymous]

I think a liberal arts degree is fine as long as the student as an idea of where it's going to lead. So if after freshman year, the student gets an internship and gets some actual work experience, that great. But if at the end of freshman year, all the accounting majors are getting internships but the liberal arts majors are not, that's a problem.

Someone with more experience just needs to be guiding the student to an actual career.

[Anonymous]

I am a philosophy major, and the number of times I get a smug look and a comment of, "What are you gonna do with that? Work at McDonalds?" mostly from older men... ugh.

I usually respond with an obviously fake laugh and "Yeah, everyone says that." (It's funny to watch their face fall because, inexplicably, they all seem to think they came up with the McDonalds joke on their own and it's not widespread)


Jokes on them though. My dad is also a philosophy major and makes in the upper six figures. I'm not there yet but already work from home and earn a few thousand per month (and it increases each month- I own my own business).

I cannot with the judgmental attitudes so many have towards the liberal arts. And I am so happy that I decided to go with something I love instead of following the prescribed path. Do what fulfills you, the money will follow.

[Anonymous]

These articles are so misleading. So you have an English degree from an Ivy or SLAC and got a 6 figure job out of college - whoop dee doo! What about the English major who went to community college then to a 3rd tier state university? Many of them are better off majoring in something practical.

[Anonymous]

I was a liberal arts major (English) and now out earn many of my business major friends. They earned more right out of college, I earn more in middle age.

[Anonymous]

If you get a non-vocational liberal arts degree, expect to go to graduate or professional school to be able to earn a living. Whatever you do, do not borrow an enormous amount of money and then complain that you can't make enough with your history degree to pay back your loans.

[Anonymous]

And, I went to a small not nationally ranked liberal arts college. My friends went to comparable public colleges; I learned how to write, read quickly, and think critically--and have been to easily keep up with technology.

[Anonymous]

Don't all degree fields teach critical thinking? Is that really specific to liberal arts? I don't know anyone with a college degree who feels they missed out on the critical thinking portion of their college education.

[Anonymous]

I literally know dozens of people who earned liberal arts degrees and couldn't find work after graduating. Everyone learns critical thinking as an undergraduate but you'd better learn some vocational skills while you are at it. You are doubly screwed if you borrowed a load of money to attend a private school unless you come from a wealthy family and don't have loans to pay back.

[Anonymous]

It is at the very least fair to say you need to consider the amount of debt you are taking on when you pick your degree.

[Anonymous]

This is an interesting topic to me - We were at Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida a couple of weeks ago and I sat across from a guy at dinner who does all the executive level hiring for a large company based in Jacksonville. He said the trend now is swinging towards a preference for liberal arts majors. He said he can teach things specific to his industry, but he can't teach people to write. And the ability to write well is the most important thing. His experience is that liberal arts majors are better writers and better at thinking critically and solving complex problems.

Of course that's just one company. I'm sure there are examples of hiring managers who don't like liberal arts majors. I just thought it was interesting because his company is definitely what most would consider techy.