“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question is perhaps never more relevant than when college hopefuls are filling out applications and considering their intended major. Some students make the mistake of choosing a major and locking themselves into a career path they’re not sure about. Others may decide to switch majors but will have already sunk costly credit hours into a subject they’re no longer interested in.
All this time, they could have been working toward a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Humanities.
A BA in humanities is ideal for students who don’t want to be tied to a single career path. Students in humanities degree programs can keep their options open and, once they graduate, explore one or multiple career paths. We’ll be discussing the myriad benefits of a humanities degree, but first, let’s talk about why settling on a single career path might not work for everyone.
Getting the Most Out of Your Investment
There’s no question that college leads to greater opportunities. Bachelor’s degree holders earn higher salaries (over $30,000 more each year), have lower unemployment rates, and are more likely to have employer-provided healthcare. About half of all jobs require at least an associate degree, so if you’re interested in a secure, high-paying job, college attendance is a must.
Higher education is a wise, albeit costly, investment. To make the most of it, students tend to start on a career path as early as possible. (The hustle is real!) Affordable, accredited online programs can significantly reduce tuition costs, but the overall expense and pressure to declare a major can push students into career paths that may not be lucrative or fulfilling long-term options.
Settling on a Career Path
Interested in becoming a clinical psychologist? Better pursue an undergraduate degree in psychology. That way, you can move on to a master’s program and eventually a doctoral program. Ten years from now, you could graduate with a doctorate in psychology, having passed your exam, defended your dissertation, and completed a one-year internship. Hopefully, you’re still interested in psychology by then.
This approach works for many students, but not everyone stays on their chosen career path. Priorities change, and people change — not just in college but throughout life. So, where does this leave students who understand the benefits of a college education but aren’t sure of what to major in?
What Is a Humanities Degree?
A BA in humanities provides a deep understanding of human culture, focusing on shared values, beliefs, and attitudes. Humanities programs typically include courses related to:
- Art
- Communication
- English
- Foreign language
- History
- Music
What Skills Are Learned in a BA in Humanities Program?
Humanities programs are concerned more with developing well-rounded individuals than with training students in a single area. That means helping students develop their critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills so that they may see the world and its people from differing perspectives. Students should expect a lot of speaking, reading, and writing in humanities courses.
Developing Soft Skills
At first glance, a humanities curriculum may seem to be composed of unrelated courses. However, courses are carefully selected to provide students with essential “soft skills.” Soft skills are a mix of personal habits and personality traits employers are looking for, many of whom value soft skills over technical skills. Examples include:
- Adaptability
- Critical thinking
- Versatility
The focus of a humanities program is not to provide a single skill set but to develop capable, well-rounded individuals able to acquire any number of skills. Graduates are equipped with a more worldly, contextualized outlook and a stronger understanding of what motivates those around them, giving them a distinctive edge in the workplace. Humanities degree holders tend to be easy to work with and communicate in a clear, cordial manner whether speaking with someone face-to-face or communicating through email, phone, or social media.
What Are Employers Looking For?
Soft skills are valued in virtually every profession. Don’t believe us? Think about it: Would you rather work with someone who doesn’t take part in meetings, tells inappropriate jokes in the workplace, or can’t write a business email to save their life?
LinkedIn’s 2018 Workplace Learning Report found that 92% of executives say that soft skills are as or more important than technical skills. Leadership, communication, and collaboration were cited as the most important skills for employees to learn from learning and development. Soft skills never go out of style and are only growing in importance with the rise of AI (artificial intelligence). “[T]hey are precisely the type of skills robots can’t automate,” reported LinkedIn.
Get In Touch With Humanity
Regardless of the degree you pursue, you’ll be given opportunities to develop soft skills. You may already be a team player capable of communicating, problem-solving, and empathizing with others. However, few courses of study are as focused on reading, writing, and speaking as the humanities. By pursuing a BA in humanities, you’ll gain a sought-after skillset that can open doors in a variety of career fields.
Don’t let the pressure of picking a career path stop you from earning a bachelor’s degree. The University of Texas Permian Basin offers an online BA in humanities program that can instill you with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate and stand out in modern workplaces. Taking an intense, multidisciplinary approach to understanding human cultures, this program looks at the fields of art, music, and history, among others that give life meaning. And our program is 100% online, meaning that you’ll be able to complete coursework on your schedule. Now that’s a flexible program!
Worried about your career path? Don’t be. Apply to UT Permian Basin’s online BA in humanities program and keep your options open.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190401-why-worthless-humanities-degrees-may-set-you-up-for-life
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/student-loans/is-college-worth-it/
https://www.linkedin.com/business/learning/blog/top-skills-and-courses/the-skills-companies-need-most-in-2019-and-how-to-learn-them