Have you wondered what would be the best degree to have in your life? The STEM vs. Humanities argument is a decades-long debate, but in this new era, the answer is quickly becoming clear. The STEM field is rapidly growing, with new and innovative advances. STEM degrees are becoming increasingly useful for young adults, far ahead of humanities and liberal arts degrees. STEM majors make more money, are better employed, and are better educated and prepared for work. STEM graduates are making nearly $16,000 more than their liberal arts counterparts and are more likely to hold a full-time job. The job market for STEM fields is also favorable for young adults, with the unemployment rate of STEM majors being a full 1.6% lower than the unemployment …show more content…
“More than 95 percent of grads who studied computer and information sciences, for example, were employed full-time at the time of the survey and earned $72,600 on average.” This kind of security in salary and employment is seldom found in other fields, like liberal arts. Humanities majors make only $43,100 on average and tend not to be full-time employees. The average cost of living in the U.S. is around 20,000 dollars. Though graduates of both degrees make more than enough to cover the cost, the extra money earned by STEM graduates improves their quality of life, providing a comfortable situation for them and their children. A Princeton University study recently found that Americans with higher incomes had greater satisfaction in life, and people with lower incomes tended to have lower satisfaction and emotional well-being. With STEM majors having the higher income, their emotional health is also better than that of Humanities …show more content…
This is false, as STEM majors are taught the same type of critical thinking skills like creativity, flexibility, and intellectual curiosity. Moreover, they’re taught more specialized and useful skills, that allow them to excel. Several STEM experts stated that the most important skills taught in STEM are statistics, problem-solving, argumentation, and data-driven decision making. These skills are enormously useful not only in STEM fields but in daily life as well. STEM degrees also gives vital technical knowledge to students, that is extremely important in their respective fields, that pushes the boundaries of science and technology. In addition to that, STEM majors are given hands-on training and internships that fully prepare them for the real world. Humanities majors, on the other hand, are taught the same critical thinking skills, but the technical knowledge they receive is focused on literature, art, music, philosophy, and religion, which are all topics that may not be essential for their particular
In Preparing for a Career, Bok said “The practical question then is not whether many students are unwisely choosing vocational majors, but whether both liberal arts and vocational programs could do a better job of reconciling the career needs of students with the other goals of a rounded undergraduate education” ( 341). According to Bok, many students majored in vocational college because it is more beneficial for them; vocational majors are in high demand and pay more than liberal arts. Bok argued that it doesn’t matter what majors the students chose but what can college do to help students in both field. According to Bok, “Employers who complain about the college graduates they hire grumble not only about the lack of sufficient technical and vocational skills but also about deficiencies in speaking, writing and other competencies long associated with a traditional college education” (343). Bok states that most college graduates are lack of writing, and speaking skills because students does not take liberal arts major seriously; they take liberal arts because it is a
With the advent of the internet, technical schools, and computers in general, jobs today are more specialized than ever before, and they will continue to increase in particularity, thus a purely liberal arts curriculum is very untimely. Most people take four years to attain a bachelor’s degree of some kind and if they want a salary increase it requires at least two more years of graduate school before they can even think about entering the workplace. If people study only humanities for six of their most pivotal years of life, depending on their field of work, they may have a very small base of technical knowledge to utilize.
“Why College is Still Worth It Even Though It Cost Too Much.” Money.com (2015): N.PAG. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 11 Oct. 2016 The author of this paper address that a lot of college students feel like the time, money, and effort is not worth it; However, studies show that it does pay off by receiving higher pay, better work hours, and better benefits, such as insurance plans. A poll was done using college alumni to see if they thought that college paid off, and of the 30,000 that were in the poll a majority of them agreed that it did. Also, the writer includes several other polls conducted to show the life-long impacts of a college education, which includes better career and friendship
College is a popular topic for most, and Sanford J. Ungar and Charles Murray have a unique way of explaining both their opinions. In his essay, “The New Liberal Arts,” Sanford J. Ungar advocates that the liberal arts should be everybody’s education, regardless of the fact that most Americans are facing economic hardship. The first misconception that he begins to explain is “a liberal arts degree is a luxury that most families can no longer afford”. Career education” is what we now must focus on.”
Today’s college students have the opportunity and freedom to choose their major and their career path. Many factors influence the decision of a college student’s career paths including background, general interests, personal strengths, time commitment, and job outlook. Although many important decisions are made in college, one of the most important is the choice of major and career track. Out of hundreds of majors the science and engineering fields are under-represented by women. Although the numbers of women in science technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM, majors has been increasing in the past years, women still are in the minority in the STEM fields. In her study, Lona Whitmarsh concluded, “that career opportunities for women have widened,” but “not enough change has occurred to show significant differences between the overall population” (49). It is good that more women are entering these fields, but there are still not enough young women aspiring to fill the gaps. Further statistics show that female representation in engineering continues to be low, “in 2008 only 19 percent of bachelor’s degrees, 22.9 percent of masters, and 14.8 percent of PhDs in engineering were awarded to women” (Bystydzienski 2). Although there has been a general increase of women entering the fields of science and mathematics, overall the numbers are still low, showing that women struggle in pursuing a degree within these fields, and that many factors can lead to a female not choosing to begin or complete college in a STEM major. Women are in the minority of STEM fields.
Over the past few years, people have begun to see going to college as a way to achieve the American Dream through career-readiness. People used to go to college, hoping to get a better well-rounded education. For most the well-rounded education, it usually came with the courses required for a liberal arts education. The courses would provide a level of analytical and in-depth understanding that would prepare the students for both life and whichever career path chosen. No matter the amount of money paid, parents would be willing to gi...
Katherine Whitehorn once said, “Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it.” Katherine Whitehorn is referring to the thought of finding a job that a person enjoyed so much that it did not seem like a job at all. This is an goal that many people strive to achieve, but most of the time fail to achieve. Knowing this, I am making this my goal in life, and I will achieve this by pursuing a career the in the science field as a lab technician in a hospital. I made the decision to pursue a STEM degree because of the enjoyment I will feel waking up every single day.
backgrounds, is greater than ever, access and opportunity in American higher education is more complex and a lot less optimistic. Also, the majority of jobs requiring a college education doubled over the past 40 years (Carnevale, Smith, Strohl, 2010). While half of all people from high-income families have a bachelor’s degree by age 25, just
In their article, Owen and Sawhill appeal to ethos by comparing statistics on college graduates’ income to the income of those who did not attend college. One figure Owen and Sawhill present is “research shows that 23- to 25-year-olds with bachelor’s degrees make $12,000 more than high school graduates but by age 50, the gap has grown to $46,500”(641) They
In “Should Everyone Go to College?” there are multiple figures depicting the return of investment on different Bachelor’s degrees. Among the lowest ROIs include the majors of liberal arts, literature, and the arts (215). These are majors which on average, don’t pan out well for those who invest in them. As we often forget, college is an investment in a future career, and so there are certain majors which just aren’t good ones to make. Other majors, such as engineering, computers, math, science, and business, are fantastic investments based on the work-life earnings on different careers pertaining to these majors. These are the ones which are the best ones to invest money in if someone’s looking for a college route, and if they are having trouble finding a way to pay for it, they should consider looking to methods such as doing some time in the military, applying for scholarships, or going to a community college, in order to help them achieve their
A crucial topic being debated on in today’s society is core principles and disciplines. When debated and discussed, these two immense topics bring up discussion on liberal art colleges and their education. “Liberal Arts” can be translated in many different ways depending on perspectives. So what exactly is a liberal arts college/education? Patrick Connelly states, “A liberal arts college is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences. It aims to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capacities for students” (Pg.18). Students who attend liberal art colleges experience broad and vast knowledge to create intellectual capacities that public universities will not provide. Essentially a liberal arts college gives a selected “Core” education to students to develop their skills and improve their weaknesses. Liberal arts are thought to be extremely necessary or very pointless depending on perspective. For example, two articles by two different authors explain liberal arts in a completely different way and opposite perspectives. The first
The ability to gain a degree in any field of study is highly important in American society, possessing skills and knowledge over your job emphasizes the significance of higher education. Especially, for job promotions that would cause someone to make more than their fellow colleagues. In our increasingly competitive economic society, having the minimal of a high school diploma is not enough to provide financial stability nor will it help to compete in a workforce in which the best-educated are the ones that are rewarded the most. Therefore, higher education is a crucial necessity in order to move up the socioeconomic ladder and qualify for higher paying jobs. The rising costs of college, however, is making it harder for Americans to obtain
By attending college, students guarantees themselves a better job that the average Joe. Because the world is changing rapidly, and many jobs rely on new technology, more jobs require education beyond high school. With a college education, an individual will have more jobs from which to choose. In addition to obtaining a better job, people who go to college usually earn more money than those who do not. College furnishes you with proper credentials and documents to land high-level jobs. Figures from an A&E television program on ‘The Working Class’ show that in 2004 the average earnings were $23,895 for a high school graduate and $41,478 for individuals with a bachelor’s degree. Getting a college education is simply a stepping stone in ensuring yourself with a good start in life. Some may agree that college students are open minded and knows exactly how to expre...
Are technology related field only for men? The answer to that is no, but many believed that it is. Technology has evolved many times throughout the past years. While others embraced the modernized technology, some are opposed it due to not being used to it. Since ancient times, women has played a minor role in society since they were expected to do a certain job, like being a housewife. Women in society has been estimated to do less than men because of gender bias that men are more superior than women. Researchers are interested to find the reason why many females avoid having jobs that are technology related. Reasons why women tend to shy away from this field is a mandatory area of research for society. It’s a necessary
“SCIENCE HAS BOMBS, and humanities have Britney Spears” (Kershner as cited in Purvis, 2004). This amusing comment, made during a professorial debate concerning which discipline was superior, epitomises the divide that exists between the humanities and sciences. Although the debate has its roots in the Industrial Revolution, in more recent times it was signalled by Snow’s (1959; 1964) discussion outlining the dysfunctional gulf that exists between the cultures. Essentially Snow was critical of the breakdown of communication and understanding between the worlds of the humanities and sciences and blamed this for many of society’s unresolved problems. He was particularly critical of the literary intellectuals: “This loss is leading us to interpret the past wrongly, to misjudge the present, and to deny our hopes of the future. It is making it difficult or impossible for us to take good action.” (Snow, 1964, p.60) In the years that followed there has been considerable discussion and debate about the issue and consequent discussions about the value of the sciences and humanities for society’s wellbeing. For example, Leavis (Leavis & Yudkin, 1963) criticised the notion of a chasm and, in a vitriolic manner, suggested that Snow was simply a public relations ‘stooge’ for the sciences. The argument was deepened by a pseudoscientific hoax paper published in a post-modern cultural studies journal by Sokal (1996a, 1996b), a mathematical physicist, who demonstrated that there was an acceptance of a lack of rigour in published humanities work. There was a furore over this hoax and counter arguments and rebuttals engaged many academics in a bitter dispute, but unsurprisingly an examination of this literature reveals that the protagonists talked ...