By Olivia Eiken | Staff Writer
I am a first-generation college student and a survivor of the pre-med to journalism pipeline.
At no fault of my parents, I was raised to believe that attending college was essentially pointless if I didn’t pursue a STEM degree. I mean, I have a passion for written and digital media, but it’d be pointless to pursue that, right? As a current junior, I believe that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Since switching career paths after nearly a full year’s worth of mental breakdowns, I quickly realized that many people still believe the stigma of liberal arts degrees being a waste of time and money, implying that there is little to no return on the investment. However, research and statistics disprove that claim, with liberal arts degrees being shown to provide both wealth and invaluable preparation for the ever-changing job market.
David Deming, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, wrote a column for The New York Times titled “In the Salary Race, Engineers Sprint but English Majors Endure.” In the column, Deming provides substantial data supporting the long-term success of those with liberal arts educations compared to those with STEM degrees.
“The advantage for STEM majors fades steadily after their first jobs, and by age 40, the earnings of people who majored in fields like social science or history have caught up,” Deming said.
Deming noted that the average starting salary of computer science and engineering majors in 2017 was $61,744 — 37 percent higher than the average starting salary of history and social sciences majors, which was $45,032. However, the latter caught up in a number of years.
“Men majoring in computer science or engineering roughly doubled their starting salaries by age 40, to an average of $124,458,” Deming said. “Yet earnings growth is even faster in other majors, and some catch up completely. By age 40, the average salary of all male college graduates was $111,870, and social science and history majors earned $131,154 — an average that is lifted, in part, by high-paying jobs in management, business and law.”
By that alone, it is simply incorrect to assume that everyone with a liberal arts degree will live the rest of their lives chained to the shackles of student loan debt and job insecurity. A successful career is not a sprint. The coursework and education from a liberal arts degree lay the foundation for a broad range of professional trajectories.
A 2018 survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that the three essential attributes companies look for in a potential employee are strong problem-solving skills, thorough written communication and the ability to work in a collaborative environment. Other sought-after skills include verbal communication and leadership. Thankfully, many of the liberal arts paths hone these skills by placing a significant emphasis on education that promotes overall development.
Providing students with the tools to diversify their skill sets and adapt to the adversities our generation is bound to experience given the current job market is truly indispensable. I’m definitely not saying that you should stop studying for that physics exam, but if your passion is in a more creative or social field, there is no harm in exploring it.