Path Less Travelled: Promising Career In Liberal Arts

Contrary to popular belief, a career in liberal education is not just restricted to fine arts or the performing arts such as dance, music or drama. The purpose of a liberal education is to equip learners with the skills and abilities required to become well-rounded individuals. In simple terms, holistic education is the outcome of a Liberal Arts programme. Due to this fact, a Liberal Arts graduate will have a certain multidimensional quality and vivacity lacking in most candidates. When we explore the exciting field of Liberal Arts, one will find its potential to span far beyond just arts, sciences, medicine, business or humanities. It gives candidates the ability to develop a broader and more versatile view of all these streams. Let us examine some of the aspects of a career in the field of Liberal Arts.

The stream has a highly flexible nature

A career in Liberal Arts offers students an opportunity to branch out into several other discourses and equips learners with analytical, communication, and reasoning abilities that can be used to excel in every aspect of one’s life. The flexible nature of the field makes Liberal Arts highly beneficial as it helps one build technical skills while offering them an opportunity to get positive insights into a range of exciting and promising subjects of the 21st century. Hence, many of the organisations and employers today actively look for graduates with a Liberal Arts degree as they tend to have a broader and a more holistic worldview when compared to students who specialise in a specific department or field.

Highly sought-after by reputable organisations

Although it may seem like Liberal Arts majors tend to struggle a bit more than Management or Engineering graduates at the beginning of their careers, research conducted on the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies has shown that one third of all Fortune 500 CEOs hold liberal arts degrees, and 55 per cent of world leaders hold degrees in either the humanities or the social sciences. You will find evidence to suggest that Liberal Arts graduates advance farther within a short span of their professional lives. Liberal Arts graduates become highly sought after by CEOs for high-level jobs when compared to non-Liberal Arts graduates. Additionally, many studies conducted by reputable think tanks have shown us that communication skills are by far, the most sought-after skill set by employers around the globe.

Various career options

Liberal Arts offers students numerous opportunities due to its versatile nature.

Let’s take a look at a few:

Career in Academics

Many Liberal Arts graduates have gone on to become leaders in the academic world. They have gone on to shape the minds of experts across various disciplines like Art, History, Philosophy, Women’s Studies, Languages, etc. The interdisciplinary knowledge gained from a Liberal Arts education adds an extra dimension as learners explore, research, and teach a subject of their choice.

Career in government and non-profit organisations

Liberal Arts graduates can choose careers that allow them to work closely with governments of their countries, as well as in other countries by managing foreign affairs and embassies. They can also opt for careers in policy research and development work. Therefore, a career in Liberal Arts can help students make a positive impact on the national or international level.

Career in arts

Be it photography, commercial art, painting, interior design, graphic or visual design, a degree in Liberal Arts allows you to follow your passion and make a career out of it. Such artists and professionals earn a steady income depending on their creative bend. Hence, if you are passionate about any of the above fields, you should consider a career in Liberal Arts.

When one thinks of a career in Liberal Arts, it would probably never have occurred to them that it offers so many career opportunities. Whether learners choose Marketing, Biology, Advertising, Business Management, Event Planning, Environmental Studies, Social Services, Law, Finance, Psychology or any other possible field that they like, a Liberal Arts education is highly beneficial, due to the freedom and sheer flexibility it offers to its learners.

One of the best things about Liberal Arts graduates is that they pick their major because they connect to the subject matter. Regardless of the career, a Liberal Arts education helps students develop critical 21st-century skills. The skills include critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and innovation, research skills, writing and oral communication, interpersonal skills and the ability to learn. Thus, it does not just help learners to earn a good living but also empowers them to live a fulfilled life as contributing and functioning members of society.

As Robert Frost said,

“I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

Shekhar Bhattacharjee

Guest Author The author is Founder - Dalham Learning