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I live in an inner suburb of Washington, D.C. Around here, the cost of housing and other things is high, so $90,000 per year isn't that much. In fact, if you wanted to raise a family, live a middle-class lifestyle in a nice area and invest for retirement on that salary, your finances would be rather tight.
Of course, I realize that the cost of living is much lower in most other places. But it depends greatly on where the job and career prospects in your field are and where you prefer to live, so other factors come into play.
So why do you keep posting like DC is like the rest of the country?
I'm talking about mainly the high COL metro areas on the east and west coasts where a lot of the big employment prospects are. For other places, like the midwest, the south and a lot of smaller metro areas I agree these numbers are way off. But at the same time, I'm not sure how plentiful the job opportunities are in some of those areas. There's a lot of detail that's missing in these links I'm sure.
Have you even been to the Midwest? Job opportunities abound here in MN. Unemployment is at 5.8%. Our liberal arts majors earn nice salaries and live nice middle class lives. Yes, even teachers, social workers, police, etc. Looking at some stats, it actually looks our median household incomes are higher than DC.
If someone asked me what'a the "it" field to major in, I'd say something to do with drones/unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). But, there are so many different jobs related to UAVs because drones are used in a variety of ways. For example, what if your minor had to do with photography or communications? Software? What if your minor had to do with Business (marketing/sales/insurance)? Repair? Weather? Law enforcement? You may not make as much money as the engineers, but you probably would be snatched up for a job. Let's say your job was anayzing/interpreting photos taken by drones. Maybe you would sell them. Pilot? Training?
A man who works for a company that makes one part of a drone travels all around the country in sales. He knows drones. He knows business. He gave an overview class in my retiree program. A lot of people know business but do they know drones? You'd be competitive for work and it wouldn't just be military.
Liberal Arts degrees are better for people who don't need to earn a living. Even back in the olden days when I was in college, we were told to major in something that would get us a job and that was NOT liberal arts.
In those days jobs were a lot more plentiful than they are today. Still, we did NOT major in liberal arts if we wanted to ever get a job. This was in the '60s and '70s. If it was that way back then, how could it be any better today?
It's worse if you major in something like art or music --you had better be THE BEST at it or you'll never get a job. Lots of people love those fields and there aren't very many jobs so a slim chance of ever finding anything. You'd better know someone who owns an art museum or an orchestra or something. There's a good reason for the expression "starving artist."
I think it you don't have the ability to get into one of today's high paying fields (not everyone has that type of ability) then maybe you should get into something related to caring for the elderly. I say this because the boomers are aging and their care will be the focus for years to come.
Medical, social services, care-taking, advising, elderly housing---anything like that will be in demand. Use your creativity. I know of someone who specializes in helping elderly people move. She does the packing, arranges for movers, gets the person set up in the new community, communicates with the new landlord--all sorts of things. She now has employees and she is mainly the manager.
By all means, learn to DO something useful. You can always take your interesting classes as electives or take grad courses in your favorite subjects after you already have a job. Go to a vocational school or a community college but learn to DO something.
Liberal Arts degrees are better for people who don't need to earn a living. Even back in the olden days when I was in college, we were told to major in something that would get us a job and that was NOT liberal arts.
In those days jobs were a lot more plentiful than they are today. Still, we did NOT major in liberal arts if we wanted to ever get a job. This was in the '60s and '70s. If it was that way back then, how could it be any better today?
It's worse if you major in something like art or music --you had better be THE BEST at it or you'll never get a job. Lots of people love those fields and there aren't very many jobs so a slim chance of ever finding anything. You'd better know someone who owns an art museum or an orchestra or something. There's a good reason for the expression "starving artist."
I think it you don't have the ability to get into one of today's high paying fields (not everyone has that type of ability) then maybe you should get into something related to caring for the elderly. I say this because the boomers are aging and their care will be the focus for years to come.
Medical, social services, care-taking, advising, elderly housing---anything like that will be in demand. Use your creativity. I know of someone who specializes in helping elderly people move. She does the packing, arranges for movers, gets the person set up in the new community, communicates with the new landlord--all sorts of things. She now has employees and she is mainly the manager.
By all means, learn to DO something useful. You can always take your interesting classes as electives or take grad courses in your favorite subjects after you already have a job. Go to a vocational school or a community college but learn to DO something.
Great advice, espcailly the "Learn to DO something useful" that is key Learn to DO something, while the employer may train you to "learn to DO something" as well as the person who majored in something more related to the task in the first place, what more likely will happen is the employer will just hire the guy whose field matches the job descript more.
In regards to the art and music etc... that is usually the answer I get from those majoring in Art, anthorpolgy etc.. They want to work in a musuem, historain etc.. which I think is great, I love musuems and I think it would be a fun job. The thing is those students don't know the demand they just assume "I will get out and the musuem will hire me", or something of that nature.
My overall point is, I do not want to say "don't major in liberal arts" but by god do some research before you do, look at the market, try to get an understanding of job prospects post college. It is very easy, very easy to get into a lull in acdemia and just assume the job will be there. We cannot assume that anymore, a degree is not a magic ticket anymore.
-Start looking for internships, part time work, summer work early. If it is in your major great, if not I know it sucks but still do it. Its the connections that get you work more than any degree (regardless of any major but of speical improtance to liberal arts)
-Reserach, have a plan b, c, d .... If I don't get the internship at the musuem, if the local paper does not hire me then I will....
-Settling or working a job you do not like or is "beneath me" does not mean giving up, it is only temporary and hopefully it will lead to a job you really want.
I majored in liberal arts and have been able to find jobs that have compensated me well. My father was also a liberal arts major and he owns a bunch of companies, ran a couple law firms, and lives very well. The point is, regardless of your college major, if you have the brains, intuition and drive to succeed you will be fine.
let me just say regardless of major (though again I am a bit skeptical about liberal arts major), whatever the major get those internships, part time work. I don't care if it is in school, summer whatever. I am back in college a 2nd time with an internshp an internship I could have easily gotten my first time in school. Would that internship have lead to a job? I don't know but an internship is far better than nothing.
My advice get that expereince, if it is not related toward your major take it anyway. Expereince, connections will help you so much more in getting a job than a degree ever could (this is not to discount the importance of a degree)
Liberal Arts degrees are better for people who don't need to earn a living. Even back in the olden days when I was in college, we were told to major in something that would get us a job and that was NOT liberal arts.
In those days jobs were a lot more plentiful than they are today. Still, we did NOT major in liberal arts if we wanted to ever get a job. This was in the '60s and '70s. If it was that way back then, how could it be any better today?
It's worse if you major in something like art or music --you had better be THE BEST at it or you'll never get a job. Lots of people love those fields and there aren't very many jobs so a slim chance of ever finding anything. You'd better know someone who owns an art museum or an orchestra or something. There's a good reason for the expression "starving artist."
I think it you don't have the ability to get into one of today's high paying fields (not everyone has that type of ability) then maybe you should get into something related to caring for the elderly. I say this because the boomers are aging and their care will be the focus for years to come.
Medical, social services, care-taking, advising, elderly housing---anything like that will be in demand. Use your creativity. I know of someone who specializes in helping elderly people move. She does the packing, arranges for movers, gets the person set up in the new community, communicates with the new landlord--all sorts of things. She now has employees and she is mainly the manager.
By all means, learn to DO something useful. You can always take your interesting classes as electives or take grad courses in your favorite subjects after you already have a job. Go to a vocational school or a community college but learn to DO something.
The assumption that "interesting" courses of study and "useful" courses of study are mutually exclusive is fundamentally flawed, is the the idea that one doesn't learn to "do something" in any number of fields of study.
I have a major in History and I am definitely going back to school. I have thought about working in non profits though and even some of those want a degree in business, public administration, political science or even something more useful.
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