There is a wide range of skills that one can gain from studying for a humanities degree, and although they are different, they are valuable and comparable to those studying for a STEM degree. Yet, there has been at least twenty percent increase in STEM or business over the past years and a major decline in more educational fields. Why is that? Someone might go into STEM because they excel in those kinds of fields compared to humanities, but people often choose these fields because they think there are more high paying jobs on the other side. Statistically, yes, there are high paying jobs in fields like engineering, technology, and business. But there are also high paying jobs in fields with humanity degrees. There are also common stereotypes surrounding each field. People like Jefferson Portillo (‘26) and Kai Blair (‘26) have experienced comments given to them when mentioning they want to study a humanities major. They often hear sayings along the lines of “Why?” or “So you want to be broke?” Comments that aren’t often made towards someone looking to go in STEM fields like engineering or technology. So where does this stereotype come from? The stereotype comes from people seeing degrees as linear paths. If someone has an engineering degree, they will become an engineer. If someone goes to law school, you expect them to become a lawyer. Those direct jobs are statistically high paying. What do you do with a history degree? An art history degree? An English studies degree? A common assumption is that those with humanities degrees will become teachers, which often happens to be more low paying jobs. This is a possible reason why people assume all humanities jobs are low paying. There is a psychological side to all of this. Historically, all humanities departments were women dominated because that was the only field they were allowed to study in. Not only are humanities jobs – often teaching – generally paid less, but they are many times considered to be less “important” as well. Statistically, it is true that STEM jobs often pay a few tens of thousands more than a general humanities job, but the pay gap eventually closes, for a plethora of reasons. There are many things you can do with a humanities degree. There have been studies showing that people with humanities degrees are more likely to get hired for a range of jobs compared to people working in STEM because these people gain critical thinking skills, communication, people skills, and problem-solving skills. This wide range can lead to equally high paying work in comparison with STEM jobs.  People who work in STEM often have to learn new skills several times throughout their career because the world they work in changes so fast. The skills learned in humanities fields have stood the test of time. Although Humanities and STEM fields are two different paths for students, it’s clear that there are stereotypes and skills to be learned surrounding both.