Liberal arts degrees have gotten a bad rap in recent years, probably as a result of the boom in science and technology related career paths. However, those who aren't cut out for science and technology careers aren't doomed to a life of substandard employment. Plenty of good opportunities exist for those with a general education in the liberal arts. Following are five of them.

Real Estate

A liberal arts degree provides a good educational framework for anyone desiring to work in person-to-person sales, and real estate is no exception. Although real estate sales careers usually begin with small earnings, salaries of proven agents rise with expertise and experience. Those who would prefer not to work in direct sales frequently find opportunities in property management or as community association personnel.

Writer

A liberal arts degree also provides an excellent educational background for those wishing to pursue a writing career. Although traditional journalism jobs such as working on a daily newspaper are decreasing at alarming rates, opportunities exist in other venues. General job growth rates for writers aren't skyrocketing, but neither are they falling. They're holding steady even predicted by the U.S. Department of Labor to enjoy a small growth rate of two percent between now and the year 2024. Jobs include working for online publications, in-house copy writing, grant writing, speech writing, blogging for businesses as a freelancer, or doing technical writing either on a contract basis or as a corporate employee.

College Recruiter

Those who enjoy traveling for work, have excellent communication skills, and possess an ability to relate to a wide variety of personality types and cultures, might find working as a college recruiter to be the ideal career position. The job requires travel to other colleges and universities for the purpose of conducting preliminary screenings and interviews of potential job candidates. For those who don't like to travel or can't due to family obligations, other human resources careers in institutions of higher learning are available, such as working as a benefits manager or training specialist.

Sales

Outgoing, friendly people with superior communication skills often find sales careers to be extremely rewarding. The possibilities are huge in this field—if there's a successful product or service, there's a sales team that helps make it happen. Jobs range from working for a small, specialty business to being employed by a multinational corporation and everything in between. Although entry level sales jobs are often available for those with no particular education or training, a college degree is an asset to those who desire a career track rather than just a job.

Museum Technicians

Museum technicians get to work in some of the world's most fascinating environments. They assist in maintenance, archiving, and display tasks associated with art and artifacts, may have reception duties, and they sometimes lead tours and help host events. Jobs are as varied as the numerous types of museums. For instance, small regional museums frequently feature local themes while those located in large urban centers often focus on world exhibitions, many of which travel between venues on a regular basis. Large museums also offer full time archivist positions for those who would prefer not to engage in the public aspects of being employed in a museum such as manning the reception desk.

Because a liberal arts education promotes enhanced cultural awareness, reading comprehension, and analytical and communication skills, it can be an asset to any chosen career field. Those who are considering getting a liberal arts degree but are still not sure should make an appointment with their school guidance or career counselors (like those at Chatfield College) to explore possible opportunities.