Are Arts/Humanities degrees useless?

STEM degrees normally have a straight foward career path like becoming a doctor or an engineer while arts/humanities degrees like english, history, sociology and anthrophology don't necessarily have clear career paths. Do you think arts/humanities degrees get you somewhere career wise or is it a waste of time?

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Reply 1

Roving Fish

Moving this over to Educational debate as there be a debate a-brewing.

Reply 2

Smack

Volunteer Team

Original post by notbeyonce*

STEM degrees normally have a straight foward career path like becoming a doctor or an engineer

Actually, a lot of them don't... in fact it's only really the vocational ones that you've listed that do.

while arts/humanities degrees like english, history, sociology and anthrophology don't necessarily have clear career paths. Do you think arts/humanities degrees get you somewhere career wise or is it a waste of time?

That's true, most arts and humanities degrees have very little career application and their graduates are very unlikely to have a career related to their field of study. The same could be said of many STEM degrees, though. The reality is that most graduates go into jobs that yesteryear would not have required a degree, so the whole "is X degree useless?" question is somewhat redundant.

Reply 3

Wahrheit

Look at what graduates actually go into. Think of a big company, they'll almost always be recruited graduates with 'any degree', just google Heineken graduate scheme, Nestle graduate scheme, British airways graduate scheme, etc.

Doctors and engineers make up a tiny proportion of people with jobs.

Reply 4

username1533709

Posted from TSR Mobile

Rubbish.
Only vocational stem degrees like medicine and engineering have clear paths.
Others like Physics, Chemistry and Biology don't.Alot of physics graduates end up in engineering because they are very few jobs directed for physicists.
Alot of science students graduate with the delusion they will end up with fixed research jobs at labs/unis,when this is no longer true.

If everyone did STEM,then the value of a STEM degree will be downgraded.
Humanities subjects are very important and just as important in my eyes as science.It would be a boring world without literature,art etc.

Reply 5

notbeyonce*

Original post by Smack

Actually, a lot of them don't... in fact it's only really the vocational ones that you've listed that do.

Can you give me examples? But normally if you do a STEM degree, it is because it is a requirement for a specific job. I thought STEM degrees were very specific in what career pathways it would open.

Reply 6

Bobjim12

I would think Arts degrees give people the skills to employ themselves

Reply 7

notbeyonce*

Original post by Kadak

Posted from TSR Mobile
Alot of physics graduates end up in engineering because they are very few jobs directed for physicists.

Well you wouldn't get an engineering job with a philosophy degree would you? I'm an arts person but I don't there is many career prospects with an arts degree. Like what would you do with a philosophy degree except becoming a philosophy teacher maybe?

Reply 8

username1533709

Original post by notbeyonce*

Posted from TSR Mobile

A guy from Cambridge came to my school.
There are music graduates who later became head of police,a editor at the financial times , a BA pilot etc.
You could do a graduate training degree,and you can do philosophy and physics joint degree, so yes you could still do engineering.

Reply 9

Associativity

Before all the hundreds of pages worth of heated debates all kick in, may I ask why you started the thread? Are you considering one of these degrees or are you just asking out of interest?

Reply 10

TheWaffle

Original post by notbeyonce*

Actually in the grand scheme of life it is an undisputable fact that Arts/ Humanities degrees equip you much better than STEM degrees ever could.

Reply 11

notbeyonce*

Original post by Associativity

Before all the hundreds of pages worth of heated debates all kick in, may I ask why you started the thread? Are you considering one of these degrees or are you just asking out of interest?

I just wondered because I'm thinking of doing an English or Fine Art degree, but I don't know if I'll just waste years painting or learning how to write essays. Jobs don't necessarily require an arts degree so is it just the fact that having a degree looks good or something that makes people do arts degrees?

Reply 12

Associativity

Original post by notbeyonce*

The answer to that question will be massively up to debate. Are there any particular careers you have in mind? Being from a different discipline altogether (maths) I probably can't really say. The reason many companies employ people with any degree is that all degrees (pretty much) will have an amount of transferable skills. For example, you say in your english degree you'll be writing essays, but I'd also imagine you'll be analysing texts ect, both of these are probably transferable skills. People from maths degrees aren't always, for example, employed in mathematical kinds of positions, companies like them because they can think logically.

Reply 13

Associativity

Also, you sound quite career driven here but some people just do degrees out of interest. Not too sure what they do for jobs after mind!

I'm just wondering whether a degree in english might actually lead to something like marketing/making adverts, or something like that where you'd actually have to write to explain/persuade/advertise. Political parties ect must employ these kinds of people for making convincing speeches/advertising campaigns. Not too sure how often a job like that would come up though. You should probably look into careers these degrees could lead to.

Reply 14

notbeyonce*

Original post by Associativity

Yeah I get that there are transferable skills from every degrees but most arts degrees develop similar skills like analysing texts and writing texts. That means that most arts degrees are interchangable so I don't see much significance in the different arts degrees. While STEM degrees will give you knowledge on a subject as well like biochemistry while arts degrees don't give you knowledge on something, but just skills. I know like a history degree will give you knowledge but do most employers care as much if you know about a certain period in history?

Reply 15

Dark Elixir

A small amount of people with humanities/ arts degree is very useful. It is this over-saturation of such degrees that is causing problems.

Reply 16

TheIrrational

Original post by TheWaffle

Actually in the grand scheme of life it is an undisputable fact that Arts/ Humanities degrees equip you much better than STEM degrees ever could.

"Undisputable fact".

I wish to dispute it. Why is this an undisputable fact?

EDIT: I see you're joking. Never mind.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 17

Eanzi

English and arts degrees open up a wide range of jobs, they're usually just more specific and harder to come by. That doesn't mean they don't exist. You just need to decide what you want to do. Do you need somebody to hold your hand and tell you what to do with your degree?
Even if they didn't have job opportunities, I wouldn't say they're 'useless'. It's down to the graduate on how to make their degree and their wider uni experience useful.

Reply 18

notbeyonce*

Original post by Eanzi

I don't think arts degree jobs are more specific. I think STEM degree jobs are more specific, because you can't become a doctor or a biochemist researcher without a specific degree. While jobs don't really require a liberal arts degree or a sociology degree. I agree that it is how you apply and use your degrees but I just believe that most arts degrees will not take you as far as most aren't really an important requirement for most jobs.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 19

yabbayabba

Original post by notbeyonce*

Stem degrees aren't more vocational. Vocational degrees are more vocational. There are only a few properly vocational degrees: medicine, nursing, law, architecture, perhaps one or two more I've forgotten. Only some of these vocational subjects are stem.

The main thing is to study what you enjoy and what aligns best with your career goals. If you have no desire to become a scientist (which requires more than an undergraduate degree but a PhD), then studying stem just for 'better job prospects' is pointless.

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