Practical degree courses and employment — Importance of Liberal Education
In a world where practical degree courses take precedence, the importance of humanities courses, like liberal arts, is often overlooked. As a Liberal Arts undergraduate, I’ve faced struggles to pursue my dreams while contending with societal judgments. Join me as we delve into the world of liberal education, which empowers us to truly live instead of conforming to a fast-paced society that undervalues our abilities.
My Journey With Liberal Arts
I am one of the many students who chose the science stream after 10th grade. And I was a NEET aspirant until I realized that I wasn’t meant to do something that other more than 20 lakh students were already fighting for. I won’t say that I was scared of the competition but I was just not interested, respectfully. Instead of going for mental masturbation and talking about my goals here, I will just wrap it up by mentioning that looking for a course that allowed me to do whatever I planned and a college that offered that course was too much of a hassle. Because I didn’t know exactly how to pursue what I wanted to do and that’s when I found out about the concept of liberal education.
What does my course curriculum look like? I have three major subjects (political science, psychology, and philosophy), an elective subject every year in which we get to choose from subjects of sociology, journalism, and more along with some skill enhancement courses that change every semester. All the courses start with foundational training and then, with upcoming semesters, the subjects are upgraded to a better level to allow students to learn more about the same. I am pursuing my Bachelor’ degree from Manipal University, Jaipur as it is the only university that provides liberal arts education in Rajasthan. However, Symbiosis and Christ and more are some universities that offer such courses and further, good employment options could also be found in metro cities that prefer liberal arts graduates for certain positions.
What Is Up With Liberal Arts Education Exactly?
When I was doing my research while shortlisting universities, I figured that universities abroad had a broader perspective when it comes to liberal arts education as there are literally no restrictions on the courses you choose to major or minor in. And you also get to do multiple projects and internships of your interest. This is partially true for India too but the harsh truth is that you have to rely on yourself for building skills to make your courses practically applicable or they are what others say, useless. I personally think that no degree can actually guarantee you a certain level of success but what you choose to do with all the knowledge you have gained through its structure and what your input has been.
Liberal arts education isn’t paid much attention to in India so to play my part in creating better awareness about it, here is what the liberal arts degree offer (it differs according to the different course curriculums but the purpose stays the same which is mentioned ahead): Liberal art courses allows students to explore a variety of subjects instead of majoring in just one field. It adds to the competencies and skills of the students by making them critical thinkers with the learning of resources used in the world today. It exposes you to reality with the freedom of exploring as much as you can through your core and elective subjects as per your interest with a multidisciplinary approach!
How To Make The Most Out Of Your Degree
Why exactly did people start focusing on practical courses? Simply because as the requirement of the world today where AI is taking over so many jobs. And just because money is important to survive, people prefer to do what is needed and not what they want to do exactly. I am not denying that people are not passionate about sciences or businesses but I am just trying to get to the point that the world needs art and social studies as much as other fields. Wait, did I just stereotype my own degree? I am sorry because the truth is that liberal arts open the gate to many subjects for you. I have studied economics, marketing and journalism, and mass communication as my electives, which helped me figure out my interests that I did not even know I could have.
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My point is that the if you are aiming to work in a company, understand that it is gonna need writers as much as engineers. An organization is still gonna look for people who are articulate and can communicate with business leads. So, being able to find something that you enjoy must be the goal to attain a life that makes you happy while working on developing the skills that help you promote yourself as a valuable candidate. If you are willing to sacrifice a part of yourself and earn money then I am just gonna wait for you to realize the truth on your own.
The key is to put yourself out there, expose yourself to the subjects offered, and put your own effort into learning about the ones that interest you the most so you can pursue a career in them later. Do extra courses, be a part of the university’s extra activities, talk about your interests and build networks and understand that you can monetize your art too because to be honest, with this much population, all markets are saturated so unless you have the power to present what uniqueness you can offer, no one is really gonna pay attention, no matter what course or college you are from.
Why This Article?
The sole purpose of this article is to strike up a conversation about liberal arts education because honestly, not many people know about it. And the people who do, are not wise enough to pay attention to the significance of it. As I took up the course after giving it a lot of thought, I feel like it is my responsibility to make sure that my other peers who opt for it are sure about it and value it as much s it deserves. And I am sorry that this was not an article that guided you regarding your whole career because you will have to figure that out on your own, buddy.
Here is a final note for all the people who have nothing to do with liberal arts education: The least you can do is not demean the value it offers. And if you are someone who would like to start a conversation on the same, you can get in touch with me through any of the platforms linked here: https://linktr.ee/muskan.purohit
