<p>What can you do with a degree from a liberal arts college like Swarthmore or Reed if you don’t go on to grad school? Well the whole point of a liberal arts education is to answer the question this way: You can do (almost) anything.</p>
<p>A liberal arts education is not designed to slot you into a ready made career track. If you want to get a 4 year degree that will definitely prepare you for a clearly defined job at graduation you should consider getting a degree in accounting, engineering, etc.</p>
<p>As to whether having a history or econ or english BA from Columbia will open more doors than the same degree from Swarthmore or Reed, I don’t know. I am confident, though, that your job sucess over several years or a career will depend far more on who you are, what you do and luck than on where you get your undergraduate degree.</p>