The liberal arts allows students, even those in STEM, to obtain skills that allow them to be more versatile thinkers and successful workers in the future. Both Scheuer and Ungar agree on this point. In his “7 Major Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts,” Sanford J. Ungar addresses, as the title suggests, significant misperceptions about the liberal arts. He first argues against the perception that a liberal arts degree is a luxury, something that a lot of families cannot afford; therefore, it is more important to focus on a career-focused education. Ungar claims that a liberal arts education does not simply provide an extra embellishment to a students education, but rather solidifies skills that allow students to be “capable of inspiration and ingenuity” and prepare them for “the multiple careers they are likely to have” (Ungar 2). Ungar asserts that the value of liberal arts lies in the complex, versatile skills that allow students to have fluidity and flexibility in their future careers, rather than rely on one career and one specific skill set. Jeffrey Scheuer, in his “Critical Thinking and the Liberal Arts,” address a similar point, arguing that the liberal arts allow students to become more well-rounded citizens that contribute more their community in a variety of aspects: “The STEM disciplines are obviously important to economic productivity, but … we need skilled thinkers, problem solvers, team workers, and communicators, and not just in the business, scientific, and technology sectors” (Scheuer 6). This builds on Ungars idea that the liberal arts allows students to have skills useful for not only careers, but also social situations and as citizens – an even broader application. I believe that it is true that students must be taught a variety of skills that they can apply to real-life situations and variability in their future careers. However, who is to say that someone who goes to graduate school to become a veterinarian could not change their career? Most of the STEM jobs are in high demand, so it is unlikely that a student who pursues this route will not have many problems with job stability. I believe that although it is important to have a versatile skill set that is applicable to multiple career paths, that the liberal arts is not the only focus that offers such a variety of knowledge. A student who is pursuing a higher education will be seen as motivated and hard-working already. So, arguably, any college degree provides an expandable skillset and credibility to an aspiring worker.
