College Degree Outcome

oldlongwalker

oldlongwalker

Member
Location
Los Angeles, CA
How much of your working life was directly relevant to your college major?

I was the first in my family to go to college. So I received no advice regarding a major and no help financially. I ended up doing what interested me at the time--philosophy. I even went so far as to complete a PhD.

I taught college for 2 years before leaving academia. None of my work since then has been even remotely related to my degree. But I think it has made me a better person in the larger scheme of things.
 

I got a BA when I was 30. I taught ESL/EFL for about 10 years in total. A university degree (any kind) was required for that.

When I was a child, the men worked in factories and the women stayed home. I knew that a woman could be a waitress, retail worker, nurse, teacher, or secretary. I was clueless about other possibilities. If I'd known anything about jobs, or that I'd need to support myself, I'd have done things differently.
 
oldlongwalker said:
How much of your working life was directly relevant to your college major?
Click to expand...
Most of it.

After age 30 I only worked as an engineer, could not have done that without the degree.

Both of my parents were college graduates and supported my going. That was a big help, however my father was also an engineer and his advice was always not to take engineering. Not sure why, glad I ignored it.
 

On my first day at IBM, the instructor asked, "how many of you have a degree?" A number of hands went up.
Well, he said, forget it. That's the way it was in those days. They employed people who had the appropriate background and taught them the job. I took electrical & electronic engineering, but was dismayed to find that it was mostly maths. I never used most of what I learned at uni.
 
I got my EE degree when I was 20. I had been working with electronics at an early age and it really helped me in my lab courses. Later in life, I took advantage of tuition reimbursement from my employers,
 
Unfortunately I wasn't able to work after my degrees. I had a severe disorder that I am positive no one would have hired me with. I was even told that by a disability expert.

However, I have used all my learnings in my life and have helped all I could without any compensation.
 
I didn't earn any degrees. I entered college twice, but left after 1 or 2 semesters due to family issues. But I did finish 3 different job-related courses at 3 different schools; one for a psychiatric nurse license, one for a license in phlebotomy, and one for a certificate in the now obsolete field of photo offset lithography. I also earned a license to operate heavy equipment and a "certificate of achievement" for a 12-week course in food service businesses management.

I never got a job in lithography, because computers, but I did work as an ad artist for a small newspaper for over a year. I was a psych nurse and a phlebotomist for about 10 1/2 years. I've also worked in construction, was a heavy-equipment operator, a sawmill worker, a restaurant manager, and I co-owned a liquor/grocery & convenience store for several years.

Very good, although sometimes loosely related outcomes to my extended education experiences.
 
I got my Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science degree in 1996 when I was 38 and worked as a software engineer until retirement about four years ago. I was self-employed for the latter 10 years of my career and did website development.

Before that, I earned an Associates Degree in machine drafting technology when I was 30 and worked as a draftsman for 3-1/2 years. I got sick of being the peon (one of three) so I decided to get a Bachelor's degree and become an engineer.

Before that, I was a construction equipment mechanic... first small engines and then diesel equipment.

Before that, I pumped gas, did some construction work, washed dishes, worked in two factories, worked at a drug store... what else? I installed water purifiers...
 
Murrmurr said:
I didn't earn any degrees. I entered college twice, but left after 1 or 2 semesters due to family issues. But I did finish 3 different job-related courses at 3 different schools; one for a psychiatric nurse license, one for a license in phlebotomy, and one for a certificate in the now obsolete field of photo offset lithography. I also earned a license to operate heavy equipment and a "certificate of achievement" for a 12-week course in food service businesses management.

I never got a job in lithography, because computers, but I did work as an ad artist for a small newspaper for over a year. I was a psych nurse and a phlebotomist for about 10 1/2 years. I've also worked in construction, was a heavy-equipment operator, a sawmill worker, a restaurant manager, and I co-owned a liquor/grocery & convenience store for several years.

Very good, although sometimes loosely related outcomes to my extended education experiences.
Click to expand...
I forgot to mention my Salvage & Retrieval Divers license. That actually got me paid to go scuba diving.
 
oldlongwalker said:
How much of your working life was directly relevant to your college major?

I was the first in my family to go to college. So I received no advice regarding a major and no help financially. I ended up doing what interested me at the time--philosophy. I even went so far as to complete a PhD.

I taught college for 2 years before leaving academia. None of my work since then has been even remotely related to my degree. But I think it has made me a better person in the larger scheme of things.
Click to expand...
We have a doctor in the house! :)
 
oldlongwalker said:
How much of your working life was directly relevant to your college major?

I was the first in my family to go to college. So I received no advice regarding a major and no help financially. I ended up doing what interested me at the time--philosophy. I even went so far as to complete a PhD.

I taught college for 2 years before leaving academia. None of my work since then has been even remotely related to my degree. But I think it has made me a better person in the larger scheme of things.
Click to expand...
Well done you on completing your PhD. You are right about your degree, it's more than just academia. I read English but spent a lifetime climbing the greasy pole of management. My wife is a keen dress maker, it's her hobby, far different from her working life as a paramedic in the ambulance service. Her golden rule in dress making is to measure twice and cut once. Metaphorically that has been my mantra too.
 
All of it, including most of the elected courses that caught my fancy.

I have a BS in Engineering Science (with a minor in International Relations)
A MS in Management (From night school)
A MS in Electronic Systems Technology.

Who would have guessed that metallurgy, mechanical engineering or environmental chemistry courses would be so useful to an electronics engineer? I never anticipated the degree to which I would use statistics or that International Relations would be as valuable to me in several of my overseas assignments.
 
I have an even sillier major than you, @oldlongwalker
A Master's in Medieval Studies
Yes, I really use my medieval French, German and Latin, NOT!
I must be a dilettante, there's no other reason.
I was also the first in my immediate family to earn a BA.
 
I was driven to make the trauma of my early years count for something. Pushed myself all the way to PhD. I believe the opportunities this level of education provided may well have saved my life. Certainly, they provided me with a vocation, a sense of purpose and belonging. I am beyond grateful.♥️
 

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