Fear not, Liberal Arts majors: Here are 12 possible career paths

This post was curated by Gabrielle Dalvet (CAS’10)

“A French literature major? What are you going to do with THAT?”

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me that question in college, I’d have paid off my BU loans with one check.

My parents always taught me to study what I was passionate about. And French literature was something I dove naturally into. So why wouldn’t I study that and figure out where life would take me afterward? When BU’s CAS classes of 2009 and 2010 graduated, a lot of us were equally excited and nervous about our first job, salary, and eventual career. Many of us saw the world as our oyster with a liberal arts degree because we had been taught to think critically and therefore any job could be tackled.

Yet, when we started navigating the job market, especially only two years after the recession, it was a lot scarier than a lot of us anticipated. Job salaries were lower than expected and many of us dealt with tough managers, an economy with a chip on its shoulder, and people convinced liberal arts was some bougie, elitist major with no real ROI.

Almost 10 years after graduating though, albeit via a lot of hard work, determination, and grit, I can confidently say all of my peers got out there and are now owning their industries. Here are the twelve career tracks new liberal arts majors can set themselves out on:

1. Beverage Director in Fine Dining

People take their food and beverages very seriously these days. A cocktail has to be instagrammable for it to be worth the price tag after all, right?

CAS 2009 graduate and art history major Ryan Lotz has built quite the reputation for his keen sense of cocktails, fine wine, and more, growing a notable hospitality career from the ground up in the Boston area. Whether you live in Boston or come to visit, look for creative sips at his next feat: a tiki-inspired spot called Shore Leave in the South End.

2.Economist for the US Government

Speaking of the economy and jobs, do you like understanding at a granular level how our economy works? So does this CAS 2010 grad Ahmed Abdelmeguid, with his degree in economics.

For the past three years, Ahmed has built a career at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, studying the data behind what we’re talking about in this very blog: jobs — how meta.

3. Interior Designer

Rumor has it that current professionals will have at least five different careers in their lifetimes. CAS 2009 graduate Sara Pendleton certainly has a head start, transitioning in her professional life from PR to Interior Design.

A dual French language and political science major, maybe it was evident she was destined to switch things up throughout the course of her working life. For those of you nervous to commit to one thing, just know that people like Sara out there have changed course and followed her passions, and you can too.

4. Client Services in a Consulting Firm

There are many ways to get into top consulting firms, and this CAS 2010 grad found her path through BCG’s Client Services department. Having studied International Relations, Kisha Wilson has clearly honed her professional relationship building skills, as she’s currently the chief of staff for two of BCG’s partners and managing directors.

Kisha’s success proves that business school isn’t the only way to get into a major financial organization. Take that, Questrom!

5. Researcher & Coordinator at a Think Tank

You may have heard of The Brookings Institution if you tune into public radio or reference the sources of major research articles. CAS 2010 graduate Jesse Kornbluth, with a degree in sociocultural anthropology, is at the heart of it all, researching, writing, and coordinating major conferences and initiatives for the past two to three years.

Current students questioning how they can make an impact on the world have yet another avenue, thanks to this alum. When asked what kind of impact his time studying liberal arts at BU had on his career, Jesse responded,

“Studying liberal arts at BU helped me develop a dynamic, cross-cultural skill set, which has been key to my work in international relations.”

6. Operations at a Tech Startup

Working alongside this fellow alum, I’m not sure there’s a detailed enough title to cover everything she does for the company we both work for.

With a BA in Psychology from the CAS class of 2013, Alix Gregory is a force to be reckoned with in the startup world and has built her career as efficiently as she grinds through the workday: with speed and intelligence.

7. Partnerships for a Nonprofit

When asked how work is going, this CAS 2010 grad always replies, “Busy. The world is going to sh*t.” Abigail Smock (née Christensen) is no stranger to the importance of nonprofits, having been at UNICEF now for close to four years.

Whether she’s in Corporate or Marketing Partnerships, she’s hustling every day to get aid to more and more children across the globe. A political science major, she’s also dedicated additional personal time to volunteering for iMentor and frequently engages in much-needed debate with friends on how much more we all need to be doing so that everyone can have access to the same opportunities.

8. Speech Language Pathologist

Over seven million people have difficulty with their speech in the United States. Whether a someone has autism or has suffered from a stroke, speech-language pathologists are there to help evaluate and treat many types of challenges in voice communication.

As a CAS 2010 graduate with a major in psychology, Kaele Cassidy (née Hanson) has been helping people find their voice since graduation. What could be a better way to achieve job satisfaction, than hearing it directly from your patients’ mouths?

9. Business Manager

Oftentimes, society thinks you have to work in a career that is the literal translation of your major. But the truth is, there are so many more options than studying biology and becoming a biologist (or even a doctor).

Take CAS 2009 grad Yasmeen Majoka, for example. She’s taken her bio degree and translated that into a career managing the business and finance side of a healthcare organization. At Memorial Sloane Kettering, she can still be connected to what she studied when she was BU, but as her interests have evolved, her career has too. Yet another example of the flexibility liberal arts majors can have.

10. Digital Producer in a Media Company

Studying anthropology doesn’t always have to mean you’re studying a remote culture based halfway across the world. What about studying the culture you’re currently living in? That’s what CAS 2010 grad Tazi Phillips is doing in her career as a Digital Producer for Us Weekly.

From recommending top pitbull accounts on Instagram (who doesn’t love doggos) to writing up and producing video content for a piece on Heath Ledger, Tazi works hard to share pop culture stories with the world, all with a liberal arts degree from BU.

11. Agriculture & Nutrition Researcher

Yet another Terrier out there saving the world, CAS 2011 alumnus Zachary Gersten took his trifecta of degrees in biology, African studies, and African Languages and Literature to try and solve for nutrition in developing nations across Africa and South Asia.

Meshing his undergraduate foundation with a Masters in Public Health and PhD in Nutritional Sciences, Zachary is dedicated to helping others find the right blend of nutritional foods, that are both affordable and sustainable (psst, ease off the beef consumption!).

12. Marketing at a Tech Startup

I can’t say I’m not impressed (and a little intimidated) by my fellow alumni listed above. But, since we’re here, I figured I’d provide one more pathway that you could take as an eager undergraduate studying the liberal arts. And that’s marketing.

Yes, even for a French literature major such as myself, CAS class of 2010, marketing is an opportunity waiting to happen, if you make it so. Maneuvering from one department onto the marketing team when I was at New Balance, I quickly fell for the creative aspects, business strategy, and fast-paced problem solving that marketing brings to the table. For the past year, I’ve since left the sporting goods world for the arena of tech startups at Robin Powered, and couldn’t be happier to continue evolving, which sounds like something we learned how to do at BU.

There you have it. Twelve unabashedly successful career tracks, all spawning from a college experience studying the liberal arts.

Whether you go liberal arts or not, I hope you feel liberated enough to study what you’re passionate about. Stick to it and know a career will make its way into your future, with of course a fair amount of grit and determination. But you already knew that — that’s why you’re at (or went to) BU.