In the first grade, senior Katie Yarrish decided she wanted to learn how to play the violin, not knowing this would be the launching pad for her love of the arts. Katie still plays the violin 11 years later and is now a stage manager and theater apprentice who will major in Arts Administration next year, despite the decline in students majoring in liberal arts.
The liberal arts includes humanities, social sciences, philosophy, and history, among other arts. Despite the various studies liberal arts education covers, the number of students majoring in a liberal art has “declined by 29.6 percent” from 2012 to 2020 according to the Colgate Maroon-News. The average salary for jobs related to liberal arts degrees may provide an explanation for this decline.
According to NBC News, “liberal arts majors still earn significantly less throughout their lives than math and science grads.” Computer Science teacher Mr. David Phillips believes that students are oftentimes more drawn to technology based jobs rather than the liberal arts because technology degrees pay more.
“It comes down to money and success, and I think that engineering and technology are seen as more of a money maker as far as a career is concerned,” said Mr. Phillips.
Aside from salary, Katie says “people are very concerned because they think a liberal arts degree is going to be very limited and that graduates with those degrees won’t have many options leaving college.”
However, Katie disagrees. “I’m going to have so many options going into liberal arts,” she said. “Liberal arts has evolved to provide me with different options by encouraging me to develop skills, such as problem solving in unfamiliar areas or learning new communication skills.”
According to The Evolution, “Jobs of the future will prioritize people with human skills who are adept at doing things machines don’t do well—things like understanding, empathy, contextualizing and problem-solving. That’s what a liberal education does best.”
Theater teacher Ms. Jessica Padgett says the liberal arts teaches students necessary life skills like “communication, collaboration, team building, and computer skills.”
“Participating and being involved in the liberal arts actually helps increase intelligence, cognitive skills, team building, time management, and a lot of different skills that are necessary across whatever career choice people make,” said Ms. Padgett.
Southern New Hampshire University confirms this, saying that graduates with liberal arts degrees “can be found in nearly all industries” since they “know how to connect with others and can excel at adding the ‘human touch’ to whichever field they enter.”
Katie believes that liberal arts education, especially her education in arts administration, will be the perfect stepping stone for the future she wants. “The arts is something I’m really passionate about, so the idea of spending my future doing that is really exciting,” said Katie. “Arts administration will allow me to network with all sorts of different people in different fields, allowing me to combine any of my liberal arts interests with my professional goals.”
