are you useless?

This morning, MSN.com posted this article debating whether liberal arts degrees are useless. As a holder of a liberal arts degree, I can safely say that no, they're not useless.

Here's the thing, if you go to school to pursue money, then fuck you. I may be a little harsh in saying that, but it's true. If you're passionate about business, wheeling and dealing, then by all means, go to business school. If you like to make people sweat and interrogate them, then go to law school. If you have an honest to God fascination with the human body, then be a doctor. But do not continue onto higher education if you're in it for the money.

Things that we love and care about seldom see a fiscal return. For example, I love to write. Did I ever expect to reach Bill Gates' tax bracket by spouting off a few words from time to time? Hell no. Maybe if I wrote some books about a boy wizard, but I'm more than certain that's been done.

I followed a field that I wanted to spend my life doing, whether it was full-time or in small incriments as it is now. Do I regret it? Not at all. The job that I have now requires a background in writing, so it's somewhat crucial for the company that I work for. Beyond the daily grind of writing a bunch of technical jargon, I'm still free to spout off about how I love the new Game record or why Bright Eyes is overrated.

So really are liberal arts degrees useless? Only if you're a jackass.