Why study an Arts and Humanities degree?
When many of us set out to decide which degree we will study at university, we are seemingly faced with two binaries: do I study a subject that I’m passionate about, or do I get a degree that will help with my career?
The difficulty of this choice is compounded by the fact that tuition fees are so expensive in this country and abroad. In the US, room, board and tuition at a private university cost an average of $48, 510 a year. In the UK, tuition fees are £9, 250, a price which soars if you are an international student.
With tuition fees at such a high level, and crises such as the coronavirus pandemic affecting the jobs market, Arts and humanities subjects in this country have become a bit of a punch-line. The idea that these degrees are ‘worthless’ in monetary terms has been peddled by key figures such as Barrack Obama and Dominic Cummings. The UK government’s decision to focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) funding has led to a more than 25% decline in A-Level students taking up English, and an 8% drop in modern languages uptake.
But there’s clearly an issue when an experience as formative as university is seen in terms of the end pay packet. Many Arts and Humanities students see university as a time to explore intellectual passions and interests which last a lifetime, develop personal wellbeing and create an empathetic and tolerant mindset, among many others.
The point that a study of John Donne is going to give you benefits that are not merely financial does not need to be laboured. But even when looking at the jobs market, an Arts and Humanities degree gives you many advantages.
‘Transferable’ skills
The amount of reading and writing required for a Humanities degree creates skills that are transferable to almost any job. For example, 75% of employers stated that the most important skills necessary for new employees are communication, problem-solving and critical thinking. The importance of these so-called ‘soft skills’ is also recognised by a recent LinkedIn study, which states that 57% of senior leaders think ‘soft’ skills are more important than hard skills. These include creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability and time management, all skills that are honed during a degree in the Humanities.
If you look at those in power in Britain at the moment, then the story is the same. A 2015 British Council study looked at UK managers in a mixture of corporate, non-profit and government positions and found that more than half of them had degrees in either the humanities or social sciences.
More specifically, the lucrative and fast-growing technology sector holds a lot of promise for upcoming Arts and Humanities graduates. Recently, Forbes has reported that Liberal Arts and Humanities degrees have become “tech’s hottest ticket”. The study shows that tech companies are quickly realising the importance of critical and creative faculties. For example, the CEO of Slack, a business communication platform with a recent private market valuation of $2.8 billion, has talked about the help of his philosophy degree when working in Silicon Valley. He explained that philosophy taught him ‘to write really clearly’ and to ‘follow an argument all the way down, which is invaluable in running meetings’.
Or, take what one president from the tech empire Microsoft has to say about it:
"At one level, AI will require that even more people specialize in digital skills and data science. But skilling-up for an AI-powered world involves more than science, technology, engineering, and math. As computers behave more like humans, the social sciences and humanities will become even more important. Languages, art, history, economics, ethics, philosophy, psychology and human development courses can teach critical, philosophical and ethics-based skills that will be instrumental in the development and management of AI solutions."
Making that tricky decision
On a purely practical level, these degrees involve a lot of reading and writing. During an English degree at Oxford, for example, you are expected to write two or three essays a week, each with their own reading list and lecture preparation. This genuinely isn’t for everyone, and many people have to drop out or ‘rusticate’.
In terms of your career, as these degrees are not vocational there isn’t a clear path to employment. This means that many people end up doing internships or hopping between jobs before they settle. Sometimes, having flexibility can be stressful.
Yet taking a more vocational subject at university can have its downfalls also. It is a very young age to decide precisely what career you want to go into, and subjects such as medicine require you to make these decisions from GCSE age. A LinkedIn study has found that 40% of professionals are interested in making a “career pivot”, which makes the idea of building up transferable skills such as critical thinking more attractive than boxing yourself in with a specialism.
As there is no right answer, it is important to think about what you love to study. People who are genuinely passionate about what they are doing tend to be more productive, successful, and satisfied. Take advice from others, but ultimately the choice should be down to you.
Reading List:
https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/what-do-worlds-most-successful-people-study
https://www.transizion.com/liberal-arts-degree/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/28/arts-degree-fortune-graduates-earn-less
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/feb/16/youre-probably-going-to-end-up-self-employed-are-postgrad-degrees-in-the-creative-industry-a-gamble
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/feb/16/why-humanities-degrees-are-making-a-comeback
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45171371
https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-president-says-tech-needs-liberal-arts-majors-2018-1?r=US&IR=T
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190401-why-worthless-humanities-degrees-may-set-you-up-for-life
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/comment/is-politics-an-art-or-a-science