Comment Humanities worth more than they seem. (Score 1) 913
If you really feel that way and can not be dissuaded, I would suggest looking at a BSEET degree instead of a BSc. Still a four year degree, still accredited, but it leaves behind most of the humanities. The ones it retains are primarily communication oriented such as English I and II, Technical Writing and Public Speaking. Just the minimum to be accredited.Those particular humanities are far more important to you than they may seem, right now, because for career advancement, communication skills are paramount.
However, the less critical humanities (history and other social sciences, etc.) are also more important than you may think. Again, for career advancement you need to interact with people. Who exactly do you think those people are? Is it possible they may have interests beyond the work at hand, that you may need to form relationships to gain what you want out of your career? Do you think they might work in other disciplines (accounting, management, sales?) Maybe you will even need to interact with customers. Being a bit worldly goes a long way towards interacting with people you hardly know, at first. If all you are fit to discuss is your work, you will be boring company, indeed, and a poor communicator.
Finally, breadth of education lends a certain variation and inspiration to your thinking. If you think Art History is all about looking at pretty pictures and memorizing names and dates, you miss the point of the class. Each of those artists had problems to solve related to the technology of the day. Many of those artists became of historical interest because they saw the world in a unique way. Many of them changed the way we see the world. As a brief example, compare the human figures present in the art of the ancient world to that of the 15th century. In that time span, humans had to learn how to change the way they thought about what they saw so that images of humans went from being symbolic to being realistic. It wasn't about pretty pictures, it was about advancing the state of thinking.
I work in a technical field. I hire technical people. I vastly prefer to hire Bachelors fresh-outs than PhD.s even though PhD.s have a far higher concentration of relevant education. The reason why is simple, outstanding Bachelor's fresh-outs have shown the ability to adapt their thinking and learn a breadth of topics. Outstanding PhD.s have shown the ability to excel in a very narrow category and please their professors specific interests. It turns out that when I hire them, within a year each is as productive as the other, but I have to pay the PhD. 2 grades higher salary. I WILL test your knowledge about many things when I interview you and at least one of the scales I will grade you on will be your out-of-the box thinking, something you will learn nothing about pursuing an on-topic only degree.
Finally, for better or worse, until you have a reputation behind you (roughly 10 years of continuous employment, with references) your resume is what will get you called in for the interview. If your resume does not let me know that you are a well-rounded individual, you will be unlikely to make it in for the first interview. For every self-taught genius that I miss out on, there are 100's of self-aggrandizing morons. I will not take your word for it that you have what it takes, I need other people to stand up and say that you've proven yourself. A BSc on your resume, at least, begins to tell me that.
However, the less critical humanities (history and other social sciences, etc.) are also more important than you may think. Again, for career advancement you need to interact with people. Who exactly do you think those people are? Is it possible they may have interests beyond the work at hand, that you may need to form relationships to gain what you want out of your career? Do you think they might work in other disciplines (accounting, management, sales?) Maybe you will even need to interact with customers. Being a bit worldly goes a long way towards interacting with people you hardly know, at first. If all you are fit to discuss is your work, you will be boring company, indeed, and a poor communicator.
Finally, breadth of education lends a certain variation and inspiration to your thinking. If you think Art History is all about looking at pretty pictures and memorizing names and dates, you miss the point of the class. Each of those artists had problems to solve related to the technology of the day. Many of those artists became of historical interest because they saw the world in a unique way. Many of them changed the way we see the world. As a brief example, compare the human figures present in the art of the ancient world to that of the 15th century. In that time span, humans had to learn how to change the way they thought about what they saw so that images of humans went from being symbolic to being realistic. It wasn't about pretty pictures, it was about advancing the state of thinking.
I work in a technical field. I hire technical people. I vastly prefer to hire Bachelors fresh-outs than PhD.s even though PhD.s have a far higher concentration of relevant education. The reason why is simple, outstanding Bachelor's fresh-outs have shown the ability to adapt their thinking and learn a breadth of topics. Outstanding PhD.s have shown the ability to excel in a very narrow category and please their professors specific interests. It turns out that when I hire them, within a year each is as productive as the other, but I have to pay the PhD. 2 grades higher salary. I WILL test your knowledge about many things when I interview you and at least one of the scales I will grade you on will be your out-of-the box thinking, something you will learn nothing about pursuing an on-topic only degree.
Finally, for better or worse, until you have a reputation behind you (roughly 10 years of continuous employment, with references) your resume is what will get you called in for the interview. If your resume does not let me know that you are a well-rounded individual, you will be unlikely to make it in for the first interview. For every self-taught genius that I miss out on, there are 100's of self-aggrandizing morons. I will not take your word for it that you have what it takes, I need other people to stand up and say that you've proven yourself. A BSc on your resume, at least, begins to tell me that.