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Carleton College website asks: What can you do with a liberal arts degree? [parents want answers]
Minneapolis Star-Tribune ^ | November 2, 2013 | MAURA LERNER ,

Posted on 11/03/2013 1:42:10 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife

....she was a little nervous when her son told her he wanted to major in music in college.

She knew that was his passion. But as a mom, she was hoping he’d pick something a little more…practical.

That may explain why Hardy, a professor of classics at Carleton College, is so sympathetic to a new program designed to help her own students find a career that pays the bills.

This fall, Carleton launched an interactive website, called Pathways,as a “one-stop” shop for those who wonder how to turn a history or philosophy degree into a meaningful career.

At the same time, it’s asking professors who teach subjects from French to women’s studies to Shakespeare to take on a new role:advising students to start career planning as soon as they arrive on campus.

“When I got here 20 years ago, I know I would have found it almost offensive,” Hardy said. “But there’s been a culture shift.”

At today’s prices, even elite schools like Carleton, in Northfield,are feeling the pressure to justify the value of a liberal arts education. “[It’s]a hot-button issue,” said...associate dean and a professor of religious studies. Especially among parents.

“They’re spending all this money on a college education; they want their students to have something marketable when they finish,”he said.

Paths to ‘Life after Carleton’

Carleton, one of the most selective liberal arts colleges in the country, has no shortage of customers. In the past year,it had 14 applicants for every spot in its current freshman class of 527. It’s also the priciest college in Minnesota,at $58,000 a year for tuition, room and board.

.......The centerpiece of the site is the “career path visualization,”an interactive chart that shows where grads from individual majors ended up. Click on history majors,for example, and it shows them spread across the professions,from business,law and education to museum curators and actors....

(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: collegedegree; economy; employment; job
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To: VRW Conspirator

Reading is self guided but you are still learning from others. The entire premise of academia is that the student requires a professor to tell them the significance of what the author plainly stated.


61 posted on 11/03/2013 6:30:15 AM PST by SampleMan (Feral Humans are the refuse of socialism.)
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To: Darksheare

I would think tha a yak urine sample collector would require a an advanced specialist degree.


62 posted on 11/03/2013 6:30:29 AM PST by Old Yeller (Obama: A dark spot in this country's history.)
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To: The Duke

And that most liberal arts degrees don’t impart what they did 50 years ago.


63 posted on 11/03/2013 6:32:04 AM PST by Hieronymus ( (It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged. --G.K. Chesterton))
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To: SampleMan
The entire premise of academia is that the student requires a professor to tell them the significance of what the author plainly stated

A true professor can help your mind grow. A lot.

I majored in English, and the things that authors "plainly state" is pretty short.

64 posted on 11/03/2013 6:32:43 AM PST by Jim Noble (When strong, avoid them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

Very surprised your J school professors didn’t convince you that coal and oil are evil and nasty as well as anyone associated with them.


65 posted on 11/03/2013 6:52:00 AM PST by MisterArtery
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

What can you do with a Liberal Arts degree? Ask Johnny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7fchtEJpy8&t=0m6s


66 posted on 11/03/2013 6:57:55 AM PST by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Welfare is the new euphemism for Eugenics.)
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To: cripplecreek
High Point University, High Point, NC, is also a liberal arts college and they are anything but liberal.
67 posted on 11/03/2013 6:58:05 AM PST by rabidralph
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To: newfreep

Thanks—but sometimes it is painful to be right.


68 posted on 11/03/2013 7:16:24 AM PST by SC_Pete
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To: Jim Noble

I was thinking more of text books than novels and plays. That said, only the author of a novel can tell you what they intended, everyone else is just telling you what they took away.


69 posted on 11/03/2013 7:24:12 AM PST by SampleMan (Feral Humans are the refuse of socialism.)
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To: Venturer

My son also said he wanted to study music in college. He too had a friend who was going to study music. I told him if that was what he really wanted he should give it his best shot because he probably would not have a chance later in life.

He now makes a good living as a musician and he and his wife are raising four wonderful sons. The friend is also a professional musician.

Sometimes a passion for an impractical line of study does lead to success.


70 posted on 11/03/2013 7:36:28 AM PST by jemckay19
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine#.UnaJQRAkxTs

Nov. 3, 2013 comic strip. Enough said.


71 posted on 11/03/2013 9:35:13 AM PST by Luircin
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Further devaluation of degrees are the 1. plethora of types of degrees and 2. more people getting more degrees.

Technical fields now have degrees that 10 yrs ago required only experience or an associates deg. To my second point,
everyone has one (a bachelors) - the new high school equivalent.


72 posted on 11/03/2013 9:46:17 AM PST by urtax$@work (The only kind of memorial is a Burning memorial !)
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To: Old Yeller

Surprisingly not.


73 posted on 11/03/2013 10:16:39 AM PST by Darksheare (Try my coffee, first one's free..... Even robots will kill for it!)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
The modern American "career" goes like this:

  1. Live off government college loans as long as possible (until you're around 30 or so)
  2. Go onto disability for something like ADHD or obesity and live happily ever after

74 posted on 11/03/2013 10:26:29 AM PST by Cementjungle
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To: MisterArtery
I graduated before these products were “blacklisted” apparently...
75 posted on 11/03/2013 12:03:45 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks ("Say Not the Struggle Naught Availeth.")
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To: St_Thomas_Aquinas

Unfortunately today most colleges do not provide a classic liberal arts education. It is mostly progressive pablum that is taught today. I was a liberal arts major — many years ago. I got a well-rounded education. I wouldn’t recommend a liberal arts degree to any high school senior today.


76 posted on 11/03/2013 2:07:34 PM PST by ContraryMary (Barack Obama = Neville Chamberlain)
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To: ContraryMary

I agree. I wouldn’t even recommend most Catholic colleges, outside of about 10.

One of the reasons why I went to school for engineering was, “they can’t tell me that 2+2=5.” My instincts were correct.


77 posted on 11/03/2013 2:23:56 PM PST by St_Thomas_Aquinas ( Isaiah 22:22, Matthew 16:19, Revelation 3:7)
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To: 3Fingas
While taking my Masters in Computer Science, I was typically the only native English speaker in any of my classes.

Did you have any native English speaking professors?

Or did you learn Mandarin Chinese to participate in class and understand the prof?

78 posted on 11/03/2013 3:33:11 PM PST by Ole Okie
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To: Ole Okie

Half the teachers were American and half were from India, etc.

I should have specified “student”.

Amyhow, the number of natural born Americans in my program was negligible. Most I knew were taking subjects like, Psychology, Business Administration, or Pre-law, all subjects that we don’t need many more graduates from, IMHO.

Had I taken Mandarin or Hindi it might have helped me in some of my Math classes. LOL.


79 posted on 11/03/2013 3:41:39 PM PST by 3Fingas (Sons and Daughters for Freedom and Rededicaton to the Principles of the U.S. Constitution)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
There likely aren't too many Freepers with Carleton roots, so I should post a few words in my alma mater's defense. I was there during the late 70s. It provided a better educational experience then than most schools and I believe it still does. One thing this article states was certainly true then. One's major at Carleton didn't naturally predict one's career after Carleton. I was a chem major who went into medicine. One of the other future physicians from my class was an art major. Not that all Carleton eclectic career turns ended as well: one of my fell chem majors is now a law school dean. It does take some planning to qualify for careers divergent from one's major. I'm glad they are pointing that out early enough.

There certainly were, and I presume still are, liberals there. I recognized Wellstone as a liberal true believer after the reading my first issue of the school paper. After my second I began to see him as the biggest liberal activist in the state. But in my case no liberal marinade soaked in and I never felt any liberal political pressure applied to me. Advanced brainwashing must have been available — my senior RA did end up on Hillary's health care task force and another classmate worked in Clinton's WH — but it wasn't intrusively thrown at everyone. Happily she was worthless as a RA. Maybe I missed some via my own course selections. I mostly avoided the social sciences as they didn't interest me. My english and history selections were fairly classical. My parents and an uncle were alumni. My only political science course wasn't from Wellstone, but rather from my uncle's old adviser. His generation of Carleton profs turned out great future parents. Two of my folk's classmates produced Limbaugh's chief of staff, although he didn't follow them to Carleton as I had.

During my time at Carleton everyone was bright. Alas being bright doesn't alone make one wise. Carleton had more National Merit Scholars than any other non-University in the country. The quality of the student's minds made for some fun discussions in the lounges when political subjects came up. Their baseline Minnesota liberal programming didn't hold up well to reason and they understood reason to recognize my points.

Carleton is a place where a 'liberal' education in the apolitical 'broad based' sense is common. It is and was the most expensive school in Minnesota because it was the best school in Minnesota. Actually it was then the best rated west of Pennsylvania; IIRC my freshman year US News ranked us #4 in the country amongst nationally drawing liberal arts colleges. Even during the Carter economy you got your money's worth there. I agree a liberal arts education is not for everyone. Too many go down that path and for that matter probably too many are going to college in general. But we need some people to go down that path and Carleton is a place that can teach them properly. Tuition is high, but I don't think it's increased as much since graduation at Carleton as it has at my medical school. There is and was a lot of student aide available for those in need. Federal student aide, including federally backed loans, should be phased out in favor of private, state and local aide. Big Academia will contract. I believe Carleton will survive that.

80 posted on 11/03/2013 5:39:30 PM PST by JohnBovenmyer (Obama been Liberal. Hope Change!)
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