CAREER OPTIONS WITH LIBERAL ARTS
Q I love psychology. But I’d also like to know what career opportunities are available in liberal arts. A There are vast opportunities in both the fields and both careers can be exciting and satisfying. To help you decide which major to pursue, I suggest you do a psychometric test, which will map your passion against your skill sets. While I am glad to hear you are passionate about psychology, it is equally important to determine you have the skills and wherewithal for this field. You’ll also need to decide which stream of psychology is most suitable for you – clinical, forensic, cognitive, industrial, sports counselling and so on. Bear in mind that lots of psychology majors work in businesses, consulting, training, or as professors, and not necessarily in clinics. An introductory class in psychology will benefit you. It provides in-depth knowledge about human thought, emotion and behaviour, which is relevant to any career.
In today’s economic environment it is not necessarily graduates with specialised technical skills who are in demand but those who can analyse situations, communicate and are capable of critical thinking and understanding. Technical skills can be taught on the job but problem-solving, analytical and people skills that liberal arts majors possess are not easy to find. The aim of liberal arts education is to produce graduates who are virtuous, ethical and knowledgeable in various fields, highly articulate and with transferable skills. Today some of the top and most competitive educational institutes tend to be liberal arts colleges. By definition the concept of liberal arts study is very wide and would encompass humanities (philosophy, languages and ethics), natural sciences (biology, chemistry), social sciences (history, psychology, economics) and formal sciences (maths).
It is no secret that an overwhelming majority of employers are biased towards liberal arts graduates due to their transferable skills and the ability to learn and assimilate new ideas in an ever-changing work environment.