Kiana Wright
Opinions Editor
In an art class, one is graded not based on how well they can draw various objects, but rather how the message is communicated, as opposed to a math class when an answer wrong it is a wrong answer with no in between.
No matter what I drew, my mom thought it was the best thing she had ever seen, but when I started to have a hard time in my eighth grade physical science class, she told me to get extra help. Science and math have always been hard for me as a student, and because of that, I didn’t enjoy them as much. So when I came to college, I knew I was going to try my best to steer clear of those courses.
But what about the students that are taking those classes? I thought that students that have a science or math related major might have a better chance of finding a job. I wondered, will a science or math degree be valued more than an art, music, or writing related degree?
According to educationcorner.com, “A recent report published by the Georgetown Public Policy Institute (GPPI), a leading public policy program at Georgetown University, found majors yielding some of the lowest unemployment rates are chemistry, finance and nursing. While recent graduates of engineering, mathematics and computer science programs demanded the highest starting salaries ($56,000+), unemployment rates in these job sectors were about average. It came as no surprise that anthropology, photography and film majors experienced some of the highest rates of unemployment just out of college, however, the report also showed that students who majored in architecture and information systems also experienced relatively high unemployment rates as well. Students who majored in fine arts has some of the lowest starting salaries of any group.” This shows that many graduates with widespread degrees have a hard time finding work. I find it interesting that chemistry, finance and nursing are some of the lowest unemployment rates. Yet it did not come as a surprise that anthropology, photography and film majors experienced some of the highest rates of unemployment, because jobs that would hire them are specific and seem very competitive.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama even said, “[A] lot of young people no longer see the trades and skilled manufacturing as a viable career. But I promise you, folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree.” He said that it is more promising to find a career and have a steady income by going to a trade school rather than a four year college art degree. But that doesn’t mean you should do it.
In reality, making the choice to do something that sparks your interest or making a decent income and being able to support yourself is a personal dilemma. Personally, I would rather go to school and study something that I am really into, rather than make a lot of money and hate my job. But I’m also still in college, and I feel like that opinion might change once I graduate and have to start paying rent again. I really hope my hard work pays off.
Being able to come to a liberal arts school really gives you the opportunity to expand your knowledge. There are many art, music and writing related majors, as well as biology, management and education. While some may say that going to this type of school is a waste of your time, it’s really what you make out of it. Work hard doing what you think is best, and wish upon a star, hoping it was the right decision.
Kiana Wright can be contacted at
kwright@kscequinox.com
