“I don’t know what to do next. I studied accounting at university just to get a visa, not because I actually like it. I’m almost thirty now, and changing careers feels like a big waste. I don’t even know where to start.”
“I can already see the end of this career path. It’s not the future I want. I’m burnt out, both mentally and physically. I’m almost forty now. What other industry can I go into? Won’t the opportunity cost be too high?”
“I’m really worried. My company has already had three rounds of layoffs. I don’t know if I’ll be next. I’m almost fifty now. My skills are outdated. Young people keep coming into the workforce in waves. I don’t know how I can compete with them.”
These clients’ questions have left me puzzled too. What kind of major can ensure lifelong competitiveness, allowing one to remain invincible forever?
Recently, while my daughter was choosing her university major, I did a bit of research into undergraduate subjects at universities. I looked at Australian universities like UTS, the University of Sydney, UNSW, and even Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale. What surprised me was that the better the university, the more “unreliable” the undergraduate majors seemed. I mean, the kind that don’t lead to jobs, like humanities, languages, logic, art, and so on.
This made me ponder the essence of undergraduate education. I like the words of Richard Charles Levin, an educator and former president of Yale University: The core of undergraduate education is liberal education (or general education), which is about cultivating students’ ability to think critically and independently, and laying the foundation for lifelong learning.
Indeed, vocational majors often lead to quicker job placements after graduation. However, once there’s any change, such as technological updates, the demand for that industry can drop significantly. Or if someone leaves the industry for any personal reason for a while, they can be quickly out of the game.
There’s also data showing that among graduates from universities of the same level, those with vocational majors tend to have higher salaries within 15 years of graduation. But after 15 years, a dramatic reversal occurs. Graduates who received a solid liberal education at the undergraduate level begin to rise steadily, because liberal education gives people the foundation for continuous learning and the ability to adapt to various skills.
Take tech genius Elon Musk, for example. From PayPal to Tesla to SpaceX, his many cross-industry miracles are closely related to the solid liberal education he received early on at the University of Pennsylvania.
In today’s rapidly changing technological and informational landscape, no one can guarantee that any major will be immune to layoffs or obsolescence. Whether you study humanities or sciences, the only thing that can ensure you can rise again no matter what difficulties you face in life is cultivating an independent thinking personality and the ability to keep learning. This is what allows you to make firm choices and achieve happiness, because a person’s achievements can never exceed their cognitive horizon.
Did you know that psychology is an essential part of liberal education? It teaches you how to break through your existing ways of thinking and gives you the courage to face setbacks.