As a history major, I often find myself looked down upon when it comes to my intellect or ambition because of the major I decided to pursue. Coming from a STEM dominated university conversations about my major can often be followed with a lot of condescending remarks and so I compiled a few of my favorite questions I have been asked thus far and my response to them.
1. "Don't you feel like you're wasting your money?"
From Political Science to Journalism ANY college degree is worth getting these days. Just because a major is not a typical STEM one doesn't mean that there is no successful future in sight. Fun fact - the CEO's of Starbucks, Youtube, HBO, Wholefoods, and Chipotle all have Liberal Arts degrees!
2. "What can you even do with that degree?"
There are plenty of jobs today that are successful that don't require a biology or engineering degree. Assuming that someone not in the STEM field has no direction is like assuming that every single person in STEM knows exactly what they're doing.
3. "You chose it because it's easy, right?"
NO! Calc and Orgo aren't the only difficult classes on campus! Sit down and have a talk with a friend who is an English or History or literally any non-stem major and ask them what their courseloads look like this semester. The work that you do for Bio and the work you do for English are different, of course, but different doesn't always mean easier!
4. "Do you even have finals?"
Ugh. Yes. Goodbye.
5. "Is that even a REAL major?"
Is this even a real question?? Of course! There are hundreds of majors to explore in college and it would be disadvantageous to not take the opportunity to look into the one you really want to spend thousands of dollars on.
6. "Oh, so you're going to be a teacher?"
So this question is not inherently a negative question but for some reason it is the question I get asked ALL THE TIME. The assumption that being a History or English major means that the only job you could possibly get is a teacher and more than just being condescending, it's just annoying after explaining for the sixth time that NO. I do not want to be a teacher!
So there you have it, 6 questions you shouldn't ask a liberal arts major. Here is one final question though anyone should ask themselves whether they are a STEM major or not. "Do I enjoy what I am studying?"
School is hard enough already no matter what you study. Choosing something you actually enjoy makes it a bit more bearable. Maybe that's why liberal arts majors make it look so easy. College is all about getting to try different things and explore new passions, don't be afraid to pursue a degree that you enjoy no matter what anyone else says!
