by Bence Lovas

Having started college this year, I was congratulated with both good and bad comments from my relatives. The good reaction was the happiness at my being an adult and having enough points to be accepted at a university. Especially the one I always wanted to study at. The bitter side is because of the rude comments about why on earth did I ever want to be an English major. As we all know, it is a fact that, unfortunately, humanities and arts students have a bad reputation nowadays.

People keep asking us “Dude, why do you want a college degree if you’re just gonna work at McDonald’s?” And the truth is we don’t want to work at McDonald’s or keep working for a useless “buffet-degree” for 3 years. Why doesn’t the majority understand that we might actually be interested in what we study? That we have a born-with talent given to us that we want to use? I understand that the market is oversaturated, but that doesn’t mean that everybody will end up being unemployed. If you really believe that English is your real specialty, then why wouldn’t you be able to find a job on the market? Because someone thought that arts = unemployment?

Also, stating that a BA degree isn’t worth anything simply doesn’t make sense. Its worth equals the amount of work you put into getting it. If a student tries to manage as few classes each year as possible, without failing the exams, and only participating in “easy” courses, then yes, it isn’t worth anything. But if one keeps studying, getting good marks, participating in scholarships, research, etc. then it will certainly be worth all the work. The 3 years needed to complete a BA degree can be used for other things than just drinking 24/7 and studying for the exams once a semester. Really, what kind of point would it be for the university to keep a faculty that everyone knows isn’t worth anything? I don’t see how it would benefit anybody.

I also don’t agree with the bad reputation of English majors in particular. This major isn’t just “topic sentences” and how “mention” isn’t the same as “mansion” phonetically. Studying English can give you skills needed to become a translator, to be able to write and speak quality English, to be able to find a job abroad and so on. And having the BA degree isn’t the end-of-the-road-dead-end. I could acquire other skills, perhaps one that’s more practical or work for an MA or another bachelor degree perhaps. Graduating in English gives you possibilities to at least go abroad, and try to find a job there that you can manage until you get the skills need for a better one. Really, an English student’s “worst” future is to become a teacher. And you could do that abroad and be successful at it.

All in all, I think that humanities and arts students should be given a break. They have been treated like they are taking the “faculty of unemployment” for quite a long time. And if one is trying to be lazy for 3 years, it could be the truth. But if one is working hard for the same 3 years his mates are being lazy, then we will have some quality degrees earned by respectable young men. The others... well, someone needs to be in the mass of McDonald’s compatible graduates.

(2011)