Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin
World’s top economists just made the case for why we still need English majors (washingtonpost.com)
4 points by howard941 on Oct 24, 2019 | hide | past | favorite | 3 comments


A strong argument, although I fear the people screaming "STEM!!1!" will largely be unable to appreciate it.

For their sake, this data from later in the article is noteworthy:

"Contrary to popular belief, English majors ages 25 to 29 had a lower unemployment rate in 2017 than math and computer science majors.

That early STEM pay premium also fades quickly[...]"


What i'm getting at is that they need creative thinking, vision, imagination. I'm not sure an english major is the only way to do that and i'm not sure Chaucer is necessary in that. This is not a spit at all of humanities nor english majoring, i'm just saying the article doesn't read much to me because the crux is not that they suck at storytelling but that they lack any sort of creativity and the urge to connect; Such is prereq to actually enjoy creative writing in general regardless of the skill you start out at.


Not a strong 'case' but okay.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: