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I find it somewhat funny about the liberal arts degree argument, that people think you are either going to end up flipping burgers and others think you'll make 100K after 5 years. Of course, I'm in my mid 30s. So, I can present a real snapshot of what such people do.
I picked the first several people on my Facebook page who graduated with liberal arts degrees. They are all in their 30s. Some early, some mid, some pushing 40. Here are the results. (PS. Except the guy with the PsychD. He's pushing 60.)
1) Bachelors from Stanford. Has a MFA as well. Runs her own company, makes very little $ from that, but is from a wealthy family.
2) Bachelors in English from a State Univeristy. Has had different jobs, but mostly has worked for car insurance companies doing various things. Ballpark 45-50K.
3) Doctorate in Psychology. Works for a local hospital counseling drug afflicted teens and young adults. Know this man fairly well, and I would guess from his living style, ballpark ~60K.
4) BA in History from a Top 25 school. Masters in Public Policy from a top school as well. Has bounced around nonprofits in her city for just under a decade. Ballpark ~50K.
5) Bachelors and Masters in Mass Communications. Masters was from NYU. Has worked in PR department of banks and universities for about a decade. Ballpark ~60K.
6) BA History (Ivy League), Masters in Urban Planning. Working for local Transportation conglomerate. Ballpark 50K.
7) Graphic design degree from an art school. Does web and graphic design (mostly web design) for a large international. Ballpark 55K.
8) BA History, Brown University. JD, University of Chicago. Corporate Lawyer for over a decade. Non-partner. Ballpark ~ 150K.
My best friend and his wife were both history majors, went to law school and are now insurance attorneys.
My ex-wife had a degree in drama and English literature and is a marketing manager at a multi billion dollar company.
My sister got a BA in psychology but then changed careers to nursing and is now a nurse practitioner.
A close college friend got a BA in economics and chinese and is now running a successful tech company.
A grade school friend got a degree is journalism and works as a server at Outback Steakhouse.
Another college friend got an acronymed (IPHS or something) humanities degree and he is now an investment banker in DC.
Another college acquaintance got a BA in psychology and is now a D I college basketball coach.
My sister's fiancee got a philosophy degree and is an athletic trainer and track and field coach and is working on a teaching certificate.
That is just going down the first page of my facebook friends. Most of the people I know have liberal arts degrees, as I went to a liberal arts college (Kenyon) and half of my siblings went liberal arts as well.
I find it somewhat funny about the liberal arts degree argument, that people think you are either going to end up flipping burgers and others think you'll make 100K after 5 years. Of course, I'm in my mid 30s. So, I can present a real snapshot of what such people do.
I picked the first several people on my Facebook page who graduated with liberal arts degrees. They are all in their 30s. Some early, some mid, some pushing 40. Here are the results. (PS. Except the guy with the PsychD. He's pushing 60.)
1) Bachelors from Stanford. Has a MFA as well. Runs her own company, makes very little $ from that, but is from a wealthy family.
2) Bachelors in English from a State Univeristy. Has had different jobs, but mostly has worked for car insurance companies doing various things. Ballpark 45-50K.
3) Doctorate in Psychology. Works for a local hospital counseling drug afflicted teens and young adults. Know this man fairly well, and I would guess from his living style, ballpark ~60K.
4) BA in History from a Top 25 school. Masters in Public Policy from a top school as well. Has bounced around nonprofits in her city for just under a decade. Ballpark ~50K.
5) Bachelors and Masters in Mass Communications. Masters was from NYU. Has worked in PR department of banks and universities for about a decade. Ballpark ~60K.
6) BA History (Ivy League), Masters in Urban Planning. Working for local Transportation conglomerate. Ballpark 50K.
7) Graphic design degree from an art school. Does web and graphic design (mostly web design) for a large international. Ballpark 55K.
8) BA History, Brown University. JD, University of Chicago. Corporate Lawyer for over a decade. Non-partner. Ballpark ~ 150K.
Very good post here, I was just wondering..how did these people get these jobs? Is it because some went for their masters?
My best friend and his wife were both history majors, went to law school and are now insurance attorneys.
My ex-wife had a degree in drama and English literature and is a marketing manager at a multi billion dollar company.
My sister got a BA in psychology but then changed careers to nursing and is now a nurse practitioner.
A close college friend got a BA in economics and chinese and is now running a successful tech company.
A grade school friend got a degree is journalism and works as a server at Outback Steakhouse.
Another college friend got an acronymed (IPHS or something) humanities degree and he is now an investment banker in DC.
Another college acquaintance got a BA in psychology and is now a D I college basketball coach.
My sister's fiancee got a philosophy degree and is an athletic trainer and track and field coach and is working on a teaching certificate.
That is just going down the first page of my facebook friends. Most of the people I know have liberal arts degrees, as I went to a liberal arts college (Kenyon) and half of my siblings went liberal arts as well.
How did your ex wife get the job in marketing? Is it because she was an english major?
8) BA History, Brown University. JD, University of Chicago. Corporate Lawyer for over a decade. Non-partner. Ballpark ~ 150K.
Haha.. I know lots of these types. Yeah, if someone gets a BA from an Ivy-League school and then graduates from a top 5 law school, then they're set for mucho dinero.
I'm an English major. I've worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, a teacher, a legal assistant at a pro bono firm, and a program director at a nonprofit organization doing at-risk youth outreach.
My SO is an English major. He was a middle school English teacher for eight years, and then joined the military. He's a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy.
My brother is an English major. He is a newspaper reporter.
My sister is a communications studies and studio art major. She was a wedding and event planner and is now the head legal assistant in charge of court scheduling for a large firm.
My dad was an English and history major. He taught middle school, and then opened a general carpentry business and was the owner-operator for 30+ years before retiring.
My ex is an English major. He worked as an insurance claims adjustor, and in doing so got into financial fraud analytics and investigation within the insurance industry. He went on to become a CPA, but he had to take additional coursework to get that designation.
Most of my college friends have liberal arts-related degrees, as we went to a private liberal arts college. Here are some of the things my peers have done, are doing:
A friend was a theatre arts major. She works for the US Dept. of State as a Foreign Service Officer and works at the consulate in Latvia, currently. A lot of her work is processing visas.
Another friend was a theatre arts major, and he is a political lobbyist.
My college roommate was a political science and women's studies major, and she worked in property management for years. She went back for her MBA and does something in healthcare management, now.
A friend majored in English and music, and he repairs and builds musical instruments. He did have to go to additional tech school to learn his trade, a two-year program.
Many of my fellow English alums went to law school and are attorneys.
Just a few off the top of my head. None of these are Ivy Leaguers. They are almost all people who went to small, private, well-regarded liberal arts colleges in the Midwest. A few went to large public universities, and my ex went to school on the East coast/Boston/NY, but not Ivy League by any stretch.
I have a BA in Communications Arts/Journalism, and am a nonprofit fundraiser. I've been doing this for 16 years, after 16 years working as a reporter/editor for a variety of weekly and daily newspapers.
My classmates work in newspapers -- not as many of us now, after 30 years! -- real estate, human resources, marketing, public relations, insurance. One of my classmates has her own reiki/yoga/healing arts studio; another runs an arts studio for underprivileged kids. Some have gone on to earn master's degrees in other fields: law, education, business.
I enjoyed my time in newspapers (mostly), but I'm glad I did it early on in my career. I would not want to do it now (even if there WERE still a multitude of jobs in it). I found it to be highly family-unfriendly, relationship-unfriendly, etc. It was a good job for a single girl in her twenties, though, who wasn't focusing on much in life but her job. I would not go back into journalism at this point in life. It made for a crappy work-life balance.
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