by Geoffrey C. Lewis, Director of Career Development
What can you do with a liberal arts degree? The short answer is: almost anything!
Because a liberal arts degree includes a broad approach to preparing for life, it provides much greater flexibility than technical training programs. By emphasizing important skills like analytical reading, thoughtful writing and critical thinking, a liberal arts education helps prepare college graduates for whatever the future holds.
Myth: Some majors don’t prepare students well for success in the workplace.
Reality: In a rapidly-changing world, employers need people with the ability to think creatively and innovate. As Burnett & Evans point out in Designing Your Life, only 27% of U.S. grads work in a career directly related to their majors.
Myth: If I choose the “wrong” major, I’m stuck.
Reality: Employers care more about your ability to demonstrate career readiness competencies than about a specific major (see the NACE Career Readiness Competencies).
While people need specific certifications for some careers (such as medical careers, etc.), most careers only require these abilities: continually learning, communicating effectively, thinking critically, acting with integrity, being equitable and inclusive, and using teamwork.
Question: So how do students find a career path and get hired?
St. Mary’s College of Maryland students and alumni choose their career paths by getting involved with campus activities and organizations, building relationships with classmates and mentors, developing useful skills, and by getting exposure to various careers with help from the Center for Career & Professional Development. Many opportunities to learn about career skills are part of the curriculum. Students can (and should!) meet with faculty and staff for advice and coaching on specific strategies which can help them be successful.
Case study: Stephon Dingle, Class of 2012
Stephon Dingle is a first-generation college graduate and native of Baltimore City who majored in History and minored in African Diaspora Studies. Although neither of those is directly related to his work as a two-time Emmy award-winning news anchor and reporter, his liberal arts education and active involvement in our campus community prepared him for success in any work environment. During his studies at St. Mary’s College, Stephon also participated in athletics, student government, mentoring other students, and co-hosting a college radio show. Although he came to the College with a passion for baseball and even interned at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, it was his sports broadcasting internship at CBS affiliate WJZ-TV in Baltimore that led him to a month at The New York Times Student Journalism Institute, an additional internship at the Today Show, and onward to Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
The path Stephon Dingle took from History major to award-winning news anchor and reporter shows the process of discovery that a liberal arts education provides. Even when students struggle to define their career paths, they can be confident that their education has given them the skills they need to help them move forward. As Steve Jobs famously said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” For St. Mary’s College Seahawks, that future is brighter than ever!
Sources:
- Stephon Dingle – Washington DC-Baltimore Area | Professional Profile | LinkedIn
- Stephon Dingle – CBS News Baltimore
- Yes, Employers Do Value Liberal Arts Degrees
- Bill Burnett & Dave Evans (2018). Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-lived, Joyful Life