How many of y'all are doing what you went to school for?

Mizeree I2K · #1 10-14-2013, 12:23 AM

I've noticed that a lot of folks get all these degrees, and then end up working or doing something they didn't go to school for. Or they have higher degrees, but are still making pennies to live on. I have a 5-year degree in manufacturing engineering, but I'm making a living in landscaping and snow removal. It's my own business though.

What did y'all go to school for? And are y'all working in the fields you studied to work in? How many of y'all aren't doing what you aspired to do or studied to be? And why? What made y'all change directions?

DubaiSis · #2 10-14-2013, 12:51 AM

I have a BA in Journalism with an emphasis (like a minor but lazier) in French and Film Analysis. I'm a travel agent. For a while I was bitter about how much a waste of time and money my degree was when I was working side by side with people who barely made it out of high school and making just more than minimum wage. But as I've matured I've realized an ability to write is ALWAYS valuable, and I got a lot out of college, if not the big bucks.

navane · #3 10-14-2013, 12:53 AM

Well, back in the very beginning, I went to college to become a physical therapist. I studied PT for 2 years until my major was discontinued and I had no choice but to pick something else. I changed my major to a social science subject with a view to work in higher education. I did end up working at a university for about 12 years. So, not including the hiccup with the original major, my college studies and my career matched up exactly how I intended.

However, I then became a firefighter. One doesn't really go to college to learn firefighting. That said, my major ended up being very relevant and helpful in my new career in public safety.

ASTalumna06 · #4 10-14-2013, 01:25 AM

I initially went to college intending to major in Plastics Engineering, but after changing my major a few times, I landed on Political Science. I planned to go to law school - and took the LSAT and applied to a few schools - but after doing some research, I decided to first just get my feet wet by getting my paralegal certificate, working in a law firm, and then deciding if law school was the best route to take.

I worked in a law firm for almost a year, and I discovered I loved studying law, but I hated it in practice. That was in 2008, and like a lot of people at that time, I got laid off. I was actually relieved. However, I needed to pay the bills, so I worked a couple part-time jobs while I looked for a full-time one in another law firm. Then I decided to move to NJ, where my mom and stepdad had moved just a short time before that.

I had met my mom's boss a couple times prior to my moving back home, and when she mentioned to him that I'd be moving there, he said he had the perfect job for me. They worked at a commercial insurance company, and they were in the beginning stages of purchasing software for an electronic filing system. The entire company needed to be trained. I worked in an IT/operations role and implemented the application while training hundreds of employees around the country.

While I loved the job, I realized it wouldn't really lead me anywhere, and I'd have to decide on which route to take (within the company). I started taking insurance classes, and as of December, I was transferred to our Houston office as an Underwriter.

I've jumped from place to place and job to job and now here I am... doing something that isn't even remotely related to what I studied!

StealthMode · #5 10-14-2013, 02:26 AM

Ha! I'm so into my field that I'm still going to school for it.

At least my Master's (Counseling) has given me a leg up in my doctorate work (Psychology). In a few years, when I can finally say I'm no longer in school, I'll come back and answer again. LOL

ETA: I will say this, though. My mom majored in Education and became an educator. My dad majored in Engineering and became an engineer. My sister majored in Biology and became a biologist. I majored in Psychology and am becoming a psychologist.

We're a simple kinda family, ya know?

AGDee · #6 10-14-2013, 06:31 AM

My bachelor's degree is in Occupational Therapy and I did that for 13 years. As things in health care were getting more and more precarious, I realized there were no longer opportunities for OTs to advance. Within hospitals restructuring their organizations, OTs were now reporting to unit managers (nurses), not other OTs as they had. I've never been one to just "be" and the thought of being a Staff OT for another 25 years was discouraging. There was also less funding for inpatient mental health, especially for adolescents, so programs were closing all over the place. Under the threat of closure of the unit where I worked, I decided to take some online courses and get a Microsoft certification and get a job in IT. I got the certifications I wanted over the course of a year and transferred, within the same health system, to an entry level IT position. That position paid MORE than a veteran OT position, which really gave me pause.

Another 13 years later, I am finishing up a master's in IT Security and have been working in IT Security specifically for over two years now. In the 13 years I worked as an OT, my income increased by about 8%. In the 13 years I've worked in OT, my income has more than doubled. It was a very smart move and offers me a lot more variety, job choice, and opportunities for advancement.

angels&angles · #7 10-14-2013, 08:26 AM

I have a degree in English, and I work as a copyeditor/proofreader. I went into college thinking I wanted a journalism degree, but all the classes looked really boring, so I never even started. I realized I wanted to do editing about halfway through school. I'm about the only one of my friends who's using her undergraduate degree for what she planned, but I don't think anyone's unhappy that they have it. A good education is worth a lot.

Sen's Revenge · #8 10-14-2013, 08:49 AM

^^^ PLEASE bug me in 2014 about me hiring you.

English major. Now a novelist.

Xidelt · #9 10-14-2013, 08:54 AM

My undergrad is a double major in History and Classics. I thought I would go immediately to grad school, but decided I wanted to be a teacher my last semester (my parents were thrilled with this decision). So I took a job as a teacher's aide after I graduated and enrolled in a teacher cert program. I was convinced I wanted to be a middle school Social Studies teacher. The next year, I was hired as a middle school Language Arts teacher. Not what I originally wanted, but I was teaching. After 6 years, I started my M.Ed. to be a school librarian. About 5 months after I graduated from my Master's program, I was hired as a school librarian. So, in a roundabout way, I am doing what I went to school for.

DrPhil · #10 10-14-2013, 09:01 AM

I'm doing what I decided to do once I determined what I wanted to do. I don't see school as a career contract. I see it as a foundation for a range of expertise and experiences. You can do whatever the hell you desire after you finish school.

I can multitask in my career and make adjustments in a few years knowing that I have the foundation to do what I choose.

AOII Angel · #11 10-14-2013, 09:20 AM

I have a degree in Pre Medicine (seriously) so I am glad I got into medical school. I'm not sure what I would have done with that degree otherwise.

AXOrushadvisor · #12 10-14-2013, 09:45 AM

I was a fashion merchandising major in college. I know, stupid, right. I wish I would have gone for interior design but my 18 year old self wasn't smart enough to figure out that you really don't need to go to school to work retail. I lasted about 6 months being underpaid and working nights, weekends and holidays and I said forget it. I now sell personal protection in Operating Rooms. I wish I had majored in almost any thing else.

AOIILisa · #13 10-14-2013, 10:20 AM

I am! I majored undergrad in Business Admin/Finance, went back to get my MBA at age 24 while working full time as an accountant, got my CPA, and I've been doing accounting and finance for my whole career (except for one brief stint as a project manager). I can't imagine doing anything else and for me it's worked out really well.

SWTXBelle · #14 10-14-2013, 10:53 AM

I went to college to get an education.

I use it every day.

Yes, I ended up in teaching, but that wasn't why I went to school. I honestly earned two degrees in English with the goal of being educated. I had planned to be a full time mother, but that was financially impossible. I do love teaching.

I once read that close to 70% of college grads will work in a field other than the one they received their degree in, but cannot find the study now. At any rate, I think a college degree shows your ability to study and think in several different fields and a flexibility that would benefit almost any worker.

rockwallgreek · #15 10-14-2013, 10:54 AM

I majored in Early Childhood Development. Loved my job as an administrator at a Pre school, long before daycare... Until I had my own kids. I used up all my patience in my job, having none left for my kids. Not a good plan. Went into part time accounting for many years. Nothing to do with my major at all!