Should Filipino students major in the liberal arts? (Part 2)

I became good at chemistry by becoming better at English. I took up English literature along with chemistry in college, and it was what I needed to overcome my fear of numbers. That summer, a bulk of our work in the humanities was to study Shakespeare’s Othello. It disciplined me into paying closer attention to details. Moreover, we were taught to interpret difficult old English texts.

Because we had an excellent literary professor, I managed to generalize the reading comprehension skills that I acquired in humanities to understanding concepts in chemistry. I used to just imitate solutions to word problems in high school because I didn’t have the patience to understand them. After reading Shakespeare, comprehending scientific problems and arriving at the correct answers became easier for me. Thanks to English lit, I’m no longer as math-anxious as before because I’m now more patient and attentive to details.

My experience shows that the liberal arts lay the foundations for us to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). They are therefore as important as STEM. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should major in them.

There are many factors that one must consider in choosing a college degree. I wrote about them here and here. While some high school graduates might be better off taking up vocational courses, most employers require a college degree even in disciplines that have a poor return of investment. That’s because primary and secondary education in the Philippines is so bad that companies want Filipinos to go to university to fill up the gaps in their learning. That’s exactly what I did with my minor subjects in college.

So here are some guidelines that can help you decide on whether or not you should major in the humanities and social sciences (HUMSS):

For applications in non-Big 4 universities, prioritize getting into STEM or accounting programs. There are undoubtedly many competent HUMSS majors in non-Big 4 universities. But the painful truth is that employers will prioritize hiring alumni from UP, Ateneo, De La Salle, and UST for the few arts-related positions. On the other hand, there are so many good STEM and accounting jobs that you won’t even need a Big 4 diploma to be hired for a lucrative one.

For applications in the Big 4 universities, seriously consider majoring in STEM or accounting. Because the salaries in these career tracks are relatively high, they have a better return for either the taxpayers’ (UP) or your family’s (Ateneo, De La Salle, and UST) investment.

If you really want to major in the HUMSS in the university of your choice, you must a) acquire other in-demand skills while taking up your degree and b) strive to graduate with honors. There will always be a need for liberal arts majors. Perhaps the HUMSS are really for you because you’re so good at them that you can use your training in those disciplines to raise up the next generation of critical thinkers. That’s what my English lit professor did. Maybe you have the gift to come up with a great sculpture like the Gomburza! It’s even valid to major in the liberal arts because you want to leverage your Big 4 university education to achieve your personal goals.

Besides, some STEM degrees are not in-demand. So you might as well take up a HUMSS major that you’re passionate about if you get into a first-tier university rather than enroll in a STEM course with a poor return of investment.

You might also flunk out if you’re lukewarm about STEM, if you hate it, or if you’re ill-prepared for the math and science series. If this is your predicament, it’s wiser to take up a Bachelor of Arts degree in which you’ll excel.

But to be safe, strive to get the best grades so that you’ll stand out in the job market. You should also use your spare time to acquire in-demand skills like computer programming, digital marketing, and data science. Learn how to utilize various information and communications technologies too. That way, you’ll be able to use whatever you’re learning in your HUMSS classes to produce something that people need or want.

That’s actually one of the endeavors that I wish the government will prioritize. I hope that aside from promoting STEM, the Marcos regime will reform college-level liberal arts education. It will be great if the HUMSS majors will have concentrations in marketable skills, such as an anthropology degree with intensive training in UX design. Universities are offering certifications in them anyway. Won’t it be great to integrate them into the HUMSS to make it easier for students to acquire in-demand skills?

Where does this leave business and education degrees?

Their advantage is that they train you for specific jobs. But except for accounting, they’re basically applied arts that have produced far too many graduates. So their return of investment tends to be similar with those of the liberal arts. I believe a lot of what I said about majoring in the HUMSS also applies to them.

(Photo by Timothy Barlin)