[Drew68]

Among the Real Men of Genius is Mr. Fancy Coffee Shop Coffee Pourer. And yes, you guessed it: He holds a degree in art history. A master's, in fact.

I have a bachelor's degree in History. I also have a Class A CDL. Guess which one pays me more money?

[conservativeinbflo.]

awwww yeeeaaah! finally! an article that pertains to me! i graduated 3 years ago with a degree in art history... 3 months after college, i was a cashier at Jo Ann Fabrics. Today, I sit as a secretary in a totally unrelated field, just trying to pay off my student loans. What a WASTE of time! and what a pretentious major. There's no room for conservatives in the art world, what can I say?

[Krafty123]

What is a CDL?

[B-Chan]

My wife has a B.A. in Art History. She manages her family's delivery business.

I dropped out of art school in my second year. I have been a professional artist since 1988.

Face it: the world just doesn't make sense.

PS - She still earns more than I do...

[Oberon]

I have a bachelor's degree in History. I also have a Class A CDL.

I have a Bachelor's degree in English and a Class B CDL. With me it's probably a wash, but the English degree allows me to work from home.

[FroedrickVonFreepenstein]

What does happen to anthro majors?

An aquaintance of mine with an anthropology degree works in the public health department as a sexually transmitted disease investigator.

[Koblenz]

While I majored in Mathematics and have an MBA (and now work in finance, but don't do anything beyond high school math in my job), liberal arts majors often find good jobs that aren't in their fields. Hopefully, a liberal (not politically liberal!) education can teach students how to read something and comprehend it, how to write, how to think objectively, etc. While there are certain jobs -- chemical engineers, accountants, pilots, for instance -- that require a specific skill set, there are other jobs that really can only be learned on the job. Working as an editor in a publishing compnay, for instance, or even journalism. Sure, internships in journalism would be helpful, but knowing how to write is obviously the most important skill.

[Leisler]

Wake the F up. Don't you know you are a victim of Chinese hegemony and anti-liberty Bilderbergers who are but moments from pouring out of countless sipping containers at every major port?< sarcasm/off >

[saminfl]

In 1964 I was working as a volunteer at Barry Goldwater's Tucson headquarters. There was a couple also volunteering there who had history of art degrees. They drove the library bookmobile.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

The Physics Major trys to determine why the earth spins

The Engineering major trys to determine the rate the earth spins

The art history major trys to determine what on earth you want with your burger order

[Billthedrill]

I have yet to find direct employment in the area in which I got my Bachelor's. College, after all, is a place where one develops tools for living and for making a living, not where one acquires a lifetime meal ticket. That said, the jobs available in art history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, etc, etc, are largely in academia, teaching another generation art history, sociology...if these folks seem divorced from the exigencies of digging ditches to make the mortgage payments, that's why.

For those hyperliberal types lamenting the fact that society doesn't seem to recognize its obligation to keep Women's Studies grads in employment remunerating them in the style to which they'd like to become accustomed, I have one stock reply "well, there's always the Army." Strangely, they don't seem to appreciate that very sound advice...

[Ford Fairlane]

I'm confused - my sister has a doctorate in art history, she is a professor at a private university & publishes regularly, and makes more money than I do

Are these other art history majors unmotivated & lazy or something? The last time my sister switched jobs she had universities fighting over her

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Need a job? Work in the medical field. Be a coder, transcriptionist, biller, customer service or patient records. It's a goldmine.

[pabianice]

I often wonder whatever happened to her. What does happen to anthro majors?

Some of us Join the Navy...

Others become professional victims and destructive radicals...

[Jonah Hex]

There's an element of truth to this story. I started college majoring in history. After a semester, I switched to engineering after I realized you needed a doctorate and several papers published before you could expect a decent income.

I earn a decent salary now with my engineering degree, but still indulge myself as an amateur historian.

[Snuffington]

I often wonder whatever happened to her. What does happen to anthro majors?

As far as I can tell, we end up in the IT industry.

Seriously, I respect people who are focused enough in college to pick a major related to a lifelong profession they will actually pursue. My own brother knew he wanted to practice medicine by the time he graduated high-school, and he's doing it quite happily today. But far more often, undergraduates don't have a good idea about what they really want to do with their lives - let alone actually understanding all their opportunities and alternatives.

My dad, who spent a good part of his career recruiting engineering majors from college campuses, gave me excellent advice. He told me to NOT go into engineering, which was my inclination at the time. He told me to get a degree with a good liberal arts focus. That would make me a better educated person, capable of pursuing any number of opportunities, once I figured out what I wanted.

Despite my best effort at youthful rebellion, I followed my dad's advice. He turned out to be right. When I was in college, I had no idea what opportunities were out there. I had no clue what to do with my life. But I did end up educated in a way that made it relatively easy to pick a career, quickly learn the skills necessary, and succeed.

The utilitarian idea that colleges ought to be glorified trade schools is contrary to Western civilization's concept of the university, and its value in education as a good in itself.

[TheRightGuy]

I was a Fine Arts Major at Syracuse in the mid '60s and took the required Art History course taught by the diva of days, one old bat named Gertrude Pederich -- someone should have warned me that several pre-requesite courses in German should be required in order to to understand her bi-lingual (often in the same sentence) lecture presentations. I have no lamentations over changing my major (and universities).

[Tijeras_Slim]

Got a undergraduate philosophy degree. Only career path is to get a PHD and become a professor. Then the only thing you do is create more philosophy majors. It's sort of like being a bacterium.

I never intended to go that route. I've been a bicycle mechanic, small business owner, prison warden, and now a scientist. My first rule is never take a job you're perfectly qualified for it will only bore you.

[stuartcr]

Don't worry, as soon as everyone gets their $400.00 checks, the job offers will come pouring in.

[OC_Steve]

I have a degree in History but work in the soon to be extinct US IT Industry (making good $$$). I am hoping to get one of those cool Walmart jobs that I see advertised (either that or become a crack ho).

[stuartcr]

Don't worry, as soon as everyone gets their $400.00 checks, the job offers will come pouring in......just like a few years ago.