While vocational education teaches students essential job skills and prepares them for a specific career path, a liberal arts education proves more beneficial.  Liberal arts yields rounded students who are apt for higher learning and job security, whereas a vocational education grooms students for one distinct field, and leaves little room for change or growth.

General knowledge provides a cross fertilization of ideas.  The fullness of the mind produces new ideas and a better understanding of each subject.  A liberal arts education teaches students how to think, and subsequently, how to learn.  By studying a variety of courses, students are exposed to different aspects of instruction and are trained to think critically.  A liberal arts education awards students the knowledge base and the analytical abilities to successfully handle challenging situations later encountered in the workforce.

A liberal arts education prepares students for the ever-changing economy, granting contingencies that would have been denied by a vocational education.  A vocational education produces students who are close-minded and only proficient in one trade.  Liberal arts students gain a wide range of talents that are flexible with most businesses and corporations’ demands.  Today’s employers are looking for applicants that are well-versed, have a universal skill-set, and are capable of retaining new information, aptitudes a vocational education cannot sustain.

The majority of high school students are not set in a profession they want to pursue.  In high school, students are still growing, maturing, and understanding their strengths and weaknesses. A vocational education prevents students from excelling in more than one field, eliminating the opportunity to learn and experience an occupation that best fits their potential. Vocational schools impel students in a certain direction, forcing them to select a particular occupation that may not be suitable for them.  Students could additionally choose a career that is declining and end up unemployed.

The benefits of a liberal arts education are clearly undeniable.  Vocational students are trapped in one career and cannot adapt as the economy evolves.  By obtaining a liberal arts education, students have access to many more options and gain invaluable competency.