Reply to Trying to Find a Balance Between Pre-Professionalism And The Liberal Arts

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[quote=Anonymous]In parent times, at Pitt and Penn State, the business majors definitely had a pre-professional vibe.  Also pre-meds and pre-law.  Anyone with a focus on that first job being really great or knowing what grad schools require.

I dropped the business side of a then-required Pitt dual business and liberal arts degree program so I could take more liberal arts classes.  But I'd planned on a top MBA program after working even before I got to college.

Back then, I viewed small LACs as somewhat fancy and indulgent, better for kids who didn't expect to worry about money and jobs.

I think preprofessional vibes emerge during times of economic stress and heightened job market competition.  Most of us realize that college education is a personal development journey and training process.  Much of what you learn doesn't get daily use, regardless of major. So I believe that both the traditional liberal arts education and many of the preprofessional vibe majors can get someone to the same place intellectually if they are a robust, curious thinker.  That said, new liberal arts graduates often face a higher burden of proof.  There really are a lot of pluses to looking practical and analytical and career- focused on paper at the very beginning of a career. Choice of majors signals that.

I actually think choosing a major like English or Political Science communicates more bravely now: suggesting interest in thinking, writing, and the wider world.  I hope there are lots of employers who respect that kind of person.  Most of the long-term studies I've seen show that after about 10 years or so so, the top liberal arts grads are in a good place vs. other majors. But I do wonder if past results re: CEO majors will remain the same because BBA degrees have been increasing over the past 2 decades.[/quote]

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