There were so many times I have been asked, “Are you studying to be an English Teacher?” Granted it was a valid question as I am an English major, however, I believe people forget there is a difference between an Education degree and the humanities and Social Sciences track. And then when I answer, “I would love to be a writer.” of course they believe I will never make any sort of living.
As I have been obtaining my degree for the past four years (as I am graduating this fall), it has come to my knowledge that it is in fact hard to receive a job in my related field. Not because there are no jobs out there, but because there are many to choose from. I can only speak from my experience and what I know, but English majors can be technical writers, event planners, librarians, podcast producers, reporters, copyeditors; they can go into publishing, journalism, and into fields such as science and medicine, and so much more.
I’ve been told that you need a degree in order to get a job, and once you have a career, the world is yours! However, I had to learn later that actually might not happen. This is super unfortunate because you see women in STEM living in luxury going into corporate jobs such as Google. Some women are traveling nurses, which is so amazing. They have beautiful minds and courageous career paths. However, I wish we had more hashtags that introduced women in arts, and I wish that people held the humanities in higher respect just as STEM majors and careers are held. I don’t believe in forcing others to have the same belief when it comes to academics and what we do with academics. Humanities– as cliche as it sounds has taught me to be authentic, humane, empathetic, and show compassion.
It has also taught me to communicate effectively in numerous amounts of modes and it is has brought me to different opportunities such as content writing, even in areas such as marketing. My favorite quote I have always loved from a young age is, “Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for” (The Dead Poet’s Society). You’re probably wondering why should it matter if a Liberal Arts degree should be considered significant, but I think the question should be why is that many people are asking in search engines if they should go for a Liberal Arts degree? Why have these choices in the academic system, if society doesn’t want that for them?
And I am aware Women in STEM have a hard time navigating sexism and misogyny in the classroom and workplace, and I hope that can soon die out one day as that is a problem in many areas. More importantly, I think college didn’t set up many students to succeed as much as they believe they have the power to do so. For instance, there will be job fairs and internships, but how come they only have STEM or business options for Humanities, why not publishing, writing, editing? It makes it harder to get a foot in the door as you’re trying to leave college.
I’m not stating that Humanities should be paid as much as tech or engineering careers, but I do want people to consider the facts of the wage gaps not only for humanities degree, but if you are a woman, a woman of color, and the socio-economic financial disparities that are prevalent, then where does that leave us? According to the Bureau of Labor of Statistics, “Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations are projected to grow over two times faster than the total for all occupations in the next decade. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2019–29 employment projections show that occupations in the STEM field are expected to grow 8.0 percent by 2029, compared with 3.7 percent for all occupations.”
And to put more into perspective the wage gap adds even more significance. And of course, the solution usually for this is to receive a master’s degree, but what if people aren’t able to do that? What is even more shocking, according to a writer, Tom Ryan, stated, “More than 80 percent of millennials selling clothes have bachelor’s degrees, while almost 70 percent of cell phone reps are college grads. The median pay for the merchandising job is just $23,400, while the other two pay around $28,000.”
Imagine what that might look like for our generation; therefore, did any of us really had to go to college for all of us to end back where we started; again, this is nothing on the college student that put their faith into their college in order for them to reach the level of success these schools advertised, just that this was a false advertisement for many people who did not have the mathematician or the biologist passion. Some people’s passion is drawing, music, theatre, even writing. So this leaves room for reform of course in the education system and I think they believe students should do all the work. Yes keep asking, keep fighting for what you believe in, but this starts with the higher-ups.
I think if you’re like me trying to navigate life as you’re entering a new chapter without college, you are valid, and your degree that you are receiving was challenging and probably wonderful just as you are, you did it! As always take care and be the artist you’re meant to be.