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When my peers ask me what I’m studying, I always find myself making a joke. Instead of saying I’m pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English, I laugh and answer, “I think I’ll become a Doctor of English. The world definitely needs more of those.”
If I actually supply the serious answer, I always get the question: What can you even do with that? Read books to people?
Yet when I speak to older generations, I always receive encouragement and praise. I’m told an arts degree will open doors for me. They tell me I will learn about the world, become cultured and, most importantly, develop into a well-rounded individual.
Despite what my parents and grandparents tell me, I sometimes have a hard time sharing their optimism. Maybe BA’s were valued in the work force when they were in school, but today it seems different.
What can I do with this degree?
A lot of my fellow arts students share my doubts. In high school, we were sold the “golden ticket” dream. They said all we need is a university degree — any degree — and we’ll be set for life.
But now that we’re in school, reality is sinking in. We fear we’ll end up in some desk job that doesn’t relate to our degree in any way, doesn’t challenge or excite us, or measure up to the standards we set for our future when we started our degree.
My eyes were opened to this while I worked in a call centre before starting university.
At 18, I worked alongside university graduates, receiving the same pay and performing the same job. Having an arts degree did not provide my co-workers any advantage and, for a lot of them, it was the best job they could get at the time.
I discovered that in that company, the high school diploma I already had was just as good as the BA I planned to spend thousands of dollars to get.
So how do we avoid finding ourselves in the same situation?
We must do what we probably should have done all along: listen to our elders when they tell us we are making a good choice. They have experienced the stress of starting a career and realized what’s most important is what you learn along the way and the person you become.
They know life is a journey, not a race.
When we wonder why on earth we’re paying so much money to obtain something that seems to hold no value in the work force and consider dropping out during a mid-term crisis to go backpacking in Peru, we have to remember that we’re here to learn.
We need to stop looking at what our degrees will gain us and instead look at how they will enhance us. Maybe they won’t give us a golden ticket into the career of our dreams, but they will expand our minds and give us credibility.
Our educations will help mold us into an informed, enlightened and knowledgeable generation.
As long as we look at an arts degree as an end in itself, we will be disappointed. To realize its value, we have to look at the bigger picture and think of a degree as an essential turn in the path we want our lives to follow.
If we want our arts degrees to be valued like they were in our parents’ day, we need to start valuing them ourselves.
I agree with everything you said. It's scary because pretty much the exact same things are running through my head all day long (as I'm in class, HAHA).
I have already come to the conclusion that a BA will most likely not guarantee anything except a pat on the back. I'll have to work harder than the other ja-billion kids with the same degree!
Now what I focus on is learning as much as I can. I'm always trying to learn things outside of my classes. Not just random things, though. I'm learning things that are of interest to me and will help advance my career. In my case, journalism, entrepreneurship, and advertising.
take care!
Keep in mind that the stats show that on average, more education means more income over the course of a career. Those college grads you worked with when you were 18 probably aren't going to spend their entire careers in that job. And if they do, they've got bigger issues than whether or not they got a degree.
There's a statistic that something like 80% of people don't get jobs directly related to their major. Which is not surprising since most majors, especially the non-technical ones, don't neatly tie into a real world career.
Simply having a degree, any degree will at least put you in the running for many career track jobs (of which working at a call center is not). It's not a golden ticket to a job though. Popular media is abound with people complaining that they can't get a job because they don't have experience and they can't get experience because they don't have a job. A degree is better viewed as something that makes you eligible to compete in the job arena rather than the winning blow.
The other thing to keep in mind is that majors are identified by content--but skills used to master that content are often cross-disciplinary.
My mom always says how she does not wish to be in her early twenties again just graduating from college because of all the uncertainty that surrounds that time. It is the same for us as it was for them. It just takes time to get where you want to be. We are young and we want everything to work out NOW. In the long run, though, the vaaast majority of those with college degrees vs. those with only HS diplomas will be way ahead if they didn't get that education.
Not sure about a BA. But a BS in Computer Science or Engineering gets you the basics in understanding the concepts and priciples in their respective disciplines. Advanced concepts can be learned, without exhaustive learning of the necessary background information.
Mind-boggling isn't it? Regardless of your degree, figuring out what to do with it plagues just about everyone. It's your experience and your ability to tell a compelling, influential story that will land you a job, not your major.
It's scary to be the non-technical degree sort. What I have noticed about our generation of workers is that the jobs that are opening up are many times, a combination of things. Vocational pursuits are as cut out: doctor, lawyer, engineer etc. We now have people whose jobs entail using a variety of skills you can learn in the arts: writing, critical thinking, editing, research.
I take heart in the fact that you can carve out a niche for yourself. Don't ever beat yourself up for making a decision to follow what you're most passionate about. We have to pay our dues no matter how technical or non technical our degrees. it's a matter of time before we settle into the groove. Keep on truckin'!
Melissa
Your degree does do a lot to determine which job you can land. I've yet to see a music or art major applying for a job as a mechanical engineer or a systems analyst.
Even if they applied, they'd better tell the most compelling and influential story ever on why they can do the job without the techinical education, to convince me to even think about hiring them and not regretting it.
But here's the kicker, the people who do work in the field their degree is in, most likely won't stay there during their entire career.
College not only cultures you, it provides a place for you to continue to grow as opposed to not going to college. It helps you shape your mindset professionally. Imagine someone writing a resume out of high school and someone writing a resume out of college. The sentence structure and layout will look sound and look more mature because of those extra years writing papers, reading books and (probably) writing to companies to become an intern or to assist a person you admire.
But in the end, I, just like so many others, landed a job where my degree doesn't apply at all, I'm not challenged (at least not anywhere near as when I was in college) and I certainly won't stay in this entry-level position forever (thank god!)
Do you need to attend college to become an informed, enlightened, and knowledgeable individual? I don't think so.
Keith,
You don't need college to be an informed, enlightened, and knowledgable individual.
You are going to need the equivalent of a college engineering education if you're going to work for me, if you're not that 1 in 100,000 "natural engineer". And even then, you're still going to have to demonstrate you understand and can apply what you say you've learned to our satisfaction.
My parents told me that if I went to college, everything would be OK. More than OK actually. As high school graduates only, they couldn't imagine that people with college degrees could find themselves without health care, a decent paying job etc. Obviously, many grads are struggling, which has caused some to question the value of their degrees. From time to time, I question the value as well, though I have no regrets about what I studied in college. It does seem that college grads put extra pressure on themselves—I do—to succeed (whatever that means). This pressure probably does us harm, and fosters an attitude towards schools, work, life etc. that reduces our potential for future success. Maybe, we're a little too hard on ourselves and we'd appreciate our past studies more if focus on the longer term rather than yesterday or today.
I agree with Mehnaz that having a non-technical degree can be somewhat scary because it doesn't establish what we will do with our future as much as some more technical degress do i.e. you study engineering, you become an engineer but you study English you become....skilled at the English language?
I think it all boils down to having a vision for the future and choosing a BA that provides the most logical and useful foundation for your future. It's about knowing your passions (or having an idea of them) and pursuing a degree that will open the most doors for you aligned with that passion....
I think Interdisciplinary degrees are some of the most value for BA seekers. Personally, I've always known that I wanted to be a therapist but then, thanks to my interdisciplinary degree, I realized I wanted to become a sex therapist and so in my last two years (when you really focus in on your interests) I took a large number of gender studies and human sexuality courses. So I have a Liberal Studies degree with a focus in Gender and Human Sexuality.
This degree has allowed me to work at an ASO (AIDS Service Organization) where I have learned SO much (the pay is quite low though, I will admit). And now, I will be pursuing my Masters in Couples and Family Therapy in the Fall in order to further my solid foundation for being a relationship and sex therapist.
Ok, this was very long, but what should be taken from this: Interdisciplinary degrees rock. Know your passions. Provide the best possible foundation for your passions, career-wise, with you BA.
I've a B.S(B.E) degree in Electronics & Communication.But I've met only few people 'really' passionate about that subject.Moreover that tech jobs are less and highly competitive in my country-India.So I picked up a job in H.R which is full of life and really enjoyed its challenges (and rewards as well) and worked for many best companies in the world including Facebook as a vendor recruiter.Now I moved into the Program management role.Till now I believe I was really good at what I did but I've no idea what I'm gonna do in the future.But still I'm busting my balls over the task in my hand.Hopefully that may help me in the future.God Knows !
I have a BA a BFA and am a candidate for a dual masters seemingly unrelated to either. Whatever your degree is, in the end it is up to you to make a path with that degree. I know people with liberal arts degrees and psychology degrees not yet going on to masters programs who at this time have better jobs than those with more one track degrees. I think it has more to do with the individual, their creativity, their willingness to explore outside the box and realize they will probably have many different careers in their lifetime so they tend to go for things one might not assume they would be qualified for.
The truth is: a college degree just won’t cut it anymore. With today's economy and 2.5 million people graduating, you have to learn how to set yourself apart.
Personally, I use CAREEREALISM.com for all my career advice and personal coaching from a career expert. If you need help with your resume, cover letter, or interview tips, CAREEREALISM.com is the place to go.
Check it out and I promise you will not be disappointed.
The truth is: a college degree just won’t cut it anymore. With today's economy and 2.5 million people graduating, you have to learn how to set yourself apart.
Personally, I use CAREEREALISM.com for all my career advice and personal coaching from a career expert. If you need help with your resume, cover letter, or interview tips, CAREEREALISM.com is the place to go.
Check it out and I promise you will not be disappointed.
April 6, 2009 5:57 pm
You really should value your BA more. The last four years wasn't just about going to classes and taking exams. You dedicated four years of your life in pursuit of academic knowledge that surpasses most of the general population. You reached into a wide range of knowledge areas, expanded the way you think, analyze, and interpret ideas.
Look outside of the actual subject matter and look into the way that your degree (no matter what you majored in) has influenced your thinking. No matter what your major, you had to take a core set of classes designed to build a basic core competency.
Once you get into the workforce, focus on this and you'll differentiate yourself from everyone else that can't think outside of a classroom.
Our North American "culture" makes the mistake of equating our lives with our careers. Let me be clear - your job is not your life, it is a part of your life. I have changed my job and place of employment about 20 times. Some of the jobs and places of employment were great, and some were awful. We make a terrible mistake when we believe we need the "right" job in order to live a fulfilling life.
Education should be about education! I see this weird arrogance coming from people with tech degrees, like they are saying "my education makes sense because I will be hired when I graduate." Good for you - then you'll be trapped in that field for the next 40 years, have fun.
Isn't it better to be alive? You don't get to be aware by living a linear, career based life. Life is way more interesting when we think for ourselves and make mistakes. How many more stories do we need to hear about people who were living linear lives based on their careers, and when they get laid off they end up committing suicide because their career was all the had? The tragedy isn't just their death, but that they had abandoned a life worth living in favor of getting the right job.
I know too many people who live-to-work, their great career dominates their lives. Don't make that mistake, better to get an arts degree and become a poor but happy "artsy"
A lot of what you get from your undergrad degree is what you put into it. If you worked hard, participated in class, talked to people & networked, joined extracurricular activities, and taken on leadership positions you can learn a lot. If you sit around passively and take classes without putting all that much work into it obviously you're not going to get a lot out of it. A BA may not be as practical as an engineering degree or business degree, but it can still provide you with valuable critical thinking skills. I think on the whole it has made me a lot more confident and intelligent.
While most people don't work directly in the field they have their BA in, it is still relevant as many companies use it as a filter for weeding out applications. They receive so many applications for the entry-level positions, and since everyone applying has a degree, the only way to really start wading through the numbers is using the criteria of college major. Which is BS since often times people choose a major because they have come to the end of their sophomore year and have to make a choice. So while undergrad major doesn't seal your fate so-to-speak, it does set you up on a path, so choose wisely.
I find the question "what can I do with that degree" quite interesting.
When I was an undergraduate (BS in computer science), I was annoyed that I was not learning all the new shiny computer languages (.NET, C#, etc) but I was spending all my time learning about math and automata...and why was I wasting so much time in Philosophy and Art classes anyway?
Years later I realized that the point of an undergraduate education is not to provide you with a vocational certification, but rather to expand your mind so that you can learn on your own, pick up things and adapt to your environment. The point was to make you be able to analyze, dissect, argue cogently and have a conversation. In the sciences of course it also served as a basis for further study and understanding the underlying principles of certain basic topics for programmers and computer scientists.
How far will a BA get you? Well how far can any degree get you? The answer is that a degree is just a check mark (when it comes to work), the point is to use what you learned creatively in order to get what you want out of life.
Stop using your companies pre-printed thank you notes. Hand write a thank you note! Hand writing is much more personal and it shows you care. More...
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