The reasons why you should follow your passion
Many students struggle with their subject choice at university. You (and not just you!) may ask yourself: should I study something practical, more career-oriented, or should I follow my heart and study for pleasure? The good news is: you don’t have to choose!
Some context
Finance, business, tech, apps, digital innovation… these are the things that seem to drive the world forward and, indeed, for many of you these may seem very attractive career areas. This may lead to pick study options that directly connect to these sectors. Some obvious choices might be: economics, business, management…
But why not stopping for a moment to think: what if there is an alternative? What if I can study something else, something I feel more drawn to, something I am more passionate about?
Your intuition might be right and there are two reasons for that.
Firstly, what’s a business without content?
When an entrepreneur (or an aspiring one) thinks of setting up a business, a start-up company and the like, there are two main things they need: a product and a strategy. If we think of this in university terms, there are two areas to cover: knowledge (of the product) and (business) skills.
A good business can’t lack the first of these two. Just ask yourself: what would a company like Airbnb be without some knowledge of the hospitality world? What would EF be without its language pedagogy and expertise on destinations choices? You get the idea.
A humanities degree can link directly to the core, the content, the knowledge of the product of a company. Without it, no business can really thrive.
And then… the skills you get.
Secondly, have you ever considered the kind of skills you acquire through a humanities degree? The content of your degree matters only to a certain extent: the history, the literature, the philosophical theories behind your dissertation will always stay with you and be part of your culture.
But what about the rest? Humanities degree are renowned to equip students with a set of crucial skills that go from critical thinking, to analytical skills, to the ability of making complex, original connections.
If you think these are not essential skills…think again! Here’s just a short list of successful CEOs with Liberal Arts degrees:
- Susan Wojcicki | YouTube | History and Literature
- Steve Jobs |Apple|Creative Humanities
- Andrea Jung | Avon Products | English
- John Mackey | Whole Foods Market | Philosophy and Religion
- Kenneth Chenault | American Express | History
Many other less known people (think also of people you know) who did great things with humanities degrees.
What are you waiting for? Be content. Aim for transferable skills. Study something you are passionate about.