Major-focused helps students in job market

By Aaron Chelliah
Opinion Editor

Recently, there has been controversy over whether a liberal arts or major-focused education is better. A subject-specific education provides as much intellectual stimulation as a liberal arts education, allows students to develop a greater understanding of their intended field, and provides a stronger platform for students entering the workforce.

Currently, there is a differentiation between liberal arts schools and subject-specific schools in America. Many liberal arts schools are geared toward educating “the whole person” with a broad scope of core curriculum classes. These requirements prevent students from delving into the truly nuanced level of study they can achieve at major-specific schools, which could be detrimental to their understanding of given subjects.

Major-focused schools, however, have minimal core requirements and allow students to take the vast majority of their classes on the topic they wish to pursue intellectually and professionally. Diminished general education requirements allow students to begin major-focused classes sooner, rather than having to trudge through two years of core curriculum classes and pay for possibly undesired courses in the process.

Additionally, major-focused schools still allow students to explore a wide array of topics if they so desire. This allows students to become more intellectually independent, with a plethora of classes available to students who wish to take them. The flexibility afforded by this kind of education is precisely what students need to develop.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a student’s academic major is the biggest factor in determining who gets a job offer before graduation, with accounting, business, computer science, engineering and social sciences majors leading the pack in level of pay and the number of students employed directly after graduation.

The arguable benefits of a liberal arts education, such as educating the whole person and creating “intellectually well-rounded individuals,” would hold weight if it weren’t for the fact that in this day and age, not all college degrees are created equal.

A degree no longer guarantees job placement, and because of this, students need more time to grow experienced within their subject fields, make industry connections, take part in specified internships, do poignant lab work and further themselves and their future careers.

While liberal arts colleges have their students caught up in a vast array of subjects, students at more professionally-oriented universities are already doing high-level research and making connections with future employers long before their liberal arts counterparts even begin their staple class work.

In an age where, according to Yahoo News, only one out of every two degree holders has a job right out of college, it is imperative that students do everything they can to get ahead and distinguish themselves from other students in their prospective fields. And to do so, students must use their limited four years of higher learning wisely by delving into the nuances and required skills of their future, not ruminating on subjects of comparatively tangential value.