Humanities Majors Are Secretly Dominating the Job Market — Here's Why
Fordhamobserver.com4 days ago
910

Humanities Majors Are Secretly Dominating the Job Market — Here's Why

CAREER DEVELOPMENT
humanities
career
education
jobmarket
criticalthinking
Share this content:

Summary:

  • Humanities majors have comparable unemployment rates to STEM fields, with liberal arts majors reporting only 5.3% unemployment according to Federal Reserve data

  • Employers highly value critical thinking and communication skills that humanities education develops, with 78% of employers rating critical thinking as "very important"

  • Humanities curricula combat the "crisis in critical thinking" caused by overreliance on AI and instant information access

  • Career counselors note that humanities students demonstrate unique passion and impact in their professional development and personal projects

  • Humanities majors outperform average applicants on graduate school exams across all fields, demonstrating the transferability of their skills

The Hidden Strengths of Humanities Education

Long-ridiculed for their ‘impractical’ fields of study, humanities majors might actually come out on top in today's competitive job market. Many students pursuing arts and humanities degrees face constant questions about their career prospects, with assumptions that these fields lead to limited opportunities. But is this perception based on reality or just a persistent myth?

Debunking the Unemployment Myth

Recent data from a 2023 Federal Reserve Bank of New York study reveals surprising employment statistics. Humanities and STEM majors report remarkably similar unemployment rates:

  • Anthropology majors: 9.4%
  • Physics majors: 7.8%
  • Computer engineering majors: 7.5%
  • Computer science majors: 6.3%
  • Liberal arts majors: 5.3%

Interestingly, while internet jokes frequently target humanities majors about unemployment, computer science majors face comparable challenges in the current job market.

The Current Academic Landscape

Our educational culture heavily emphasizes STEM and business fields, leading to disproportionate funding allocations. Literature and history programs are consistently underfunded, with some institutions even considering eliminating these majors altogether. This reflects a nationwide trend toward prioritizing "productive" majors over traditional humanities education.

Career Readiness and Employer Demand

Fordham's Career Center staff emphasize that humanities students develop unique strengths that align perfectly with employer needs. According to Allyson Blatz, Assistant Director for Student Engagement: "What's really unique about humanities and liberal arts students is there is more of a focus on passion and impact. I've seen students really channel that passion into awesome personal projects."

Employers consistently value the critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills that humanities curricula cultivate. These are precisely the competencies outlined in the National Association of Colleges and Employers' eight principles of career readiness.

The Critical Thinking Advantage in the AI Era

Cole Chaloupka, Student Engagement Specialist, identifies a "crisis in critical thinking" in higher education due to overreliance on generative AI. He notes that "the humanities is set up to encourage students to do these readings and think and ask questions. That is going to be so important to be able to counter some of this access to lazily figuring things out at our fingertips."

Student working on historical research

Real-World Success Stories

Seneca Farhy, a Fordham history major, gained valuable experience through a summer internship at The New York Historical Society, where she worked on a Harlem Renaissance exhibition. She found that her humanities education provided essential skills: "Studying history has allowed me to slow down and get the full picture of things and ask questions. I feel like I was able to translate this into my job really well over the summer."

The Data Doesn't Lie

The National Humanities Alliance reports that 78% of employers consider critical thinking "very important," yet only 49% feel recent graduates are well-prepared in this area. Humanities majors consistently score higher than average on graduate school entrance exams across all fields, demonstrating the transferable nature of their skills.

Why Humanities Matter More Than Ever

In an age of rapid technological advancement and AI integration, humanities education provides the human-centered perspective needed to guide innovation ethically. As Farhy perfectly summarizes: "I support pursuing careers in the humanities because, well, it's in the word: It's human, and it helps you connect to other people, and humans are easier to connect with than money."

Comments

0

Join Our Community

Sign up to share your thoughts, engage with others, and become part of our growing community.

No comments yet

Be the first to share your thoughts and start the conversation!

Newsletter

Subscribe our newsletter to receive our daily digested news

Join our newsletter and get the latest updates delivered straight to your inbox.

OR
JuniorRemoteJobs.com logo

JuniorRemoteJobs.com

Get JuniorRemoteJobs.com on your phone!