Humanities Majors and the Myth of Risk

Humanities majors have long been labeled “risky.” They don’t point to a single, clearly defined job the way nursing or engineering does. At the same time and increasingly, a broader cultural debate questions whether college is “worth it” at all. These two concerns often get bundled together: if college is too expensive, and some majors don’t even lead directly to specific careers, then the whole thing must be too risky. The problem though is that both elements of this argument misconstrue risk.

The question of whether college is worth it is fundamentally a question about time. In the short term, entering the workforce immediately after high school means earning a regular paycheck sooner. College requires both tuition payment and foregone earnings. But the data over time are remarkably consistent. People with education after high school gain access to different jobs and higher earnings that result in more: more income, more opportunity, more financial stability, etc. The payoff is cumulative.

Obviously the answer to the return-on-investment question depends at least in part on the program. Some degrees just offer clearer pathways to higher paying jobs and greater surety about the type of job awaiting completers. The question of whether a program is worth it becomes more acute as the specificity of job prospects decreases. Students of programs in accounting or health professions have a clearer idea of the work they’ll do after college than students of programs in the humanities which do not map as neatly onto a single job title.

But clarity is different from certainty, and even with “sure” programs, nothing is guaranteed! What program could be more secure than computer science? At least, this is what we were saying even just a few years ago… and now computer science is the headline example of a program leading directly to jobs that are being replaced by AI. Who can possibly predict what other “reliable” paths might be disrupted by unforeseeable changes in society.

Education after high school pays off, literally and mathematically. The salary potential for completers is higher, ensuring financial security, which is the point! Then there are all the other benefits we see among college graduates: lower unemployment rates, more regular access to employer-sponsored health insurance, greater civic engagement, etc., etc., etc. And that’s before we even consider the maturation that a student will experience while in college. The fact of the matter is that along with a few years of further education, there is an emotional and intellectual maturation that can only come with time. The question is how quickly college pays off. Asking whether college pays off is the wrong question altogether.

A more useful question then is whether any program major builds capacities that will remain valuable in a changing economy. There are plenty of reasons to study any given program: clear job prospects, higher earning potential, even passion for something, to name a few. Ultimately what’s important is the training that comes from the study, irrespective of job or career goals after college. The key is learning to apply the knowledge and experience earned in college in ways that benefit everyone involved, ways that improve organizations, lift communities, and, of course, earn more money. On that measure, the humanities are not uniquely risky. If anything, they are even better aligned with the demands of volatility. In a labor market defined by uncertainty, the ability to analyze, adapt, communicate, and learn continuously may be the most practical skill set of all. Viewed in that light, even a major in computer science becomes less risky: the point of the major is not learning to code, it’s learning to build.

So yes, college is worth it. It will pay off almost certainly. The important thing is that our students choose a major they can truly commit to and invest themselves in, learning from faculty who motivate and inspire. For many students, this will be a program in the humanities. It might be hard to quantify, but we’ve learned that there is undeniable and incalculable value in arts and humanities majors.