“What’s your major?” Although I’ve had to answer this question hundreds of times at this point as a junior, every occasion becomes more stressful than the last. As soon as I curtly answer “English,” the person I’m talking to seems to develop a smirk on their face. “So, you want to be a teacher?” They almost always reply. “No. I’ve just always been good at writing.” After this, various possible responses ensue. Some of the kinder strangers follow up with “That’s nice, I could never write as much as you do.” Others, who are convinced that a science or business degree is the only path to being employed in the future, reply with “Why would you study something that’s only meant for teachers?”
For those who condemn my choice of major, I have some cold, hard facts. According to a recent article published in the Washington Post, "there are roughly as many engineers and liberal arts majors in chief executive positions as business, accounting, and economic majors combined.” Although it may be easiest to choose a major that seems to have a direct path into the work force, this isn’t really true for any undergraduate major anymore. Today’s economy is shifting from one in which graduates and work a single job for forty years until they retire to one in which the average worker changes jobs about every five years. Because of this, it becomes more competitive to acquire a skill set that will allow you to work several different positions throughout your career, as opposed to selectively learning one skill.
It’s also important to remember (preferably before you smirk at the fact that I’ll graduate with a Bachelor of Arts next spring) that your major does not necessarily have to directly translate to your job. Although potential employers would like at least a loose link from the job they’re offering to one’s degree, just because someone majors in Psychology doesn’t mean they have to become a psychologist. According to a study done for the Association of American Colleges and Universities, 93 percent of employers think that the “demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems” is more important that a job candidate’s undergraduate major. These characteristics don’t have to be developed by a M.B.A. program, and are just as attainable through a liberal arts degree.
Speaking of M.B.A’s I had the fortune to work with a JMU College of Business graduate during winter break of my freshman year. You’re probably thinking I had a swanky city internship, and I wish that this were the case. However, I found myself strapped for cash, and took the first job that would hire me for the month-long break: a movie theater. Shifts were often very slow, and I found myself learning much more than was necessary about this individual. To protect his identity, let’s call him Joe. Joe graduated from JMU two years ago, but was forced into the COB program by his parents, as they wouldn’t pay for any other type of degree. Although he didn’t enjoy the course work, he managed to graduate on time with his M.B.A. However, as his personality wasn’t suited at all to business, he found himself unable to get a job in the field he was trained in. Therefore, he found himself underemployed in a movie theater, working with seventeen and eighteen year olds buttering popcorn.
Although it’s upsetting to think about being underemployed after graduation, it often becomes at least the short-term reality for many college graduates. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that “about one-third of recent graduates have always worked jobs that don’t require college degrees but pay decent wages nonetheless”. It seems easy to assume that as a S.T.E.M. graduate you’ll have a job lined up before you graduate, because your degree seems more competitive in the labor market. However, this isn’t always the case, and it’s important to approach thinking about the future in less of a binary sense. Just because a student gets a business or science degree doesn’t mean that they’ll immediately fall into a great career after graduation; and just because another student graduates with a liberal arts degree doesn’t mean that they’ll be unemployable in the professional workforce.
Although Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees both carry value, I will admit that the average salary cap for science and business careers tends to be higher than that of liberal arts careers. However, pursuing a major exclusively for it’s future earning potential is almost always the wrong decision. No matter the major, collegiate coursework is always demanding, and it’s much more difficult to succeed in a major that you struggle with and have no interest in. This rings true for your future career as well. If you’re struggling with your major work and barely graduate, what makes you think that you’ll struggle any less in the corresponding career? Personally, I chose a major I enjoyed and knew I could succeed in because I wanted to become successful in a related field. Why would I be an average or below-average businesswoman when I could be exceptional in a career involving writing? Who knows, maybe I’ll become a lawyer and defend businessmen when they commit fraud. You’re welcome for keeping you out of jail with my “useless” degree.