[jmclnx]

There was a time where almost everyone majoring in liberal Arts could make a decent living. They were viewed as educated and had an open door to almost any career. I knew many liberal Art majors who ended up programming and as tech writers in the early days, never mind sales/marketing. And I am sure quite a few ended up in Business due to their learned communication skills.

Also, I had Uncles (non college) who worked selling carpets, worked in grocery stores who were able to afford a very nice life. They were able to put their children through college.

But since the early 80s, those jobs are now a race to the bottom. Now it seems you are hired only if you are pigeon holed into a specific career, and if that career path becomes obsolete, you are SOL.

[anonymouskimmer]

> I knew many liberal Art majors who ended up programming and as tech writers in the early days

In the early days no one could hire people who had degrees in these fields, because the university courses didn't exist. So they had to go further afield.

Also in these early days fewer people had college degrees. You were hiring the social (and sometimes intellectual) elite whenever you hired anyone with any degree.

[klooney]

That only worked because college was a finishing school for the well brought up (plus the occasional striver), and businesses felt comfortable just trying to hire that demographic. It doesn't work if businesses are trying to hire based on qualifications, and if half of all young workers have a college degree.