I graduated with a liberal arts degree in 1977. I worked nights & weekends in retail 4 solid years and emerged debt-free—possible back then. Useful contacts? No. Job I qualified for? Flower girl at the Tropicana Hotel. Worth it then? Yes & no. Worth it now? Liberal arts at a mid-ranked U? Not with any loan at any interest rate. If I was 18 today? I would take 2 years of cad drafting at a decent community college and get hired by a progressive architectural firm. No debt! Great contacts, opportunities, money to travel, study, create as a hobby & eat out once in a while. Liberal arts profs prepare you for a more advanced degree to land a professorship in the liberal arts. Look at the stats for openings in ThAT field.