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Banking On Proust And Plato

Sep 07, 2016
by Caroline Miller
Liberal Arts Education, Millennials and money, STEM studies, why a liberal education pays
6 Comments

When I graduated from Reed, I applied for a job in San Francisco.  I needed work that paid well because I was saving for my  boat passage to England to join my  fiancé.  My first interview was with a company, the name of which I have forgotten, but I remember the interview was brief.  The  man reviewing my credentials, leaned across his desk and looked dubious. “A philosophy major? What do you plan to do with that?”

I didn’t hesitate.  “Think,” I replied.

The interview ended in a failure but that didn’t make me regret my studies.  I’d entered Reed relatively unshaped as a freshmen and left with the capacity to embrace ideas both familiar and foreign.  That mental flexibility proved to be worth a king’s ransom, so I wasn’t surprised by data to that effect from an article in Money Magazine.  (“Liberal Arts, Liberal Paychecks,” by Kim Clark, Money Magazine, September 2016 pg. 28-29)

Kim Clark reported that though the salaries of graduates from liberal arts schools  begin on a par with graduates from other institution, they advanced sooner and “often move on to six figure jobs within 15 years.” (Ibid pg. 28.)  One business executive speculated the reason for the disparity.  Liberal arts graduates “communicate clearly, think strategically and [are] analytical problem solver[s].” (Ibid pg 28.) 

Today’s Millennials, saddled with enormous debt after graduation, feel their goals have to be practical.  The sooner they earn a decent salary,  the sooner they get out of debt, which is why they crowd into STEM studies. Their narrow focus may make them experts in a specific field, but it can deprive them of their ability to detect synergies across different fields where the future resides.   

students flying

Courtesy of rock.genius.com

Being practical proves to be a handicap on the financial level as well.  “Millennials will have the biggest retirement –savings burdens in history due to longer life spans.” ((Cash Is King for Millennials.  Bad Call,” by Martha C. White, Money Magazine,  September 2016, pg. 16.)   Yet the majority distrust  banks and according to a recent survey by Bankrate.com, 32% of respondents preferred to keep their money in cash.  Refusing to accept risk could leave them in a financial hole.   

Scholars of Proust and Plato escape becoming products of an education that is too narrow and too rigid.  The realm of ideas admits any possibility, so  it’s no surprise liberal arts students are quick to learn how to fly.

 

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6 Comments
  1. Janet September 7, 2016 at 8:29 am Reply
    Fascinating. It costs more today to get an education and unfortunately I feel that your point that students feel they need to obtain a targeted education leaves then shorting liberal arts like a plague. History, literature and philosophy education gets shorted - at the expense of developing a curious mind. And these are our future business leaders.
    • Caroline Miller September 7, 2016 at 8:52 am Reply
      As they say, we cannot live by bread alone. Too many of the upcoming generations are being forced to try.
  2. Margaret September 9, 2016 at 3:57 am Reply
    A curious mind may be what governments don't really want from their citizens unfortunately. Ancient history and English in high school, art history at teachers college, philosophical perspectives in education, sociology, Australian history and social structure, and children's literature, in further studies as a mature age student - all have just continued to give me nourishment- food for thought and have been invaluable for my thought processes.
    • Caroline Miller September 9, 2016 at 7:51 am Reply
      Add Brad Mersereau's magic morning drink (see his response to "Beauty and The Best") and the grim reaper is going to get bored waiting around. Your formula for mental health can't be beat.
  3. Dale Hess September 9, 2016 at 7:17 am Reply
    For many years, the expression "the liberal arts" was one of a set of two expressions. The other was "the servile arts." We don't use that set of terms anymore, but your reflections on the value of being able to think point in exactly that same direction.
    • Caroline Miller September 9, 2016 at 7:55 am Reply
      Never heard of "the servile arts." New one on an old bird. Nonetheless, the joy of being a liberal arts major is to know money can't buy everything.

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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