I’m about to go into my final year at school and have no idea what I want to do. I enjoy the humanities and I love technology. Where do I start?
I’m so jealous: the world is truly your oyster. And you love the humanities? Even better – you can do anything with those subjects, trust me. Cultural studies, theology, philosophy, behavioural economics and the arts are all incredibly important for the new technology jobs you will encounter once you enter the adult working environment.
Technology is about problem-solving; it’s about understanding how we live now. By studying a mixture of “soft” and “hard” subjects, you are giving yourself a holistic approach to the challenges that face us. For example, art history could help you see how entire movements are started (aka viral growth, a key interest for tech firms) and how each artist built upon what was created before them (in business-speak, that’s “agile development”). Learning about philosophy can help you think methodically and critically about yourself and others. It will also help keep you sane in a world where many young people suffer from anxiety and depression.
There has been a huge push to get people to study Stem subjects, to ensure that as a country we are able to fill the future productivity gap, and keep our relevance on the world tech stage – and rightly so. But remaining creative is what will give us the edge. Keep studying as widely as possible to get the upper hand when it comes to your future career.
Continue on your humanities path and you’ll start learning about all sorts of incredible people who have changed the world. Take a summer job with one of them and see where your learning takes you. Good luck.
• Send your questions for Sharmadean to bossing.it@theguardian.com
