Liberal arts offer many job opportunities
Qureshi, Furrah
Issue date: 1/11/08 Section: Ed-Op
The funny thing about being an English major is that everyone I meet wants to write a novel. Not just that, they all want to write the great American novel. And writing it isn't the problem, the problem is publishing it, and the bigger problem is what to do until it's published.
That big problem, what to do before our literary stardom, is also known as a career; unfortunately, it is sort of necessary in life. Long gone are the days of "the Philosophes" and their cafés of The Enlightenment. We can't just grow up to be interesting and expect rich people with jobs and mansions to pay for us to hang around them (though I nevertheless plan to attempt this later in my life). Since we are confronted with impending careers as well as plagued with futility, people like me become liberal arts majors.
As soon as I dedicated myself to liberal arts, I was instantly accosted with predictions of joblessness and poverty. For some reason there is a perception that subjects with liberal arts backing (philosophy, English, history, etc.) are not useful to society, thus not valid. Everyone likes creativity and the arts, but nobody wants their kids to pursue them.
I think it fit to first dispel the rumors of futility. The best instance of a humanities major combating the notion of joblessness is when Tim Lemire wrote I'm an English Major Now What?, a book about the plethora of opportunities for people with highly developed critical reasoning skills.
To write a book on how people say you can never write a book - what a lovely conundrum. The liberal arts are not just key for the small fraction of published authors; grad schools love to see a critical thinker.
A survey of medical schools, sponsored by the Modern Language Association, asked if it was ordinarily possible for an undergraduate "both to meet your entrance requirements and complete an English major?" All who responded answered yes. An array of jobs in marketing, advertising and journalism are available for liberal arts majors. Since all of our parents constantly dissuaded us from doing the things we actually wanted to do, there are less of us and more jobs.
That big problem, what to do before our literary stardom, is also known as a career; unfortunately, it is sort of necessary in life. Long gone are the days of "the Philosophes" and their cafés of The Enlightenment. We can't just grow up to be interesting and expect rich people with jobs and mansions to pay for us to hang around them (though I nevertheless plan to attempt this later in my life). Since we are confronted with impending careers as well as plagued with futility, people like me become liberal arts majors.
As soon as I dedicated myself to liberal arts, I was instantly accosted with predictions of joblessness and poverty. For some reason there is a perception that subjects with liberal arts backing (philosophy, English, history, etc.) are not useful to society, thus not valid. Everyone likes creativity and the arts, but nobody wants their kids to pursue them.
I think it fit to first dispel the rumors of futility. The best instance of a humanities major combating the notion of joblessness is when Tim Lemire wrote I'm an English Major Now What?, a book about the plethora of opportunities for people with highly developed critical reasoning skills.
To write a book on how people say you can never write a book - what a lovely conundrum. The liberal arts are not just key for the small fraction of published authors; grad schools love to see a critical thinker.
A survey of medical schools, sponsored by the Modern Language Association, asked if it was ordinarily possible for an undergraduate "both to meet your entrance requirements and complete an English major?" All who responded answered yes. An array of jobs in marketing, advertising and journalism are available for liberal arts majors. Since all of our parents constantly dissuaded us from doing the things we actually wanted to do, there are less of us and more jobs.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
brandon
posted 1/13/08 @ 11:41 PM EST
Wow, well said.
G.B.
posted 1/14/08 @ 8:45 PM EST
I'm sending this to my mom.
lee-ann.
posted 3/02/09 @ 9:59 PM EST
thank you, for this article. i'm an undergrad who's always wanted to write her book, though not necesarrily the great american novel, and i was seriously contemplating giving up the liberal arts stream for the sheer practicality of it. (Continued…)
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