By Agatha Christy Chandra & Amanda Ng
To keep up with fast-growing competition in the digital work, companies are embracing new advancements in technology. Continuous improvements in technology have tipped the favor of balance towards students with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematical) degrees, in hopes that they are able to bring forth greater efficiency and productivity through product engineering. Although traditional companies and startups prioritize candidates from STEM, students who have a love for non-STEM majors can still find themselves with a rewarding payout. At the end of the day, employers still need talented employees with outstanding critical thinking skills and performance.
Here are some non-STEM majors that may resonate with your interests and are still relevant:
1. Political Science
If you are interested to explore the complex relationships between people and the societies in which they reside, then consider political science as your major. Every country lies at a different point on the political spectrum, especially in terms of freedom of expression. It is crucial to understand your rights as a citizen by understanding the multi-faceted aspects of politics at local, state, national, and global levels. Some career paths that political science students pursue include working in governmental institutions, or large multilateral non-profit organizations such as the World Bank and United Nations. If you are able to understand elements of business and how the political environment can shape a country’s monetary policy, finance might also be the career path for you.
Although political science in itself is a liberal arts major, this program can also pivot into a career in Law.
2. Asian Studies
In addition to the English language, languages such as Mandarin have dominated the global landscape for businesses. This is because Asian countries, such as China, have been dominating the global economy; as a result, learning their languages can open pathways for securing jobs within or relating to those markets. According to the Financial Times, the Asian economy be will bigger than the rest of the world’s combined by 2020, paving the way for what many economists have dubbed the ‘Asian Age’. For students who are interested in exploring different cultures of the world, you reap the upsides of learning the nuances between different Asian cultures without any major downsides.
Students studying Asian Studies might find themselves in demand as consultants, translators, or even foreign correspondents for MNCs, media companies, and other international organizations. For fluent dual or trilingual speakers, you have a significant advantage in landing jobs that require communicating with clients of a different language, or acting cultural consultants for companies who looking for foreign investments.
3. Business Management
If you see yourself working for big companies or running small businesses, you can pursue Business Management as a major. This is the top non-STEM alternative to consider if you are not interested in technical programs. Business Management requires you to orchestrate different company functions in order to form a cohesively-working, including finance, operations, marketing, product, and human resources.
With this general degree, you are poised to work for companies in various industries such as e-commerce, healthcare, manufacturing, and entertainment. Other than becoming a Chief Executive Officer or entrepreneur, you can use your business background to work as a consultant or analyst at a corporation, accountancy, management consultancy, corporation, marketing agency, or human resources firm.
4. Communication Studies
Consider communication studies if you feel more comfortable reasoning with words than with numbers. This major is both an alternative and a complementary field to business marketing. Both traditional and modern industries require communication experts, especially those who can think critically and bridge important messages from one department to another. A strong communications program can equip you with these valuable professional skills, and ultimately open doors to a range of careers across industries, such as a public relations consultant or manager, an advertising designer, marketing advisor, speechwriter, digital journalist, broadcaster, screenwriter, news anchor, or translator for international firms.
5. Finance
While finance is typically considered a subset of business, majoring in finance creates a very different career trajectory than business management. If you are interested in managing assets or investing in companies, then finance might be a good option for you. Every business needs someone with the professional skills to conduct money-related decisions, especially those able to analyze cashflows, balance sheets, profit & loss statements, and long-term investments. This degree will require you to have the foundations of calculus and statistics, and a strong acumen for business logic, most commonly feeding into roles such as financial planner, financial analyst, asset manager, insurance portfolio manager, foreign exchange consultant, currency brokers, and mortgage broker.
6. Graphic Design
If you have a deep passion for creativity and arts, graphic design may be the right major for you. Graphic design is a fundamental form of visual communication between a business and a prospective audience. Companies need graphic designers to develop and execute innovative marketing and branding strategies. Students pursuing this degree can work in multiple fields as content creators, web designers, medical or corporate illustrators, and graphic consultant for large companies as well as startups. The deeper you get working either at or with various companies across industries, using graphic design as an entry point can also provide you with the skills and channel to enter fields outside of, such as marketing and product development.
7. Accounting
A propensity for numbers and obsession for accurate financial statements may land you in accounting. The world revolves around transactions, creating a need for an objective independent examination of financial statements for small, medium, and large-sized companies. The prospects of a career in accounting significantly vary, as you have the choice to work as a valuation analyst, government auditor, a bookkeeper, financial reporter, forensic accountant, or an economic, tax, fund, financial advisor.
