Social Science
What you can do with Liberal Arts and General Studies
A broad base across the humanities, sciences and social sciences instead of one specialty.
- Careers
- 5
- Early career
- $45,000
- Mid-career
- $75,000
- Growing fast
- 3 of 5
How these numbers work: A major does not have its own salary. Early and mid-career pay is what people who hold this degree earn at the start of their careers and midway through them. Career pay comes from the 5 careers a Liberal Arts and General Studies degree commonly leads to, and counts everyone in those jobs, including people who have been doing them for thirty years. The two answer different questions, which is why they do not match.
The New York Fed does not report Liberal Arts and General Studies on its own. Its early and mid-career figures here are for Liberal Arts, the broader group it places this major in.
3 of 5 careers this degree leads to are projected to grow faster than average from 2024 to 2034. Of those, Management Consultant has the most openings, about 98,100 a year.
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5 careers this degree leads to
Management Consultant
$101,860Advise organizations on improving efficiency, profitability, and strategic positioning through data-driven recommendations.
- Middle half of workers
- $77,950 to $133,370
- Growth
- Much faster than average
- Openings a year
- 98,100
Work-life38Remote65Satisfaction74- Strategic Analysis
- Data Analysis
- Presentation Skills
- Problem Solving
Historian
$76,750Research and interpret the past from documents, records and artifacts, for museums, agencies, archives and publishers.
- Middle half of workers
- $57,290 to $99,990
- Growth
- Slower than average
- Openings a year
- 300
- Research
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Source Analysis
Human Resources Specialist
$75,940Recruit, screen, and place people, and keep the employment machinery of an organization running fairly.
- Middle half of workers
- $58,610 to $99,380
- Growth
- Faster than average
- Openings a year
- 81,800
Work-life70Remote68- Recruiting
- Interviewing
- Employment Law Basics
- Communication
Public Relations Specialist
$74,750Create and maintain a favorable public image for the organization they represent.
- Middle half of workers
- $56,260 to $100,370
- Growth
- Faster than average
- Openings a year
- 27,600
Work-life52Remote62Satisfaction68- Media Relations
- Writing
- Social Media Management
- Crisis Communication
Elementary School Teacher
$63,970Teach the academic and social foundations children build on, owning a classroom across every core subject.
- Middle half of workers
- $57,710 to $81,450
- Growth
- Declining
- Openings a year
- 91,000
Work-life53Remote52- Lesson Planning
- Learning Strategies
- Classroom Management
- Assessment
Related majors
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Where these pay figures come from
Early and mid-career pay is the median annual wage of full-time workers who hold a bachelor's degree in that major, ages 22 to 27 and ages 35 to 45, from 2024 data. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (IPUMS). Published as Outcomes by Major by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Career pay is the annual wage of everyone working in that occupation, not only recent graduates, so it includes people who have done the job for decades. The middle half is the 25th to the 75th percentile. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET OnLine (median and percentile annual wages May 2025; employment projections 2024-2034).
All figures are national. What you earn depends on where you work, who you work for, and how far you take the degree.