Beyond Careerism: Finding Meaning in Undergraduate Education
Jason Vadnos, 2024-25 Humanities in the Real World Fellow majoring in Human & Organizational Development and Culture, Advocacy, & Leadership with a minor in Business. This year’s fellows conducted interviews with Vanderbilt University alumni about the role humanities education has played in their careers.
“I’m going to college to get a good job.” For millions of undergraduates across the United States, this belief underpins the desire to spend time and money pursuing higher education. Between soaring income inequality and limited social mobility, developing the skills and knowledge for career success feels like a requirement to achieve the American Dream. And current students aren’t alone; over the past 40 years, Americans across the board have increasingly seen college as a means to secure profitable work. Today, roughly half of Americans believe college’s primary purpose is to prepare students for the workplace, while only 35% view it predominantly as a place to foster personal and intellectual growth.
Meanwhile, humanities degrees—often criticized for providing graduates with low employment rates and salaries—are suffering from a steep decline in interest. Over the past two decades, bachelor’s in history, English, and similar majors have fallen from being nearly 15% of degrees awarded to a historic low of just 8.8%. This trend undoubtedly reflects students’ shift towards careerism in their undergraduate studies—but it comes at a cost. Scholars like Dr. Menah Pratt, the Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity at Virginia Tech and author of the new book Blackwildgirl, argue that the next generation needs the humanities to effectively tackle an increasingly complex, interconnected, and challenging world. According to Dr. Pratt, humanities coursework provides a unique foundation for critical thinking, ethical reflection, and empathy, traits which students need to develop regardless of their career path. Most importantly, she believes that college’s primary goal is to facilitate students’ understanding of themselves and of humanity, preparing them not just for professional success, but for lives of purpose and meaning.
From literature to philosophy, sociology, and African American Studies, Dr. Pratt suggests that “studying people and society helps us understand how to work with others and to navigate complex organizations.” Analyzing and questioning the systems and beliefs which drive us, cultivating personal identity, and establishing rational, ethical, and non-parochial frameworks for problem-solving are all humanities-driven skills critical to individual and professional development. Above all, the humanities enables a holistic comprehension of the world we live in, training us to think deeply, act ethically, and engage with others in meaningful ways. Yes, engineers, surgeons, and computer scientists need practical training in their work to lead successful careers. But that does not need to come at the expense of a more just, equitable, and open-minded worldview informed by the study of ourselves.
Jason Vadnos is a sophomore majoring in Human & Organizational Development and Culture, Advocacy, & Leadership with a minor in Business. At Vanderbilt, Jason is the Community Engagement and Advocacy Co-Chair for VandyVotes, a Dialogue Vanderbilt Student Advisory Board member, and a research assistant for the Youth in Society Lab. Jason is passionate about mitigating political polarization and partisan dehumanization, and hopes to explore ways to protect and strengthen democracy through the Humanities in the Real World Fellowship.