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Humanities (English) graduate here. I'll be honest: my education did help me understand the world better, but it left me completely and utterly unprepared for a

Humanities (English) graduate here. I'll be honest: my education did help me understand the world better, but it left me completely and utterly unprepared for a role outside of academia. Fortunately, I've had an entrepreneurial spirit and freelanced my way through college and through extensive self-study, built up a career in marketing. But my college mates who weren't as entrepreneurial, or didn't have as much business sense are suffering. They're working mostly dead end jobs or grinding away at the bottom end of academia. It's not pretty. I would caution anyone going for a humanities degree to think long and hard about their decision. If you're not entrepreneurial, can't hustle, and don't pick up secondary skills (marketing, coding, sales, etc.), you're going to have a hard, hard time.

flexie 11y ago
Thank you for the honesty. It is a touchy subject. Whereas there are several examples of graduates or dropouts within humanities who did very well for themselves (most famously superstars as Zuckerberg, Jobs and PG) it's almost always outside the fields they studied. PG didn't set up the most famous philosophical school, Zuckerberg didn't make the largest psychological experiment (or did he?).
- puranjay 11y ago
  Well, most entertainers, writers, comedians, etc. tend to have a humanities background. But these people (like Patton Oswalt) are outliers; they are so ridiculously talented that they would've done with or without any degree. The more time I spend in humanities, the more I realize that this is a field only for the exceptionally talented or the exceptionally hard working. I'm neither of these things. I just happened to grind away and had a strong analytical mind. This also means that if you get an application from a humanities grad who has 'made it' within or outside the field, you should take notice - it's likely that this grad worked far harder/smarter than a STEM major to get where he is.

flexie 11y ago

Thank you for the honesty. It is a touchy subject. Whereas there are several examples of graduates or dropouts within humanities who did very well for themselves (most famously superstars as Zuckerberg, Jobs and PG) it's almost always outside the fields they studied. PG didn't set up the most famous philosophical school, Zuckerberg didn't make the largest psychological experiment (or did he?).

puranjay 11y ago
Well, most entertainers, writers, comedians, etc. tend to have a humanities background. But these people (like Patton Oswalt) are outliers; they are so ridiculously talented that they would've done with or without any degree. The more time I spend in humanities, the more I realize that this is a field only for the exceptionally talented or the exceptionally hard working. I'm neither of these things. I just happened to grind away and had a strong analytical mind. This also means that if you get an application from a humanities grad who has 'made it' within or outside the field, you should take notice - it's likely that this grad worked far harder/smarter than a STEM major to get where he is.