The Benefits of Liberal Arts Education in the 21st Century

In this fast-paced digital age, where STEM education courses are ruling the market, hearing your son or daughter majoring in the liberal arts can easily disappoint you. But why? Is liberal arts not a rewarding career stream? Many believe that majoring in liberal arts can leave your career astray or leave you unemployed. You may never receive the salary amount you desire or find the job security that STEM fields often promise. If you are also one of them, then you need a reality check. Surprisingly Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, US ex-president Barak Obama, Michael Eisner, former Walt Disney Company CEO, and Richard Plepler, HBO CEO, all are liberal arts graduates. So, when your friends joke that there cannot be a better career than a Philosophy major, they might not be completely wrong. It is important that we no longer get trapped in the mindset of corporate conformity and keep ourselves open to diverse career choices. Let’s discuss why integrating liberal arts into your education has become an indispensable foundation for innovative thinking and career success. But first, let’s understand the concept of liberal arts.

What is Liberal Arts Education?

Although many of us confuse it with a degree in arts or humanities, a liberal arts degree encompasses different academic disciplines under the same umbrella. For example, If am pursuing a liberal arts education with an undergraduate major in Child Psychology, I would also have statistics, geology, history, literature, and world religions, as subjects.

This gives a child an inclusive understanding of the world, diverse cultures and human experience. Liberal arts degrees include many disciplines that often grant no clear pathway from degree to career. For example a degree in Philosophy. But that doesn’t mean liberal arts won’t prepare you for a career. The curriculum of liberal arts is so designed that a single degree in liberal arts can prepare students for a multitude of careers.

Liberal arts offers you a lot of transferable skills that help you pull off various technical and non-technical job roles. These transferable skills include critical thinking, research skills, cultural awareness, effective communication, creative problem-solving, interpersonal skills, adaptability, attention to detail, public speaking, writing proficiency and many more.

Benefits of Studying Liberal Arts Education in the 21st Century

If you consider the latest career trends, it is clear that the majority of graduates are solely focused on STEM courses that seem more promising to offer high-paying jobs and job security. Because they think that’s the only way to survive in the competitive market. However, that’s not true Studying liberal arts education can provide you with a well-rounded skill set, blending all the qualities (like creative thinking and communication)  that you may need to excel in various technical and non-technical job streams. The benefits of studying liberal arts education in the 21st century are as follows:

• Helps you Develop Critical Thinking Skills and Effective Communication

Studying liberal arts hones your critical thinking skills helping you to effectively analyse a problem and evaluate its different perspectives. Along with that, liberal arts students also learn to articulate their thoughts objectively and thus they can skillfully give presentations, debate topics, and engage in meaningful dialogue. These skills are undoubtedly invaluable in every profession, enabling professionals to simplify complex concepts and deliver them clearly.

• Brings Cultural Awareness and Interdisciplinary Knowledge to Adapt to Numerous Job Roles

One of the best things about liberal arts is that it imparts knowledge about various cultures and exposes you to diverse cultures, histories and norms. This broadens your worldview and makes you adaptable to various ethnicities and mindsets across the globe. You won’t be hesitant to take up job roles that are far from your homeland and have a completely different cultural and societal environment.

Furthermore, the domain of liberal arts also offers interdisciplinary knowledge that integrates multiple disciplines that help you to make versatile career choices in the future.

• Heightens Your Creative Solving Ability and Ethical Reasoning to offer out-of-the-box solutions

The curriculum of liberal arts is designed to enhance your creative problem-solving ability so that you can tackle open-ended questions and think out-of-the-box to give solutions.

Many a time, in leadership and managerial positions we require imaginative and unconventional approaches, and liberal arts is just the right academic stream for that. Liberal arts teaches students to think about the moral implications of each decision, enhancing the skills of ethical reasoning.

Students pursuing liberal arts are not only innovative in approach but are also ethically sound, valuing professional assets and mindfully using the resources.

• Instils a Habit of Continuous Learning and Strong Research Skills

The key benefit of liberal arts is to develop a love for lifelong learning. While pursuing a degree in liberal arts students are encouraged to remain open-minded and continually seek more knowledge about the subjects. The habit of continuous learning gives rise to strong research skills, helping individuals to survive even in corporate settings.

It helps the students to gather, analyse and interpret information and stay relevant and competitive in a specific field.

• Encourages Teamwork and Collaboration To Work Effectively in a Wide Range of Career Options

Liberal arts students are usually excellent in teamwork and collaboration due to engagement in group projects, debates, discussions and activities.

They learn how to effectively communicate, delegate tasks, and resolve conflicts, working as a team. Many job profiles require you to be a team player and collaborate with your associates to complete the job, liberal arts seem to be the best foundation for such technical and non-technical job roles.

• Provides a Global Perspective and understanding of Various International Issues

With liberal arts studies, you develop a knack for in-depth research and eventually, you develop an eye for details. This tremendously helps you in many professional job roles and helps you finish your work with accuracy and precision.

You also develop a global perspective and understanding of various international issues, helping you engage thoughtfully with international issues and contribute meaningfully to global discussions.

5 In-Demand Job Roles You Can Get With a Liberal Arts Degree

A liberal arts degree helps you to explore versatile job roles in a bunch of different industries. As students pursuing liberal arts majors gain valuable job skills during their studies, it becomes easier for them to adapt to various professional environments and succeed in their career paths.

Some of the high-paying job roles that you can get after earning a Liberal Arts degree are as follows:

1. Technical writer

Technical writers convert complex technical concepts into easy comprehensive written products. They often deal with expert-level subject matters to write manuals and guides to help laymen and non-technical people understand the process or navigate through the product.

Technical writers work in several industries including business, technology, and finance.

2. Human Resource Specialist

Companies need perceptive and insightful human resource teams to identify and onboard the best talents in the company. The human resource specialists are an integral part of the company that not only helps it to operate but also enables it to thrive fostering a positive working environment. The team onboards the best and top talents for different job roles and contributes significantly to the production and revenue generation of the company.

3. Graphic Designer

Graphic designers are creative professionals who use their innovative approach and technical expertise to create visual elements that promote an idea, a company a product or service.

They are skilled in customising visual elements with layouts, colour choices, typography and imagery that tell a visual story to the audience and stand out aesthetically.

4. Event Planner

Event planners are one of the most popular and versatile job roles that primarily aim at planning events and coordinating different occasions, either independently or for an employer.

Event planners often work with a company’s stakeholders to understand what the primary goals of the event will be, which venue will be the most appropriate, what vendors are to be hired, and how the decoration, logistics and food arrangements in the event will be.

5. High School Teacher

The role of an educator is always considered a favourable job option for a liberal arts major. Liberal arts graduates can teach at many levels including primary, secondary and higher-secondary.

However, high school teachers who teach students, preparing for specialised subjects or career streams like science, arts, and commerce, need to specialise in a particular subject or several subjects.

The Bottom Line

If history is any indication then we know there are many leaders around the world who have made a profound impact on society by leveraging critical thinking, creativity and communication skills honed by liberal arts. For example, Barack Obama with a major in humanities and Jack Ma with a major in English have set examples of exceptional leadership and innovation.

Liberal arts offer us invaluable technical and non-technical skills, that perfectly complement tech fields. We mustn’t get caught up in pessimistic thoughts as liberal arts open doorways to various job roles like Public Relations Manager, Content Writer/Editor, Social Media Manager, Educational Consultant, Event Planner and many more.

Remember, embracing a liberal arts education helps individuals to adapt and excel in an interconnected, dynamic and constantly evolving global landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

Liberal Arts is a broad domain with a bunch of different subjects, including

• Literature

• History

• Philosophy

• Psychology

• Anthropology

• Sociology

• Cultural Studies

• Modern Languages and more..

Q2. What is the scope of liberal arts?

The career scope for liberal arts graduates is vast and varied. With a degree in liberal arts, you can pursue your career in different industries. These are education, research, journalism, publishing, advertising and public relations.

Q3. What is a Liberal arts degree?

A liberal arts degree means earning your Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Fine Arts in one of the 4 disciplines namely the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, or fine arts.