My sister-in-law, who is a freshman in college, came to
visit sunny Alabama for spring break. We talked about her college classes, her
friends, joining the intramural bowling team, and finally came to the topic
every relative of every college freshman trots out during family gatherings
since, well, the dawn of higher education.
Her major.
Turns out, she likes her ancient history class and knows all
the names of early Roman emperors. She fantasizes about traveling to the
Mediterranean to dig up the bones of our pre-historic ancestors. I thought as
hard as I could, accessing all my career super-powers, and acclaimed, “Have you
thought about majoring in history or anthropology?”
She had, of course. Astonishing how many people know what
they want without even a counselor’s super-powers. Then:
“But you can’t do anything with a history major.”
Ah, my friends, here, as Hamlet says, is the rub. What will
the history major do after she’s graduated? Or, for that matter, the English,
art, philosophy, music, Spanish, or theater major? It’s no secret only a select
few write the next great American novel or land roles on Broadway, and these
few not only made the best grades, gained huge amounts of related experience
since age five, and created connections with all the right people. Plenty of
liberal arts majors have done the same. The “professional” liberal artists of
our generation also were born under some, even if it’s barely twinkling, lucky
star. The hard truth is that, yes, almost all liberal arts majors do not “do”
what they “went to school for.”
But not being able to do anything
with a liberal arts degree? That’s just unimaginative. You’re a liberal arts
major, right? Haven’t you learned to be creative? To find answers to problems
in new ways?
What about those excellent writing skills you gained in Personal
Essays 311? You learned to work as a team with every cast and crew member for
the curtain go up on opening night, right? What about that verbal fluidity you
loved cultivating in Ethics, ferreting out holes in classmates’ arguments? And
hey, didn’t you perform well under pressure during your senior recital, even
though you also took four classes and served at Mellow Mushroom this spring? These
are called transferable skills , and, my dear liberal arts major,
employers want them.
I’ll tell you another secret: these employers don’t care if
you developed these skills as a business major, family studies major, or liberal
arts major, but they need you to make that connection between your degree and
your transferable skills for them. It’s up to you to explicitly flash the following
in neon lights: “Developed Strong Leadership Capabilities Through Stage
Managing Cast Of 50.” Otherwise, they’ll never know how jam-packed full of
skills that theater degree really is.
Who are these employers? And how do you find them?
Honestly,
they’re everywhere. Now, these employers certainly do not hire liberal arts
majors for positions that require specific degree paths (think nurses,
engineers, architects, etc.), but every engineering firm and every hospital
needs people to organize, schedule, promote their services, and basically keep
their business running. Find a company or organization you like, and look at
the position posting section on their website. I guarantee you’ll find
positions for the liberal arts major, more than likely camouflaged in titles
like “Coordinator,” “Outreach Assistant,” or “Social Media Editor.” Truly,
liberal arts majors can be found anywhere, and do not just end up in education
(tell that to the aunt who inevitably asks at holiday dinners, “What are you
going to do with that- teach?!”), unless, of course, they want to be teaching.
But there’s another glitch to gaining that position. Not
only does the savvy liberal arts major market her transferable skills well, she
plans ahead. She knows that it’s not enough to just have a degree, but that
almost all employers are looking for related experience. If she’s going to be hired right after
graduation, that means she has to gain experience while still in school. This
means pursuing an internship, co-op, or volunteer opportunity within the
industry in which you’re hoping to work.
So, go on, major in your most-loved subject, and create a
career plan. Be prepared that, more than likely, your career following
graduation may not be exactly in that
subject area. This may be frustrating. I argue that if you’re convinced you
shouldn’t major in art because you won’t be able be able to use that degree,
well, then you spend your entire college career and beyond not doing art. But
if you major in art knowing you might not get to use all aspects of your art
degree, you at least spend four years immersed in your passion, and then
hopefully are in a better position to either engage in art in your spare time following
graduation while earning a living, or find ways to incorporate your passion
into your current position.
For example, an English major who works in a career center
can volunteer to write a blog post on using a liberal arts degree.
Shari Black
Graduate Assistant in the Career Center
pursuing PhD in Counseling Psychology
Bachelor of Arts in Theater and English
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