Picture this: An optimistic young man ponders the possibilities of life after college. He questions,

What do you do with a B.A. in English?
What is my life going to be?
Four years of college and plenty of knowledge,
Have earned me this useless degree.

Despite the fact this is just a scene in hit Broadway musical [1] Avenue Q and it happens to be sung by your normal, average, everyday hand-puppet, most twenty-somethings can relate. The very notion of life after graduation fills most liberal arts undergrads with a complex combination of dread, worry, and acute nausea. But why should it?

You spend four years of your life (and all your savings) devoted to hard work and late night study sessions. You roll out of bed at absurdly early hours to make your 8 A.M. philosophy class, pound out papers on 18th century Romantic poetry, and participate (against your will) in the ever ominous “group projects.” You do all this in preparation for the elusive “real world,” and, come graduation day, you walk proudly across the stage, diploma in hand, cap on head, smile on face – ready for anything. Well, at least according to the guest speaker.

The truth is, you spent most of your liberal college career soaking up Shakespeare and German Expressionism, and there aren’t too many want ads for art majors with a background in painting and photography.

Just ask [2] Ithaca College junior Naomi Zeidman, a cinema and photography major and art minor. Recently, Zeidman has taken to spending large chunks of time fretting over post-graduate prospects. “I have no idea what I’m going to do. Lately I’ve been having those days where I ask myself, what am I doing majoring in photo? There’s no way I could make a career out of it, let alone a living. What’s the point?”

It’s easy to see where Zeidman is coming from. According to [3] JobWeb, an online component of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), chemical engineering, nuclear engineering, software and design development, and electrical/electronics communication engineering crown the charts as the top paid bachelors degrees of 2007. Average starting salaries for such in demand majors can soar from $55,000 to $60,000. Leaving one to surmise that you really do need to be a rocket scientist to pull in the big bucks.

So where does that leave the optimistic English majors of the world? Projections from JobWeb estimate humanities and sciences majors should expect to earn a basic starting salary of $25,00 to $35,000, only half as much as their technological and business counterparts. For example, from 2004-2014, there are only expected to be 21,000 job openings for photographers with a starting pay of $26,000. However, 486,000 jobs will open in accounting with a salary of $50,000. The basic principles of supply and demand apply. Everyone needs their taxes done, but most people know how to operate a camera thanks to the point-and-shoot technology of the digital age.

What can photography majors like Zeidman do with the job market so heavily against them? Karen Thompson, associate director of the University of North Carolina – Wilmington and president of the Southern ACE has a simple answer. Look for a job outside your major.

Believe it or not, just because you decide to major in a particular area does not mean you have to make a career out of it. The University of Washington informs prospective students on their website, “your career is likely to be completely unrelated to your college major.” The direct correlation between major and career is a common misconception that derives out of that fact that a few high profile careers, like doctors and engineers, do need to attend specialized schooling.

A quick look at the educational history of some high-profile CEOs proves there is truth behind the claim. Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner double majored in English and theater, Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has a medieval history and philosophy degree under her belt, and Corning CEO John Loose chose East Asian history as his concentration. The secret is, that all these people found ways to put the skills they learned in their major to work in the “real world” setting.

Thompson, who has helped many students with job placement agrees. “It’s true for some areas of study there is a direct correlation between major and career. However, for a majority of majors, the correlation seems to lie within what the student gets out of the skills developed within the major and how they can apply those skills into a variety of careers.” College is all about acquiring “real world” skills, not necessarily “real world” training.

[4] SUNY Buffalo junior Tyler Sepelak knows exactly what she wants to do and is glad her college offers a major that lets her explore her interest. Sepelak entered Buffalo as a biology major, but quickly changed to biomedicine, citing the variety of specialized classes the major offered.

She talks enthusiastically about classes with titles like The History of Death, explaining, “The variety gives me more insight to if med school is really what I want to do. It exposes me to different careers in healthcare and is more useful because it directly applies to my future career in medicine.”

However, Sepelak maintains that undergrad degrees aren’t all that important, especially if you plan to enter professional or graduate school. “You can major in history and still go to med school as long as you take the core science classes.”

Thompson offers similar lines of advice and encourages students not to shy away from broad liberal majors like history, English or art if that that is what truly interests them. “Broad is good, you just have to learn how to relate it [your major] and demonstrate the applicability to specific jobs or careers.”

To help students understand this concept, the career center at UNCW lists a variety of majors and subsequent jobs that would correlate with the skill sets fostered in the major. For example, the site suggests art majors possess imagination and creativity, strong communication skills, work ethic, and flexibility. These core skills can be translated to a variety of jobs in advertising, interior design, museums, hospitals and nursing homes.

In a survey conducted by JobWeb, employers listed attributes they desire in job candidates. Among the top ten were good communication skills, strong work ethic, teamwork skills, problem solving skills, initiative, flexibility, and analytical skills.

It appears there’s hope of employment for liberal art majors yet. Not only can an art major like Zeidman study a topic she is passionate about, but she can also find a job where she can put her specific set of skills to work. “At the end of the day I realize I get to do something I love. I’ll just figure out the rest as I go along.”

Zeidman has it right; college is meant to be an exploration, a chance to uncover hidden potential and interests, not a mad dash to the finish line. The “real world” will always be there, but the chance to indulge your interests might not. So relax, slow down, have fun, and don’t forget to brush up on those multi-purpose skills. The next time you’re writing that seemingly useless 20-page Renaissance lit paper, just tell yourself you’re actually polishing those analytical skills which will come in handy for the fast approaching “real world.”