Despite the fact that it’s such a large area of study, and encompasses hundreds of degrees that everyone can agree are important (such as Public Relations or Economics), our society seems to have an issue with Liberal Arts majors. So much as mentioning them in passing elicits sneers, scoffs, and eyebrow raises. “You’ll never get a job doing that,” is often the first thing out of nearly everyone’s mouth, followed closely by “I hope you like flipping burgers” or some other degrading remark about the dismal abyss that will be your life after college. Somehow, the image of bleeding-heart hipsters who want to fight the system and enjoy being poor while they sleep on their parents’ couch comes to mind at those three little words. No one has any respect for the effort it took to earn that degree, or the spirit that you must have to even get close to it.
As a Liberal Arts major, I find that narrow-minded attitude ridiculous.
No one would argue with the idea that the world needs Business and Engineering majors, or that such careers are lucrative. They really do make the world go ‘round, after all. But what no one realizes is that the world needs Liberal Arts majors just as much. For starters, the entire educational system depends on them; we would have no teachers, no elementary schools, no universities if it weren’t for Education majors. We also wouldn’t have any form of news media. No newspapers, no blogs, no magazines. Writing careers are key sources of salaries for those in Liberal Arts, which means that in addition to your lack of news outlets, there would also be a lack of novels, plays, poems, television and movie scripts, and any other recreational source of written word. Say good-bye to Greys Anatomy, La La Land, and any other trending show or movie you’ve ever loved. Which, even if script writing didn’t fall under Liberal Arts, wouldn’t be able to be made anyway because screen and stage actors are, you guessed it, Liberal Arts majors. Technical aspects of such productions also fall under the same category.
It’s also important to highlight the fact that our historians are covered in the Liberal Arts umbrella. The individuals who are tasked with preserving our past to teach the future generations, and quite possibly the most important individuals of all time, would be lost to us. Where would we be if we had no way of remembering the outcome of the Revolutionary War? What would happen to us, as a country, if we had no record of the events that made our people and our world what it is today?
We’d be a hot mess. But that’s often overlooked, due to a stereotype that’s almost always untrue.
Another aspect of being a Liberal Arts major that’s often overlooked is that we really can write, and we write well. Going through years of writing essays, taking Literature and English classes, and learning foreign languages has honed our skills to perfection. Give us a prompt and a wordcount to meet, and we’ll deliver. As it turns out, this is an extremely valuable ability.
Contrary to popular belief, Liberal Arts majors are more likely to be hired specifically because of their writing capabilities. According to an article by Forbes, businesses- specifically those in technology- are eager to hire Liberal Arts majors from all fields because they can think creatively, hold up a logical argument, and clearly and effectively convey such ideas through written word. In contrast to the rich writing style taught to Liberal Arts majors, Business majors are taught to focus on writing concisely; why write something in ten words that you would express more simply in five? Unfortunately, it’s much harder to teach a concise writer to expound on their ideas than it is to do the opposite, and that is where Liberal Arts students shine. It also mentions quite a few interesting facts on the growth of educator positions in tech fields comparative to software engineering positions, which make another useful point.
Of course, I’m not saying that Liberal Arts majors are above anyone else- far from it. Rather, I’m pointing out that the label you’ve made for us no longer fits. We are not the spoiled rich kids who are going to school just to please their parents. We are not the lazy troublemakers, the bottom of the admissions barrel, or the overdramatic crybabies. We are your innovators, your educators, your entertainment, and your revolutionaries. We are the driving forces for change and awareness, both big and small, across every community worldwide; the links that connect all careers together. And we don’t do it for the recognition, we do it because we love it and we don’t care about the money. Because, as has been pointed out to us time and time again, this is not a lucrative life decision. But it’s the one we’re making.
We’re not asking for praise, or to be put on a pedestal. But we are asking to be taken seriously.
