Who is a humanitarian? This question interests high school students who are faced with the problem of choosing a future profession. There is a stereotype among teachers that if a student has an aptitude for the exact sciences, then he should choose a technical profession.
Meaning
What kind of person is called a humanitarian?
It is customary to call a humanist a person who has the ability to superficially contemplate the actions taking place in the surrounding world without interfering with them.
This term refers to a person with a superficial type of thinking. He has no desire to create or improve anything.
Such a person loves to study the works of scientists, and he knows that his opinion is not the only one.
The opposite of a humanist is a techie. This is a specialist involved in the process of creating and shaping a product. People with a technical background always get to the bottom of things.
They are interested in what objects are made of environment, what mechanism is responsible for the process of their functioning, they love to experiment and dream of creating their own technological process.
There is also a psychological version of what a humanitarian means. Experts assure that people belonging to this type are creative individuals. They like to analyze situations that happen to them and other people, draw conclusions from books they read, and write poetry.
Important! IN modern world There are practically no pure humanists and true techies left. There are only mixed types of people with a greater inclination towards certain sciences.
How to become one?
Human abilities begin to develop from the very first day of life. Already in kindergarten And primary school a teacher can easily determine what social type a person belongs to.
If a techie is thinking about how to become a humanitarian person, then to achieve this goal he needs to do the following:
- read more classical works and analyze them;
- write essays and summaries, the more voluminous they are, the better;
- train memory;
- try to write poetry and compose songs;
- analyze situations happening around and discuss films.
It is much more difficult to become a techie if you are a humanist. It is difficult for a person with good thinking and beautiful speech to delve into the features of exact science.
Tendencies
How to understand that you are a humanitarian? You can determine the type of mentality based on what sciences you are passionate about. Such individuals give preference to disciplines that study the spiritual essence of man, requiring beautiful presentation of speech.
These are:
A technician better masters disciplines related to computing: computer science, mathematics, physics. A parent can guess whether his child is a techie or a humanist by studying the notes in the diary.
But this knowledge will not be enough for him. Perhaps the student was unable to fully master the subject or the discipline is taught by an insufficiently qualified specialist.
Differences in Mindsets
The difference between a humanitarian and a technical mindset lies in the manner of behavior. The first of them:
- They look thoughtful and inspired.
- They have a calm demeanor.
- The main weapon of such a person is his speech. He is ready to give an accurate and detailed answer to any question.
- The individual knows how to find a language with the people around him, but at the same time they have low self-esteem.
- They are vulnerable and emotional.
- Men are romantics. They successfully compose poems and songs for their lovers, and know how to give compliments beautifully and elegantly.
The opposite is true: a techie has a sharper character. Having studied the behavior of a person, you might think that she is constantly in a hurry to get somewhere. They are energetic and purposeful. A person with technical abilities always has a mania for leadership positions.
A distinctive feature of a technician is the absence of emotions. Such a person seems to always be in his own thoughts. They are unsociable and lack oratory. If such a person gets a job, then he is ready to go above and beyond to achieve his goal and career growth.
More often there are mixed types of people, distinguished by individual character traits. For example, many humanists strive to take leading positions.
Psychological methods of determination
There are a huge number of ways to determine whether a person is a humanist or a techie.
Schools conduct special tests to understand in which direction a student thinks better.
Scientists have developed several more modern methods how to determine personality type.
Among them are statistics of the type of people. They were able to reveal that in people's appearance there are distinctive features faces.
You are a humanitarian if:
- the size of the right ear is slightly larger than the left;
- the left hemisphere dominates;
- The fingers on the left hand are longer than on the right.
There are more reliable ways to determine your type, humanitarian or techie. Scientists have developed special tests for children, schoolchildren and adults.
The most popular psychological method is drawings. They can say a lot about a person's character traits.
It is worth asking a person to draw a simple object.
If it is small in size and consists of straight and precise lines, then the respondent has a penchant for technical sciences.
A person who knows how to beautifully express his train of thought will depict a large-scale beautiful drawing with smooth lines, containing a semantic load.
Another way is tests on the subject of humanities. The psychologist issues cards or forms with questions.
Based on the responses of the interviewee, he will be able to understand the type of thinking of the person being interviewed.
The most popular information source on the Internet is Wikipedia. It also defines what a humanist is.
This source states that in translation from Latin humanus means human or human-like. Therefore, this discipline is also about man.
Which profession to choose
Among high school students, the question often arises about what to do if you have a humanitarian type of thinking? Teachers recommend choosing a profession that suits your mentality.
Individuals belonging to the humanus category can become highly qualified translators, economists and psychologists. If they wish, they can connect their lives with the technical field. But, as a rule, they have problems studying the exact sciences.
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Let's sum it up
According to psychologists, the mistake of many parents is that they try to attach non-existent labels to their children. You should not try to identify a personality type by mentality - you should give the high school student freedom of choice and the opportunity to make their own decisions.
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Thirtieth August 2010, 6:30 am. There are 40 minutes left before the Ryazan-Moscow express train departs. On the monitor screen: “If you get in, be proud, if you don’t get in, be happy.” I entered the best technical university in the country and was happy and proud at the same time. Only later did I realize the meaning of this catchphrase from Bauman, as well as the fact that by my mentality I am a 100% humanist who is simply good at solving differential equations. But then why should I continue to study here? Is it worth further gnawing on this hardest physical and technical granite? Is it possible, and most importantly, do I need to retrain as a technician and graduate from MSTU? I didn't know. But now that I rightfully wear white helmet and I shout at the “Legs” the already set teeth on edge: “I am an engineer,” I know that for sure.
Over these six years, MSTU has answered many questions and taught me a lot. I am grateful to MSTU for everything, and for some things I would like to say special thanks.
Even though I am not inclined toward engineering, the University still helped me find myself. In my second year, I decided to write an article for the newspaper “Baumanets”, where I write to this day. During four years of working at the newspaper, I learned the basics of journalism. I managed to master the Bauman specialty - additive laser technologies, and work for two years in the stereolithography laboratory of the Sukhoi Design Bureau.
After graduating from MSTU, every Bauman student acquires an invaluable skill to quickly understand anything. In our first year we were often told: “They teach you how to study here.” It turned out that the point is not at all about being able to read textbooks and attend lectures (although this is important), but about quickly grasping the essence of the issue and generating new ideas, correlating new information with your existing knowledge. Now, talking to people mostly outside the University, I notice that very few people have this skill. Six years later, it is clear why the ability to “learn how to learn” is so highly valued.
Six years in a hostel - good school life. Find mutual language with three roommates and generally looking for compromises is a non-trivial task. But I must also say thank you for the wonderful moments - for the cheerful preparation for exams, for singing with a guitar until the morning and many soulful evenings spent with friends.
In Baumanka I met the main people in my life, not counting my parents. On my stream I met best friend, in the dormitory - her loved one, whom she had been waiting for from the army throughout her fifth year.
The university taught me to always go to the end in everything. I’ve been here for six years, every day I had to choose - either I graduate from MSTU, or I succumb to my weakness and quit my studies. I could have picked up the documents any day, but I understood that I would never forgive myself for this weakness.
While studying at MSTU, I became a different person. Of course, due to age - from 17 to 23 years - great changes occur in any person. But I mean changes that may not happen to someone even over a longer period of time. My attitude towards many things changed, life began to seem more joyful, and the world - beautiful. Oddly enough, this was realized in the most difficult moments. Baumanka is one of the best things in my life. I am proud and glad that I entered here. And even more because I am an engineer!
Daria Bakanova, graduate of the Faculty of MT, correspondent for the newspaper “Baumanets”
While still at school, many young people think about their future, plan a career, and dream of achieving some heights. But their parents are even more worried, not knowing what to advise their child. In some cases, decide future profession The type of thinking helps (if it is clearly expressed). Teachers who know a student’s abilities well can easily determine whether he is a technician or a humanist. Many people understand what this means.
There is a certain stereotype - if you like mathematics and physics, a person understands technology, then he is a technician, but if there is a disposition towards literature, languages, history, and likes to write essays, he is 100% a humanist. But everything is not so simple, there are also mixed types, so when choosing a profession you should always listen to your intuition.
Who are the humanities?
To prove something to someone, to make new discoveries in the field of science and technology, writing their name in history, is the task of techies. A humanist is a person accustomed to contemplating the world without interfering in what is happening unless necessary. He does not strive to do something extraordinary, to stand out, to go down in history; he himself studies this history, the works of other scientists, while operating with knowledge that has been collected bit by bit over many centuries. Humanists, unlike techies, are well aware that their opinion is not the only correct one. They may not like the thinking of other people, but at the same time they understand that a different understanding of the situation exists, and they never impose their arguments. Humanists are good communicators, they easily find a common language even with strangers, and select the right words in any situation.
Humanitarian type of thinking
Sometimes people mistakenly classify themselves as one type or another. For example, if a person likes to read literature, is interested in painting, music, cinema, then he is already a humanist. In fact, this is completely wrong, because hobbies may not always correspond to your mindset. Also, do not forget about mixed types, which equally all sciences are given. Who is a humanitarian? This is a person who is aware of the existence of a different interpretation, experience, meaning, thinking, worldview, etc. At the same time, he does not have to agree with this, he is not obliged to be tolerant of people with opposing opinions. The main thing is to understand that his word is not the law, the final authority.
Beautiful speech is the main weapon
Humanists are excellent communicators; they make excellent speakers, teachers, and psychologists. They easily establish contact with a stranger and are able to carry on any conversation, even if the topic is not interesting to them. Hostility is also a way of communication, although those who are involved in it obviously push themselves to the very edge of the humanitarian world. Humanists in most cases admit the imperfection of their thoughts and their dependence on various external circumstances.
What is a liberal arts education like?
There are two completely different “humanities”. One does not focus on theorizing existence, but actually transforms it. Because of this, a person begins to completely new life. The other, on the contrary, museumizes old knowledge and studies centuries-old works. This is exactly the kind of humanities that is taught in most universities. The corresponding education can be divided into three types. The first is suitable for “research” specialties. Teachers are based on the concept of teaching students as if they will become great scientists in the future. The second type is suitable for mass professions that a humanist can choose for himself. What are these specialties? This should include teachers, librarians, PR specialists, journalists, etc. The third type of liberal arts education consists of various courses designed for techies.
Professions for humanists
TO social sciences include history, journalism, philology, psychology, linguistics, political science, and jurisprudence. Humanists are well versed in them, because the special one allows them to be fluent in the language of letters and words. People who feel good in a social environment can choose Psychology. Psychology is very popular. For many centuries people have studied the biological nature of man, history, customs, and origins. All this was formed into certain psychological patterns that allowed us to better understand medicine, teaching, science, trade and other fields of activity.
If you are a humanist, then activities related to cultural, philosophical, religious, and political science knowledge will suit you. If you like delving into the past, you can become a historian. Power and money attract many, so people with a humanitarian mindset engage in political activities, organize parties, negotiate, and hold rallies. Do you like writing, being the first to know about various incidents, conducting investigations? Suitable profession journalist. Today, many print and online publications are in need of qualified personnel.
Differences between a techie and a humanist
In some cases, it is very difficult to determine the mindset, because specific abilities are poorly expressed. You can tell whether a person is a techie or a humanist not by the grades he gets at school, but by his worldview and thinking. Very often, performance in a particular discipline does not depend at all on the student’s abilities, but on some other factors, for example, the teacher’s ability to interest the subject.
Humanists speak beautifully, are very emotional, vulnerable, love to study languages, write essays and even poetry. They are a little unsure of themselves, but such people also have a developed imagination. Techies are energetic, self-confident, purposeful. Thoughts rush through their heads at the speed of light, such people are well versed in technology, their favorite subjects are physics and mathematics. They are unsociable and do not like to talk about anything.
Career logic
A humanist does not demand anything extraordinary from life. Teachers, archive workers, and librarians know very well what it means to live on mere pennies. A technician always strives to build a brilliant career, to show how smart and irreplaceable he is. Historians, psychologists, and journalists do not have high market expectations, but every humanist can boast of a good education that forms an elite identity. Many people with a humanitarian mindset know what it is to make money by thinking. They are well aware of the low market demand, so they begin to earn a living from the 3rd or 4th year of university. Unfortunately, today society lives according to the laws of the market; young people choose a profession depending on the level of salaries and prestige. Although you need to rely on your own intuition and build a career according to your heart.
Humanists are those who are friends with words, images and are often completely at odds with the material world. These are such enthusiastic people who can quote Dante in the original, but even the device of a stepladder can baffle them. That is, their knowledge does not seem to have any practical benefit. This is what gives techies a vast field for jokes and all sorts of jokes. But if you look at it, humanitarian skills are no less important than technical ones.
Use your strengths
Communication skills
And at any level and on any scale. If you are looking for a job, it will be easier for you to find one because you know how to approach people. Even if you are not looking, you may be offered a promising place because you communicate a lot and know how to do it correctly. If you represent a company, your ability to establish contact with the client will be valued as highly as the development of a quality product.
Language
Humanists know how to speak and write in a way that everyone can understand. In an increasingly complex world, this skill comes to the fore. It is becoming increasingly difficult to explain multi-level algorithms and technical terms in accessible language, which means that such a skill is gaining significant weight in the labor market.
High EQ
EQ is the ability to recognize other people's emotions. Paired with a hefty IQ, it gives you superpowers. It is easier to upgrade it for those who know psychology and can understand motivation. As a rule, these are people with a humanitarian mindset. It is not difficult for them to put together a strong team and maintain a friendly atmosphere in the team.
Of course, these are not all the strengths, but even this is enough for a humanitarian to survive in the modern world.
Always keep evolving
It is important to develop all qualities as a whole. While representatives of technical professions can concentrate on one highly specialized area, this is an unaffordable luxury for humanists.
Even the highest EQ is of no use to anyone when your communication skills are zero. It is best if you combine your humanitarian knowledge and some technical skills. For example, learn to program at least at the most basic level or take a web design course.
Feel free to explore the high tech industry
It is in the IT field that combinations of humanitarian and technical skills are most needed. Complex code must be turned into a clear and pleasant user interface, and for this you need to combine computer knowledge with an understanding of what you want a common person. Steve Jobs was the first to realize this. Apple's success - bright that proof.
Now other bosses of Silicon Valley have realized the importance of conductors between technology and people. Facebook recruiters are looking for non-technical and technical specialists in a ratio of 3: 2. At Uber in the summer of 2015, there were three humanitarian vacancies for every engineering vacancy.
Entrepreneur and billionaire Mark Cuban believes that within 10 years the demand for humanities majors will be greater than the demand for programmers or even engineers.
He adds that machines will take over the work with algorithms and data, so philologists and philosophers will become much more in demand. If you are a humanities major and for some reason decide to retrain, think about whether you will regret this step in a few years.
Survival checklist
- Identify your best qualities.
- Develop them in combination with technical skills.
- Make something cool and post it on social media.
- Talk to people. Charm is your main assistant.
- Don't be ashamed that you are a humanitarian, but be proud of it. Your mother most likely loves you just the way you are. But it is not exactly.
Some people think that programming fashion has gone too far. Former sociologist and now software developer Kyle Warneck has a completely different opinion.
Undermining the foundations is what Silicon Valley loves. This also applies to careers. I learned this lesson in 2013. There was a month left until my thirtieth birthday, a month and a half before my wedding. I worked on a great product team at an advanced software company. I had interesting problems, smart and nice colleagues, and plenty of free food. Silicon Valley at its best.
I had been trying to make it in the Valley for five years, and this job felt like my big break. But less than a year after I was hired there, the company closed the project, sold the assets related to it and fired me.
At first, I wasn't worried about finding a job. I had a good resume and interviews always went well. I figured I could easily find a product management job at another company. But as the months passed, my optimism began to fade. By the fall, I had applied for 104 vacancies and had not received a single offer.
After these discouraging results, I began to reconsider the options available to me. It was clear that I was not a market fit. If I knew how to program... Then life would be simpler. And I decided to take on this.
Me and programming
In Silicon Valley, being able to code means having influence. For every product management position, there are approximately six development positions. Companies often complain about the shortage of engineering personnel and are willing to pay such people well.
There are other advantages too. As a humanist, I have noticed that engineers immediately receive a certain amount of respect (totally undeserved). Strangers, by definition, believe that programmers are smart people. Managers and colleagues assume that programmers' time is more valuable. At meetings, developers' opinions carry more weight. They get away with inappropriate jokes, being late for work, lack of dress code and lack of interaction with other human beings.
But despite all the delights of this attitude, I never saw myself as a programmer. And it seemed to me that in a city of developers who are ready to eat anything and launch billion-dollar startups, I was out of place. I had a degree in sociology, but I didn't take a single computer science course. I didn’t watch science fiction films or laugh at geeky jokes. This culture values people who are passionate about something, and I just liked watching birds, reading books, playing sports. I worked in sales and politics and considered myself strong point communication skills.
But market pressure forced me to reconsider my identity. It seems that without change, my options were limited.
In a way, it was the right time. In addition to the high demand for programmers, there are a ton of resources available to help people learn relevant skills and get jobs in the Valley - online courses (from Udacity to Coursera and Codecademy), free guides and textbooks. And there are more and more programs calling themselves programming boot camps. These programs charged $15-20 thousand per person and promised that their graduates would gain marketable development skills in three months. They had impressive statistics: more than 90% got a job, with a high salary, and the rest were promised a refund. I once worked with graduates of one of these programs.
And yet it scared me. It looked like immersing myself in a boot camp atmosphere would be my best chance to learn how to code, but I was afraid that I would be wasting a lot of money, time, and energy and not getting anywhere. However, there were no other options, so I enrolled in Hack Reactor, a training program in San Francisco.
Accept mistakes
The first thing I realized is that learning programming is difficult. This takes hundreds of hours. You spend most of this time looking at error messages. A program almost never works correctly the first time. You'd think someone who'd received 104 rejections in a row would have gotten used to losing, but I was nervous—especially when I wasn't at all sure I could get rid of that error message.
What helped me was talking to other program participants who were also nervous. There were thirty people in my group, including a lawyer, a neuroscientist, a helicopter mechanic, and a professional video game player, ranging in age from their early twenties to their early forties. Some already had a background in engineering or a similar field but wanted to brush up on their skills. Others did not go to university at all. We had one thing in common: we wanted to help each other survive.
We met six days a week for three months. Officially, the school day lasted from 9 am to 8 pm, but everyone sat on assignments until late at night. And this practice brought results: by the end of the program, we had all developed full-fledged web applications.
The main lesson of Hack Reactor is to make peace with error messages. We were constantly being forced to work on problems that we didn't know how to solve. We were taught the basics of computer science, but the emphasis was on patience, humility and perseverance. The lack of traditional education was compensated by persistence.
But the further I went, the more new things opened up to me: a mind-boggling number of programming languages, libraries and tools. By the end of the program, I was wondering: how much more do I need to learn before I can call myself a developer?
Career reboot
There is a completely practical answer to this question: you have become a developer when you can pass a developer interview. This is a four- to six-hour session where candidates are asked to write code to solve a variety of problems. Often this must be done standing at the board: you write the solution, and the interviewers evaluate it. There are many variations to this process, but the basics are roughly the same.
This method has a lot of problems. It does not show how an engineer works in a team, how he works on a complex and large project. This method puts too much emphasis on self-confidence and forces you to make big judgments about a candidate based on a small piece of code. Even a great developer has bad days.
But this interview method is closely tied to the democratic myth of Silicon Valley. This is the idea of meritocracy. Companies may ignore formal achievements, past experience, what the candidate wears, resume formatting, and everything else. Many companies still screen candidates based on computer science degrees, online portfolios, and previous experience, but increasingly they are also looking to “non-traditional” engineers. All you need to do is pass the test.
After six months of preparation and three months of boot camp, I was ready to give it a try. It all started badly. I went to my first interview with a huge, well-known company - and failed. The second one wasn't much better. But to my surprise, things went smoothly from there. I calmed down and got used to answering questions under serious pressure.
Within a few weeks I received good offers from several companies. Of course, I still didn’t feel like a real developer, but the fact that they were willing to pay me to write code suggested that the plan was working. And my perception of myself began to coincide with reality only a few months later.
Make way for humanitarians
Now I know that a significant number of software developers do not have a relevant diploma. According to one survey, their number is even more than 50%. No matter how many such people there are, among them are my previous boss and many excellent engineers with whom I worked.
Boot camps are a controversial topic, but learning to program on your own is quite possible. Many Valley startups believe that if you learned to code without going to college, it shows that you are motivated, resilient, curious, and resourceful. These are the skills employers need.
In addition, engineers are increasingly expected to have experience in design, business understanding, and project management. These should be people interested and able to collaborate with workers from other areas. In my experience, companies now value these skills as much as traditional computer science training. And the fact that engineers like me have experience in some other field is now increasingly seen as an advantage.
It's been more than two years since I became a developer. I still sometimes feel like I'm wearing some kind of disguise. But I had already received several promotions, my level of responsibility increased, and then I moved to work for another company.
I rarely tell my colleagues about my boot camp, for fear that they will judge me based on their university degrees. But when I do mention Hack Reactor, I’m pleased to see the surprise on my colleagues’ faces: surprise that I still sometimes understand what I’m doing. “Yes,” I think. “I’m surprised too.”
Thinking about the time I spent preparing for this job, I am amazed at how lucky I was to take this step. I had no kids, virtually no debt, a supportive wife, and the biggest tech companies in the world nearby. And despite all this, I hesitated.
The main thing I realized is that Silicon Valley is constantly changing, with or without me. I could stick to what I knew and fall behind, or try something else. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that being a developer is all about practice. For me, the main challenge was to give myself permission to do this work.
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