Graduates can acquire the skills to be successful in work by choosing HSS. They can also fulfil the pursuit of their purpose. Therefore, if the heart or passion of a student lies in an HSS discipline, they will find more meaning in the stream. They can also find more career success in HSS than those they choose solely for the sake of societal approval or money. The global conversation is definitely in need of a change to the one that supports the pursuit of the students towards Humanities and Social Sciences degrees from a technology-only narrative.
In today’s scenario, many people tend to speak only about the vital importance of technology in post-secondary education. However, this has come at the expense of other streams, primarily Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS). This emphasis has resulted in short-sighted weakening. Moreover, it has led to the elimination of soft disciplines from universities globally in extreme cases.
Failure of Universities in Balancing Humanities and Social Sciences with Technology
The blame is upon the shoulders of universities. Universities have failed to clearly communicate the value of the other streams. They have also failed to make the students aware of the utility of these areas of study in the public domain. Facts must be presented and False claims need to be questioned. The situation of reality for the next generation of students is that due to the rapidly changing technological advancements, they are liable to face lots of disruptions and volatility.
Graduates must be flexible, adaptable, resilient, creative, willing, constantly able and excited by career or life-long learning if they wish to survive in this volatile environment. However, the major question is to scrutinize the possibility of this kind of education. Thus, the answer is to use Humanities and Social Sciences to empower Technology rather than alienating the stream.
Universities must focus on the training of the mind along with focusing on the content of the discipline. This will enable them to be curious and to think critically, creatively, and ethically. As there are a lot of myths surrounding Humanities and Social Sciences, there are a lot of dilemmas prevailing. Let us debunk the myths with relevant statistics.
Myth 1 – Solving the World’s Problems through Technology
Firstly, let us debunk the myth that the problems of the world could be solved by technology alone. It is necessary to advance technology for global betterment. Also, it cannot be disregarded that we run the risk of letting technology doom us to failure without sound strategic, ethical, and critical thinking. When Robert Oppenheimer created the nuclear bomb and tested it in July of 1945 in New Mexico, he committed to be an antinuclear advocate for the rest of his life. Technology can create as much destruction and turmoil as it attempts to solve without critical ethical oversight, and free of values.
Myth 2 – Humanities and Social Science graduates are financially insecure
Secondly, let us debunk the myth that Humanities and Social Science (HSS) grads are financially unstable while their peers from the Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) stream are financially secure. The fact is that HSS graduates catch up and have a higher degree of upward mobility as their skills are so portable even though graduates in technology disciplines begin the initial stages of their career at higher wages. Such skills of HSS graduates include critical thinking, active listening, problem-solving, creativity, etc.
For instance, a recent study by the British Academy Report (2020) revealed that employment rates differ very little by subject, i.e., Technology graduates are 89 per cent employed while HSS graduates are 88 per cent employed. According to a Universities Canada study, the average earnings for Natural Science grads and Social Science grads were similar in their career at the same point.
Myth 3 – Graduates of Humanities and Social Sciences have limited career options
Thirdly, let us debunk the myth that Humanities and Social Science grads have limited career options. However, we can find that the reality is contrary to what is generally framed in the minds of the people. Graduates of HSS are in a much better position to succeed in a range of professions as a function of the broadness of competencies that a person can acquire through an HSS degree. The range of professions includes the fields of business, government, industry, and education.
These industries demand soft skills such as verbal and written communication, leadership, adaptability, creative thinking, and listening skills. According to the demand of the economy, they can also be easily subjected to the fluid movement between positions due to their ability to adapt to a range of employment contexts. Therefore, they are able to seek better opportunities that fit with their ambitions and values.
From the above evidence, we can find that along with graduates of technology, graduates of Humanities and Social Science are definitely needed in order to help the world solve the major issues of today and our future. In the initial stages of their career, their salaries lag. However, they catch up gradually and surpass their counterparts in technology eventually. Above all, with regard to the function of their higher-level competencies, their career resilience in the future is much more developed.
Conclusion – Synthesizing Humanities and Social Sciences with Technology
The above reasons are quite enough for students to choose Humanities and Social Sciences degrees. However, certain psychologists have argued that finding meaning or purpose in our work is possible in this stream. But, the pursuit of finding meaning is so often overshadowed by the pursuit of money. Graduates can acquire the skills to be successful in work by choosing HSS. They can also fulfil the pursuit of their purpose. Therefore, if the heart or passion of a student lies in an HSS discipline, they will find more meaning in the stream.
They can also find more career success in HSS than those they choose solely for the sake of societal approval or money. The global conversation is definitely in need of a change to the one that supports the pursuit of the students towards Humanities and Social Sciences degrees from a technology-only narrative. The world must also recognize the wisdom behind HSS. Above all, it must recognize the needed synthesis of both Technology and HSS in order to provide holistic solutions to the challenges faced in today’s global scenario.
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