--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A surprising number, like options in the…" description: "\"“A surprising number, like options in the cereal aisle, liberal studies graduates working fast food, people who don’t know Shakespeare coined the phras..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/dennis-vickers-9116_education_a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the_3222527.jpg" --- # A surprising number, like options in the cereal aisle… ![“A surprising number, like options in the cereal aisle, liberal studies graduates working fast food, people who don’t know Shakespeare coined the phrase break the ice.” quote by Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/dennis-vickers-9116_education_a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the_3222527.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/dennis-vickers-9116_education_a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the_3222527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/dennis-vickers-9116_education_a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the_3222527.jpg) > ““A surprising number, like options in the cereal aisle, liberal studies graduates working fast food, people who don’t know Shakespeare coined the phrase break the ice.”” [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many liberal studies graduates end up in low‑skill jobs, highlighting a mismatch between education and job market expectations. **In simple terms:** Liberal studies often lead to unrelated work. Key Takeaway Align education with career goals. Themes education employment skill mismatch Mood critical analytical Type essay commentary When to use this quote - career counseling - academic advising - policy reform Key Concepts Labor market curriculum relevance career outcomes Questions to Reflect On - How can curricula better prepare students for diverse careers? - What alternative pathways exist for liberal studies graduates? A Different Perspective Some graduates find value beyond jobs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Fast food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fast-food/) [Simile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simile/) ## Related quotes > [“It is time that we had uncommon schools, that we did not leave off our education when we begin to be men and women.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-time-that-we-had-uncommon-schools-that-we-did-not-leave-off-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [ Among all the liberal arts, the first is logic, and specifically that part of logic which gives initial instruction about words. ... \[T\]he word… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-salisbury/among-all-the-liberal-arts-the-first-is-logic-and-specifically-that/) [John of Salisbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-salisbury/) > [Children are to be won to follow liberal studies by exhortations and rational motives, and on no account to be forced thereto by whipping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/children-are-to-be-won-to-follow-liberal-studies-by-exhortations-and/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [“Look,let me give you the CliffNotes: You're a bitch in this life and Daniel doesn't care.Shocker! He courts you for a few weeks,there's some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/look-let-me-give-you-the-cliffnotes-you-re-a-bitch-in-this-life-and/) [Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/) > [“So long, Charley.”24 He had coined a phrase that jockeys would use for decades.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-hillenbrand/so-long-charley-24-he-had-coined-a-phrase-that-jockeys-would-use-for/) [Laura Hillenbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-hillenbrand/) > [“Whoever coined the phrase ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder,’ was an idiot. Absence makes a bitch go crazy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-aleo/whoever-coined-the-phrase-absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder-was-an/) [Toni Aleo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-aleo/) > [“Whoever had coined the phrase, ‘the customer is always right,’ had clearly never worked in retail or customer service. And if they had, well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-d-arand/whoever-had-coined-the-phrase-the-customer-is-always-right-had/) William D. Arand > [“It was in 1931 that the historian James Truslow Adams coined the phrase “the American dream.” The American dream is not just a yearning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/it-was-in-1931-that-the-historian-james-truslow-adams-coined-the/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [Whoever coined the phrase 'You don't know what you got till its gone.' was talking about toilet paper, probably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whoever-coined-the-phrase-you-don-t-know-what-you-got-till-its-gone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My brother and I semi-coined a phrase back in 2007, 'Don't Forget to be Awesome.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-green/my-brother-and-i-semi-coined-a-phrase-back-in-2007-don-t-forget-to-be/) [Hank Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-green/) > [“He yawned like a black bear coming out of hibernation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/he-yawned-like-a-black-bear-coming-out-of-hibernation/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“Wrinkles appeared and disappeared as he squinted his eyes and relaxed them, like someone peering into a strobe light, police car-top beacon, flashing neon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/wrinkles-appeared-and-disappeared-as-he-squinted-his-eyes-and-relaxed/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“Hung in the air like fart gas in an elevator, insecurity in a prom ballroom, guilt around a police lineup.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/hung-in-the-air-like-fart-gas-in-an-elevator-insecurity-in-a-prom/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“Faded like morning fog in the rising sun, sports team logo on a cheap T-shirt, ninety-nine dollar paint job on a Chevy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/faded-like-morning-fog-in-the-rising-sun-sports-team-logo-on-a-cheap/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“gleaming like a searchlight, Iowa moon, silver plate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/gleaming-like-a-searchlight-iowa-moon-silver-plate/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) ## More by Dennis Vickers > [“gleaming like a searchlight, Iowa moon, silver plate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/gleaming-like-a-searchlight-iowa-moon-silver-plate/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“Our reality may be fabled, but surely will be fleeting, because when the storyteller looks away, the story collapses. In the end, we vanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/our-reality-may-be-fabled-but-surely-will-be-fleeting-because-when/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“Faded like morning fog in the rising sun, sports team logo on a cheap T-shirt, ninety-nine dollar paint job on a Chevy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/faded-like-morning-fog-in-the-rising-sun-sports-team-logo-on-a-cheap/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“Her eyes beamed over the top of the cup like Peterbilt high beams coming over a hillcrest, full moon rising over a mountain lake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/her-eyes-beamed-over-the-top-of-the-cup-like-peterbilt-high-beams/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“No difference making a living with what’s between your ears and making one with what’s between your legs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/no-difference-making-a-living-with-what-s-between-your-ears-and/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“Your mother’s chili was onions, hamburger, tomato soup, kidney beans, no chili powder, no peppers. 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With shoes good enough, the wearer didn’t need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/he-believed-as-many-do-that-the-better-the-shoe-the-more-exercise/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“She looked at the ceiling, eyelashes batting like hummingbird wings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/she-looked-at-the-ceiling-eyelashes-batting-like-hummingbird-wings/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“Your eyes flash like Fourth-of-July sparklers, headlights on a mountain road, sparks in a short-circuited toaster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/your-eyes-flash-like-fourth-of-july-sparklers-headlights-on-a/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) [Explore all 75 Dennis Vickers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. 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They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A surprising number, like options in the cereal aisle, liberal studies graduates working fast food, people who don’t know Shakespeare coined the phrase break the ice.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dennis Vickers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the-cereal-aisle-liberal-studies/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the-cereal-aisle-liberal-studies/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/dennis-vickers-9116_education_a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the_3222527.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/dennis-vickers-9116_education_a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the_3222527.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efc/dennis-vickers-9116_education_a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the_3222527.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A surprising number, like options in the cereal aisle, liberal studies graduates working fast food, people…” — Dennis Vickers", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dennis Vickers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A surprising number, like options in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the-cereal-aisle-liberal-studies/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/a-surprising-number-like-options-in-the-cereal-aisle-liberal-studies/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```