Humanities graduates across the Western world are, without a doubt, under-employed.
These passionate students spend long and hard-working years studying subjects such as History, Art, Communication, Philosophy, and English. But, once it’s time for finding a career they discover that “employers have no use for their skills.”
If a humanities graduate is in luck, they will find themselves employed. However this probably isn’t related to what they studied, nor will it be a decent enough wage. Many of these graduates will, therefore, resent their job and spend much of their time thinking about how their years studying Plato or Thomas Jefferson were all but a waste.
From an outsider's perspective, it’s easy to dismiss these complaints. If one wants to study the theory of Mercantilism, read John Locke, or analyse science fiction films then that’s good as a hobby; one might be inclined to believe. So, many see no reason why individuals who study such fields should get paid for their skills.
But the truth is, the massive under-employment of humanities grads is a sign something is wrong with our society. It’s proof that as a collective we have no idea what culture and art are for, and what current issues they could potentially fix.
Most people like to think that the humanities noble and principled, but in terms of the collective we can’t seem to figure out how the humanities could serve us. Therefore, we don’t know how students of the humanities can use their skill set in a proper way.
The good news is: the humanities do have a purpose for society. As they are a warehouse of ideas, and how one should govern his or her own life.
Literature teaches us life lessons, Art gives us a perspective on things, Drama gives us a profound taste of the world, Philosophy teaches one to think, Political Science to plan, and History is a grab-bag of infinite scenarios and thoughts.
The humanities are the world's biggest tool in how to solve human problems. Most people are bad at things that many humanities students could help with.
People are bad at: relationships, communication, interpreting emotions, how to treat others. In addition, society is finding it difficult to reform key institutions that desperately need it. Advertising, Media, Education, Politics, Urban Planning all are institutions that humanities students could fix given the chance to.
Instead of simply learning a specific technical skills, such as computer engineering, the world needs abstract thinkers who can fix human issues.
And finally, as human beings, we don’t always need things that are only for practically. Sometimes we need to focus on the human condition and not just the physical nature of the world.
