Science, technology, mathematics and engineering fields are in high demand. Of course, this isn’t likely to change any time soon: technology is rapidly evolving within the very fabric of social, political and economic interaction. With some of the highest starting and mid-career salaries, STEM fields are both relevant and useful. Though similarly interwoven in human affairs, liberal arts fields stand in contrast. Facing a lack of active recruitment and high unemployment rates, liberal arts graduates often find themselves without a marketable niche to fill. These growing trends in the job market prompted Florida Gov. Rick Scott to propose in 2012 that tuition for Florida state universities vary for different majors. In his proposal, Scott saw a responsible investment of taxpayer dollars in a decreased STEM tuition. However, it is impossible to quantify the wealth of factors surrounding college graduate job placement within tuition differences.
It’s easy to see why politicians and, especially, students might exhibit a bias toward STEM majors. When deciding between college majors, students weigh a number of different factors. Each factor, though, may be boiled down to two broad considerations: the student’s interests and the utility of the majors relate to them. Academic and extracurricular interests are easy to dismiss as non-quantifiable; they are entirely subjective and change on a student-to-student basis. Utility, on the other hand, is worth discussion.
Though the facts and figures point towards STEM fields, they actually only reflect a subset of what it is to be ‘useful’. It is, then, not reasonable to generalize that STEM majors are useful and liberal arts majors are not. Here, it’s useful to consider the differences between hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are easily quantified abilities and skillsets, demonstrated through applicable knowledge and abilities. Soft skills are more qualitative abilities, oftentimes involving personal traits and interpersonal skills.
STEM curricula teach a myriad of hard skills, often leading to the conception that they are the most useful option. After all, job openings directly address hard skills. Non-STEM curricula, though, teach a wealth of soft skills. At this point, it is important to note that none of this is to say that non-STEM majors don’t offer hard skills. Rather, it is to point out that the most in-demand skills in today’s job market involve technological hard skills, skills liberal arts majors usually lack. Nonetheless, soft skills are not invaluable in today’s job market. In fact, they are in wide demand. Though soft skills are hard to quantify, it’s important not to disregard them. We now have an equivalent statement: though it’s harder to quantify the value of liberal arts majors, it is important not to disregard their value.
Here, we’re at a crossroads: put generally, just as liberal arts curriculum lacks focus on in-demand, applicable skills, oftentimes a STEM education is unilaterally technical. In order to broaden the scope of their degree programs, however, most schools require their students to enroll in prerequisite classes. Such measures are clear indication that the dichotomy between hard and soft skills I’ve outlined doesn’t have to exist. Oftentimes, though, prerequisites are seen as a hassle rather than a learning experience. In part, this is due to the fact that perquisites are cold, non-specific requirements. Due to non-specificity, they rarely resonate with a student’s academic interests.
Instead of hiking up tuition for “less useful” majors, state universities should be searching for ways to diversify their students education. For example, they might tailor prerequisite courses to address specific problems. As they do in traditional pre-reqs, students from different disciplines might converge. In this new context, though, they might learn different skills from each other while forming interdisciplinary perspectives. Put simply, there are much better ways than major-variable tuition to encourage students to develop real-world skills.
Overall, a student takes much more out of college than what she learns in major classes. Through extracurricular and personal interactions, students develop skills, goals and passions. Although different major curricula cater to different sets of skills, none shine out as “better.” Instead, each skillset has different applications. The point is, major in what you love. If it’s truly your passion, nothing should hold you back from acquiring the skills to pursue it.
Gage DeZoort is a Viewpoint writer.
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