It happens to the best of us. Ten hours and $20 worth of venti skim extra shot lattes into a paper or project on a topic so incredibly inane that it could possibly bore even the small contingent of people who are actually supposed to care, and we all wonder, justifiably, just what we are doing here.
Last semester, after nearly overdrawing my checking account debiting yet another Circle K Blend during the final stages of a lengthy and extraordinarily pointless research paper, I began to question my own educational goals. Most people attend college with the hope that a degree will lead to a career and money. That's great if you're studying accounting or psychology or education.
But what about the rest of us? I am talking about people, like myself, who willingly wrenched themselves from the warm embrace of a career-oriented major in order to shake the sweaty palm of a degree whose importance in the real world is questionable.
It is tough to justify this expensive headlong fling into a questionable future. With the job market as poor as it is, even graduates who should immediately get jobs are waiting months, if not years. Without a practical degree, it would seem that the only real option is resigning oneself to the perpetual ramen-eating studenthood of a graduate program.
Yet at the same time, something can be said for the classical liberal arts education. Major universities like ASU are, at their core, research institutions employing some of the greatest modern intellectuals. Technical institutes can provide a straight path to employment, and far more cheaply. To attend a university is to accept, at least in part, the intrinsic value of education for the sake of education.
When the university education system appeared back in the Middle Ages, its purpose was not to land its students jobs, but rather to teach them the arts of rhetoric, language, mathematics, and philosophy. Of course, back then education was only for the rich. Now, with students pouring onto university campuses from all financial backgrounds, the idea is that, in the end, a degree should pay for itself.
Herein lies the problem. Students, whether they are aware of it or not, are bombarded with pressure to choose a path that will lead to riches. If a student fails to get a degree he or she can "use," then the college experience is largely viewed as a pointless waste of both time and money. So students are afraid to actually study what they like. They are also unsure of their post-educational future in a classical degree program.
It doesn't have to be this way. No one has to endure four years of torture. And, it is worth noting, for people who hate their classes in a given field, it is foolhardy to suppose that they would like employment in that field any better.
It is unnecessary to succumb to pressure from high school guidance counselors, or buckle under the constant "But what are you going to DO with that degree?" inquiries. As it turns out, "useless" degrees really are quite useful.
A liberal arts degree is the best preparation for graduate school (though it may not help with the ramen options). It teaches a person advanced writing, research and critical thinking skills. It can help one learn to articulate complex ideas and understand abstract concepts. In a study by The Affiliates, a leading attorney staffing service, liberal arts degrees ranked as most desirable for entrance to law school, with 37 percent. Business was second at 31 percent.
Also, it seems that the way graduates market themselves to prospective employers has as much to do with their potential careers as their degrees. Any university degree proves that its recipient has a set of desirable skills. It is up to the graduate to show this to the job market.
So there you have it, brethren of ASU. It may be a bit scary to jump ship and swim the choppy waters of liberal arts, but these degrees are valuable. And, if there is a subject that strikes your fancy, maybe you will actually listen to the professor instead of drawing mustaches on the columnists' pictures, a scribbled testament to your boredom transcribed in inky perpetuity.
What is Katie Kelberlau going to do with a degree in religious studies and history? Ask her at katherine.kelberlau@asu.edu.
