How many of you are working in the field of your college degree?
I graduated 45 years ago and until I retired I worked in the field of my degree.
One of my 3 sons work in his degree field, but the other two have degrees and work in area's totally different from what they went to school for.
The reason I ask is the place I normally go for coffee every morning has a great guy working the counter, early 30's loves his job but has a degree in psychology, spent 4 years and some good money and never used it.
So if you had to do it over, would you change your majors ?

Dad-yes
mom-yes
FIL-yes
MIL-yes

me- yes
wife-yes
sister1-yes
sister2-yes
SIL1-yes
SIL2-yes
BIL1-yes
BIL2-yes
BIL3-yes
BIL4-no

so yeah, 13/14 in my fam are in their field

I graduated with a degree in IT just before the advent of Microsoft and home computers so I've been very lucky to be able to stay employed in the field and now have a decent amount of experience to stay in management.

My challenge now is to stay relevant in a field where you constantly have to stay up to date.

I think the world is different now than say the 1970's.

While about 35% of people go to college now, back then it was even less and I think just being a college graduate, regardless of your degree , meant you would find meaningful employment.

Now I don't think you can go to college and just ride out that liberal arts degree - the high employment degrees are science, medical and engineering.

Even lawyers are having trouble finding work.

Nothing trumps experience, but truth be told a degree certainly is a step in the right direction and will likely get your foot in the door.

I did it backwards, started working in a field then went to college to get a degree in that field. Did it my entire career.

My wife has a Master's in Journalism, which means she about qualified for a Starbucks job. She worked in it for a few years but it's a dying field.

I wish a journalism degree meant more.

In the long run the lack of credible journalists and outlets with money to spend on investigative reporting is going to hurt this country.

48 years in the same field and still going, although at a slower pace...

Though I've always wanted to be a math teacher.

A bachelor's degree in psychology is much like a bachelor's degree in "liberal arts." It's very much a generalist degree and is used by a lot of the colleges as a sort of catch-all for students who still don't know what they want to do if they ever grow up. To actually work in the field of psychology you pretty much need a graduate degree of some kind.

Very much work in my chosen field.

When I'm hiring, I really don't care much about where the degree is from, or what field, unless it's a Master's level candidate. Someone with a bachelor's degree has demonstrated the ability to learn and persevere to a certain degree.

What I'm interested beyond that is if they are prima donna's, if they know how to work, and if they have common sense.

Bachelor of Science in Forest Management, Utah State U. Never worked a day in that field.

They were cranking out foresters like there was no tomorrow, so when I graduated there were no jobs and what few there were paid bupkus. I could have had a job making minimum wage driving around Nevada counting jojobe plants for some synthetic fuels research. People with a Masters degree were planting trees, that's a summer job for high school kids.

Took the last of my GI bill (the old one) and went to 6 months of vocational school to be a computer programmer. Have worked in that field for 34 years now and it has been an enjoyable time and allowed me to make a decent living.

A classmate of mine also graduated with a BS in Forestry but couldn't find work either. He went back to school to become an electrical contractor and last I heard was very successful at it.

Yes, 28 years later.

But there are plenty of almost worthless degrees available.

In some cases though, employers really don't care what you graduated with as long as you finished something. Lots of starters, not as many finishers.

No, and I wish I had gone to school for a teaching degree, which I have been chipping away at. When I get the hankering to teach, I sub. Phone rings about 4 days a week to do so, and it's a good way to fill time between fishing seasons, and when it's time to hunt, I don't answer the phone. Best of both worlds, IMO. Middle school Math is about as fun as it gets. I couldn't afford to be a full time teacher.

I graduated in 1985 with a degree in mechanical engineering. I went to work for the same company I did two summer internships and never left. Now I am happily retired, so, no.

Sad state of affairs. We need real journalists today but seldom get them.

Can't do much in the field with less then a Masters Degree.

Two degrees actually, a bachelor's in Wildlife Management and also one in Fisheries Managaement from the University of Idaho way back when. Had a program at that time where you essentially spent an additional year and qualified for both. Considering how competitive the carrer field was, it was a wise decision. Had no interest in a master's or doctor's degree as I was married with two young kids and needed to get on with life after spending 4 years in the Air Force before finishing college.

That being said, spent 30+ years working for the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife......when I started it was called the Wa. Dept. of Game. Only negative thing about that profession was, it went too damn fast. Guess I enjoyed myself too much, except for the politics and how it changed over the years.

In my opinion, your first question is not related to your statement "what they went to school for."

My chosen career field, at the time I went to college, was becoming a Marine Corps Officer. The commissioning program required a bachelor degree in any field of study. Therefore I chose "Wildlife Ecology" but never worked in that field, but I still qualified to work in my chosen field (Marine Corps.)

As far as those expensive degrees (is psychology an expensive degree everywhere or is it institution specific?) Dave Ramsey always advises callers to choose degrees in fields of study within which they are going to work.

I graduated in 1986 with a BS in Civil Engineering and have been working in that field since then.

Yes and no. I got my BS in biology. Really useless unless you add something to it. DDS 4 years later. 19 years and going.

Years ago, I picked up a short work stint through Manpower (temp employment agency). The outfit (ad agency) needed a bunch of young people (simple labor) to help set up their client's (Cummins) display at the Farm Progress Show. The first day there were a strong dozen or so, to get panels put in place, a tent erected, etc. The second day they needed fewer and I was surprised when the boss asked me and 3 or 4 others to come back. At the end of the day he told us he wanted one fellow to work for the duration of the show, to keep the displays clean, change light bulbs etc., the rest were done. He asked if I would do it. (Getting paid to change light bulbs? Heck yes!) He ended up giving me some great advice; told me why he had singled me out from the bunch that started. He saw I showed up on time - a bit earlier than asked; I knew how to work (the pick and shovel weren't strangers or enemies), and then he gave me some advice about college. He said they hired graduates, not necessarily that they had a specific degree, but that they had proved that they knew how to deal with hurdles, deadlines, and stress. He told me that they needed to train whomever they hired anyway.

I've always remembered that. The 'paper' you have often means less than the fact that you have it. There's a bunch of other stuff that's often as or more important. I ended up getting a teaching degree that provided a good career in rural Alaska. I never did get paid for the best education I had because I learned so much more after I got my degree than I did before (and I didn't take classes just to pad my income - yeah, foolish I suppose).

What? You didn't want to sell pharmaceuticals?

BS in Civil Engineering. Worked in construction management until the economy tanked around 2007 so I fell back on my civil degree and have worked for DOT and now a local municipality as their street and stormwater manager. I'm glad I decided upon Civil as it really opens up a lot of job possibilities.

Lots of friends with history, psychology, communications, etc degrees that don't work in a related field

Similar story for me with a wildlife mgt BS. Minimum wage jobs, preferential hiring of women and minorities to meet quotas, masters degrees barely making 20k. I was the first one in my family to go to college so precious little career advice. Complete waste of 4 years.

Later got an AS in Respiratory therapy and was working at two hospitals before I even graduated and am still in the field 15 years later. Trade schools rule. If you want to go the traditional route, either plan on at least a masters or better yet a doctorate. A bachelors degree by itself isn't worth using for butt wipe when you consider the huge cost plus 4 to 5 years of lost income while you are in school.

I graduated in 1973 from Kansas State. I was fortunate to land a job with a large ag related corporation. I worked for them 39 years and retired at 61.
Part of my career was sort of related to my degree, but for the most part my responsibilities were not related to my degree.

Yes I would have changed my major. Did an associates in CJ and my body has been wearing out. Want to get into the medical field (RN) but no time or money to do such things. May get a bachelors in something but undecided which to go for?

Interesting topic.

We all went to college but the only one of us who's working in the area of their degree is my youngest sister. Masters in Education from Clemson (Go Tigers) and she's a very accomplished teacher. I sure hope she's able to continue.

Oh wait nephew graduated Citadel and he's now the doorman at the Charleston Marriott and chasing WS Panic concerts. So maybe him as well.

My major was in religion (they gave me free tuition in exchange for soccer and track) up until I became employee 192 at a very small company called Microsoft. So NO I did not become a minister. Shocker huh?? But then again I attended just about every college in Charleston.

I've got a small handful of degrees but never worked in the field per se until the last three years of my working life.

I work in the field of one of my degrees. They are all somewhat related and have complemented each other well in my career.

Scholarships and coop/interships saved me a lot of money on education. The ability to work in the field your studying while working a degree is priceless.

Same start, different finish. Once I got my BS in wildlife, I found about ABAWM (anybody but a white male). I couldn't imagine working in another field, so I just kept on with additional degrees in wildlife and doing what wildlife work I could find. Eventually the accumulation of experience coupled with a Piled Higher, Deeper degree, I got a permanent wildlife job. Bounced around agencies, but stayed in wildlife until I retired.

Mine is in human resource training and development.

I do not use it on a daily basis, but it does get used when I teach adult students.

Like many, I too did it backwards, as I was teaching shooting long before I ever got the degree.

Doing it over again, if I was not going to carry a gun for a living, I would have not gone to a traditional college.

I would have gone to a tech school and learned how to run a mill, lathe, use EDM and CNC machines, and develop firearms related things.

I always wanted to teach physics, but I don't understand all that junk in the books...

My bachelors is in Psychology and my Masters is in Psychology and Education. I wish I had stayed in a little longer and gotten certified in education, but I didn't although my first job when I got finished was teaching at a small college. Got both degrees in 4 years after I got out of the Marines. Most of my life I've been in sales, the last 29 in construction materials. That is a field all on it's on and takes a fair amount of education to keep up to date of what all is changing and what new products are being used. I can say my education opened doors for me so I have no problem with the time I spent getting it. If I had it to do over again I'd probably get more education and go that way.

worked and paid for my undergraduate degree by working as a licensed radio announcer. the FCC, after a written test issued me a Third Class Radio Telephone License with a Broadcast endorsement.

after i got out of Uncle Sam's Army, they graciously agreed to pay for my MBA under the GI Bill of Rights. Worked for the same agency for the entire length of the full walk.

can't imagine ever having done anything else. well, wait, maybe i could have gone to electrician's vo-tech training right out of high school. but the local Baptist College lured me in.

If I could go back...
I would do the same. Though it was fun to know where the Battle of Guagamela was and post it on the SITMAP during Desert Shield (resulting in many, many pushups), my (formal)education never directly paid off. My children will be poor as a result of my juvenile decisions.

I read someone in the teaching field say this the other day

We need to start asking kids what problems they want to solve instead of what job they want.

That thinking will drive their decision making for what school or vocation they want to go to and give them a "mission" in life at an early start.

I thought it was food for thought.

yeah, i can see that too. in an economy that's growing leaps & bounds, such as when new home & commercial construction is booming, it kinda makes sense to encourage "kids' to get construction based training.

when the economy is just hobbling along, replacement of retiring workers in the various trades, and some incremental new growth are the two main opportunities for new jobs, it would seem.

how best to absorb the many new high school graduates pouring into the workforce each year is a worthy challenge for all of us, because some of our kids, grandkids, neices, nephews, neighborhood kids probably fall into that category. and someday we'll want one of those kids to come along and purchase our house, when we move to florida to live on the beach.

worked on heavy equipment in my early days, and was working on finishing a degree in diesel tech so I work in a bigger shop when I damaged my back. Switched to computer science, took almost seven years of night school to finish a BS (while working full time). That was 20 years ago and I'm still in the field. So I guess yes.

My backs still pretty messed up, so I guess it was a good choice since I would have never lasted turning wrenches.

About the only thing a bachelor's degree in psychology is good for is to get an advanced degree in psychology.

Well, there is one other thing he could use it for. To get into law school.

My parents spent umpteen thousand dollars so that I can now tell anyone who asks what the Latin binomial of Douglas fir is, or that "biloba" is the only species in the genus ginkgo. Quercus is the oak genus and aspirin (salicylic acid) comes from the bark of willow trees, genus Salix.

This information has helped me earn exactly $0.00 in the last 40 years but hey, thanks, Mom and Dad!

Btw, I enjoyed having sex with college girls, too!

My degree is in Biology (genomics) and My wife's is in Medicine and our degrees are key to our careers.

My youngest sister got her degree in Psychology and her Master's in Economics from LSE. She is now the Economist for the State of Alaska working on rural energy issues. Psychology and Economics have a lot in common.

I come from the other side of the equation here. Graduated high school in 1980. I didn't got straight to college. Two years later and I was working a variety of jobs that obviously weren't career builders in any field. Went back to Youngstown State for programming. In the mean time I ended up in the optical field working in a wholesale lab. 30 years later I'm still in the optical industry, and I never finished school. A better job came along in my field up in Cleveland, and I left school. I'm proud of the career I've built. I'll never make huge money, and most likely would have done better with more education. I don't regret my choices, as I wasn't a very good student. I currently manage a Vision Center for Wal-Mart and mentor 4 younger Vision Center Managers. I like what I do, and there's a roof over our head, and food on the table.

Only one thing better, that is doing that and living in Montana...

My oldest daughter got a master's degree in medical illustration and she's more than good at it. Here's a page of notes she doodled up for one of her classes.



She got a good job in it right out of college,..worked it for about 4 years and didn't really like it. Her boyfriend writes code and got her started on the process. She self taught herself in about a year, then got a job writing code making more money than she did doing medical illustration,..with no formal training.

She just kind of decides what she wants to do, then does it.

Used GI Bill to go to college. Asked around to see what was the hardest class most of my college grad friends ever took. They all ranted about their Incredibly Difficult Economics class/classes that ruined their perfect GPA's. So I got a degree in it.

Every interview I've ever sat in the interviewer has shared their own Economics Class Woes. So it played out like I had hoped.

A BS degree in Economics makes you really good at graphing. I can graph the [bleep] out of stuff. As you can imagine I've never used most of it. And I'm not employed in that field.

I did learn how to spot trends and analyze turns in the market on an above average level. This has helped me be financially successful no matter the economic conditions.

Would I do it again? No. I wanted to quit after my first semester. That was the right decision.

Graduated with a degree in Forestry and wildlife management with a minor in biology.

I was recently promoted to vice president of engineering. Go figure.

This past September marked my fiftieth year of working in the forest products industry. Shortly after completing high school I went logging, and then I started working the swing shift in sawmills during the school year to pay for the cost of obtaining a B.S. in forestry. At 68 years old I certainly don’t have the lungs and legs that I had in the summer of 1965, but I am still pawing around in the brush, on a part-time basis, appraising timber for a sawmill. CP.

Re Shrapnel -"Only one thing better, that is doing that and living in (Alaska)"

Fixed for you....

I worked 30 years as a teacher and coach before retiring 5 years ago. Getting the BA degree and adding a Masters a few years later paid off well for me.

But I'm not so sure it is the value it used to be. After I graduated in 1980 my 1st 4 months salary earned me enough to pay for 4 years of college. My son graduated HS in 2007. For him to go to the same college, graduate in 4 years with the same degree, and go into the same job, it would take about 40 months salary to pay for the 4 years tuition.

He went to 3 different colleges in 3 years and realized it just wasn't gonna work. He was accepted into an Elecrical Apprenticeship program and will finish in 1 more year. He is making more money right now than most of the other guys he went to HS with that have college degrees and when he finishes his training will be making about 80% of what I earned my last year before retiring.

How many of the 94 million Americans out of work have degrees and still can't find jobs????????

Degrees are worthless without full-time decent paying JOBS!

And the liberal garbage most colleges teach in nothing short of progressive mind washing.

Yes and no. I never really got a big bump out of my master's degree in my field, but for many fields a Master's is now the new Bachelors.

On top of that, college costs have gone completely nuts, inflated by easy federally guaranteed student loans. That gives us people with degrees in Music History they pay $120,000 for......... Good luck trying to pay that back giving piano lessons....

On the other hand, graduate from a cheap state school with a bachelor's in electrical engineering, and you make that tuition back in no time. Starting salaries north of 60K makes life a lot easier.

well, i don't hardly know what to say. honestly, i never had sex with a college girl, although i know that's it's probably pretty good.

pinus taeda, pinus elliotti, pinus strobus, and even pinus virginiana can be used as input to help one make a good living. but, on the other hand, plenty of folks don't choose to follow the path.

right now, we should be thankful for the red chi-coms and their willingness to recycle paper product and ship it back to the US.. we are in a global economy afterall.

but don't ever dare get a degree in forest management, marketing & utilzation unless you believe in it, or someone else is footing the bill.

forget the underlying eco=system that supports everything humans do or want to accomplish on the Earth. it's all for free, just go out there and make money. afterall, that's what it's all about, right?

Yeah, helping a son navigate thru all the obstacles and getting an education that will get him employed and making a good income with good long prospects, and not burdened with student loans and debts, can be a handful....

I think in today's world, best advise is for a young person to go to a community college... what they usually teach is a lot more applicable to employment, along with less of a tuition rape....


even tho I have plenty of post high school education, I still go take classes at the local community college.. to refresh knowledge or learn new stuff more in depth.. I just audit the courses, so I don't have to worry about a grade...
just have fun basically...and take classes a lot more seriously than I did as an undergrad.. lets face it, how many other guys did and will admit, to spending more time and effort into getting loaded and laid, than they spent efforts with the books?

Last semester met a young man I got real impressed with...

was in the automotive class I was taking...comes from a mudhole town mainly full of hippies and has more dogs than people for a population...he desires to become a doctor...

his parents have no money... so his plan was to earn an associates degree in automotive technology... so he can work as a mechanic...he graduated, and now is employable so he can support himself and pay for school... he's over there taken classes in A&P right now, and getting himself set up for what its going to take to get himself to PA school...if that goes well, he'll pass that hurdle and then decide if Med School is in his future or not...

I'm impressed because Devon is relying on himself to do his education, and do so while not racking up a hug debt to have to pay off one day...he has a plan and has a route to get there.. plus is doing it in step, to give the flexibility to change as he needs to....

Good to see a young man with his head on straight, than many clueless suburbanite kids, who go get themselves into a huge 6 figure student loan debt, in a discipline that they will never find a job in....

Wildlife Managment with a minor in Ranching. So yes.

Anyone who goes to college and ends up with a Liberal Arts degree and $100k in debt, has parents that have no clue about giving them directions. Just MHO. Even if they have to work and pay for college, they should do their best to avoid debt but for sure, study something that will get them a job, medical, engineering, computers SOMETHING. Do your homework

i agree with everything you say. your son is to be commended. and if the bureaucracy doesn't re-institute the draft to fight the King's enemies, he'll have a shot at making a good living, based upon his own efforts, and determination.

obviously a lot of what is happening now is beyond the control or direction of individuals no matter how hard they plan or work.

but, at the end of the day, hard work goes a long way in getting to the next step on the rung of the ladder.

Yes half way, I have 2 degrees one in ag/ economics and a 2nd in accounting. I'm a CPA that works for a private organization as their finance officer. My wife also is in her degree field. Both of us over 30 years in our respective careers.

my brother has a masters in psychology, he's a personal trainer. unless you have a phd in that field you're not going to make a lot of money.

Right now we have a bifurcated job market.

For fully educated people who finished their degree we are near full employment, for the uneducated, the story is very different.

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.

Yes I am

I am sort of still working in the field. Got a BS in mechanical engineering. Got a job in a large manufacturing company designing new products. Worked my up to engineering manager. Went back to school and got a MBA. I have been at the same company 20 years now and I now manage multiple product lines for profit/loss, engineering, market, etc, all aspects. So no longer pure engineering, but it's still in the mix.

Get a degree in a hard science or math and you will be fine assuming you can communicate just a little bit.

B.A Mus 1962 Yes, for a while until
M.Mus. 1970 and continued in that endeavor.
Ph.D 1970 and doing it ever since, but much less of it now - gettin' old.

My undergraduate degree is in Business Administration; my Masters is in Economics. I spent 10 years Economic analysis; 22 years in technical Engineering Program Management and approximately 10 years in Business Development, retiring at 72.

I've been fortunate to have had a number of greatly satisfying jobs since graduating.

Humm... Similar thing here.

I've always wanted to be a Medical Doctor and practice surgery,
but, I couldn't differentiate the shinbone from the knee bone!

I got a degree in petroleum engineering. I didn't have much fun in college, but I graduated and got a great job and I have a lot of fun now without being on a college budget. I am a petroleum engineer so I do work In the field I studied. I don't know what else I would study...maybe metallurgical or aerospace engineering. Honestly love what I do.

I tell my younger cousins who just got out of the marine corps that a college degree is worthless if it doesn't differentiate you and that they'd be better off learning to be a plumber or electrician and saving their money than getting 90% of the college degrees offered now (and the associated cost/debt).

They didn't like the sound of that and liked the idea of easier majors than engineering or accounting or con-sci, etc. I asked them if they would rather have fun while poor or have fun when they make good money, because it's hard to do both. But they're starting to listen...

My sister, on the other hand, will be a student for a while. Her major is one where the goal is to be a college professor to teach other kids worthless information and eventually how to be a professor to teach more kids worthless information. Hers is the type of major I don't understand. It's worthless unless you find more idiots to justify your existence by convincing them they need to find more idiots to justify theirs. A Ponzi scheme really.

Unlike you two eggs, I do get all that junk in the books. When I needed a 'filler' class in college I always took a math class, it was a guaranteed 'A' and I LOVE math.

I ate up math as well. Some of my 4th year electives were graduate level calculus courses, "Perturbations" being most memorable. Taught by a Cal Tech PhD that I had for many calculus courses. He was brilliant and is still teaching.

Lemme guess: does the title of the degree involve the word, "Studies"?

FC

My BS is in math. Carried over well to the MS in Biomechanics and MS in Computer Science. If you have strong math skills, the ability to communicate well, and a degree in a technical/engineering field you'll never lack for a job.