Work for Free, and Reap the Rewards

Liberal arts degrees, or at least liberal arts as a minor, are not completely worthless in the marketplace.

One of the best skills people who study a liberal art, specifically English, Philosophy, or History, among others, is the ability to research and write clearly, for a specific audience, supported by concrete details and evidence. These also help contribute to critical thinking and analysis skills that are required in fields as divergent as science, business, and law.

While the job market is indeed more challenging, or less linear, among certain liberal art fields than it may be in, say, accounting, or computer science, it is no less viable than any other field. The truth is there is work out there for anyone who is seeking employment.

What is necessary for these specialists, however, is creativity in the search. It isn't enough to follow and believe that a seamless transition from education to corporate employee is immediate, or easily obtained. For the liberal artists, and to a lesser degree any field where a leg up on the competition is wanted, it is necessary to utilize multiple approaches to doing the key point of any job application: real world experience.

Most job postings want the "ideal candidate" to have 3-5 years of experience in the field of work, and a laundry list of skills and abilities. How recent graduates can acquire 3-5 years of experience, specifically if they didn't have the foresight to do so while in school, is on the surface unappealing. This task is the "work for free" mentality.

Internships, volunteer work, underpay, or otherwise minimal compensation for work within your specialization is what is necessary to achieve success when starting out. Whether it is writing articles for a few dollars, or processing artifacts within a non-profit museum, or volunteering time at a local shelter or office, these experiences show future employers that you are serious about your work, and are not merely doing it for monetary gain (although it may be a future goal).

It places you within a proper mindset to build a more solid appreciation for the work. When a person is working for low or no pay, they are able to gauge how important the work itself, the field, or the topics are to the individual based on intrinsic merits, and not extrinsic rewards like money or status. It makes sense that finding internal rewards first may make the employee more productive and thus will contribute to increased pay.

Do the work for free, or low pay, to begin with, and reap the rewards of a better, more suitable career in your chosen field.

Study of History, Online?

One of the intriguing movements within education is the rise of accessible, quality learning resources offered entirely online. Websites like Khan Academy and Coursera provide courses taught by knowledgeable staff and college professors in a wide variety of subjects. These are offered, currently, at no cost to the consumer.

Additionally, junior colleges, universities, and vocational schools are taking advantage of the resources and utilizing distance education to encourage more students to take their offerings.

This is an exciting trend, in part because anyone with a reliable internet connection can now access information on nearly any topic they are interested in, at a cost much more reasonable than a traditional onsite course. More access means more students means more opportunity to succeed in learning the subject material. Another potential benefit is a decreased expenditure for providing the course, since facilities maintenance and other costly overhead is minimized by having much of the content on the web.

Challenges also arise, as with any new emerging technology. The ability to instantly connect with, and adapt the material to the needs of, the students,and establishing the actual needs of the students, becomes increasingly challenging with online coursework, as lecture materials and communication is often done asynchronously. Live feedback is more difficult than onsite courses.

Additionally, the level of comprehension, measurements of comprehension, and motivation is more in the hands of the student, since the professor or teacher is not seeing the students face-to-face each day. Unless the teacher is successful in conveying the material in a meaningful, successful manner, and the student is, or becomes, interested in the course or its completion, unique challenges arise, regardless of the content.

We, then, are led to understanding that there are pros and cons for online education. Is it useful for the student of history? I argue that it has potential for benefit.

History is the exploration of past events, their causes, effects, and reasons why. Additionally, it is tied into modern times and woven into a unique narrative that marries past and present. Finally, history is learning the facts and figures of the past...the dates and events themselves. I believe online education, when utilized effectively, can provide a vehicle for teaching the important aspects of the past to students, specifically for created a foundation in historical events to dispel ignorance of context.

Online resources, a variety of media, readily accessible, can be utilized to drive points home with imagery and content that goes beyond lectures and reading, which is a) most often utilized in onsite courses and b) has been shown to maintain a rather small percentage of students who retain the material. Conversely, a picture can invoke emotional responses, a film can be memorable long past its ending credits, specifically because it utilizes more of the senses, and connects on a human level. This same response can be utilized in history teaching to convey the emotional past.

Though it is not without it's unique challenges, the learning of history can greatly benefit from utilizing all resources available to engage the student in the material, and online education would be a welcome tool to use in the public dissemination of our unique historical heritage.