Best Jobs for Liberal Arts Majors

If you scan the jobs boards and listen to HR managers and recruiters, you’ll hear the steady drone of how engineering and science majors are in demand and securing high paying jobs. Many believe that liberal arts majors should become teachers or museum guides. The good news is that businesses need liberal arts majors to fill a variety of important positions. Some liberal arts jobs that not only pay well but are in demand include:

Sales Manager

Marketing and Speech majors will be recruited for this position because giving presentations and leading a team are essential for the success of any sales division. Strong oral communication skills are a must, as is an understanding of marketing concepts. 

HR Manager

These are the folks that will possibly be hiring you. They perform a variety of duties for any company with more than 50 employees. Their functions include employee relations, recruitment, payroll & benefits,  training,  and handling HR policies and procedures. Speech or English majors fit these roles nicely, as they know how to communicate effectively with employees and staff. Adding a certification from the Human Resources Certification Institute to your BA degree will give you a leg up in seeking this position.  

Marketing Director

If you majored in English or Marketing, you’ll be a nice fit for Marketing Director. You’ll be tasked with creating and implementing a company’s marketing programs, and you’ll have to dig deep into your creative well of ideas. As you move up, you’ll be asked to lead other creatives on your team to come up with solutions to marketing problems. 

Marcom Manager

Here again, an English, Journalism or Marketing degree will come in handy as you create clear communications to implement a marketing strategy. You’ll assign and coordinate the writing and dissemination of press releases, newsletters and website content. You’ll develop promotional strategies and campaigns and work closely with the marketing manager and other mid-level staff. 

 

Proposal Manager

English majors will feel right a home here. Proposal managers employ their wordsmithing skills to write the elaborate proposals that help a company land new business. They bring together teams of writers, illustrators and financial experts to prepare proposals on behalf of their company. 

 

Technical Writer

An English or Journalism degree will serve you well in this field. Technical writers produce user manuals and guides that support the maintenance and operation of a company’s more complex products and systems. 

 

Ad Agency Copywriter 

This is the glamour job that many English and English Lit majors take. If you also minored in Creative Writing, you’ll be pretty much prepared to segue into this field. You’ll work with other creatives--artists, designers, website creators--to develop the creative output today’s companies need to sell their products and services. 

 

Don’t have that much-ballyhooed EE, CE or ME degree? Not to worry, there are plenty of jobs for liberal arts majors.  You’ll just have to work a little harder to find work.