Liberal arts! Does it worth studying and what are the careers related to it?

Question

I don't know what I should major in, I will be going to university in two years but I don't have any ideas what I want to be in the future. Well, I love reading and general stuffs, I don't like to get into details. So is liberal arts the best choice? Are there any pre-requisites in majoring that? Does it give big bucks :p?

Answer 1

Open up your mind! You can do:

Teaching, journalism, research, archaeology. Here's a site that will motivate you:

http://www.iseek.org/sv/20005.jsp

If you love something, you will always find opportunities. Hell, you can even create your own career!

Answer 2

I've seen so many very good answers here already, so all I can say my oppinion is, whatever do in life, make sure you enjoy it. I like the response where someone advised you to go and do a research on what area of interest are you good at. I think that's a good move. Thoroughly building a career is a wise thing to do especially if you are in some sort certainty of what are your interests. Just think about it, you will benefit from it all your life and it ill make your life way much easier. I also would advise to visit a pshychologist and ask her to do an evaluation on your personal skills. Certain jobs needs certain skills (not personality tests!) like: ability of decision making, determination, punctuality, speed and so on. So you can have a better idea what are your personal assets on what you can rely on. (example: don't choose an administrative, legal carrier if you are not punctual and unpatient).
As from my personal experience, I'm 30 and I worked as a secretary, as a designer and a production planner already . Now I'm a project manager and only a couple of years earlier that I realized what are my assets and skills and what I want in life. My point is you can change you mind at any time, at any age. But now I can see the benefit in a planned life, so that's why I think the above idea is great.
There is another important idea though, which I saw already pointing out here, whatever school you make, it's the dedication is the importance. If you want to purposely use the liberal art diploma of yours to do something with it and to have a good career in administration or any other field, than you will make it, no matter what.
Yes, there is a cathegory of people who will go to school just for the paper, but they have no determination what so ever to use it wisely. Make sure you are not one of them and whatever school you choose, use the knowledge wisely.
As a personal advice for you, I say, go and get an evaluation upon your interests and follow the recomendations.

Answer 3

Getting a major with the actual title of Liberal Arts or General Studies or something like that is probably not the best idea, but going to a liberal arts college and majoring in one of the liberal arts will give you some real options, especially if you do well. Chances are, though, that somewhere in your first two years of college, you'll find something that inspires you.

Answer 4

Liberal Arts is just fine! You can do so many things with it! People that tell you that you'll end up in a dead end job and unhappy are totally wrong! It all depends on you!

I know so many people that have graduated with degrees in business and other "marketable" degrees and have jobs that they absolutely hate!!!!!

I am majoring in Sociology and minor in Public Administration, cuz I know I want to help people but I am not exactly sure how, but with a major in Sociology I can do practically anything, from Human Resources, to working in the Justice System, to managing a business...it all depends how much effort I put into looking for the "perfect" job!

You still have 2 years to decide on what you want, take your time and even when you get to school and you decide to do something else you can change your major...i used to be an education major, and realized that wasn't for me.

Volunteer in different places, ask people that are working in jobs that you think are interesting what they like about it...just dig around and see you will find your calling!

Answer 5

If you are unsure as to your future plans, I strongly recommend checking out your local community college first. Treat it as a sandbox--try different classes and find something that you like. It's a lot less expensive than using a four-year college in the same way.

Liberal arts majors...it all depends on what you do with the degree. For example, if you use a History or Psychology Bachelor's Degree to springboard into Law School, then it's great, but if you expect to get a job with a good paycheck straight out of undergrad, with a liberal arts degree, don't get your hopes up too high.

Answer 6

The greater you may specialize your degree the greater you would be properly worth. in case you acquire a liberal arts degree which or what type of agencies are you able to help? Getting a masters in liberal arts won't get you to any extent further funds, yet once you acquire a employer degree then went directly to get your MBA you will see an important upward push on your pay.

Answer 7

I found this nice little article that sums up some good ideas that liberal arts majors can incorporate. IMO it's a much more difficult major to work with, because most employers on paper will not see how your broad major can categorize with them. You'll have to sell your value far more than somebody that has a major that caters to the employer. Two of my friends were liberal arts majors, one was in "Interdisciplinary studies" and she ended up working for the state education budget department (although she admits it was out of necessity to at least get some career started), while the other majored in English and is one her Ph.D path to become an English professor. Hope these real life examples help you out someway in your decision. Here's the nice little article btw:
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Career paths for the liberal arts student are not as straight forward as they are for someone in a more technical/specialized major. There are, however, many career opportunities for the liberal arts graduate. The history major does not necessarily become an historian, but may pursue other occupational choices in law, communication (radio, television, films), the art world, theology, teaching, or government. All liberal arts graduates will utilize the skills they developed while in the college environment. For example:

- Ability to conduct research and assimilate ideas
- Communication and organization skills
- Appreciation of ethical concerns
- Interpersonal relations skills with other people
- Leadership and management skills and so on

It is often difficult for the students of liberal arts to begin a job search because their options are so broad. A career is not something which awaits you on graduation but, rather, something you take the initiative to design for yourself. "The so-called plight of the liberal arts graduate is not (as too many students, parents and well-meaning advisors think) that employers do not hire liberal arts job seekers. It is that liberal arts graduates tend to be less willing and less able to articulate career goals, thus resulting in a more-difficult and unsuccessful job search" (Liberal Arts Jobs, p. 10, Nadler, Burton J.).

In order to set employment goals for yourself, you will have to do some research about yourself, career fields, and job functions. The core of a liberal arts major is research so you are well prepared to complete the process of finding a job. Apply those research skills to yourself. Explore occupations that interest you and clarify your skills, values, and interests. Do not try to make career decisions before doing the appropriate research. Your goals will be to articulate specific career goals to employers. You will limit your ability to find a job if you lack direction, and many liberal arts graduates do just that.
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Answer 8

Liberal arts does more for people than the stereotype indicates. People who study liberal arts can become teachers or get advanced degrees to become professors, it is true, but there is more to it than that. Liberal arts will get you into law school. It will also provide you with the skills needed to do just about any sort of office work, administration, communications, or business work. Liberal arts teaches you to write well and to communicate concisely, which is a MUST in the workplace, regardless of what you do. Liberal arts teaches you to sift through mounds of information very quickly and accurately. It teaches you to indentify important information from a form or book or pile of papers and facts, to prioritize that information, and to present that information in a way that makes sense. Liberal arts teaches you basic math skills, writing skills, grammar skills, research skills, psychology, sociology, and people skills. You will better understand how people think and act. You will be better at interpreting information and processing facts and figures. You will even learn practical computer skills. So my question for you is this: what CAN'T you do with a liberal arts degree?

To those who poo-poo on the liberal arts degree... odds are one of their bosses has one. A lot of it is how you market yourself. I'll bet most people who are "only" secretaries didn't say the above spiel when they applied for jobs. I have had a very successful career with a liberal arts degree as a grant administrator in the victim services field, and now I am going back to get my advanced degree. In the end, it is not the degree. It is what YOU do with it.

Answer 9

I'd advise against it; liberal arts majors generally either are athletes who expect to go pro, wealthy kids whose families will take them into the business--or employed in low-wage jobs that don't require college degrees.

A better idea is to visit the career development office of your nearest community college and ask them to help you. They usually will do it for free--they consider it community service and also recruiting. They should have the tools to assess your interests and aptitudes, and then they will give you a list of careers that you would find fulfilling. They also can find out the projected demand and salary for each career.

Once you have those ideas, you can choose a college with a respected program in the career field.

Note that you can always change your mind later, but even if you do, the progress you've made toward your first goal will be more likely to apply to the new one than if you'd just drifted.

Answer 10

for one thing you shouldnt even think about majoring b/c it will change 5 times b4 you actually know what you want to concentrate in but liberal arts is a way to get a little bit of everything but its not as focused as a engineering school or business and alot of liberal arts students go to grad school to focus in even more b4 getting into to there career where as if you go to business school or health sciences you jump right in after college. fyi details are what college is about since every course is intensive and is preparing you for a career so get used to it.