Is there such a thing as a useless degree?

Students entering college might avoid the liberal arts degrees, afraid there won't be a job waiting for them once they have completed college. Departments like philosophy, history and English may strike students as useless pursuits with no real point. In the emerging job market, this notion isn't exactly grounded in fact. Weber State University History Professor Brady Brower noted that companies were changing up their view of valuable employees. "Companies are looking for people who are well rounded and don't have just have very narrowly focused technical skills," Bower said. A Businessweek article addressed the growing job market for liberal degrees: "Recruiters seek the depth and diversity that liberal arts grads bring to the heavily team-oriented business world. They are trained to read critically and extract detail, which is key to being good analysts. Business concepts can be taught. The ability to manipulate them cannot." At WSU, the philosophy department has only recently offered a major to students as the program expands. One student; originally minoring, now majoring in philosophy; defended his choice. "The primary thing philosophy students should remember," said WSU senior Andrew Pattern, "is that they should being doing it for them. I think it is one of the few degrees you have to want to pursue. I've never met a person who was forced to take a philosophy class." Liberal arts degrees are now considered to be degrees that provide a wider range of knowledge in more areas than other degrees. While the pros in receiving a liberal education may seem less tangible than a business degree, that doesn't mean the reasons for receiving a liberal arts degree aren't valid and liberal arts majors aren't up-to-par with business or science majors. In a New York Times article, colleges like Rutgers University were seeing a new growth of students in the philosophy departments: "Once scoffed at as a luxury major, philosophy is being embraced at Rutgers and other universities by a new generation of college students who are drawing modern-day lessons from the age-old discipline as they try to make sense of their world, from the morality of the war in Iraq to the latest political scandal." While these seemingly "useless" degrees take greater foothold in the job market, the broadened education may be useful for more than it appeal to the world outside academia. "If a student wants to go to law school," said WSU Philosophy Professor Richard Greene, "the sort of argumentative training that you get in philosophy probably serves you better. Philosophers tend to do better on the LSATs than any other major. If that were your goal, philosophy would be a valuable degree." The search for diversity among companies and graduate schools has persuaded many students to switch tracks to more liberal pursuits in hopes of standing out from other applicants. But more important than marketability is the experience college affords. "I think students who won't step out of their major are missing out on their broader education," Greene said. "Its one of the best things about going to college. You have the opportunity to expose yourself to all sorts of things, all sorts of experts in a wide variety of fields."