12+ Liberal Arts Degree Jobs (Plus, 4 Tips on How to Land Them)

If you’re pursuing a liberal arts degree, career and job search anxiety are completely normal. Unlike majors like accounting or software engineering, many liberal arts degree majors don’t immediately translate to specific career paths; however, this doesn’t mean that liberal arts degree jobs are few and far between. In reality, liberal arts degree jobs span hundreds of industries and roles. 

Jobs for liberal arts majors and degrees are nearly endless because these students learn valuable transferable skills they can bring to almost any job. Here are some top liberal arts degree jobs and how to get them.

What Can You Do With a Liberal Arts Degree?

Essentially, you can pursue whatever job you want!.

“The blessing of a liberal arts degree is that you can do virtually anything regardless of your major: you can major in English and work in the pharmaceutical industry, and a biology major could end up in cultural affairs,” says Sharon Belden Castonguay, executive director of Wesleyan University’s career center.

>>MORE: 13+ Jobs for English Majors (and How to Land Them)

You can do almost any job because liberal arts majors teach you a wide range of transferable skills in the workplace.

“Liberal arts disciplines train students in critical and analytical thinking that differentiates them from other disciplines,” says Sophie Gee, associate professor at Princeton University. Students learn things like close reading, theoretical analysis, critiquing, problem-solving, and storytelling, Gee says, all of which translate to valuable workplace skills from research and writing skills to critical and analytical thinking skills.

These soft skills also make you more hireable. According to The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2023 report, some of the top ten skills employers will look for between now and 2027 include:

• Analytical thinking
• Creative thinking
• Resilience, agility, and flexibility
• Motivation and self-awareness
• Curiosity and lifelong learning
• Dependability and attention to detail 
• Empathy and active listening

“Humanities majors in particular tend to have a bad reputation in terms of employment outcomes, but we find that our students do quite well, even if there’s not an obvious connection between their course of study and first job,” Belden Castonguay says.

Liberal Arts Degree Jobs Explained

So, what are some jobs for liberal arts majors?

Art Director

Salary: $124,310
Job outlook: 6% (faster than average)

Art directors focus on the visual elements of a product, including images, illustrations, typography, color, or overall style. Their work is a blend of creativity and strategy; they give artistic teams direction on their design and ensure the project is within budget and suited to the client’s needs. Art directors might work for magazines or newspapers, a specific company and its product, or movie and television productions.

Art directors may have experience in graphic design, photography, or illustration as they work across various artistic teams to give feedback and create a holistic artistic vision. 

Consultant

Salary: $104,660
Job outlook: 10% (much faster than average)

A consultant advises organizations on how to be more efficient. First, they gather information about the organization, including its current strategy, mission, structure, and general processes. Then, they speak to leadership about the problem the organization is facing. Finally, they recommend different approaches to help solve the organization’s problem.

For example, a consultant might work with a luxury clothing company and learn that the company needs help increasing sales revenue. Part of the consultant’s job would be to define precisely why the company cannot increase its revenue and brainstorm new solutions.

Event Planner

Salary: $58,750
Job outlook: 8% (faster than average)

Event planners manage the execution of an event from start to finish:

1. They meet with their client to understand what they want from the event.
2. They coordinate the event with various vendors, businesses, and service providers to execute their client’s vision.
3. They ensure the event runs smoothly and troubleshoot any problems as they arise.

Event planners can plan specific events, like wedding planners; they might handle large-scale events for particular professionals, like convention planners; or they can plan events for meetings between different businesses, like corporate planners.

Human Resources Specialist

Salary: $73,080
Job outlook: 6% (faster than average)

Human resources specialists help companies recruit, hire, and retain employees. They’re a crucial part of an employee’s entire lifetime at a company, from reviewing their resume and interviewing during the hiring process to ensuring they’re engaged and satisfied at work and performing exit interviews when the employee leaves the company.

Human resources is a people-oriented career path that requires interpersonal and communication skills. Human resources specialists must also be highly organized to stay on top of things like employee payroll and new starter paperwork. 

Marketing Manager

Salary: $158,280
Job outlook: 6% (faster than average)

Marketing managers work to generate interest in, promote, and sell products and services. They may use a variety of marketing tactics to gain traction for a product or service, including email newsletters, social media, blog articles, influencer marketing, video promotions, and more. 

Marketing managers are typically highly strategic and creative. They’re strategic in setting goals and marketing distribution plans and creative in developing marketing assets. 

Market Research Analyst

Salary: $78,880
Job outlook: 13% (much faster than average)

Market research analysts look at marketing and sales data to identify trends and forecast how a product or service will sell. Their goal is to help companies better market their products and services by giving them insights into what products people are looking for, the type of audience that will buy certain products, and how to best price them.

Market research analyst is one of many great jobs for liberal arts majors because it requires critical thinking, analysis, and research skills. 

Product Manager

Salary: $120,052
Job outlook: 10% (much faster than average)

A product manager works with various teams to develop a product from start to finish. First, they might research what users want from the product and how they can best serve them. Then, they set the product’s goals, milestones, and due dates and communicate these with the various teams responsible for creating it. Finally, they address any issues as the product is created and share progress across teams and outside stakeholders.

Project Manager

Salary: $101,610
Job outlook: 6% (faster than average)

A project manager oversees a project from start to finish. They ensure the project is done on schedule and within budget and address any problems that might arise during the processes. Further, they are responsible for communicating updates about the project status to essential stakeholders. 

Unlike a product manager, a project manager focuses on the day-to-day execution of a specific project. Product managers are typically responsible for the entire product strategy.

>>MORE: Product Manager vs. Project Manager: What’s the Difference?

Project managers can work in various industries, from engineering and IT to pharmaceuticals and insurance. Above all, they need impeccable communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

Public Relations Specialist

Salary: $78,540
Job outlook: 6% (as fast as average)

Public relations specialists promote their clients’ brands and ensure a positive reputation. They use a variety of tactics to promote their client’s work, including sending press releases, managing social media, helping clients prepare for media coverage, organizing events, and responding to any media crises. 

Public relations is a great job for liberal arts degrees because it requires a mix of organizational, interpersonal, problem-solving, writing, and public speaking skills.  

Sales Representative

Salary: $109,950
Job outlook: 1% (little or no change)

Sales representatives sell products, goods, or services from one company to another. Their work mainly focuses on pitching and persuading potential customers to buy what they’re selling. However, sales representatives may also be involved in sales strategy, including how their company finds and reaches out to new customers, pitches products, and ensures customer satisfaction.

Sales representatives work across industries depending on what products or services they’re selling. They need exceptional customer service, interpersonal, and presentation skills.

Teacher

Salary: $66,450
Job outlook: 1% (little or no change)

Teachers educate students on different subjects and help them build skills they need in their careers and lives. While a teacher’s main job is to plan and instruct lessons, they’re often also responsible for identifying and nurturing student strengths and helping students progress throughout the school year. 

>MORE: Top 10 Teaching Skills for Your Resume and How to Highlight Them

Becoming a teacher is an excellent liberal arts degree job because there are a variety of subjects to choose from. For example, maybe you were a biology major and could teach science, using your lab skills to help students experiment and research. Or, maybe you were an English major and can teach kindergarten so you can help students learn how to read and write.

Writer

Salary: $91,560
Job outlook: 4% (as fast as average)

Many humanities majors build their writing skills throughout college through research papers, discussion posts, and persuasive essays. That’s why becoming a writer is a common job for liberal arts degree students — many of these students have impeccable writing skills that transfer well to the workforce.

Writers develop content for various industries and mediums, whether that’s a political newspaper, online fashion magazine, instructions for a how-to manual, or a script for an advertisement. Different types of writers include:

• Author
• Copywriter
• Grant writer
• Journalist
• Playwright
• Screenwriter
• Technical writer
• Translator
• User experience (UX) writer

UX Designer

Salary: $101,740
Job outlook: 16% (much faster than average)

A UX designer improves how users experience a website, app, or product through clean, easy-to-navigate design:

1. They conduct user research to understand what users are looking for, often by creating user personas or conducting user interviews.
2. They create designs to address those user needs.
3. They test and iterate on their design based on what users and clients say.

UX designers are highly creative, strategic, and empathetic.

For example, let’s say you work for an energy company trying to help users with electric vehicles (EVs) determine the closest charging station. As a designer, you’d be responsible for building a persona of the company’s target audience, researching more about EVs and how they work, and then designing what you think the app’s user flow should look like.

How to Land Liberal Arts Degree Jobs

Getting a job after graduating with a liberal arts degree may require more research and planning, but it’s possible to not only find a job but also a well-paying career you love.

Get Practical Experience 

“The curse [of a liberal arts degree] is that since you’re not being acculturated into a specific profession, it can be hard to articulate what you’ve learned, what you want to do next, and what you bring to the table,” Belden Castonguay says. “This is why it’s important to get practical experience as well, such as through internships and Forage job simulations.”

Any experience can be helpful when it comes to landing an entry-level job. Include extracurricular activities, academic projects, independent projects, volunteer opportunities, and part-time jobs on your resume. These experiences show you know how to apply your skill set outside of the classroom.

Tell Your Story

“There is a major problem with recruiting and becoming legible to employers,” Gee says. “Competitive advantage of liberal arts degrees isn’t recognized because there’s lack of clarity around what humanities training is and does. Liberal arts students stand out when they can articulate their disciplinary skills clearly as being skills that match up with skills needed for the future.”  

Unlike other degrees, where technical skills you learn in your courses might easily translate to skills employers are asking for, liberal arts majors have to be creative in their storytelling when they apply to jobs.

“Students who create a strong narrative about what they have learned throughout all their coursework, extracurricular activities, campus employment, internships, and other experiential education stand out on the job market, especially if they can make a convincing argument for why they want to enter whatever industry they have targeted,” Belden Castonguay says. “An employer wants to know that it was a well-thought-out decision on your part to apply to their organization, and you have to be able to convince them quickly in an interview or networking situation. Applicants should also stress how they have built skills using ‘both sides of the brain,’ such as knowing how to write well AND conduct data analysis.”

>>MORE: Prepare for the interview by practicing common job interview questions and answers.

Emphasize Soft Skills

“In a liberal arts environment, you’re not being taught a technical skill set, but the things that hiring managers want, like analytical thinking and creativity,” says Belden Castonguay. “Those are competencies that are hard to teach on the job, so they are highly prized in new graduates.”

Rather than list these skills on your resume, demonstrate you have them through your resume examples, cover letter, and interview answers. For example, to show you have creative thinking skills, you could write (or say) how you developed a new brainstorming method to generate fundraising ideas for your cappella group. To show you’re curious and a lifelong learner, you could talk about the Forage job simulations you completed in your free time or the independent projects you took on to supplement your academic work.

Understand What You Want in Your Career

Above all, figuring out the best liberal arts degree job for you is about asking yourself, “What career is right for me?” That’s because the skills you learn from a liberal arts degree are highly transferable — your career opportunities are as endless as you want them to be!

>>MORE: What Are Transferable Skills? Definition and Examples

“In addition to people like your family members or professors, it’s important to speak with someone who doesn’t have any stake in what you choose to do,” Belden Castonguay says. “Take time to reflect on how you have made decisions in the past, where you have chosen to spend your time, and what areas of work and study have energized you. See out books, online courses, and talks that can help you think about these topics in a structured way. And keep in mind that whatever you do after graduation, you likely won’t be doing for very long. Think of your first job as a way to keep learning new things and not a decision that will dictate the rest of your life.”

Image credit: Canva