5 Reasons You Should Pursue a Degree in Humanities
“Our culture is more shaped by the arts and humanities than it often is by politics.” – Jim Leach
You often come across students wondering if a humanities degree is worth it? Will I still have good job opportunities coming from a background of arts or social sciences or literature? The answer is a big YES!
Growing up in an Indian household, I have seen the elders in the family giving judgments about the intellect of a child based on his/her choice of the subjects after high school. Choosing an STEM field is seen as a sure shot path to success. A decision to study Commerce is accepted with a gulp. But if you commit the unpardonable sin of pursuing Humanities, your career is doomed, is what the common perception is. It is high time we shatter these opinions.
Here are 5 reasons why you should pursue a degree in humanities:
- Technology alone is not enough -
Technology can bring great results, but only when it coupled with Humanities. They say, coding enhances critical thinking but does it mean that humanities doesn’t? Studying humanities will help you interpret things with a deeper perspective on a problem. Humanities is a field which will help you appreciate and find meaning in almost everything you come across.
A person from Humanities background can provide creative solutions for the ongoing challenges we face as a society. It is someone from Humanities, say Sociology or Psychology or Women Studies, who in the first place will say that we need a location tracking for women to use for safety and it is the techie who then goes on to make it.
2. Similar unemployment rates as others -
When it comes to underemployment, those who have majored in the humanities do much better than what the general perception is. Respondents to the 2018 American Community Survey indicate that humanities graduates have similar unemployment rates as graduates from other areas, such as math, the sciences, and engineering. The reported unemployment rate for all degree holders was 2.17% and 2.13% for humanities degree holders.(2018, American Community Survey).
3 . Offers a wide range of career options-
A degree in the humanities opens a wide range of career options from teachers, artists to writers, and marketers to government jobs and various other fields.
This is possible only because the skills and knowledge acquired in humanities degree can be applied to many industries and contexts. If you are not very sure of the particular career that you want to pursue, then a humanities degree has got you covered.
4. Not so shabby paycheck?
Humanities degree offers higher paycheck than what is generally perceived. The statistics given below show that a humanities major earns more than the average employee.
The table summarizes median annual salary for some of the humanities jobs:
5. The course is liberal -
Humanities offers a wide range of subjects to study. By studying history, philosophy, and literature, you can see how far technology, science and medicine have grown and how important they have come to be in people’s lives. From this, you will then be able to see what kind of impact they will have in the future. This will also allow you to get into these fields with a much better understanding and a more open mindset. Humanities also offers you courses in subjects like Political Science which gives you a complete understanding of the Government, nature of politics, and the political system in your country.
Basically, humanities offers a wide range of subjects to study and explore your interests in. Humanities degrees are not useless, they contribute so much to our society and can lead to important and impactful careers.
