Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire College Degree

Where do the trades ( electrician, plumber, welder,mechanic, etc) figure into this?

Wildlife biology with a math minor, I turned wrenches, during collage, then became the service writer for a shop, now I do property management, so no, huge waste of time and money, only job I even was eligible to apply for in Wyoming or Montana at the time paid $1.00 more than min. Wage and was temporary.
To do it over I would have gone the law route, and specialized in real estate law. But hind sight is always 20/20

The trades are where it is at..

I have a BS in Physical Education from East Stroudsburg University and taught for 30 years and a MS in Educational Administration from the University of Scranton and have been an administrator for the past 4 years. I have coached at least one sport for the past 34 years too! My MS was driven purely from an economic point of view as teaching salaries on Colorado leave a lot to be desired. Ahhh but there is money to be made in administration. So yes I have been employed in the field I pursued in college.

Dad was a Methodist minister...with me the oldest of 5 kids. I knew if I was going to get through college all I could count on from my folks was moral support.
From about 12 or 13, I knew that I wanted to work in the outdoors...thinking field work in wildlife mgmt, forestry, conservation, etc...I worked summers for Missouri Dept of Conservation and loved it, which confirmed to me that path was my true "calling".
Local "Junior College" as they were called, was the only affordable option. Fortunately the school changed to 4 year program end of my 2nd year, so continued there.
Closest option to the study I wanted was a Biology degree. My 3rd year(took me 5 years) I discovered as others have noted, that to get in the door you had to have a Masters or better to get work....so added courses in Chemistry and Secondary Education to expand my options. Graduated with degree in Biology, minor in Chemistry. Found work in Quality Assurance for Quaker Oats...didn't like that so went back to finish teaching degree. Taught biology/chemistry/gen science for 11 years at small high school in north central Missouri. Completed my Masters in Science Ed during that time.
Wife and I got wild hair for something different...so ended up in AZ.
Found a job as Chemist in the Environmental Lab for the state of AZ. Really enjoyed doing the environmental work, but still wanted field work.
After about 11 years in the lab, I transferred to AZ Dept Environmental Quality.
For almost 7 years, I was out and about the state as a "hydrologist", doing groundwater and surface water sampling for the water survey of aquifers and drainage basins throughout the state. Loved it...felt good about the work I was doing....good science, driving and hiking the back country, seeing parts of the state very few others had or would ever see...and not using up my truck, gas, and tires to do it.
Some health issues were pushing me back to a desk, so ended up back at the Environmental Lab for another 11 years, until I retired 1August15.
Ironically, I found throughout my working life that my chemistry minor got me in the door for most of my jobs...more than the Biology degree.
In general, I would have to say I have worked in my degree area or near it in one way or another...and far and away its given me a good ride.
I always encouraged my students and my own kids...to choose a path/education that provides the greatest range of opportunity to earn a living....in an area of work/study that they truly enjoy. It may be college, it may be trade school, it may be an apprenticeship(if they still do that?)....whatever is right for you.

Not my son Gus....

I have a medical background, so I have been advising my son...

his route is he first got an EMT certification at 18, and then state won't let people work as one until 21...he went thru and now is an adviser to an Explorer Post sponsored by a Paramedic and Air Ambulance outfit....

he has been working on getting his Paramedic license via an Associates Degree right now....

still following my advise, he is wrapping that up and will be working toward a BS in Healthcare Management....

from there he'll decide whether to get a Masters in the Healthcare Management end, or go for Physician's Assistant School...or may do both...

I pass on, that if getting degrees in the right stuff is worth his time.. diversify them but make them related in the same field...the Medical Field is going to allow job security where ever he desires to go in life, and with the government's nose in it, there will be no end for the need of Health Care Management types....

we are also making sure, he isn't saddled with a huge education debt, and he is taking things that make him all the more employable and desirable.....

My son was a Straight A student and also an Eagle Scout... and volunteers as a teaching aid, when he has the time to do so...

So I've raised him right, but also he responded well to it...

some kids do the exact opposite of what their parents advise them to do, just to cater to an identity crisis and insecurities...that certainly hasn't changed over the years...

Yes, mostly,

Fisheries degree, emphases in Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture. Not working in either of those.

Do work in the fisheries field though. Didn't go to college for a second "career" to end up working in a "job" I didn't like. First "career" in a long string of jobs was not what I ever planned on doing and although it paid well, I didn't like much about it, including working indoors, in a city.

Like others have mentioned, the fish and wildlife, forestry, and related careers pay crap at first, seasonal jobs, temporary appointments, low pay, etc. At 40+ it was tough, but I knew by then that money wasn't everything. Now, 20 years after graduation I "do OK". Not getting rich, but live outside of town, work outdoors a lot, see lots of country, work with some cool fish, etc. Can't see advancing much more as it would mean "admin work" and not much dealing with fish. Oh well, guess I'll probably not die rich and as the song says..

"I've never seen an armored car in a funeral yet."

Rather be doing this than sitting at a desk in a "cube"

Geno

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from a liberal arts institution. A MS in Range Ecology from a land grant school. I have spent my whole working career in fields related to that. Maybe I've been lucky I and a few of my buddies haven't had a whole lot of trouble finding jobs in natural resource management. In those fields, a graduate degre is a huge help. The willingness to move where ever the job is is an even bigger help.

IIRC, that one was a mouth full... Pseudotsuga menziesii

My 2 semesters of dendrology were very enjoyable, we learned many species most of us had never seen yet.

This.

Got my RN about 20 years ago and have used it ever since.

What matters more for what I do is the certifications. I have ACLS, PALS, CCRN and TNCC.

I got an Associates degree in what was formally called Law Enforcement in 1979. I spent 32 years as an LEO. I have since picked up enough credits for a second Associates degree. With GI Bill I have never had to owe one penny for a college loan. I will never see a Bachelors degree. It's too late for me. Between my retirements and my current job I'm making more money than I ever imagined.

I would highly recommend that a student do the Community College route before ever going to a 4 year institution. If you have rich parents that is one thing, if you have GI Bill go for it. If you have neither, start with a 2 year degree and then move on to a 4 year if you think you have found your niche.

It seems math is the key to success. If you can do math you can do anything. If you can't do math, learn to weld, fix airplanes or big trucks but stay away from the 4 year school because you will only end up owing a lot of money for very little return. I chose to be an LEO. It paid off for me.

By the way, I tell every young person who wants to be a Cop, to forget it. There are too many risks and not enough rewards. IT is where it's at now. My son is a CAD drawer with an Associates degree and is making twice the money I ever made at his age. He's not an Engineer but he is the next thing to it. He's not good in math either. AutoCAD does all the math for him.
kwg

I graduated in 1981 with an Associates Degree in Journalism. Back then the instructors still pounded into us the idea we were the watchdog of government and that we had to be objective and fair above all else. My short foray into the field proved the real world to be a much different place then college. I found even the small town papers to be agenda driven and far from fair or objective. Disheartened, I left the field shortly after college and other than a few odd free lance pieces and a couple years as a volunteer editor of a quarterly newsletter, have not worked in the field.

I bounced around in a few interesting jobs before I ended up in corrections, chosen mostly for the pay and benefits. After some major surgery for my wife with marginal insurance left us with a huge copay bill, I quit chasing rainbows and settled into a career.

Though it was several years after I left journalism before I entered corrections I was frequently asked how I got from journalism to corrections. I always said working with inmates gave me a chance to work with a better class of people than what I found in the field of journalism. Journalists don't seem to find that near as funny as I do.

I was the first one in my family to go to college, picked one that my cousin went to, it turned out to be 70% female

Decided on Forestry and transferred to a Forestry school for Wildlife Management (at tha time it was 80% male ) . Once there I switched to bugs on account of I already knew most everything about wildlife management. Found employment in the field. But OMG being out in the woods by myself all day long was DULL....

Took a teaching job in the Peace Corps, came back thinking I'd get a Master's in Agricultural Entomology and take it back overseas. Ag Ento was dull too. While getting my Master's I got certified to teach high school and here I is, thirty years later.

Ain't worked hardly a lick in all that time since.

Birdwatcher

I have a degree in History, but some years later I wanted to get a job, so I went to the VoTech school and got a CDL, and now I am a truck driver.
I loved being in college, I was a starter on the soccer team, I was the school photographer, I loved studying English and History, I was in school plays, and there were lots of friendly coeds. Wouldn't change a thing.

i always believed the more technical degrees were the best route to a decent job right out of college. the liberal arts degrees not so much at the beginning, but after a few years then one can run into liberal arts majors in some very high, well-paid positions. but it takes them time to get there, and not everyone makes it.

BBA in accounting 1967 MB Finance 1976.. US Army 1967-1969. Worked as an accountant/ Financial executive until 1995 when retired, Once you get out of the trenches finance pays very well but gets really boring.

Yes, I work in my field of study, for the past 15 years.

I tried college a couple of times,...actually got a job in a field I studied for a couple of years. But by then I had been ruined by machine shop culture.

So I went on back to them.

How many of you are working in the field of your college degree?

I mostly am, I knew I wanted to be in the engineering/construction/architectural field - somewhere . . . Got a BS in Architectural Studies, another 2 years would have put a Masters of Architecture on the wall but I was really tired of the school grind so left with what I had in hand. Got hired into a job at a major fertilizer manufacturer's engineering dept, which led to working at a small structural engineering firm, which led to a Fortune 500 construction company engineering dept position. Left that when my bride had the opportunity to relocate as an HR Director in a warmer climate than N.E. Nebraska. After 4 months of thumb-twiddling at home and 27 years after my first job post-college, I finally got a job at an architectural firm. After 3 years of that I left there and started my own stay at home design and custom drafting outfit and just had my 10th anniversary of that move in late August. I have been fortunate to do something I really like doing for over 40 years (at this point) and plan on doing it for several more years.