blue147

It always seems in these types of topics that there's more "balance" or well-roundness to science and math majors (or so they say). Not only can they can conduct research that will advance technology and help the world, but they also can write, debate AND play the clarinet brilliantly. Are there any humanity majors that can do math well enough to major in it? What's condescending is labeling the walls with "Yep. Math helped build this." Well duh. We're not that oblivious. It is much easier to validate worth if hard evidence is applicable.

iamsounsure, you're upset, and I understand. There are math and science majors that appreciate the humanities, and there are humanities majors who appreciate the hard science or majors that have immediate results.

noimagination

With a few exceptions, most colleges in the US do not follow the one-subject curriculum popular in other countries. Even schools without actual distributional requirements allow their students to take many courses in areas outside their major, at a low level. A major is merely "the field of academic study in which one concentrates or specializes". Hard sciences require high-level courses for mastery. The cutting edge usually relies on advanced material. A humanities major who takes a few additional math classes does not usually acquire the skills necessary to perform revolutionary mathematical research.

On the other hand, the humanities do not have the same logical progression of skills building on each other. This is much of what makes them so wonderful (yes, I do value these skills just as much as math/science) - it is possible to write a book that will take the world by storm without a formal, by-the-book education in literature (a lame pun to brighten your day ). Likewise, one can paint a magnificent painting without attending art class. But this makes it possible to specialize without a significant base - a math major who chooses to take just a few English classes can have their horizon opened to a whole world of literature without actually majoring in the subject.

anonymityyy

Because a lot of people on here are computer geeks with no creativity or passion who can't see beyond numbers? 0:-)

Haha, kidding...partly...

StitchInTime

The Art Instinct offers powerful and convincing left-brain/evolutionary-based arguments --from a philosopher no less-- for the development and nurturing of the right brain (art, music, humanities, etc.).

It's not a question of 'Mind not Heart' or 'Heart not Mind', but the orchestration of both Heart and Mind. The whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

GreatLawlz

YouTube - Fermat's Last Theorem Part 1

You can be creative and passionate about numbers. This guy is amazing.

CCCpremed

humanties maors can't make any money? You guys ever heard of this thing called "law school"?

d'smom

Good post CCCpremed. That is exactly why my son will be majoring in History or Political Science. He wants to be a great critical thinker, clear and creative writer and wonderful speaker and then go on to law school. =)

kevercho

Gahh. I hate to be a buzz kill, but there's an ever-present myth in society that getting a law degree will help you earn big buck$.

There's an interesting thread over at the law school forum about whether or not it's worth it to go to a law school ranked under T14, especially in this economy. The main issues are that law salaries are extremely bimodal and that school rankings are very important. Many lawyers fresh out of school will make about 35-50k a year. Fewer lawyers will make over 120k. In both cases your hypothetical lawyer will have about 140k in law school debt.

Empirical Legal Studies: Distribution of 2006 Starting Salaries: Best Graphic Chart of the Year
Cemented | MetaFilter

I'm not trying to discourage anyone from studying law, but unless you get into Yale/Harvard/NYU/Berkeley/UChicago/the like, you'll need a better motivation for going into law than money. For the record, I am a humanities major, and there are plenty of reasons that are obvious to me for studying literature/philosophy besides immediate pecuniary benefits. But going into those reasons would take way too long...

d'smom

"Gahh. I hate to be a buzz kill, but there's an ever-present myth in society that getting a law degree will help you earn big buck$."

My son is not going into law for the money but....

The last time I checked my three friends who are all lawyers and in their forties, who by the way none of them went to the top 15 law schools were all making over 250K per year. One of the three is making over 350K per year. Not bad eh????

kevercho

"...and in their forties..."

You just hit it right on the head. I don't know what the climate was like for law school grads ~20 years ago, but I'm pretty sure it was a lot less competitive and overcrowded than it is now.

And if your friends have their own private practices, their salaries can depend greatly on their salesmanship abilities in attracting/maintaining clients (which seem to be great by the way). Big firms have significantly cut back on hiring. Graduates of top schools and toppers-of-their-class elsewhere are taking up government and P.D jobs that they otherwise wouldn't have, pushing out the rest into contractual or paralegal type work...

[I'm studying for the LSAT, and I'm watching these trends with a sense of dread].

d'smom

Just looked up starting, mid and late salary's and lawyers who do not work in the public sector have some of the highest salary's and the forecast is that will continue. There will always be market as long as we keep populating. There may be a little turn down right now due to the economy, but it's like that in all markets and that will turn.

You are correct about private practice and salesmanship, but that isn't a problem for most lawyers due to the fact that (not all) are very savvy and make excellent sales men/women. Especially the ones that go into private practice and own their own practice.

I do agree also, that many who do not have the outgoing, suave, salesmanship personality should be careful thinking they will make millions in law. They will need to be happy in the public sector making less.(perhaps those should think twice, but great lawyers make excellent money). It's like all jobs, the cream of the crop get paid the most.

Good luck kevercho you can do it!!!!!!

lkf725

It has been mentioned on cc several times that math, science, engineering and other quantitative majors actually are some of the best scorers on the LSAT. Law school is not the domain of history and english majors only!

Average LSAT Scores for 29 Majors with over 400 Students Taking the Exam

The perception that students of quantitative majors lack communicative skills is just wrong. I have seen four years of engineering students compiling papers that were so large as to require binding and making oral presentations lasting upwards of an hour. Just doing my part to refute the "nerdy, antisocial" perception of these people.

d'smom

lfk,

That is a very good point. I think that there are many different majors that one can enter into and then go on to law, but one must admit that the LSAT only gets your foot in the door to law school. There is much more that goes into making a good lawyer. Social skills tend to be very important in many of the jobs that relate to law.

krmelk89

As an English major, I definitely have to reply to this thread. Honestly, the more I progress in my classes the more I realize how much English really is a useful degree. Don't believe me? Just read Smart Moves for Liberal Arts Grads....

but anyways. English/humanities is valuable for a number of reasons. We learn how to think critically and analytically. We learn different ways of reading a text....reading for comprehension, analysis, or even for style. We learn how to write clearly, a skill which is invaluable in almost all job settings. Generally, we learn how to communicate effectively, a necessary skill for any job.

Also, I would say aspects of studying literature are truly interdisciplinary. We learn cultural context, history, and philosophy when we read literature. We also talk about psychology, sociology, anthropology. Essentially all aspects of humanities and social sciences are explored in the English major.

Sure, humanities majors don't come away from college with a definite, finite career path. Instead, we have loads of options. Remember that many entry level positions simply require a college degree. Personally, I'd hate to go through college as an accounting major, and then realize I hate accounting outside of the academy.

Ok, so a science major may make more money than me. But I have a passion for English, I really enjoy what I do, and I know it's a very valuable degree to have in the long run.

bioslick

The Princeton Review:
"We can't overestimate the value of a Classics major. Check this out: according to Association of American Medical Colleges, students who major or double-major in Classics have a better success rate getting into medical school than do students who concentrate solely in biology, microbiology, and other branches of science. Crazy, huh? Furthermore, according to Harvard Magazine, Classics majors (and math majors) have the highest success rates of any majors in law school. Believe it or not: political science, economics, and pre-law majors lag fairly far behind. Even furthermore, Classics majors consistently have some of the highest scores on GREs of all undergraduates."

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