Whether you’re a parent looking to send a loved one to college or you’re looking to attend college yourself, the biggest choice you will face is your choice of school. There are a few options like private or public, college or university, or a liberal arts education. If you have the means to, you should obtain a liberal arts education at the least.

What are liberal arts though? Liberal arts means that you will obtain knowledge in every subject from math to the humanities, from history to science. The most important part about a liberal arts education is that it encourages and teaches critical thinking. This type of education will set you up well in the future when it comes time to get a job, and it will benefit you in the real world as well. Instead of studying one single discipline where you begin arranging yourself into a one track mind, turn towards a liberal arts education.

The common person will have 6 to 10 jobs in their lifetime. This means that you will have to adjust to different workplaces while being mindful of the culture, the teamwork, and use your critical thinking skills. Studies show that an individual with a liberal arts education shows signs of easier adaption, thus increasing their overall productivity in their respective career.

Also, if you want a high paying job in the future, we can see that the liberal arts education helps in that category as well. There are many CEOs that come from a liberal arts background. In fact, about a third of all CEOs come from a liberal arts education. For example, there are often CEOs with degrees from Spanish to Communications.

There is something to be said about on the job training. Most workplaces will have this in place because that’s easy to do. They cannot, however, train you to become a well-rounded and educated person who can draw from many different aspects. Employers will hire those who attended a liberal arts school much quicker than someone who is in that particular major.

I’m not saying that you don’t have the opportunity to succeed if you major in environmental economics or accounting. I’m just saying that you will have a competitive edge in the market with a liberal arts education.