What Are the Skills That Liberal Arts Majors Obtain

The rising price of college tuition leads many undergraduate students to feel a growing pressure to choose majors that will yield the quickest return on their investments. While attending on liberal arts is waning, there'southward been a particular accent on STEM (scientific discipline, engineering, engineering and math) degrees.

This is a tendency across much of the world. The Chinese government, for case, has plans to turn 42 universities into 'world course' institutions of science and engineering. And in the UK, the regime's increased focus on STEM has corresponded to fewer students enrolling in courses like English language and the arts.

Just experts similar Dr. Melanie Borrego, acquaintance dean of undergraduate education and professor of English at University of Massachusetts Global, debate a liberal arts education tin can fix students to become the types of employees organizations want to hire. In fact, employers in Stem industries are increasingly looking to bring liberal arts graduates aboard their teams.

"Many people have decided that the end goal of higher education is about earning the nigh money," Dr. Borrego explains. "It's not, and it never has been. The goal of college education is to develop more aware, well-read, well-spoken and hopefully more than empathetic man beings."

Take a expect at some of the recent studies and expert insights that dig into the true value of liberal arts majors in today'due south workforce.

five Benefits of liberal arts degrees

While many may attribute contemporary human issues to individuals not having their basic needs met, Dr. John Freed, professor of liberal studies at UMass Global, argues that information technology's more complex than that.

Dr. Freed suggests that many contemporary human problems stem from ineffective communication and a lack of compassion. "Developing these skills is the prime directive of studying the liberal arts," he adds.

He points out that neither Steve Jobs nor most other notable CEOs earned STEM degrees equally undergraduates. In fact, many superlative-ranking CEOs once pursued liberal arts degrees. Consider the following five means concentrating on liberal arts majors can do good yous.

1. They equip you for a multifariousness of careers

I common criticism of a liberal arts education is that it doesn't explicitly prepare students for the job market place in the same means that pre-professional person and Stalk programs do. But keep in listen that liberal arts majors are multidisciplinary in nature. The intent is to provide each graduate with a well-rounded education and a versatile skill prepare. The fact that such majors don't necessarily provide a articulate path from caste to career tin actually be considered an advantage .

"Graduates will be versatile and well suited to accommodate to a changing marketplace," Dr. Borrego says. "The liberal arts prepare students to fit into many different job descriptions."

Consider the variety of positions highlighted in a contempo Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) report that outlined the top 15 professions liberal arts graduates pursue:

• Elementary and middle school teachers
• Lawyers, judges and magistrates
• Managers
• Postsecondary teachers
• Chief executives and legislators
• Education administrators
• Social workers
• Secondary school teachers
• Counselors
• Sales representatives
• Clergy
• Retail sales supervisors
• Secretaries and administrative administration
• Accountants and auditors
• Marketing and sales managers

2. They provide you lot with the versatile skill ready employers are seeking

Believe it or not, employers across industries are interested in candidates who've mastered certain soft skills — things like effective communication, interpersonal interaction, trouble-solving and critical thinking. In fact, the AACU report indicates that 93 percent of employers value those types of qualities more than the undergraduate major candidates choose.

Findings from the National Association of Colleges and Employers' (NACE) 2016 Job Outlook survey support this besides. A majority of respondents primarily wait for candidates who have strong leadership skills, the ability to piece of work well as a part of a team, excellent written communication capabilities and as excellent oral advice skills.

"Every fourth dimension nosotros convene an advisory board of outside employers for a caste program review, they have the same requests," Dr. Borrego notes. "They need employees who are able to read critically, write conspicuously and, without error, analyze data, present findings to differing audiences and speak to their colleagues and clients professionally." All of these skills, she adds, are taught and refined in the liberal arts field.

Even in the engineering science sector, the skills liberal arts graduates focus on are in demand. A few Microsoft executives recently wrote a book excavation into what they've learned in research most artificial intelligence (AI). One of the prime findings is that lessons from liberal arts subjects will be critical to unleash the full potential of AI.

3. They give you an edge in an increasingly automated workforce

Some of the latest research from the World Economical Forum predicts that machines will perform more than work tasks than humans by 2025. In fact, a forecasted 75 million jobs may exist displaced by the shift in sectionalization of labor between humans and AI-powered machines and algorithms.

But meridian Microsoft executives now maintain that it's precisely that rising in computers' power to behave more than like humans that will proceed liberal arts graduates' skills relevant in the mod workforce. They suggest that the social sciences and humanities will get even more than important. Courses in languages, art, history, philosophy, human development and psychology can teach skills that volition be instrumental in both the development and management of AI solutions.

It's worth noting that AI could also result in job creation. But many experts agree that the last jobs robots somewhen readapt volition exist those that crave the most humanity.

4. They can set you up for admirable lifetime earnings

It's easy to believe the downside of pursuing liberal arts majors is a lower earning potential. Simply data doesn't support this. According to the Georgetown Center on Educational activity and the Workforce , the average unemployment rate for new graduates across all humanities majors is nine percent, which is on par with that of reckoner science graduates.

The Land of the Humanities 2018 written report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences purports similarly encouraging findings. Results testify that while liberal arts majors do typically see lower starting salaries than Stalk graduates, they catch up over time. They often close that pay gap with stiff mid-career earnings. Liberal arts majors may even border out some Stalk majors in lifetime earnings.

Also consider that liberal arts graduates don't tend to carry whatever more college debt than those who pursued other majors.

5. They teach you how to innovate and relate

Liberal arts graduates also tend to exhibit a trait desired by organizational leaders across industries: innovation. According to Forbes contributor Willard Dix , a liberal arts education empowers students to continually challenge their ain viewpoints, remaining open to new possibilities and willing to push the boundaries of what's been done before.

"It removes the comfort of assuming there are 'right' answers to large questions," he writes. "It introduces students to the ever-expanding world of ideas. It opens doors, enabling the mind to get wherever it wants in pursuit of knowledge and understanding. It bends toward openness instead of containment."

Additionally, Dr. Freed maintains that the ability of passion and creative imagination is invaluable. Creativity and innovation , some propose, are crucial to any system's long-term success. And an agreement of emotional intelligence and human being behavior is every bit of import.

"Emotionally engaging stories and metaphors change people'south hearts more effectively than logically sound arguments change their minds," Dr. Freed notes. "Harriet Beecher Stowe's mid-nineteenth century, best-selling novel, Uncle Tom's Motel , had more than to exercise with ending slavery in America than all of the prior ramble amendments and Supreme Court decisions put together."

Where could a liberal arts degree take you?

There'due south clearly value in students pursuing liberal arts degrees. "As John Gardner concludes in his novel, Grendel , 'The balance is all.' And what employer would non appreciate a broadly educated and counterbalanced employee joining their team of creative problem solvers?" Dr. Freed poses.

When it comes to choosing your own undergraduate major, it'due south important to call up what you're passionate near. If yous're drawn to one of the many liberal arts majors available to you, it could be time to acquire more about your options. Visit Academy of Massachusetts Global's School of Arts and Sciences page to see what could expect.

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Source: https://www.umassglobal.edu/news-and-events/blog/liberal-arts-majors