Is College Worth the Investment if You are a Liberal Arts Major?

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Is College Worth the Investment if You are a Liberal Arts Major?

  • Yes

  • No


Results are only viewable after voting.

DCal430

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2011
6,020
9
81
Without the Liberal Arts Majors actually discovering important shit, their would be no Engineers. We would all still be living in caves.
 

Born2bwire

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2005
9,840
6
71
I would say yes. The fact remains that people with Liberal Arts degrees can get jobs and opportunities that they would not otherwise had gotten without attending university. And of course there are still many jobs out there that are looking for a Liberal Arts education. The problem of course is that a Liberal Arts education does not guide most individuals into a particular career path like a more technically focused degree like in Engineering. In the future, there is obviously going to be a continued demand for Liberal Arts educated individuals. Those that go into the degree, however, need to put forth effort to be more aware of their future employment opportunities, what they need to get out of their education, and how to leverage their education into a career. This is a tough task for someone that is just coming out of high school into the world but it is necessary. A degree is not a guaranteed career or job security and students need to do their due diligence if they hope to actually make a return on their investment.

To me, this is one of those broad brush descriptions. Liberal Arts is a very broad category and one needs to look specifically into the different areas and make a value judgement at that point in time on whether or not it would present a worthwhile investment. But on the whole, Liberal Arts is still a degree that has employment opportunities and demand. You just may want to rethink blindly stepping into a discipline in the department.
 

irishScott

Lifer
Oct 10, 2006
21,568
3
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Without the Liberal Arts Majors actually discovering important shit, their would be no Engineers. We would all still be living in caves.

That's true. Every few centuries technology (and therefore scientists and engineers) allows Liberal Arts majors to contribute something of tangible value.
 

DCal430

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2011
6,020
9
81
Right. Because clearly art history majors figured out agriculture ^_^

No but mathematicians, physicist, chemist, biologist, and what not have discovered things vital to our society. Art History majors capture this history of our art which should never be lost.
 

DCal430

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2011
6,020
9
81
That's true. Every few centuries tecnology (and therefore scientists and engineers) allows Liberal Arts majors to contribute something of tangible value.

Scientist are part Liberal Arts.

Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, Biology, and Economics are all part of the Liberal Arts.
 

nehalem256

Lifer
Apr 13, 2012
15,669
8
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No but mathematicians, physicist, chemist, biologist, and what not have discovered things vital to our society. Art History majors capture this history of our art which should never be lost.

Scientist are part Liberal Arts.

Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, Biology, and Economics are all part of the Liberal Arts.

I think you are wrong there. If something is a STEM subject it is clearly not liberal arts.

Mathematics being clearly under the M ^_^

Chemistry, physics, astronomy, and biology clearly being under the S
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
72,327
6,040
126
Hey I didn't lobby for it. You could have been better than me, many are in many ways. But from all appearance, you're far from it.

Hehehehe, you are funny. You are so competitive that even though I have admitted you are better than me you've come back to kick the dead body. I'm troubled, you've known a few, I could have been better but I'm not, please, seriously, you win. You are much much much much better than me. I'm a worthless psycho-babbling twit and all the rest of it. I'm the one whose blind and lives in an invisible prison that I just made up. Of course you didn't have to lobby to win, you started out a natural. Pay no attention to the 'whatever it is' behind the curtain who told you that's how you would react.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
72,327
6,040
126
Scientist are part Liberal Arts.

Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, Biology, and Economics are all part of the Liberal Arts.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

The average liberal arts college will offer majors in the following subjects: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, geology, religion, art, usually music, psychology, philosophy, sociology, history, political science, economics, English, languages (French, German, Spanish, and usually other languages), women's/gender studies, urban study, African-American studies (may use a different name), phys. ed, and a few other subjects. Majors not usually available in a liberal arts curriculum include business, engineering, archeology, architecture, nursing, and accounting.
 

Farang

Lifer
Jul 7, 2003
10,914
3
0
If you go to a college that provides good networking opportunities (read: elite university or large university in a major city you plan on living), yes.

3 years out of college, my biggest lesson learned: It's not what you know it's who you know.
 

nehalem256

Lifer
Apr 13, 2012
15,669
8
0
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

The average liberal arts college will offer majors in the following subjects: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science, geology, religion, art, usually music, psychology, philosophy, sociology, history, political science, economics, English, languages (French, German, Spanish, and usually other languages), women's/gender studies, urban study, African-American studies (may use a different name), phys. ed, and a few other subjects. Majors not usually available in a liberal arts curriculum include business, engineering, archeology, architecture, nursing, and accounting.

Those would all seem to be STEM majors. Counting them as "liberal arts" is rather indigenous.
 

nanette1985

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2005
4,209
2
0
My younger daughter's history degree got her a really nice scholarship to Law School. She got the history degree with scholarships.
 

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
20,348
3,426
126
If you go to a college that provides good networking opportunities (read: elite university or large university in a major city you plan on living), yes.

3 years out of college, my biggest lesson learned: It's not what you know it's who you know.

This is very very true. When I interviewed for my current job and my previous job parts of my interview deviated from traditional interviewing and turned to discussions of our alma mater. I have no doubt it played a part in my being hired
 

DominionSeraph

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2009
8,391
31
91
Liberal thought and philosophizing is great, necessarry and certainly has its place... but at the end of the day it simply isn't that productive. I'm not saying its worthless, hell it was philosophers who produced logic and the scientific method. But in the modern era it would seem that similar groundbreaking modes of thought are much less likely to be realized. At least until the underlying technology makes them possible.

This is an example of why we need philosophers
|Production| is not good unto itself. It exists within a larger framework of use, which is determined by philosophy. Just because we've been advancing in liberal humanism for the last couple hundred years doesn't mean we've somehow permanently won and that ignorant, small-minded conservatism is permanently marginalized; that conservatives will never again wield the tools of war towards their inadequately-minded purposes. Society is continually renewing itself, which means that psychological parasites that have evolved to nestle within the ignorant human mind have an advantage right out of the gate. Teaching only vocational skills leaves the rest of the mind undeveloped: fertile soil which has no defenses against conservatism taking root.
 
Last edited:

irishScott

Lifer
Oct 10, 2006
21,568
3
0
Hehehehe, you are funny. You are so competitive that even though I have admitted you are better than me you've come back to kick the dead body. I'm troubled, you've known a few, I could have been better but I'm not, please, seriously, you win. You are much much much much better than me. I'm a worthless psycho-babbling twit and all the rest of it. I'm the one whose blind and lives in an invisible prison that I just made up. Of course you didn't have to lobby to win, you started out a natural. Pay no attention to the 'whatever it is' behind the curtain who told you that's how you would react.

Oh that was serious? I thought it was sarcasm. Because it would be coming from most people. And the fact that you can predict basic human reactions doesn't make you some kind of sage.

tumblr_m78ff7g2lL1rbslhuo1_500.jpg



So if you've admitted that I'm better than you in a general sense, why should I listen to you?
 

nehalem256

Lifer
Apr 13, 2012
15,669
8
0
STEM and Liberal Arts are not not exclusive things. Some of the STEM are part of the Liberal Arts.

When people say liberal arts they mean not STEM.

Broadly I would say you have

STEM
Liberal arts
Business

and a few odd balls like nursing and education.
 

DCal430

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2011
6,020
9
81
When people say liberal arts they mean not STEM.

Broadly I would say you have

STEM
Liberal arts
Business

and a few odd balls like nursing and education.

According to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts

In modern times liberal arts is a term which can be interpreted in different ways. It can refer to certain areas of literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, psychology, and science.[3] It can also refer to studies on a liberal arts degree program. For example, Harvard University offers a Master of Liberal Arts degree, which covers biological and social sciences as well as the humanities.[4] For both interpretations, the term generally refers to matters not relating to the professional, vocational, or technical curricula.
 

modestninja

Senior member
Jul 17, 2003
753
0
76
Wow. Someone's feeling inadequate, lol.

Nah, it's just how it works. Generally scientists make the broad discoveries and the theory behind how it works and engineers work out how apply the theory in the "real" world. You need both types to get anything done.
 

nehalem256

Lifer
Apr 13, 2012
15,669
8
0

In modern times liberal arts is a term which can be interpreted in different ways. It can refer to certain areas of literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, psychology, and science.[3] It can also refer to studies on a liberal arts degree program. For example, Harvard University offers a Master of Liberal Arts degree, which covers biological and social sciences as well as the humanities.[4] For both interpretations, the term generally refers to matters not relating to the professional, vocational, or technical curricula.

Your own quote would seem to back up my point of view just as well.

And I think it is pretty obvious that when people question the value of a liberal arts degree they are excluding STEM majors whether or not they are technically a liberal art.
 

berzerker60

Golden Member
Jul 18, 2012
1,233
1
0
Ugh, the old "liberal arts vs. STEM" debate, and on a tech forum where we're sure to have an extra dose of STEM people who've never bothered to read any history, philosophy, or social studies of science or technology written in the past 50 years and just regurgitate propaganda from their science textbooks about how science follows a clear Scientific Method and achieves Truth about Nature, leading to all technology.

Aside from the statistical truth that a college degree in any subject will have a net gain to your income (on average, of course, not in every single case), people piss all over subjects they don't know a thing about, just assuming that they're worthless because they can't imagine how these subjects would be worthwhile.