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State of the Humanities 2021: Workforce & Beyond

Share of College Graduates Who Are Satisfied with Their Life, by Field of Bachelor鈥檚 Degree, 2019

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Project
Humanities Indicators
 

Share of College Graduates2 Who Are Satisfied with Their Life, by Field of Bachelor鈥檚 Degree, 2019

Ask a college graduate whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied with their life, and they are highly likely to report that they are satisfied鈥攔egardless of their field of degree. Approximately 90% of college graduates from each of the major fields indicated as much.3 So why, one might ask, is there a perception that graduates from some fields鈥攎ost notably the humanities鈥攅nd up worse off after earning their degree?

This report unpacks that assumption, presenting what high-quality national data reveal about differences among fields in the career and other life outcomes of their graduates. Identifying the sources of these differences鈥攗nderstanding the 鈥渨hy鈥 behind the 鈥渨hat鈥 presented in these pages鈥攚ill require further research.

Project
Humanities Indicators
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A Note on Interpreting the Information
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Share of College Graduates Who Consider Aspects of Work 鈥淰ery Important,鈥 by Field of Bachelor鈥檚 Degree, 2019
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Endnotes

  • 2This report describes two populations. The population mentioned here, 鈥渃ollege graduates,鈥 includes everyone with a bachelor鈥檚 degree from the field, regardless of whether they went on to earn an advanced degree. Other graphs refer to 鈥渢erminal bachelor鈥檚 degree holders,鈥 which excludes graduates with an advanced degree.
  • 3Gallup Alumni Survey, 2019 (custom data analysis performed by Gallup for the Humanities Indicators, 2021; a description of the survey鈥檚 methodology is available ). The values presented in this graph (and every other one in this publication) are estimates derived from data collected from a sample of the population.

    Regardless of the data source, the 鈥渉ealth and medical sciences鈥 field-of-degree category used in this publication includes nursing, pharmacy, and other fields of study designed to prepare students for specific medical vocations. Most students who go on to earn an M.D., D.D.S., or D.V.M., however, will not have earned an undergraduate degree of this type. While these students may have been on what their institution refers to as a 鈥減re-med track,鈥 their major is most often in biology, which is included in the 鈥渓ife sciences鈥 field-of-degree category (or 鈥渘atural sciences,鈥 depending on the data source).