When I told my parents that I had decided to major in Political Science, my mother joked, “I’ll look through the Classifieds, honey, but I don’t see any listings for political scientists!” As lighthearted as quips like this are, they’re still rooted in the attitude that the social sciences are “soft sciences” that lead to unemployment.
Now so more than ever, the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields are booming, and professionals and parents alike are encouraging students to take advantage of this surge by pursuing said fields. Indeed, this is often sound advice, and for those interested and skilled in these areas, often a smart path to pursue. The growing STEM industries boast many profitable and rewarding career opportunities, especially in this day and age with the development of both the Internet and mobile applications, which have immensely expanded the positions technology offers. However, this massive push has unfairly intensified condescension towards other fields, namely the social sciences; the expansion of the STEM fields should not only be acknowledged at the detriment of the social sciences, and the emergence of these jobs do not discredit the merit of others.
Before my freshman year of college, I attended an information session on the Political Science major led by one of the department’s professors. Something the professor said struck me and has stuck with me to this day. Refuting the label of a “soft science”, he argued that social sciences, and political science specifically, are possibly more difficult than the so-called hard sciences. “In math and science, you have a formula, a method of doing things. And if you have all of the information, follow the steps and don’t make any mistakes, then you’ll get the right answer,” he explained. “If only the social sciences worked that way! You can have the most intelligence and do everything right and still end up wrong or stuck.”
The formulaic method of STEM fields in no way discounts the difficulty or the expertise they require. But there is something to be said about the level of analysis and critical thinking that the social sciences demand, and how this reality solidifies the importance and credibility of these fields. Economics, sociology, history and law alike require extensive evaluation, application and analysis of information and data. These deep levels of analysis encourage students to think critically and to challenge their preconceived notions of how to perceive and understand the world. Strong critical thinking and analytical skills are widely applicable and serve as crucial tools for professionals in a multitude of fields, including but not limited to finance, policy, economics and education.
So if you’re pursuing the social sciences or toying with the idea of doing so, try not to let the critics bother you. Every field has worth, even on a small scale; this article was written, and this article was published online, and without both of these aspects and skills sets, creative and technical, the product wouldn’t have been possible at all.
