ESSENCE OF LIBERAL ARTS
“This is the best reason to learn history not to predict the future, but to free yourself of the past and imagine alternative destinies. Of course, this is not total freedom we cannot avoid being shaped by the past. But some freedom is better than none.”
At the outset, to popular belief, a career in liberal education is not just restricted to fine arts or the performing arts such as painting, sculpture, ceramics, dance, music, or drama. The purpose of a liberal education is to equip learners with the skills and abilities required to become all-rounded individuals. In simple terms, holistic education is the outcome of a Liberal Arts programme. Due to this fact, a Liberal Arts graduate will have a certain multi-dimensional quality and vivacity lacking in most candidates. When we explore the exciting field of Liberal Arts, one will find its potential to span far beyond just arts, sciences, medicine, business, or humanities. It gives candidates the ability to develop a broader and more versatile view of all these streams. Let us examine some of the aspects of a career in the field of Liberal Arts.
This stream is highly flexible in nature
A career in Liberal Arts offers students an opportunity to branch out into several other discourses and equips learners with analytical, communication, and reasoning abilities that can be used to excel in every aspect of one’s life. The flexible nature of the field makes Liberal Arts highly beneficial as it helps students to build technical skills while offering them opportunity to get positive insights into a range of exciting and promising subjects of the 21st century. Hence, many of the organisations and employers today actively look for graduates with a Liberal Arts degree as they tend to have a broader and a more holistic world view when compared to students who specialise in a specific department or field.
Highly sought after by reputed organisations
Although it may seem like Liberal Arts majors tend to struggle a bit more than Management or Engineering graduates at the beginning of their careers, research conducted by the various private companies has shown that one third of all Fortune CEOs (approximately500 candidates) hold liberal arts degrees, and 55 per cent of world leaders hold degrees in either the humanities or the social sciences. You can find proper research evidence that proves the Liberal Arts graduates advance far better within a short span in their professional lives compared to non-Liberal Arts graduates. Liberal Arts graduates become highly sought after in high-level jobs when compared to non-Liberal Arts graduates.
Career in Academics of liberal art graduates
Many Liberal Arts graduates have gone to become leaders in the academic world. They have gone to shape the minds of experts across various disciplines like Art, History, Philosophy, Women’s Studies, Languages, etc. The interdisciplinary knowledge gained from a Liberal Arts education adds an extra dimension as learners explore, research, and teach a subject of their choice. Liberal Arts graduates can choose careers that allow them to work closely with government firms of their countries like department of foreign affairs and country’s legal embassies. They can also opt for careers in policy research and development work. Therefore, a career in Liberal Arts can help students make a positive impact on the national and international level professions.
Be it photography, commercial art, painting, interior design, graphic or visual design, a degree in Liberal Arts allows you to follow your passion and make a career out of it. Such artists and professionals earn a steady income depending on their creative bend. Hence, if you are passionate about any of the above fields, you should consider a career in Liberal Arts. When students think of a career in Liberal Arts, they would not probably imagine that the liberal arts graduates will have so many career opportunities. Whether students choose Marketing, Biology, Advertising, Business Management, Event Planning, Environmental Studies, Social Services, Law, Finance, Psychology, or any other possible field that they like, a Liberal Arts education is highly beneficial, due to the freedom and sheer flexibility it offers to its students.
One of the best things about Liberal Arts graduates is that they pick their major because they connect to the subject matter. Regardless of the career, a Liberal Arts education helps students develop critical 21st-century skills. The skills include critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and innovation, research skills, writing and oral communication, interpersonal skills, and the ability to learn. Thus, it does not just help learners to earn a good living but also empowers them to live a fulfilled life as contributing and functioning members of society.
Prof. Voothaluru Seshu
Faculty of Visual Arts
Alliance School of Liberal Arts