The Purpose of the "Liberal Arts" in modern-day society

[alexandra]

I just don't see the point in going to school to study most "liberal arts" (not so much fine arts, which is actually a trade) when you can learn that stuff on your own through reading and at the same time give yourself a further leg up by choosing a field of study that will actually get you ready for life after school in a more tangible way.

being in school always pushes me to do work more than i probably would if i wasn't in school; i guess that's part of it. and also just having the piece of paper that says "yay i did it"; but liberal arts does seem to fall into this weird in-between.

[Debaser11]

Well, I'm not arguing against going to school. Anytime someone wants to better themselves (even if they pick a liberal arts degree), then great. I'm just saying that it's clear to me that liberal arts fields of study are not optimal when you consider that you can learn the stuff on your own if you can read and that your resume will leave more employers scratching their heads over whether to hire you or not than had you picked something more specific.

[Baron Samedi]

Well, I'm not arguing against going to school. Anytime someone wants to better themselves (even if they pick a liberal arts degree), then great. I'm just saying that it's clear to me that liberal arts fields of study are not optimal when you consider that you can learn the stuff on your own if you can read and that your resume will leave more employers scratching their heads over whether to hire you or not than had you picked something more specific.

This is very true.

My actual major that I possess is amorphous in this regard as well, despite being able to do most of what someone who majored in marketing/advertising does.

But... Try convincing anyone of that.....

But, I got my ticket punched... Whatever eh?

[Debaser11]

^Exactly!

I taught overseas for a couple of years. I did get an editing job (which is pretty specific but a pretty limited job I don't want to keep in the long term) due to my English degree but the people from Comcast wouldn't even look at me because I didn't have a business degree despite the fact they needed to fill one hundred human resources openings that I was more than qualified to fill. I couldn't even get my foot in the door on a technicality (because that's how a lot of big businesses have to filter out people) even though I graduated cum laude (which is admittedly not so hard to do anymore).

[Loddfafner]

A liberal arts degree might be wasted on a lot of the people who try for one, and is certainly not a ticket to a lucrative job, but surely the ability to write, to think, and to know something about the bigger picture has some relevance for the preservation and advancement of our people.

[Óttar]

After a year of being unemployed, I'm now considering of going back to school to pursue another degree (I'm debating on English, History or a Foreign Language).

Is it actually possible to do this after completing a four year degree to get another? This seems awfully strange to me. It takes long enough to get one degree. With my History degree and international education, employers think I'm either not practical or over-qualified. The museums mostly look to undergrads to intern. I don't really know what I want to do. I might just end up moving to India after all. I can learn a lot of languages and live for cheap out there. There are a load of Germans in Rishikesh and tons of bookstores filled with stacks of nothing but indological books.

Stephen Colbert said jokingly, "Advice for all the recent college graduates... Move to India!" I'm starting to think in the scheme of things, that actually sounds like a damn good idea.

[SwordoftheVistula]

We hear daily that these sorts of college degrees are "worthless" and lead to nowhere, save for scanty teaching jobs at various community colleges/public schools.

You'd be hard pressed to find even that anymore.

I'm confused at this mass-perspective about these things... Are we just all supposed to be business majors/lawyers/IT techs?

No! We already have too many of these (I say this as someone who is 2 of those). Somebody has to drive trucks, build & repair houses, cars and roads, provide health care, grow food, etc-hopefully somebody other than illegal aliens.

[Baron Samedi]

Is it actually possible to do this after completing a four year degree to get another? This seems awfully strange to me. It takes long enough to get one degree. With my History degree and international education, employers think I'm either not practical or over-qualified. The museums mostly look to undergrads to intern. I don't really know what I want to do. I might just end up moving to India after all. I can learn a lot of languages and live for cheap out there. There are a load of Germans in Rishikesh and tons of bookstores filled with stacks of nothing but indological books.

Stephen Colbert said jokingly, "Advice for all the recent college graduates... Move to India!" I'm starting to think in the scheme of things, that actually sounds like a damn good idea.

It's possible at my school yeah.... And also practical because you have already completed all of your prerequisites (English 101, etc).

Yeah, perhaps "outsourcing" our asses to the Aryan homeland might not be such a bad idea....

[Curtis24]

I've read conflicting things about this. I think, though, that prestige of school combined with GPA determines more than anything if you will get the job. A history major from Harvard will probably trump a marketing degree from a lower-tier school.

[Grumpy Cat]

I've read conflicting things about this. I think, though, that prestige of school combined with GPA determines more than anything if you will get the job. A history major from Harvard will probably trump a marketing degree from a lower-tier school.

Not necessarily lower-tier, but reputation counts. I know for one that many employers in Canada just pass by CVs submitted by graduates from Carleton University. hahahaha

They're clowns, that's why