Throughout the years, degrees in the humanities and liberal arts (English, history, art, languages, philosophy, psychology, women's studies, etc.) have been generally looked down upon by society. They've been viewed as being worth less than degrees in areas like STEM, business, and medicine because those areas are the ones that will almost definitely lead to high-paying, sustainable jobs.
While people with liberal arts degrees don't always start out in the highest paying jobs right after college, a 2016 Wall Street Journal article found that "once people reach their peak-earnings ages of 56 to 60, liberal-arts majors are earning an average $66,185...that’s about 3% ahead of the earnings pace for people with degrees in vocational fields such as nursing and accounting."
The fact that I'm getting a liberal arts degree doesn't mean that I'll never get a wonderful career or that I won't be successful. Take it from some of these people who you probably didn't know have liberal arts degrees:
1. Conan O'Brien - American History
Television host, producer, comedian
2. Natalie Portman - Psychology
Actress, producer, director
3. Joan Cusack - English
Actress
4. Steve Carell - History
Actor, comedian, writer, director, producer
5. Howard Schultz - Communications
Starbucks CEO, businessman
6. Mitt Romney - English
Politician, businessman
7. Michael Jordan - Geography
Former basketball player, businessman
8. Oprah Winfrey - Communications
Talk show host, producer, actress, entrepreneur, philanthropist
9. Ted Turner - Classics
Founder of CNN, businessman, philanthropist
10. Ricky Gervais - Philosophy
Comedian, writer, actor, producer, director, musician