Humanities Degree: Waste of Money or Strategic Investment?

By ELAINA GONZALEZ/ Opinion Editor

“What are you going to do with that degree?” Almost every student majoring in the humanities has heard this question from family, friends, or even fellow colleagues. This questioning is usually followed by the well-intended assumption, “Are you going to be a teacher?”

Despite this common belief, teaching is only one of many career avenues for humanities majors. From language studies to visual art to history, humanitarians possess hard and soft skills desired by workplaces in almost every field. The acquisition of such skills is arguably a positive investment in one’s career – whatever that ends up being. 

Soft Skills 

Soft skills are qualities, traits and characteristics a professional brings to the workplace. Humanitarian degrees train students in an array of soft skills that can (and must) be used in all professions.

In her article titled “Top 5 Skills Employers Look For,” Marissa Campbell says that the five most sought-after skills are:

1. Critical thinking and problem solving
2. Teamwork and collaboration
3. Professionalism and strong work ethic
4. Oral and written communications skills
5. Leadership

These qualities are exercised and developed in the process of obtaining a humanities degree. Students must learn to think critically about literature and scholarship while drawing conclusions and overcoming obstacles in research. To the surprise of many, humanities-based fields are often highly collaborative; students often work in teams to gather and present data.

Both individual and team-oriented academic situations grow humanities students into professional communicators and leaders. 

Hard Skills

Hard skills are technical, experience-based abilities specific to a role in the workplace. The study of the humanities spans several disciplines and fields of expertise which yield a variety of hard skills. Still, there are some that are common among the humanities degrees.

Proper writing and editing is the first of these. While students learn how to write in some capacity while in college, humanities students may receive formal training. The skill of truly good writing is underrated; in fact, a study from 2009 found that over half of American adults fail to spell common English words. The humanities student’s ability to write – and edit other people’s writing – is highly valuable today. 

Conducting research is another skill developed in the humanities. Humanities degrees familiarize students with databases such as Google Scholar and JSTOR that house free, scholarly data. While these journals and articles are  frequently used in academia, knowing how to do research is useful in many workplaces for finding both job-specific and general information. 

Job Possibilities

Although many students dread the prospect of “after graduation,” but humanities students need not fear. There are a surprising amount of career paths available to these graduates – even beyond the usual guesses of “teacher” or “writer” that many associate with the degree.

Humanities careers are often writing-based, but they can take root in business, international affairs, or media. According to this article from the University of California, humanities students can work in advertising, publishing, content creation, and social work, among others.  Some students even use attention to detail and writing skills to pursue law school. 

All in all, humanities careers are as rich and prosperous as those associated with other majors; each student should choose a specific major and degree level as required in their job of choice. 

The Salary

“Teachers don’t get paid enough” is a common mantra heard by most undergraduate students.

Although it is true that teaching is a common route, and teachers remain underpaid, this career is a necessary and beneficial to society. 

Still, humanities students who do not possess this specific passion have many other options, many of which pay surprisingly well. Many positions in business and corporate writing pay well above average starting out, while others gradually increase in pay as the professional progresses in their career.

Conclusion

The humanities major is not a waste of time and money; it is a valuable asset to young professionals and a benefit to society. Students who pursue the humanities have a diverse range of opportunities available. This type of degree is an investment that will serve students well as they advance in their professional lives. 

 

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