This may come as a surprise to you, sir, but those "liberal arts" degrees do have value. I think that a substantial number of people on Wall Street have such degrees. Mine was in political science (I had hoped to go to law school but when the time came I couldn't afford it) and I got a job as a surety bond underwriter trainee (the firm didn't hire anyone who didn't have a college degee).
You see, employers tend to look at it this way. Possession of a college degree (never mind the major) indicates that that person has a certain degree of intelligence and sticks to the task, in this case, four years of study. Also, one acquires a certain degree of "polish" from the experience. They'll train you to know what they want you to know.
Now, of course, this does not apply to certain disciplines, such as engineering or professions such as medicine. But for some reason folks here on FR are hung up on emphasis on engineering, as though those degrees are the only ones which have value. And it's not so.
But I made out all right. I am retired now and this past year my retirement income and that of my wife came to $95,000. Not bad for a "useless" liberal arts degree. No?
If you are retired... then you are pretty old, which means you got your degree LONG ago.
A liberal arts degree today is a worthless piece of parchment.
“This may come as a surprise to you, sir, but those “liberal arts” degrees do have value. I think that a substantial number of people on Wall Street have such degrees. Mine was in political science (I had hoped to go to law school but when the time came I couldn’t afford it) and I got a job as a surety bond underwriter trainee (the firm didn’t hire anyone who didn’t have a college degee).”
I would suggest that today’s job market is very different from when you went to school.
Today, many schools grant degrees where the student has learned next to nothing useful; and many employers are starting to figure this out.
For example, I am familiar with fixed income traders. In 2010, it is hard enough to find an entry level job in finance, and to the extent that a rookie is hired, it is because that candidate had factors that made him stand out. I know that young graduates with degrees such as a BS in Finance (with extensive math) have gone through many applications until finding a job. The chances of a pure liberal arts major (say, history) landing a finance job in this market is just about zero. A Poli-Sci major may need to get a MBA to be competitive.
And another thing: in today’s market, the wide majority (I would estimate at about 90 percent) in this field above the entry level, except for those of older generations (say, over 55) has a graduate degree.