Aarush Sharma

WRDS 1104

October 4th, 2021

Questions Proposal: The Growth of Stem vs. Liberal Arts

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

● How has globalization affected the prevalence of Stem fields compared to Liberal

Arts fields?

● How have global corporations shifted the importance of Stem jobs vs Liberal Arts

jobs over a certain period of time(10-20 years maybe)?

● How has the increasing transparency of global and political affairs shifted the way

the general public facilitated the growth of Stem fields vs Liberal Arts fields?

Research

https://huntnewsnu.com/60435/editorial/op-ed-disparities-between-humanities-and-stem-

co-op-pay-creates-misconceptions/

https://www.statepress.com/article/2018/11/spcommunity-stem-vs-liberal-arts-degree-pay

#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20Pew%20Research,%2468%2C000%20earned%20by%20ST

EM%20majors.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2019/09/29/studying-stem-isnt-the-career-boo

st-we-think/
 https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0711/the-college-degrees-you-should-have-

gotten.aspx

https://unbound.upcea.edu/research-and-policy/re-engineering-the-liberal-arts-degree-a-b

aseline-for-the-new-economy/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/business/liberal-arts-stem-salaries.html

These articles provide some surface-level insight into the more measurable statistics that

can show the disparity between Stem and Liberal Arts fields. This is something that I can use

when I analyze and provide more detailed reasoning as to the growth in both fields, and how

various factors in my questions(globalization, technology, the development of corporations, etc.)

have changed the course and importance of both fields.

● My topic questions are significant because they provide answers and reasoning to a very

important thing to focus on, careers. By looking at the disparity and prevalence between

Stem and Liberal Arts Majors, we can be informed when pursuing a certain job, career, or

discipline to specialize and focus on. This also provides more context to the direction of

global trends in various industries such as the technology industry, politics, and cultural

media platforms. Many news articles and academic professionals have researched and

looked into this because it is an important topic that affects almost everyone currently in

the process of growing up and creating a livelihood for themselves. Scientists,

government entities, and corporations have also looked into this to determine what

majors, degrees, and skills to seek in future employees. These questions are happening

everywhere in social media, news articles, and academic spaces. Almost everyone
 references a question framed around this topic at some point when growing up, and it is a

question that is important due to its significance and impact on young adults’ decisions.

By providing more evidence for these questions, we can determine and project future

trends for the growth and disparity between Stem and Liberal Arts fields, and allow

future generations to make informed decisions. This can also lead to more specialized

questions such as which majors within each respective field are ideal and optimal in

terms of growth and career potential. I hope to find a clear distinction between both fields

and show that one field is more prevalent in modern-day society than the other, as well as

tie this into the trends in various industries, and developments. This will allow me to

make a conclusive decision and provide ample reasoning to support it.

Interest in this Topic

I’m interested in researching this question because I have seen many friends and people

younger than me debate this question over the years. As an aspiring doctor, this was a question I

debated with myself since you can do both liberal arts and stem-based majors for this

profession(English is a very common major for med students). I would have liked a definitive or

more concrete answer than just following my passion at the time, and that is why I am writing

this paper. Furthermore, this is an interesting topic that allows me to examine salaries and

historical trends in it, as well as how it relates to technology and business. These are two things I

am very interested in and will thoroughly enjoy researching since I have so much background

knowledge to go off of.

Other Topic Questions

● How has the cost of living in major cities changed based on the development and

infrastructure placed?