It has long been known that there is no one-to-one correlation between Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, or HASS, study and specific career pathways. That fact spooks some students and their parents. But it is an asset in fluid and flexible job market – and a fluid and flexible job market is precisely what we are facing when we look to the future.

It is useful to keep this in mind when analysing the Changes to Australian Higher Education Funding. The key take-home messages for students and parents from the above analysis are:

“The QILT graduate outcomes data shows that HASS graduates do comparably with graduates of other fields in post-graduation employment, and that almost all university graduates do pretty well regardless of field of study.”

“the price signal is reliable for the humanities and social sciences … because there the increased student contribution is associated with increased total funding. This will allow universities to run courses in these areas with lower student-staff ratios, more individual attention, and better educational outcomes.

The QILT graduate outcomes tell a different story, one where (i) HASS graduates are comparably employed with STEM graduates, both in employment rates and remuneration, and (ii) where HASS graduates are among the most satisfied with their course of study and the quality of teaching and transferable skills”

For a further analysis of the job-relevance of HASS study see my 2019 THE piece: Critical thinkers honed in the liberal arts are in sharp demand.