As more and more students are dropping out of college, education institutions have to find new ways to keep their campuses safe. This is particularly true for liberal arts colleges that depend heavily on student participation and engagement to remain successful.
Many universities offer non-profit courses or “pop classes” that cater to underrepresented communities or specific fields such as sociology, criminal justice, or psychology. These types of classes are usually free for the student, making it easy for people from all walks of life to join.
These classes typically require little–if any–student investment outside of attending the lecture once every week and reading a book or two at home. Because they focus mostly on content and not structure, these courses are easier to come back to later when you feel like studying something new.
The cost of tuition for many undergraduate degrees has been steadily rising over the past few years due to expensive housing and meal costs. By offering educational opportunities that appeal to both underprivileged individuals and casual learners, schools can create a more balanced community.
Become a teacher
One of the biggest reasons why people drop out after majoring in liberal arts is because they are not sure what to do with their degree. A lot of students choose to pursue education beyond just teaching, but most struggle to find a way to fit it into their lives.
Education can be very expensive depending on how much you attend, so finding a career using your degree can be tricky. It may even feel like an uphill battle since many teachers’ jobs seem to grow more competitive every day.
There are several ways to make money as a student teacher. You could teach elementary school or middle school and receive lower pay than high school teachers, for example. Or you could work as a special needs educator which also offers higher salaries than regular classroom teachers.
Start your own business
Starting your own business is a great way to achieve financial independence. There are many ways to do this, but most start with you wanting it. You have to want it. More than just thinking about it as an option.
Business owners spend lots of time in their career talking about how hard it is to find enough qualified people to work for them. They talk about all the things that they can’t seem to get done due to lack of expertise in certain areas.
You could be one of those experts!
The more experienced you become in a field, the more opportunities there will be to pick up new skills or create new fields within yours. For example, I wouldn’t say I am an expert at writing blogs, but by picking up tips and tricks here and there I have been able to produce my quality content.
By starting your own business, you allow yourself to pursue these goal dreams.
Become a sports commentator
Now that you have your degree in liberal arts, you can become an expert in any field by studying it from its roots. For example, if you are passionate about fashion, study how to understand what colors go together, where clothes come from, and how to be fashionable. If you love music, learn about songs, modes, and chords.
The same goes for biology or psychology! There are many ways to apply your knowledge of these fields to make yourself more knowledgeable.
For example, someone who is interested in becoming a sportscaster could start working as a color analyst for a professional football team or basketball team or both. A fashion consultant can help people find new fashions and work with brands to develop products. A musician can design music or teach others how to play the instrument correctly.
There are lots of opportunities to make money teaching things like fashion, music, or psychology. Plus, being educated makes you seem more impressive and valuable to other professionals in those areas.
Become a journalist
Following an undergraduate degree in liberal arts, you can choose to become a professional writer or pursue other career paths in journalism. The latter option is more specific than becoming a general news reporter because that requires a bachelor’s degree in journalism as well.
Most writers are self-employed individuals who have their own schedule. They are typically paid per word written and need to maximize this income through networking, researching effective writing strategies, and developing creative writing skills.
General journalists usually work for media companies such as TV stations or newspapers so they get assigned sections and deadlines. Not every position requires a bachelor’s degree in journalism, but it is helpful to at least know the basics of reporting!
Both positions require strong communication skills and a passion for writing. Technically anyone can be hired as a writer if they have a bachelor’s degree and some basic writing skills, but professionals will likely develop additional softwre and/or talent that make them unique authors.
Become a social worker
Social work is more than just helping people with their personal relationships, it’s about helping them deal with things like family issues or workplace conflicts. Because of this, there are many different careers that can be considered socially-focused. These include working as a teacher, psychologist, counselor, or parole officer.
If you want to help other people by nurturing and developing strong interpersonal relationships, then becoming a professional therapist may be your best bet. There are now almost one million licensed therapists in America!
Many students choose to become professionally trained after completing an undergraduate degree in psychology or sociology. Both of these degrees typically include courses such as personality theory, counseling theories, psychiatric disorders, and treatment strategies for various mental health conditions.
However, before jumping into becoming a practicing therapist, you must first gain certification as a credentialed professional. This way, you know what to do and have proof of expertise.
Become a psychologist
If you want to make an impact in the world, there is one profession that can help you do just that- psychology! Whether you choose to become psychologically oriented or not depends mostly upon your priorities in life.
If social success is what you strive for, then becoming a psychologist could be ideal as it focuses heavily on helping others achieve their goals while also studying the effects of mental health on physical wellness.
Psychology has many areas such as clinical psychology (diagnosing and treating psychological disorders), forensic psychology (dealing with criminal behavior patterns), counseling psychology (helping individuals deal with personal issues), etc. There are over 1 million psychologists worldwide so this is definitely a lucrative career option.
Another area of psychology that grows every year is psychophysiology which studies how body systems like the endocrine system, cardiovascular system, nervous system, and immune system work together to influence emotions and behaviors.
Overall, being a psychologist will help you understand the roots of human behavior and why we sometimes feel overwhelmed or depressed about situations in our lives.
Become a filmmaker
If you want to be an artist, make art! If you want to be a musician, play music! If you want to be a writer, write! There are many ways to become an artist if you don’t want to be a famous one. You can teach yourself how to paint or sculpt by looking up tutorials online.
If you love writing then why not start your own blog and begin sharing your thoughts with the world? Many people are starting their own sites and selling them for money (this is called blogging for profit). All it takes is some creative ideas that you hope will find lots of readers.
As we know, filmmakers get their starts as writers so there are plenty of paths to take in the movie making business too! Plus, being able to read and write makes it easier to work with other artists who are also passionate about creating stories.
Liberal arts degrees focus more on educating students through different mediums such as literature, history, and philosophy. These types of courses help develop critical thinking skills which are helpful when studying anything related to media.
Become a teacher trainer
There are many ways to make a living as an arts educator these days. You can start your own studio, work with independent districts or schools, create lesson plans and curricula, and even lecture at universities about art education.
All of these careers require you to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in teaching along with certification or licensure. Beyond that, every school district is different so what works for one may not be accepted everywhere else.
However, there is one way to become an arts educator that doesn’t require either a bachelor’s degree or professional certification but it does take more than five years–teaching training.
This is called educational specialist (ES) status and it allows you to teach courses like Art Education, Music Education, DanceEducation, Theater Production, and others!
Training as an ES takes around six months to a year depending on whether you already have a bachelor’s degree or if you need to earn one first. Some programs require students to prove they can teach under their license before granting ES status, so do your research ahead of time to see if this applies to you.
