How to Leverage Your Liberal Arts Degree In Any Job Market

Your Degree Is More Useful Than You Thought
 By: Christopher Neal 

Finding a job after college may not be easy for everybody. And for someone with a liberal arts degree, you may feel as though your only options are within the market of the major you studied. Well that is just one of the many misconceptions about a liberal arts degree. A common response to majoring in a liberal arts discipline is, “what can you do with that degree?” Most people can’t think of many job opportunities other than to teach that subject in schools. What many don’t know is that as a liberal arts major, the skills you learn in school are also applicable to the business world.

With a liberal arts degree you are learning many foundational skills that employers look for. Throughout your years as a student of the liberal arts, you are repeatedly polishing your critical thinking and ethical judgement skills. Participating in weekly discussions as well as group presentations in the classroom help you effectively express your ideas and communicate to others so when you go out into the real world, you will be more prepared to collaborate in and navigate through different social settings. 

According to AAC&U’s 2018 Employer Research Report, business executives and hiring managers view all of these skills as the most important skills from a college graduate. Oral communication was rated at 90% by hiring managers and 80% by business executives, while critical thinking was rated at 84% by hiring managers and 78% by business executives.
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As a liberal arts major, the soft skills you learn throughout college, like oral communication and critical thinking, cannot be taught in a training session, like Microsoft Excel can. The skills you learn are applicable beyond school and can make you highly valued across many different job fields.​