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Many people don't realize that history majors develop a lot of skills that employers value. They learn how to gather and evaluate information from multiple sources, analyze that information, and write reports on it. Of course, they also learn other skills as well, not just from their history courses, but from the wide range of other courses they take during their four years in college. So, as noted above, they can be well prepared for a large variety of careers or graduate programs (and not just history grad programs). As noted above, Yale undergrads have a wide variety of opportunities to them as well.
I think, also, that the job situation for recent college graduates has changed over the last two to three years. During the height of the recession, when unemployment levels soared to new heights, students worried (rightly so) about being able to find a job after graduation, but now those fears have lessened somewhat with the national unemployment rate now under 5% (and even lower in some states). So, if that trend continues, I think we'll probably see more students returning to liberal arts majors like history. This is especially true in liberal arts focused colleges and universities like Yale.
At the same time, I don't think we have to worry that students majoring in business and computer science will be disappearing entirely anytime soon.
Beware. There is a great deal of fraud in education. The assumption in the pursuit of higher degreed education is, among many, the ability of higher income. Hence justification for the expense. Many are being mislead and being sold worthless degrees.
Many people don't realize that history majors develop a lot of skills that employers value. They learn how to gather and evaluate information from multiple sources, analyze that information, and write reports on it. Of course, they also learn other skills as well, not just from their history courses, but from the wide range of other courses they take during their four years in college. So, as noted above, they can be well prepared for a large variety of careers or graduate programs (and not just history grad programs). As noted above, Yale undergrads have a wide variety of opportunities to them as well.
I think, also, that the job situation for recent college graduates has changed over the last two to three years. During the height of the recession, when unemployment levels soared to new heights, students worried (rightly so) about being able to find a job after graduation, but now those fears have lessened somewhat with the national unemployment rate now under 5% (and even lower in some states). So, if that trend continues, I think we'll probably see more students returning to liberal arts majors like history. This is especially true in liberal arts focused colleges and universities like Yale.
At the same time, I don't think we have to worry that students majoring in business and computer science will be disappearing entirely anytime soon.
That is true. I had someone ask me last night what skills do History majors have. I know that English and Sociology majors get jobs, what I don't understand is why people don't realize that History majors have a lot of the same skills, in fact, a lot of the liberal arts majors do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mortpes
Beware. There is a great deal of fraud in education. The assumption in the pursuit of higher degreed education is, among many, the ability of higher income. Hence justification for the expense. Many are being mislead and being sold worthless degrees.
Do you have a source to back this up, or is this just your opinion?
Since the unemployment rate is low, people are probably going back to studying what they love rather than majoring in accounting and nursing. Everyone rushing toward nursing was kind of a failure.
Well, as the old adage goes, 'those who forget history are doomed to repeat it', so maybe this is a good thing IF the coursework is vigorous and is taught with an open viewpoint to search all views and their context to be understood.
History when taught well requires student to:
1) Read a lot, process and build an argument as part of explaining yourself in essays
2) Build an understanding of Cultural, Economic, Political, Social, Technological history as well as other realms to get the full context of a period of time.
I also think many who don't like 'academic setting' for learning should be helped earlier in late elementary and middle school years to go into more silo'ed areas of technical expertise and not waste their money to get 'four year college degrees'. There is a growing dearth of competent technical types across many industries.
About ten years ago there were two young men who lived in the apartment complex who went to local technical school and both immediately got jobs upon graduation. One moved to SC to work at BMW factory and the other I can't recall but they both were in demand and obviously figured out they could get gainful employment by becoming competent in a technical arena without the need to go in deep debt and taking coursework they had no interest.
The "Educational system" and Mass Media portrayal of what "jobs" are sexy does a disservice to the youth wanting to find what their interests and natural inclinations could lead too in the world of employment.
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