liberal arts. is it a pro, or is it a con. 12B)

Throughout this week’s reading I came up with a few important questions.

•  How is a liberal arts degree different from a less well rounded degree, such as HVAC?
• In what ways is a liberal arts degree useful and what ways is it useless?
•  Is it better to get a liberal arts degree, or a non-liberal arts degree?

Throughout this week’s reading many good points were brought up on why it is important to get a liberal arts degree, however the biggest question is when is it important. Everyone talks about how you will be a more well-rounded individual and will be able to approach different problems with a unique take or will be more empathetic because of the difference in education. The fact of the matter is companies and those hiring in today’s world want people to be able to do their job, and not many jobs require you to have a vast skill range.

For example, my father is a computer programmer for traveler’s insurance company, and in reality they really only care about him being an excellent programmer and having good people skills in order to be a successful manager. He doesn’t need to know CPR or how to speak Russian. While yes it is good to have a wide skill range in some fields the majority of jobs today are specialized. Nurses need to know how to give someone an I.V. and math teachers need to know calculus.

Another reason a liberal arts education isn’t as great as its held up to be is the fact that college’s purpose is to train people for their careers. In middle school and high school people can and are immersed in different fields and subjects, and then when college comes they decide what they want to do and are trained for it. So while the liberal arts education is good for some, it is not always the best and most efficient system.