Liberal Arts Degree
What's the point of a liberal arts degree? It teaches you to think. It teaches you to think and to solve problems and ask questions from a variety of perspectives.
After all, isn't our world all interlinked? Just because someone isn't a scientist doesn't mean that a good knowledge of English or a foreign language or even art is not useful. For instance, there's a company called "Molecular Expressions" run by a scientist down in Florida. The scientist makes millions by taking microcsopic pictures of the crystal structures of alcoholic beverages, moon rocks, etc. and by slapping these images on ties, bedsheets, etc. He's both scientist and artist!
As for myself, I am currently working on a liberal arts degree at a wonderful school. I'm not sure what other liberal arts programs are like and I understand that a liberal arts degree is not for everyone, but I've had nothing but a great experience so far.
I'm a geology major and planning on going to grad school, most likely for geochemistry. I do work hard in my major classes, but I also don't feel that non-science courses jeopardize my science education. What's one of the great parts about a liberal arts education? I'm also an Arabic major. Majoring in two completely different subjects is common, actually, at my school. I have two possible career options: Arabic translator or science grad student. Two bets are always safer than one in this unshaky economy!
While I love science, I also love English, History, and Art. Attending a liberal arts school allows me to take classes in subjects I enjoy but would not otherwise study. Why? Because I have to get a job! Admittedly, "Art of Japan" or "History of Antarctica" may not directly help me obtain a job upon graduation, but I am a firm believer that a liberal arts degree will.
Why? Because I see the corporate recruiters circle like hawks around the senior students! I have a friend who was an English major, French minor who recently was offered a job with the CIA... go figure. Another alum I recently met was a physics major but now works as a business man in the computer industry. He hasn't been to business school. He said that he doesn't use his physics degree at all, but he does use some of his liberal arts knowledge every day. Much of business, sadly, is politics: if you are good at thiking, you might just be able to play that business game well...who knows? Maybe someone you're trying to impress or coerce into a business venture is a collector of ancient Japanese kimonos or obesessed with Ernest Shackleton's adventures in Antarctic... in any case, that liberal arts knowledge can't hurt, can it?
I suppose I'm a little biased because I'm a geek and love school. I've seen the liberal arts system work for me (although I haven't graduated yet and tried my luck in the "real world", so I suppose I'm still floating in Oz...) and for my friends, though. I have other friends, though, who did much better in technical schools or arts schools... depends on who you are, I suppose.
That's my two cent soapbox speech for the present....