Can someone explain it to me why Americans are so fixated on studying arts?

[Gooberlx2]

The article compares lists of overall degrees awarded in the US, vs curriculum for foreign students in the US. Sounds like built-in selection bias to me.

The science, medical, engineering and tech programs in the US are still world class. It isn't surprising that a greater percentage of foreign students would be enrolled in and studying those subjects.

 

[endlessmike]

Because as a person with an "arts" degree who works with mostly engineers, even 5 percent seems like way too damn many of you to deal with.

 

[CPA]

And if you polled the OWS crowd, most of those that have degrees probably have worthless liberal arts degrees.

 

[CPA]

The world needs very few historians, psychologists and theater producers. People should not go into debt studying arts. They should go to a trade school, get a real job, and then study arts on their own (or take classes when they can afford it.)

Art degrees = big fucking joke because it is completely subjective and any fucking idiot can do it.

But it's easy to get a degree and then easier to complain that you don't have a high paying job.

 

[Patranus]

What am I missing......

America: 5.6***37; - Visual and Performing arts.
International: 5.2% - Fine and Applied Arts.

 

[endlessmike]

But it's easy to get a degree and then easier to complain that you don't have a high paying job.

I don't think this is true at all. Where I went, I believe the majority of majors aside from business and engineering used to require completion of 4 foreign language classes.

Not many engineers I know could have handled an upper level English course, let alone Spanish 4. Just because you're better in (or enjoy more) one area than someone else, it doesn't equate to it being easy or hard or better or worse.

What's wrong with pursuing one's strengths or areas of interest?

 

[busydude]

What I find even more confusing is that.. in the US electricians, mechanics, plumbers and welders get paid substantially more than people with degree in art.

If you go to any 3rd world country.. all of the above get paid in peanuts.

 

[piasabird]

I think this is a case of symmantics.

I work at a community college and this may be confusing you for the wrong reason. Often for an associate degree that is being transferred to a 4 year institution they do not want to see a degree in Applied Science. This usually inticates courses which will not transfer outside of a degree. Lots of degrees fall under this category from fire science to office technology to computer degrees. So the university usually wants to see either a 2 year degree in AA or AS. The only difference is one course in either a math a science or a fine art. So many degrees are Bachelor of Arts like a 4 year degree in Nursing or even a business degree. Sometimes degrees are more generalized than specific. It is just the terminology. For instance a degree in literature or phylosophy might be classified as a bachelor of Arts. Only when the degree says Fine Arts is it acutally an Art Degree. Another example might be a teaching degree.

I am 53 and work at Community College. I do scanning in the Dept of Admissions and Records. I scan a lot of transcripts and hear these kind of subjects discussed all the time.

 

[Dumac]

I don't think this is true at all. Where I went, I believe the majority of majors aside from business and engineering used to require completion of 4 foreign language classes.

Not many engineers I know could have handled an upper level English course, let alone Spanish 4. Just because you're better in (or enjoy more) one area than someone else, it doesn't equate to it being easy or hard or better or worse.

What's wrong with pursuing one's strengths or areas of interest?

Bullshit.

At my school, we engineers have to take a wide variety of liberal arts courses. And we do better than the majority of the class.

I'm tired of hearing that 'engineers can do math but really, honestly they are bad at English and liberal arts classes!'. I spend much, much less time on a liberal arts class than an engineering class, and get just as good, if not better, of a grade.

 

[endlessmike]

What I find even more confusing is that.. in the US electricians, mechanics, plumbers and welders get paid substantially more than people with degree in art.

If you go to any 3rd world country.. all of the above get paid in peanuts.

Maybe they don't want to be knee-deep in somebody's steamer.

Maybe they don't have the mechanical aptitude for those jobs.

Maybe there's something in the arts that they really enjoy doing and thus don't care about rolling around in piles of money like Scrooge McDuck in exchange for an enjoyable existence.

And those trades should be paid well, they require a skill that has to be developed over time, and are not something that everyone can or is willing to do.

Not sure why the general concensus here is that anyone with an BA or BFA is an unemployable dimwit hippie with $100,000 in loans crying about their failed lives while making chalk drawings on the sidewalk.

 

[piasabird]

My son went to school for Physics. However, he has always liked the IT field. So while going to school he minored in computer science. He is currently working in Utah in the IT server and networking area. He just finished his CCNA Certification. He has been doing customer support for a company that ran a kind of server farm environment. So you could say his degree is in Science. However, he has an interest in Nano technology, medical science, accupuncture, and a wide variety of subjects. He took Korean for 2 semesters in College for his non-western requirements. As a whole I would say that most degrees in the USA require a wide scope of subjects. You can say that for almost any degree at a post secondary accredited college or university.

 

[endlessmike]

Bullshit.

At my school, we engineers have to take a wide variety of liberal arts courses. And we do better than the majority of the class.

I'm tired of hearing that 'engineers can do math but really, honestly they are bad at English and liberal arts classes!'. I spend much, much less time on a liberal arts class than an engineering class, and get just as good, if not better, of a grade.

And I'm tired of hearing that I can't do math or science because I chose to do something that I enjoy more. I have a good job, I am happy, and there's one more engineering job out there for you instead.

 

[Dumac]

And I'm tired of hearing that I can't do math or science because I chose to do something that I enjoy more. I have a good job, I am happy, and there's one more engineering job out there for you instead.

Point out where I said that.

OH? I DIDN'T.

 

[endlessmike]

Point out where I said that.

OH? I DIDN'T.

Print out where I said that YOU SPECIFICALLY did...

Come on mate, reading comprehension had to be in one of those LA classes you had to take.

 

[piasabird]

My college Campus has about 6 or 7 sculptures. So I can see a need for Arts.

 

[Dumac]

Print out where I said that YOU SPECIFICALLY did...

Come on mate, reading comprehension had to be in one of those LA classes you had to take.

HYUK HYUK HYUK.

Well aren't you clever. I bet you feel really witty right now.

Spoiler

You aren't.

Are you dense? You replied to MY POST (which, by the way, directly commented on your post) with this UNRELATED comment.

And I'm tired of hearing that I can't do math or science because I chose to do something that I enjoy more. I have a good job, I am happy, and there's one more engineering job out there for you instead.

I asked for you to point out where I said that (which doesn't exist) because that is the ONLY WAY your comment could be even slightly relevant. Next time, try to refrain from making unrelated comments when having a discussion, and instead focus on the topic at hand.

 

[Genx87]

I think it is the whole "get a degree regardless of its value" mentality we have as a country. There is also a lot of loan, scholarship, and grant money flowing around the country to help these kids get a degree in arts. If that dried up you may see a lot of those people not attend college and more science based degree's lead as a %.

 

[Dumac]

I think it is the whole "get a degree regardless of its value" mentality we have as a country. There is also a lot of loan, scholarship, and grant money flowing around the country to help these kids get a degree in arts. If that dried up you may see a lot of those people not attend college and more science based degree's lead as a %.

Yeah, I agree.

A degree is an investment of both time and money. Why do it if the payoff isn't worth it at the end?

Not everyone has to go to college.

 

[endlessmike]

You know what Dumac (and you other guys), I'm certainly not trying to argue or degrade your accomplishments. Just was attempting to make the point that chosing to do one thing over another, or being better at one discipline over another, didn't make one easier, harder, better, or worse.

I obviously hit a nerve with you, so I think you would be able to understand why it frustrates me when people say things like such and such degree is taking the easy way out, or that's all they could handle, etc...

Don't want to keep going back and forth on this, and should've seen where this was going early on anyhow.

Edit - Again, I never said or inferred that YOU said that. You commented on what you were tired of hearing, and I quoted you to respond with what I was tired if hearing - throughout life in general, not from you or from others here specifically.

 

[zanejohnson]

it's true.. most people get an associates in arts..because it's the easiest degree plan to transfer to a uni...

thanks corparate america for making college corporate!

 

[datalink7]

I asked for you to point out where I said that (which doesn't exist) because that is the ONLY WAY your comment could be even slightly relevant. Next time, try to refrain from making unrelated comments when having a discussion, and instead focus on the topic at hand.

Most likely he was simply using what you said as a segue into the topic of his comment, which is an acceptable form of relevancy. He didn't say anything against you, or what you were saying.

I'm not sure where your hostility is based.

 

[Imp]

Bullshit.

At my school, we engineers have to take a wide variety of liberal arts courses. And we do better than the majority of the class.

I'm tired of hearing that 'engineers can do math but really, honestly they are bad at English and liberal arts classes!'. I spend much, much less time on a liberal arts class than an engineering class, and get just as good, if not better, of a grade.

I work at an engineering company and I would say more than 2/3 of all engineers I've had the "pleasure" of working with couldn't write for shit. The ones that can are in supervisor/management positions, which are few and far between. I'm one of the few who can write (I write terribly compared to good writers, which says something).

Having said that, I worked in a liberal arts department in the company for a year, and most of them wrote shittely too.

From my experience, having finished a 4 year engineering program and am almost done a masters, engineering students are just good students - they'll do good mark-wise in most courses. Most courses I've taken (no English or writing ones) don't give too many marks for grammar and style, and focus on content.

 

[jersiq]

Bullshit.

At my school, we engineers have to take a wide variety of liberal arts courses. And we do better than the majority of the class.

I'm tired of hearing that 'engineers can do math but really, honestly they are bad at English and liberal arts classes!'. I spend much, much less time on a liberal arts class than an engineering class, and get just as good, if not better, of a grade.

Here's a math question for you: Got any stats to back that up?

Otherwise you are just blowing smoke out of your ass.

 

[purbeast0]

because it is easy and kids now a days are lazy as shit and want everything handed to them.

 

[endlessmike]

Most likely he was simply using what you said as a segue into the topic of his comment, which is an acceptable form of relevancy. He didn't say anything against you, or what you were saying.

I'm not sure where your hostility is based.

Yes, I was agreeing and linking his comment to my similar experience.

I should not have made the earlier generalization though, I do apologize for that and should've thought better of it considering I don't appreciate generalizations about my degree either.

Move on? Yeah? Great.