Are we Prejudiced? - Page 2

Prejudice is not always bad. It could be that the basis for the bias is stemming from real world experiences and observations. And strange as it might sound, sometimes it's not about what you want. It's about what "they" want. It's about playing it safe, cutting down on risks and going after something that is time-tested and is in perennial demand.

True, there is dignity in any kind of labor but like it or not, society will always judge you. Starting from how you look, to how you dress, to how you behave, to the cars you drive, to the house you live in, to the electronic gadgets you own, you are being judged. It's one thing if you decide that you don't care about the society and will do as you please. But if you covet some kind of a social standing, if you care about what others around you think of you, if you crave for worldly pleasures, you have to go the established route and aim for having a viable, rewarding career.

If you possess extraordinary skills in fine arts (drawing, painting, literature, architecture etc) or performing arts (music, dance, theater etc) then a gainful career is probably awaiting you; in which case go with arts and further hone your skills. Talk to your well wishers and obtain feedback from them; try to put your skills thru a battery of tests designed to highlight your strengths and weaknesses. You should know where you stand and what you are good at.

But otherwise, there's a reason why the admission process to undergraduate courses in science, technology, engineering and medicine at premier, Ivy League institutes is more exacting in nature. It is because most students opt for these courses and aspire to have a lucrative career after the course completion.

If you Google for the best undergrad college degrees by salary, most likely you will find some engineering degree at the top and a fine arts / drama / music course at the bottom.

Now, could you take up arts and still become a successful person? Someone who is rich and famous? Of course! Could you take up science or engineering or medicine or technology and still fail in life? Of course!

It's the risk we are talking about. Are you risk averse? Are you willing to take risks? You are the best judge of that.

Disclaimer: Above views are from a materialistic point of view. I personally don't care about anything anymore, least of all society.

@K - did you do your SSC/Inter in India? You seem to have mistaken 'fine arts' with 'arts stream' as the topic starter is discussing.

I don't think people should generalise and say it's just the Indian mentality. In the UK, if you go to uni and want to do a course related to science/medicine/dentistry/radiography etc, then the government PAYS for you to do that course for 3years where you don't have to pay a single penny. So the prejudice is most definitely not just in the Indian society. While others who do maths, accounts, law etc come out of uni with a 10,000+ debt, those who go in to medicine etc end up better off (medicine is a 5year course, 3 years are paid for by the govt) This is mainly because the NHS in the UK is free for every citizen and they will need to work with the NHS for at least a year. Others have to work extra hard to pay off that debt, with interest of course.

Coming to the topic of arts, like I said, it is not just the Indian society which frowns upon it. Even in the UK where people are doing degrees like art and design, architecture, media studies etc, most of them come out and find it extremely hard to get a job. As there is no lack of architectures in the UK, those going in to the field atm don't have as much scope as they may have had a few years ago. It is very hard to get in to a job that specialises in such a degree IMO. :S In the recession, it is even harder!

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

@K - did you do your SSC/Inter in India? You seem to have mistaken 'fine arts' with 'arts stream' as the topic starter is discussing.

I understand. You guys were referring to only the liberal arts portion. I was referring to fine arts and performing arts as well.

For instance, in India, you mostly learn English, History, Political Science, Economics as part of the B.A. degree curriculum. It's usually a 3 year degree programme there. Here in US, that same course work is considered as liberal arts but you still get a B.A. degree. I think it's a 4 year programme here.

B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) is equivalent to B.F.A (Bachelor of Fine Arts / performing arts) in terms of the degree value when it comes to bagging a job. I guess, in my previous post, I was citing more B.F.A but it's all at the same level from the perspective of making a living out of them. Just like having any engineering degree (out of, say, Automobile or Chemical or Mechanical) is pretty much the same when it comes to the vastness of employment opportunities.

Originally posted by: utfracks

Okay, posting maybe after ages in this forum. This was something that has been going on in my head since a long time. I gave my 10th this year, and now I have to choose a stream for myself for +1 and +2.

I asked my friends, what they'd be taking, and they went like, either Science or Commerce. Out of curiousity, I asked them, why not Arts? They were like, what future do we have from arts anyway? My parents would never let me take arts.

One guy's answer really sort of had me thinking. He said, he can't take Arts, cause that'll be an insult to him.

My question is, why is Arts sort of underestimated in comparison to Science or even Commerce for that matter?

Fine, there are numerous options through Science, but Arts has its own specialty as well.

Are people prejudiced over Science? Why is Arts as a subject looked down upon?

Look buddy if you are india.. get this straight.. if you have anything more then 70/80% you get into science... if anything around 60-70 you get into commerce, if you just got some 40-50-60 you go to arts... so more than your desires you transcripts will decide where you go...but yeah if you get 80 and get into arts.. remember you are hanging around with everyone with an iq around 90..... so see what you can score.... but dont cross over... dont try to get into science if you get 50-60%..... all this is well charted!!! After all yeh hai mera india....😆

@RTH- So you took arts as well?

Here I was all settled for taking Arts, when started the family thing again.
More opportunities, blah blah. But what if i know what i want to do?
Just because a person chose Arts, doesn't make him any less intelligent does it?

If people are opening up to all sorts of changes, I wonder why they're still so prejudiced when it comes to education.

And I agree with you, with this system, it really puts a 16 year old into a big dilemma. I'm so stressed out at the moment, cause I have no idea which field to select.

Because I know, if I choose arts, i'm gonna have to listen to a LOT from people around me.

Oh Rachna!!same is the case with me..only difference is, I am done with my 12th now and I have very less time to decide..

Originally posted by: utfracks

@RTH- So you took arts as well?

Here I was all settled for taking Arts, when started the family thing again.
More opportunities, blah blah. But what if i know what i want to do?
Just because a person chose Arts, doesn't make him any less intelligent does it?

If people are opening up to all sorts of changes, I wonder why they're still so prejudiced when it comes to education.

And I agree with you, with this system, it really puts a 16 year old into a big dilemma. I'm so stressed out at the moment, cause I have no idea which field to select.

Because I know, if I choose arts, i'm gonna have to listen to a LOT from people around me.

I did take arts even though I did have distinction in SSC and did get into good science colleges too. There were several other arts classmates who actually did very well in SSC.

To be honest, I was not sure what I wanted as a career. But one thing I knew for sure, I did not want science or commerce. Lofty standards of intellect was never my thing. Back then my choices ranged from journalism, English literature, philosophy, law, architecture, advertising etc. By the time I wrote HSC, I had zeroed in on Mass communications and was all set to enroll at Xaviers. But then I came to USA and became a farmer over the next decade. 😆 Well, I graduated in sales & marketing and am planning on MBA but my job is in the agriculture field and surprisingly I know remember botanical names which I struggled with in school.

It all depends on what you want to do and if you are ready to stand up for yourself. If you are sure you do not want to conform for the sake of conforming and have the drive to make a career of your choices - go for whatever you wish. If you are unsure and would prefer to be guided by parents still and want to conform to their choices, then follow them. But no choice is going to make anyone smarter or stupider. We all are already as smart or as dumb as we can be.