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While many universities focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, strong liberal arts college programs prepare students for a broader range of life experiences. Colleges with a focus on liberal arts often include smaller classrooms and greater attention to undergraduates, giving students a chance to closely interact with professors and other students through open dialog and in-depth writing assignments.
Despite what many people believe, a strong liberal arts education can be quite lucrative and lead to advanced education in specialized subjects such as economics or natural science. One third of all CEOs of fortune 500 companies majored in a liberal arts subject. These disciplines promote critical thinking, cultural awareness, qualitative analysis, debate and reasoning skills, communication and grammar. While a liberal arts degree doesn’t prepare students for a technical career in engineering or computer science, it can easily translate to a position in journalism, marketing, business, research or education.
For students who don’t plan to pursue post-graduate education and aren’t interested in STEM subjects, a liberal arts college is usually a better choice than an ivy league degree. Famous ivy league colleges tend to focus on research and graduate students while ignoring undergraduates.
Types of Jobs Available to Liberal Arts Graduates
Employers who need to fill non-technical positions say that they look for candidates with skills acquired through a strong liberal arts education, such as communication skills and critical thinking abilities. While in the past, liberal arts graduates may have had to accept jobs unrelated to their majors, they’re increasingly finding work for which they directly received training in college. Liberal arts majors often find employment in economics, government, social sciences, psychology and other humanties-related occupations.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, liberal arts majors have about the same chance of finding ideal employment as other majors, although they may need to be more persistent during a job search. Liberal arts majors’ strong communication skills give them a particular advantage during an interview as employers tend to remember and hire candidates who express their ideas clearly and show passion for their areas of expertise.
Choosing a Liberal Arts Major and Career Path
While a liberal arts degree can prepare students for a broader range of career choices, graduates often start their careers with a lower salary and may spend more time searching for employment. However, the number of liberal arts graduates successfully finding work is increasing, and most liberal arts graduates say they feel extremely happy and satisfied with their career and education.
It’s important to have a very clear idea of your career plans after college because you’ll need to start your job search as early as possible. The best decision you can make as a liberal arts major is to choose the subject that interests you most. Your passion will be evident in your job search and lead to excellent, memorable job interviews.
With the job market constantly changing and certain skill sets becoming more relevant than others, there is always a demand for liberal arts graduates. When considering strong liberal arts college programs, take the time to learn your personal interests, strengths and weaknesses.
Related Resource: Liberal Arts College Rankings
