Recent comparative studies of post-college employment in the UK show that humanities graduates do better than STEM graduates in employability among the fastest growing sectors of the economy. In times of economic uncertainty, liberal arts training fosters a broader skillset that enables graduates greater flexibility in moving from one professional sector to another. Focused on conditions in the UK, the article calls for a more interdisciplinary approach to college (found in the US) where students can gain from mutually informing liberal arts and STEM disciplines.*

Read more from The Guardian here:

Employers Want Humanities Graduates 

*Thanks to Scott Miller for the reference.

The contributions of some fields to the pandemic challenges are self-evident. But this article details key ways that humanities training can make a difference in public heath from storytelling to translation services.

From Inside Higher Ed

HUMANITIES AS ESSENTIAL SERVICES

This piece from Study Portals offers a concise account of what makes Humanities training so valuable in today’s marketplace.

Studying Humanities Now More Than Ever

A recent Georgetown University Study shows that Liberal Arts colleges that offer a mix of professional and general education prepare students better for the challenges of a changing economy.

Follow the links for the Washington Post article as well as the report from Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce:

“Liberal Arts Education” 

“ROI of Liberal Arts Colleges” 

*Thanks to Daryl Lee for the reference.

This article highlights some of the powerful ways humanities training translates to the technology sector.

How A Degree In Scandinavian Mythology Can Land You A Job At One Of The Biggest Tech Companies

A tech CEO makes the case for “embracing a genuine liberal arts education” and explains why he plans to keep hiring humanities majors.

STEAM OVER STEM 

This piece by David Demming draws on multiple studies to show that initial salary advantages for STEM majors fade significantly after the first job. Liberal Arts majors catch up and even exceed their STEM peers over time for two primary reasons. First, narrow technical training often target skills that are valuable in the near term and obsolete within a decade. Liberal Arts competencies, by contrast, are valuable across fields and over time.

Read the complete article here.

In the Salary Race, Engineers Sprint but English Majors Endure

*Thanks to Erin Jackson for this reference.

Recent studies from McKinsey and Forrester point point to an increasing rate of job automation. Stephen Kosslyn argues that soft skills, including the ability to take into account the effects of context in our decision making, are the key to portable and durable (automation resistant) professionalization.

Read the article from Harvard Business Review here:

Are You Developing the Skills that Won’t Be Automated?  

In a New York Times editorial, Robert E. Rubin, Secretary of the Treasury from 1995 to 1999, reflects on the colleges studies that had the greatest impact on his life and career.  Rubin’s his readings in existentialist philosophy helped him develop a unique perspective when it came to navigate significant challenges in the world of high finance. Follow the link below for the full text.

Philosophy Prepared me for a Career in Finance and Government

*Thanks to Daryl Lee for the reference.

The following piece from FiveThirtyEight offers insight into why students select certain majors. Students at selective universities are more prone to major in the liberal arts than students at less selective schools who tend to emphasize vocation-specific majors to ensure a more immediate return on investment. In the longer term, the article cites studies that show liberal arts majors surpassing their counterparts at peak earning ages. Follow the link below for more details.

Rethinking “Useful” Majors