Guest column
College: liberal arts and conservative choices
Michelle Farnham
This is the time of year we celebrate a new class of high school graduates, their lives so full of possibility. This is also the time I stare at my Facebook news feed and silently face-palm myself, watching young friends and family declare intentions to run off to an extremely high-priced liberal arts school, to major in something completely useless.
Now, I’m not going to get into the financial merits of attending an in-state public school versus literally any private school (proud Miami University grad here), nor will I discuss the number of students who “need” to go to a four-year institution versus a vocational school. I’ve only got 750 words here, and those are arguments for another day. I would, however, like to encourage today’s young people moving on to postsecondary education to take their course of study very seriously. I’ll rephrase that: your major could be one of the most important decisions of your life. Take it seriously.
Too often we are told, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” For some, that may be all too true: end up in a lousy career field, and you may not be able to find work! The advice should be something more along the lines of: find a lucrative career you don’t mind doing every day for the rest of your life, and perhaps you won’t spend that life struggling to get out from underneath a mountain of debt.
In my experience, liberal arts majors are uniquely qualified to do little more than repay the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars borrowed to get them their degrees. My favorite course of study to pick on is philosophy, but there are plenty of others: literature, creative writing, history, languages (especially dead ones), musical performance, theater, film studies, fine arts, sociology, anthropology, psychology – any of the “-ologies,” really. American universities are churning out psychology majors en gros, but comparatively, how many psychologists or psychiatrists do you know? Sure, they exist, but I’d venture a guess that the majority of psych majors flamed out after undergrad. Now what?
Too many people are trying to turn their hobby into their career. Love to write? Skip the creative writing degree, and major in something more marketable, like public relations or marketing. A colleague told me in her job interview she majored in “practical writing.” I loved that so much, I almost danced a little jig. Those with talents in math or science would be wise to pursue engineering or health care careers, rather than the less practical geology or botany. Unless you want to become a teacher or professor in your given field – or you have some incredible luck – please consider the long-term prospects now, before it’s too late. Have a passion for film studies? Join the club at your college while actually studying business. Paint for fun, perform in community theater, read philosophy books in your free time, but don’t hang your entire career on these pursuits. Absolutely must study gerontology? Double-major or minor in it, while getting a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Sure, take a stab at that dream career, but have a strong Plan B in place, in case it doesn’t work out. At the risk of sounding pessimistic: it often doesn’t work out.
For those of you reading this, mouths agape, prepared to play the “grad school” card, please don’t rely on the safety net of additional schooling as an excuse to major is something useless now. Life has a way of throwing you a curve ball, leaving you to rely on your bachelor’s degree. Besides, grad school costs even more money!
Let me also say, after watching former classmates struggle, it is so much easier to earn a useful degree now. You’re young, energetic, single, childless, with relatively few demands of you. Perhaps your folks are picking up some of all of your bills. I’ve watched too many peers now struggling through grad school or a second bachelor’s in their 30s and 40s – while raising children – because their minimum wage service industry jobs can barely cover their student loan payments, much less their mortgages.
Now don’t get me wrong: money isn’t everything, but debt is no joke. A job is a job and there’s nothing wrong with an honest day’s work in any career field. However, do we really need to rack up big-time debt before we land that part-time barista job with no benefits?
In short: friends don’t let friends major in the liberal arts. Choose wisely, and good luck.
Now, I’m not going to get into the financial merits of attending an in-state public school versus literally any private school (proud Miami University grad here), nor will I discuss the number of students who “need” to go to a four-year institution versus a vocational school. I’ve only got 750 words here, and those are arguments for another day. I would, however, like to encourage today’s young people moving on to postsecondary education to take their course of study very seriously. I’ll rephrase that: your major could be one of the most important decisions of your life. Take it seriously.
Too often we are told, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” For some, that may be all too true: end up in a lousy career field, and you may not be able to find work! The advice should be something more along the lines of: find a lucrative career you don’t mind doing every day for the rest of your life, and perhaps you won’t spend that life struggling to get out from underneath a mountain of debt.
In my experience, liberal arts majors are uniquely qualified to do little more than repay the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars borrowed to get them their degrees. My favorite course of study to pick on is philosophy, but there are plenty of others: literature, creative writing, history, languages (especially dead ones), musical performance, theater, film studies, fine arts, sociology, anthropology, psychology – any of the “-ologies,” really. American universities are churning out psychology majors en gros, but comparatively, how many psychologists or psychiatrists do you know? Sure, they exist, but I’d venture a guess that the majority of psych majors flamed out after undergrad. Now what?
Too many people are trying to turn their hobby into their career. Love to write? Skip the creative writing degree, and major in something more marketable, like public relations or marketing. A colleague told me in her job interview she majored in “practical writing.” I loved that so much, I almost danced a little jig. Those with talents in math or science would be wise to pursue engineering or health care careers, rather than the less practical geology or botany. Unless you want to become a teacher or professor in your given field – or you have some incredible luck – please consider the long-term prospects now, before it’s too late. Have a passion for film studies? Join the club at your college while actually studying business. Paint for fun, perform in community theater, read philosophy books in your free time, but don’t hang your entire career on these pursuits. Absolutely must study gerontology? Double-major or minor in it, while getting a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Sure, take a stab at that dream career, but have a strong Plan B in place, in case it doesn’t work out. At the risk of sounding pessimistic: it often doesn’t work out.
For those of you reading this, mouths agape, prepared to play the “grad school” card, please don’t rely on the safety net of additional schooling as an excuse to major is something useless now. Life has a way of throwing you a curve ball, leaving you to rely on your bachelor’s degree. Besides, grad school costs even more money!
Let me also say, after watching former classmates struggle, it is so much easier to earn a useful degree now. You’re young, energetic, single, childless, with relatively few demands of you. Perhaps your folks are picking up some of all of your bills. I’ve watched too many peers now struggling through grad school or a second bachelor’s in their 30s and 40s – while raising children – because their minimum wage service industry jobs can barely cover their student loan payments, much less their mortgages.
Now don’t get me wrong: money isn’t everything, but debt is no joke. A job is a job and there’s nothing wrong with an honest day’s work in any career field. However, do we really need to rack up big-time debt before we land that part-time barista job with no benefits?
In short: friends don’t let friends major in the liberal arts. Choose wisely, and good luck.
