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I have a degree in Business but if I had it all over again I'd probably major in Philosophy. Anyway, I'm sure many of your saw the movie Back To School staring Rodney Dangerfield. It was a great movie with some good lessons from a real business man, Thornton Mellon.
One exchange that made me laugh because it was so true was when the professor was describing how to build a factory. He asked the class where it should be built; Thornton replied, fantasyland.
He then went on to school the business professor on how things work in the real world. Telling him you'd have to grease the local politicians for the zoning problems. kickbacks to the carpenters, dealing with teamsters, building inspectors, waste disposal and so forth.
And he's right. A liberal arts degree prepares you much better for stuff like that than does a business degree. College's teaching business today make it much too technical and narrow. You need other more important skills like communication, philosophy, and English to succeed in the world of business.
If you don't believe me, just ask Mr. Mellon.
No matter what people say on these forums (which can equate to the theoretical musings of an university classroom), in the real world, liberal arts degree holders can do pretty well for themselves in business. You can't take intelligence and ambition out of a person just because they have a BA in English.
No matter what people say on these forums (which can equate to the theoretical musings of an university classroom), in the real world, liberal arts degree holders can do pretty well for themselves in business. You can't take intelligence and ambition out of a person just because they have a BA in English.
I'm sure liberal arts degree holders could do just fine in business, as could people without any degree. The problem is the part about actually getting hired.
Internships? Where did you do yours? I worked at a school district with my degree in Geography, doing planning for school bus routes. I was offered a job there.
It is less about the degree, and more about what you do with it...my son has a dual degree in Geography and Geology, used to do maps for USGS, ski resorts and avalanche plans. Now he works in Wyoming.
Grades still matter for most professional schools, from b-school to med school.
If the OP has an A average, he should leverage that by going to a top law school or a business school. Study hard for 3 months for the LSAT or GMAT, I mean 8 hrs a day studying, no slacking at all. Absolutely destroy the exam (98th percentile or higher) and get into a top 20 b-school or law school. Then you can forget about the whole unemployed urban planning shenanigans. For all the crap that people say about the law field, a law degree from a top 20 law school will still land you a well paid job.
Many of my college buds did this after feeling utterly hopeless, they are now making 6 figure salaries. There are people who would kill to have had an A average in undergrad. This is where its value comes to play.
I switched from econ to medicine at 26. This is very common. It really depends on how much fire you have in your belly.
I definately would not encourage someone to get into more debt for a law degree, law degrees are a dime a dozen and there are plenty of lawyers out of work.
Hudlander, so what have been your strategies in your job search? Where have you looked?
Not to sound like an ass but for months and months now you keep posting the same type of threads just whining and complaining. So really, and I am not patronizing or being an ass when I ask this, but what are you doing? Last time I remember you were living in the DC area? I am not saying getting a job in DC is super easy, but it's doing much better than most places and social sciences degrees probably see the most success in DC.
I haven't read all the other responses, so I don't know if this was already suggested. Since you have a degree in Geography, have you thought of working for a GPS mapping company (i.e. Google, mapquest, etc.)? Maybe you could use what you know and get training (possibly an apprenticeship) for surveying?
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