Arts degrees

[Windmill]

So you know, you can go for specalised degree of science, law, engineering, health, teaching, accountancy etc setting you up for a particular job. Heck even fine art degrees and music set you up for particular jobs.

What about about arts degrees? I mean concerning things like history, classical studies, english, religious studies, etc. These sorts of "open-ended" things that apparently give you "flexible skills" to use towards any career.

Do you think having a arts degree will really just be a waste of money/time in the long run?

 

[emmzee]

It depends a lot on which specialization you're considering. Ex, English degree could lead into being a writer/editor, but also could lead to journalism or something like that. Religious studies could lead to working with a Christian organization (like Campus Crusade or something) or work at a church. It used to be that such degrees were kinda like wildcards that could get you in a large variety of places; but nowadays when a huge % of ppl have post-secondary degrees they're not as universally useful. (If you're going to hire someone for your business, would you hire someone who studied business admin, computer science, or ancient history? Yeah ...)

You'll have to do some research into the particular major you're considering to see where grads work ... oftentimes schools themselves will provide suggestions re "future careers" or something like that on their info pages.

 

[sunstruckdream]

No, it's not a waste of time. I'm an English major, which opens up several options. For one thing, it's a great foundation for law school, because law schools want people who can read, write, and communicate. I could also go into teaching, cross over into Communication Arts, or, as I plan on, go into the literature field and work in editing and publishing. It's good to consider what kind of career you might want first, but as a student at a liberal arts college, I see all kinds of productive things.

 

[sunstruckdream]

No, it's not a waste of time. I'm an English major, which opens up several options. For one thing, it's a great foundation for law school, because law schools want people who can read, write, and communicate. I could also go into teaching, cross over into Communication Arts, or, as I plan on, go into the literature field and work in editing and publishing. It's good to consider what kind of career you might want first, but as a student at a liberal arts college, I see all kinds of productive things.

 

[seamonster]

I am an English major and I think it's a good degree for me because I want to be a writer and a homeschool mom. For people who want to make a lot of money, I would stick more to technical fields. It really just depends on what your career goals are.

 

[AFallingStar]

I used to be an English major, but I felt that because of the popularity of the major and the career outlook for many of the jobs English majors would be competing for, it would be beneficial to switch specializations. That said, my objective with a college degree is mainly to find a good job, and the information my advisors provided me with indicated it would be difficult with my major, but I definitely don't think the knowledge one may learn with an English major is wasted. Writing skills and reading comprehension usually improve a lot.

 

[Blank123]

i'm planning on being a French major within the year, God willing, and i'm taking it first and foremost for interest's sake since i am in love with languages. But with that degree i could go into translation, i could work for the government, i could go in to teaching. There's always something you can do with the degree if you've done your research and are willing to put the effort into it

 

[kittysbecute]

So you know, you can go for specalised degree of science, law, engineering, health, teaching, accountancy etc setting you up for a particular job. Heck even fine art degrees and music set you up for particular jobs.

What about about arts degrees? I mean concerning things like history, classical studies, english, religious studies, etc. These sorts of "open-ended" things that apparently give you "flexible skills" to use towards any career.

Do you think having a arts degree will really just be a waste of money/time in the long run?

I'm hoping to transfer in fall 2009 and double major in History, and in Bible with a biblical languages emphasis.
I don't know exactly what I'm going to do after college, but I have some ideas of what to do with those majors, and am open to whatever. I chose those degrees because that is where my interest lies, and that I can actually get passing grades in.

In my case if I were going to get a degree in say Math or science, I'm not sure that it would be very useful to me personally as I don't think I would use the degree.

So my choice of my arts degrees I don't think will be a waste of money. Of course I have no idea how I'm going to pay for them.

It took me 2 years of college before I figured out what degree to stick with. And it's taking me 2 more years to finish general ed so I can start on my degrees. (it takes an average of 3 years usually to finish general ed, at my jr college)
If you don't know what you are going to do or what major I recommend taking your time before chosing a major, take general ed classes in the different subjects that you think are interesting, and chose from there.

 

[Windmill]

Thanks guys for the input

I'm thinking of being a Religious Studies major, and maybe a Biblical Studies major (it'd be a double major) with a minor in something like philosophy or history. I'd then go on and do post-grad studies in management.