New York Times Article Shows History Majors Earn More!

A recent piece in the Sunday edition of The New York Times Economic Review says liberal arts majors can have higher salaries in the long run than their peers in STEM. The article by David Deming, Director of the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, states that while studies show STEM majors have better employment opportunities and higher salaries out of college, “The advantage for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) majors fades steadily after their first jobs, and by age 40, the earning of people who majored in fields like social science or history have caught up.” He goes on to explain that liberal arts majors may even surpass the salaries of STEM majors since, “Midcareer salaries are highest in management and business occupations, as well as professions requiring advanced degrees such as law. Liberal arts majors are more likely than STEM graduates to enter those fields.” While technology is every changing, the “soft skills” learned in the liberal arts such as critical reading, extensive research, succinct writing, analytical thinking, confident oral communication, and strong interpersonal skills are always relevant! In the liberal arts, slow and steady wins the race.

Read the article in its entirety here and if you want to know more about the benefits of majoring in History, check out our Facilities & Resources page.