Can You Get a Job With an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts

A liberal arts degree includes the report of history, literature, writing, philosophy, sociology, psychology, creative arts and more. Liberal arts programs are designed to assist yous codify compelling arguments, communicate well and solve problems.

Studying liberal arts can equip you "with a myriad of colors to paint with to create a vibrant career picture," said Torian Parker, a career counselor at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). That's because the degree programs are designed to develop soft skills such as:

• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Critical Thinking
• Effective communication

"With these skills, liberal arts (majors) have a unique opportunity to enter varying career paths through a holistic approach," Parker said. Earning a liberal arts caste can be an effective way to prove employers y'all have the skills necessary to be an nugget in a range of fields.

What Exactly Does Liberal Arts Mean?

Liberal arts is a broad term that can exist cover everything from theater arts to economics.

As a field of study, these subjects are intended to give you general knowledge and the ability to call back critically and learn any subject – instead of specific skills needed for a technical profession. Instead, liberal arts acuminate your research, writing and disquisitional thinking skills.

As to what you can practice with a degree in liberal arts, the benefits get in beyond the specific subject area knowledge from a item degree. When it'due south time to enter the job market, liberal arts majors take a huge array of possibilities available to them, including many in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and business.

What is a Liberal Arts Degree Good For?

With further training, nigh all liberal arts degrees can pb to careers in education, allowing graduates –  with the right qualifications – to share their passion with others. These degrees also lend themselves well to further studies and enquiry. Many liberal arts majors are also interested in giving back and connecting with people, which leads them to careers in politics, public service and other helping professions.

These are some of the more traditional paths for liberal arts majors, simply graduates can be found in nearly all industries and professions. Their ability to think critically, adapt rapidly and solve issues is in demand in STEM and business fields where liberal arts graduates may find their niche in areas such as marketing, sales, strategy or human relationship-driven work such as client relations and account direction.

Their skills in reading, research and making complex information digestible tin assist them get upwardly to speed quickly on technical subjects, even when they may not have a formal technical background.

Liberal arts majors often know how to connect with others and tin can excel at adding the "human touch" to whichever field they enter. "Liberal arts (majors) arroyo problems in the workplace and the earth from a unique vantage point by tapping into the humanistic qualities and dynamics at times overlooked due to a narrowed and single approach to problem-solving," Parker said.

What Jobs Can You Get with a Liberal Arts Caste?

You tin can wait forrard to inbound a number of careers in business organization, government, educational activity and healthcare thanks to the transferable skills a liberal arts teaching provides. Below are some popular majors and career paths you can consider.

Communication

With a communication degree, you lot tin can larn key skills to work in industries such as journalism, public relations, advertising and more. Coursework in public speaking and graphic design helps you come to work prepared to deliver presentations, create publications and reports, and convey messages through digital media.

Some jobs in the communications field include:

• Advertising, Promotions and Marketing Manager: Heave interest in diverse products and services across industries as an advert, promotions or marketing manager. Professionals in these roles plan paid advertising campaigns across radio, television, spider web and other media; develop corporate or production-based websites and create promotional campaigns. The median annual bacon for advertizement, promotions and marketing managers was $141,490 in 2020, co-ordinate to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
• Graphic Designer: Are yous able to tell a compelling story through infographics and photography? Graphic designers draw upon their creativity and artistic skills to create visual concepts for corporate websites, media outlets and impress publications. They earned a median annual salary of $53,380 in 2020, co-ordinate to BLS.
• Public Relations Specialist: Are you lot interested in shaping the public perception of a company, system or product? Cartoon upon their strong speaking and writing skills, public relations professionals craft media releases and develop social media programs to increase awareness and measure date. They earned a median almanac bacon of $62,810 in 2020, according to BLS.

Notice what else you tin do with a communications degree.

English

English language degree majors specializing in English linguistic communication and literature take courses in history, social science and literary theory and are prepared for jobs as writers, historians or museum curators. With related paths such as a bachelor's in creative writing or journalism, y'all can focus on storytelling in nonfiction, news, fiction, screenwriting or poetry genres.

The curriculum is besides designed to prepare you for jobs in public relations, pic, theater and advertizement, to name a few.

Some jobs in the field include:

• Editor: Practice y'all showroom strong writing skills and attending to detail? Editors work in a diversity of industries and support both print and online publications. They earned a median bacon of $63,400 in 2020, co-ordinate to BLS.
• Technical Writer: Technical writers create didactics manuals, web content and other supporting documents for products and services. They earned a median bacon of $74,650 in 2020, co-ordinate to BLS.

Discover what else you can practise with an English degree.

History

Understanding the past is key to helping organizations interpret significant historical events and prepare for the future. Drawing upon your strong research and belittling skills, you may be able to piece of work as a curator, historical interpreter or policy advisor with the help of a history degree.

Although history majors oftentimes work in politics, they are also qualified to work in other roles in business organisation, journalism, police force or pedagogy. A major in history can prepare you for law school, as well.

Some jobs in the history field include:

• Archivist, Curator and Museum Worker: Archivists review, procedure, itemize and preserve historically valuable records. Curators oversee art collections and historical artifacts and may nowadays their inquiry on behalf of an institution. Museum technicians and conservators restore objects and documents and prepare museum collections and exhibits, according to BLS. They earned a median salary of $52,140 in 2020, according to BLS.
• Historian: Historians research, analyze, translate and write about the past past studying historical documents and sources, according to BLS. You can observe work in museums, archives, historical societies and enquiry organizations. Historians earned a median salary of $63,100 in 2020, according to BLS.

Detect what else yous can do with a history caste.

Psychology

The written report of the human being mind, a psychology degree focuses on man behavior and how to utilize concepts to social and organizational issues that affect us globally. You can look forward to pursuing roles in human resource, market research and social services. Some jobs in the field include:

• Human Resources Specialist: If you are interested in resolving employee conflicts, interviewing, hiring and retaining employees, yous might enjoy working as a homo resource specialist. To exist successful, y'all need strong interpersonal and advice skills. Man resource specialists earned a median salary of $63,490 in 2020, according to BLS.
  Market Research Analyst: Potent belittling and critical thinking skills help market research analysts determine what products people want, who will buy them and what cost they are willing to pay. They earned a median bacon of $65,810 in 2020, according to BLS.
• Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder and Mental Wellness Advisor: In this role, you can aid individuals recover from alcoholism, drug habit, eating disorders, mental health issues or other mental or behavioral problems. They earned a median salary of $47,660 in 2020, according to BLS. Additional education and licensure is usually required for these roles.

Detect what else you lot can do with a psychology caste.

Sociology

Focused on social behavior and how people conduct in groups, folklore coursework includes history, religion, geography and social scientific discipline enquiry, to name a few. In this field, you tin can gain an sympathise of society's historical, economical and political issues and how people can work together to solve bug. Roles open to sociology majors include jobs in social services, criminal justice or public health. Some positions in the field include:

• Health Educators and Community Health Worker: To be successful in i of these roles, you need strong interpersonal and communications skills to develop and evaluate health programs and create materials on various health topics. Health educators and customs wellness workers work in hospitals, government and not-profit organizations. They earned a median almanac bacon of $48,140 in 2020, according to BLS.
• Social and Community Service Director: Working in one of the "helping professions" requires yous to identify and evaluate programs that come across the needs of special populations such equally veterans, the elderly or children. Yous may also focus on serving people affected by substance abuse or poverty. They earned a median annual bacon of $69,600 in 2020, co-ordinate to BLS.

Detect what else y'all tin do with a sociology degree.

What are the Benefits of a Liberal Arts Instruction?

Pursuing a degree in the liberal arts helps you succeed in a fast-paced world that requires individuals to develop creative solutions today to solve the complex challenges of the future.

It'due south no surprise, then, that business organization leaders are speaking out in defence of these foundational subjects. Harvard Business organisation Review looked at three books about how the humanities prepare students. Humanities, the books' authors contended, are most the ability to larn, ask the right questions, identify the real problem and never lose sight of real human needs.

An Associate of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) survey found that the learning outcomes of contemporary liberal education, including the liberal arts, are valued as "somewhat" or "very important" to nine out of 10 employers.

"Learners need a potent foundation in the liberal arts, which provides a foundation for enhancing their verbal and written communications, disquisitional thinking and ethics for career success," said Tom Patria, a career counselor at SNHU.

Soft skills are essential to being a good leader, communicator and disquisitional thinker and are frequently adult in general education courses. The implications of a liberal arts background extend far beyond that, though.

Foreign languages teach some other manner to view language itself. This translates into an employee who can move seamlessly between computers, employers and customers, better understanding each perspective, limitations and needs. Philosophy encourages logic and inquiry, which translates into an employee who effectively assesses unexpected situations.

Does Liberal Arts Include Science?

Basic math and science are also part of the traditional arts. The problem solving, assay and observation skills established in those subjects are essential for a lasting career when bogus intelligence (AI) and other new technologies are causing future changes in the workplace.

The Future of Liberal Arts in the Workforce

Consider this – the task market changes quickly, and the well-nigh in-need skills in the futurity may very well be the humanities. Automation and AI are affecting more than and more industries. But skills like critical thinking, relationship-building and storytelling resist automation and will continue to exist needed in the workforce.

The Humanities Indicators report from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences shows that the number of humanities degrees conferred in 2018 was 2% below the previous year and xiv.one% beneath the highest number of degrees conferred in a single yr – dorsum in 2012. And however, competencies adult through foundational subjects, such every bit getting a liberal arts degree, affair more than ever.

Automation and AI accept limits because of unanticipated nuances to a job or its human and emotional elements. AI needs capable humans to manage and pull the all-time from it.

Today's highly digitized, AI-supported environments have a heightened need for employees with interpersonal skills, nimble minds and the ability to piece of work alongside machine learning.

AI is being used to a remarkable effect in almost every sector. For instance, companies in the healthcare and insurance industries tin can gather data to determine customers' rates via the Cyberspace of Things (IoT) sensors that capture 1'south driving and lifestyle habits. A virtual claims adjuster can even minimize fraud as it handles settlement and payment post-obit an accident.

And even so, a frightened driver calling their motorcar insurance company from a ditch on the side of the highway wants to speak to a human. That client service representative must exist able to mind sympathetically, get together the relevant information and conspicuously instruct the driver on firsthand side by side steps. At that moment, the insurance company needs employees with problem-solving and advice skills.

In a doctor'south office or hospital, AI can collect and process more than comprehensive and accurate data than a homo could ever promise to. But rather than replace the nurses and role administrators, this automated capability frees them to focus on what they practice best — educating patients and providing unique back up and communication.

Pressure level to compete for STEM careers continues to grow in a world increasingly supported by and reliant on engineering science. Liberal arts studies emphasize enduring skills in an era when engineering and automation will increasingly replace workers, according to Dr. Ruth Lahti, associate vice president of liberal arts and social sciences at SNHU.

Soft skills are still relevant in the workplace, and students who tin demonstrate their inventiveness in areas such as writing, communication, critical thinking and collaboration, will go along to be bonny to employers. In that location is a growing trend for experts in the "digital humanities," who can bring digital resources into their research, educational activity and publishing to make scholarship more than accessible to others, Lahti said.

Preparing for the Workforce

Although they're well-equipped for many unlike roles, liberal arts majors may have a less clear-cutting road to the perfect job than some graduates. Here are some suggestions for liberal arts majors inbound the job market place.

• Build Your Personal Make: Liberal arts students are expert at storytelling and communicating complex ideas. When it'south fourth dimension to enter the job market they need to harness tho
  se skills to tell their own story, and they can practice that through establishing a personal brand.
• Diversify Your Skill Set: Since liberal arts majors tin can be helpful in many fields, one way to stand up out from other applicants is to larn new topics and skills transferrable to your industry or organization of involvement. For example, if you lot're a communication major looking to work for a engineering science company, y'all might consider building on your vocabulary and understanding of the subject with an Information technology elective. You lot could likewise subscribe to engineering science journals to stay up-to-engagement on manufacture news.
• Think Outside of the Box: Exist willing to explore different industries with an open mind and gain new skills and knowledge. Publishing houses are not the only employer of English language majors; your background and willingness to learn can be beneficial in other job markets equally well. "As a liberal arts major myself, how you lot employ your education to your career growth is entirely up to yous," saidRyan Bernier, a benefits specialist at SNHU and sometime career advisor.

Why Practise Employers Like a Liberal Arts Education?

In his book, "Yous Can Exercise Anything: The Surprising Power of a 'Useless' Liberal Arts Didactics," Forbes contributing editor George Anders writes that companies look for five key qualities in potential employees:

1. Eagerness to tackle uncharted areas
2. Power to solve murky problems
3. Well-honed analytic methods
4. Nifty awareness of grouping dynamics
5. Power to inspire and persuade others

"It just seemed as if there was this tremendous disconnect betwixt public rhetoric that said 'y'all've got to go the Stem route and at that place is no route merely Stalk,' and and so all of these interesting new task openings that were coming upwards for people with liberal arts degrees," Anders said in a USA TODAY Higher story. "It was this subconscious forcefulness of the economic system that nobody wanted to write about or talk nigh."

A degree tin change your life. Observe the SNHU liberal arts program that can best help you encounter your goals.

Rebecca LeBoeuf '18 is a writer at Southern New Hampshire University. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Source: https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/2018/09/what-is-a-liberal-arts-degree

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