Humanities. This week’s topic is studying the humanities as a degree in college. As with all of the topics in the worthless series, a focus is placed on the direct market value of certain degree or topic.
Humanities, the study of the human condition, is “how humans process and document the human experience.” Interviewing recent graduates from a humanities department, it was found they often said that they picked the major due to their passion, and wanted to build a career around an aspect that interested them. While there is nothing wrong with that, from an economic standpoint a problem lies ahead. Simply put, the market demands people that can provide a function to the society, such as dentist or engineers. When a person picks a "vocational degree," they are setting themselves up for a career in that market they are qualified for. Humanities on the other hand is more ‘"liberal" in that manner as a person chooses to study a topic in depth, which in most cases, have little direct market value.
There’s a running joke that a graduate in the humanities will often end up being a barista at Starbucks, but this is far from true. Graduates have been able to land jobs they are passionate about while being able to financially support themselves. Yet, this is not always the case. A recent thread online asking humanities graduates what are they up to now produced mix results. One graduate actually was working in a local coffee shop after reviving a masters in theology. The user stated their regret in spending a large amount of money wishing they did something else. On the other hand a user with a degree in Slavic history currently works for one of the biggest tech companies in the world. From one perspective, a degree in humanities would actually open more doors as it doesn’t limit a person to a specific career field.
One of the main issues with a degree in humanities is the return investment. Students will end up going to a liberal arts college, which is often more expensive than a public institution where they are encouraged to take out loans. A person is then required to pay back these debts, however a large percentage of humanities graduates are either unable to find a reliable job or a job at all. With the STEM field being a leader in the job market, there has been an increase in demand for graduates in those fields in comparison to that of humanities. In addition, certain companies refuse to hire a person with a degree in humanities, as it’s viewed as being "easy." A person still has to work for their degree but in many instances however, the value of the degree is just low.
Overall, selecting a degree in humanities should be a personal decision. It’s a risk in finding a job however, many people actually think the more competitive STEM field is more challenging to find a job in. A person should think critically about the future they desire and if studying the humanities is correct for them. Humanities is such a broad topic that it may be the right fit for you, but think of the financial repercussions. Even if money is not an issue, time spent at university could be spent doing something more enjoyable. As long as a person applies themselves, they can be successful with or without a "worthless" degree.
