Are non-top 100 liberal arts degrees worthless in the eyes of employers?

[stevejobs]

One of my friends is an hr recruiter at a well known tech company, but he has been around so his opinion is not just restricted to his most recent employer. He said that to them there was little value in a liberal arts degree for an entry-level position that did not correspond to the major if the person did not graduate from a top 100 college or university. Even that was stretching it as they gave significant weight only on the Ivies and the handful of other top colleges (Stanford, MIT, Amherst). Meaning you could get a job as a project manager from Proctor & Gamble even if your major was in Russian literature provided you received your degree from Princeton. And you could have been a mediocre student to boot. If it came from Belmont University then you're out of luck.

While you may have busted your balls getting a liberal arts degree from Kalamazoo College, a nice, well-regarded regional institution (#67 in US News 2008 liberal colleges), at a cost of $35K a year in tuition and room & board, to recruiters, unless you did something extraordinary there, your effort and financial sacrifice was not "worth" it in terms of ROI. You might of as well of gone to a state college and saved yourself the thousands of dollars in extra costs.

That is not to say non-elite colleges don't offer networking opportunties and other benefits, but strictly as a matter of gaining leverage upon and impressing future employers, they don't for the vast majority of graduates.

 

[SoCal2NYC]

Where is the poll?

 

[drake]

As an Engineer, I've always been curious about this: what kind of jobs do people with liberal arts degrees do?

 

[dopey]

Originally Posted by drake

As an Engineering, I've always been curious about this: what kind of jobs do people with liberal arts degrees do?

They run companies that employ engineers.

 

[robin]

No, they're not worthless to most employers.

Many of the best people that I've worked with (business types, IT types, engineer types) have liberal arts degrees.

 

[Mandrake9072]

Originally Posted by dopey

They run companies that employ engineers.

Well said.

 

[drake]

Nice try, but I believe most high-tech companies are run by people with an Engineering background. At least this is my experience in the Bay Area. Also, do you ever contribute content to this forum or do you spend all your time trying to reply with (unsuccessful) witty retorts?

Originally Posted by dopey

They run companies that employ engineers.

 

[Coho]

Bullsh$t.

Some top companies, those that invested heavily in R&D, make it their policy (though not publicly) to hire only people of science majors or background.

Originally Posted by dopey

They run companies that employ engineers.

 

[Coho]

Originally Posted by Coho

Bullsh$t.

Some top companies, those that invested heavily in R&D, make it their policy (though not publicly) to hire only people of science majors or background.

I had a friend who is very successful African American lawyer working for a tech firm. He told me he was hired because he was math major as an undergraduate. I don't see the relevance of his undergraduate work with the job he was hired to do, but this is the way it works.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by drake

Nice try, but I believe most high-tech companies are run by people with an Engineering background. At least this is my experience in the Bay Area.
Maybe during the dot-com frenzy. Most of the tech companies that survived are run by people with business/management backgrounds.

Originally Posted by Coho

I had a friend who is very successful African American lawyer working for a tech firm. He told me he was hired because he was math major as an undergraduate. I don't see the relevance of his undergraduate work with the job he was hired to do, but this is the way it works.
You're questioning the relevance of his undergraduate major but felt it necessary to provide his skin color? To be an effective lawyer, you need to be able to communicate clearly with the client about the subjects on which you are giving advice. As a former English major with very little math or science background, for example, I'd be hopeless as a patent lawyer. "Um, can you explain again how this thingy that goes around is better than the other guy's doo-hickey so I can explain it to the judge?" It may be that in order to do his job well, your friend needs to be able to have a decent understanding of the mathematical or engineering concepts his company deals with.

 

[drake]

I never said that they don't have a business background as well, but from what I have seen they have an Engineering or Math/Science background first. This is excluding the big giants like Microsoft and Apple which are exceptional cases anyway.

My question remains, what does someone with a liberal arts education alone do? This is a serious question, I genuinely don't know.

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

Maybe during the dot-com frenzy. Most of the tech companies that survived are run by people with business/management backgrounds.

 

[Augusto86]

Originally Posted by drake

I never said that they don't have a business background as well, but from what I have seen they have an Engineering or Math/Science background first. This is excluding the big giants like Microsoft and Apple which are exceptional cases anyway.

My question remains, what does someone with a liberal arts education alone do? This is a serious question, I genuinely don't know.

Advertising/marketing. Sales. Technical Writing. Legal. HR. PR. Design. Etc. ETc.

 

[drake]

What about other than law? I assume you can't go into medicine (or at least it would be very difficult), and not Engineering.

What else is their really as far a job goes?

On a unrelated topic I've heard only 30% of Americans have a college degree, what do the rest of the 70% do?

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

To be an effective lawyer, you need to be able to communicate clearly with the client about the subjects on which you are giving advice. As a former English major with very little math or science background, for example, I'd be hopeless as a patent lawyer. "Um, can you explain again how this thingy that goes around is better than the other guy's doo-hickey so I can explain it to the judge?" It may be that in order to do his job well, your friend needs to be able to have a decent understanding of the mathematical or engineering concepts his company deals with.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by drake

I never said that they don't have a business background as well, but from what I have seen they have an Engineering or Math/Science background first. This is excluding the big giants like Microsoft and Apple which are exceptional cases anyway.

My question remains, what does someone with a liberal arts education alone do? This is a serious question, I genuinely don't know.

All sorts of things. Pretty much anything that doesn't strictly require a technical degree. President. General. Lawyer. Doctor. Preacher. CEO. Designated Hitter. Actor. Writer. Rock Star. Banker. Social Worker. Whatever.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by drake

What about other than law? I assume you can't go into medicine (or at least it would be very difficult), and not Engineering.

What else is their really as far a job goes?

On a unrelated topic I've heard only 30% of Americans have a college degree, what do the rest of the 70% do?

Yes, you can go into medicine.