Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm in the same postion. I got a BS in biomedical science because that was the degree to get if you wanted to go to med school. Well, I decided against med school and now I don't know what to do. I don't want to be a clinician (I'm very introverted) and I hear bad stories about getting a Ph.D. I can't get a job because I basically have no skills. My degree really pigeonholed me. I've been really disillusioned by this whole field. I'm 25 by the way.
I was just not mature enough to choose what I wanted to do with my life, nor was I really knowledgeable in the job market/economy. I don't have any connections to people in the science field. All I know are accountants, lawyers, and business people. I have friends who studied what are considered to be "lesser majors" (although I don't think that), like communications, marketing, etc...They are all doing way better than me.
I don't know anymore. No grad or professional school really appeals to me. Is it weird that I'm considering getting another bachelors degree in something practical like accounting, computer science, etc? I want to learn a skill that could be useful in any business. Most businesses do not need a biomed major.
Similar to some earlier posts I would recommend pursuing your passions. I am 45 so I have a different angle but love what you are doing. Consider a teaching degree in the subject as a way to make some steady income while you pursue what you love. Life is about the whole experience of what you do, money is only part of that.
I have a biology degree as well. I don't regret it, but I don't use it either. But I don't use my chemistry degree either. I work in a hospital lab so I am still in a STEM field.
If you want both bio + computer, you could get a health IT degree/certification. IT companies for LIS, nursing software are growing because of the move to electronic records. The companies hire people out of school for good money.
Another bio + computer skill is to train people on using the equipment, or provide field service (if you like to travel)
There are water treatment plant jobs that require a science degree, good pay, fairly easy (but repetitive/boring) work and has pensions. But it is kind of a "lab". Even the local beer brewery hires people with a bio degree to monitor the yeast cultures then "test taste" the samples each night before leaving
You could work for pharm/clinical trial companies and be on the PR departments. The science degree would put you ahead of some of them.
Not too sure why people are callus about going bio degree with intent of Med school and blaming it on someone "pressuring" them. They should have been researching what they could do with the degree even without med school. The bio degree isn't a "dead" end.
You knocked down $30k of debt to $6k in seven months on you admin salary?!
That is seriously, seriously impressive. Let me add another seriously to seriously, seriously, seriously impressive.
And, you have a bachelor's degree.
You are way, way ahead of the curve. Perhaps a bit down right now, but there is light.
Just a thought - you like writing, you have a biology background. Have you looked into technical or scientific writing? I work with engineers and scientists. Many are great people, many have great minds. Few are comfortable communicating their sometimes/typically complex ideas and processes to those of us who don't have similar backgrounds. But there is a huge need for this and I believe it is a growing area.
Again, great job of knocking down that debt. Maybe you might consider financial planning. And congrats on the degree.
Hello everyone. I graduated last May with a B.S. in Biology. I'll admit this wasn't a well-thought-out decision. My parents pressured me into it with some illusion I would go to medical school. They seemed to think a Bio degree was a golden ticket to a great future. So far all I've found are crippling loans and a bleak employment situation.
It's easy to blame my parents for their poor guidance, but I realize I should have put more thought into it. There are absolutely no jobs in my area for this field. I deeply regret not going to school for Nursing or something more practical. My "true passions" are writing and music, and you can't make any money off those. I should have gone to school for something more lucrative.
I'm currently working as an Admin Assistant at a small business, and every day is a challenge not to stab myself in the face. I feel like I paid 30k to be some prick's secretary. I've used roughly 85% of my salary over the past 7 months to pay off these loans. I know that's not practical, but the loans were ruining my health. I obsessed over them constantly and they were a constant reminder of the worst decision of my life. I owe roughly 6k now, and originally I owed 30k. There's something to be happy about.
I'm seriously thinking about quitting this job once the loans are paid off. I have some stocks I plan on selling, so I could quit in roughly a month with some "security blanket money." I'm not going to be on the streets, between my parents and boyfriend I'll have food on the table. I'm 100% certain that if I stayed at this job for another year I would have a mental breakdown.
How can I gracefully exit this loathsome job and make up for this awful mistake? I wasted so much money on a useless degree. I'm not interested in going to grad school for Biology. I hated research in undergrad and I doubt it'll change.
My deepest regret is not going for nursing or computer science. I still resent my parents for giving me such awful guidance, but I was foolish to listen. I won't get financial aid if I go back to school for nursing, since I wasted that opportunity on my Bio degree.
I need a drastic change for my "career path" because I'm already at a dead end with this admin nonsense. (Seriously, never get into admin if you value your health ... and your dignity).
I'm only 23 years old but I feel like I'm 65. I need a fresh start but I'm not seeing any opportunities. I feel so lost and confused. I've had horrible guidance all my life so I could use some unbiased advice.
Tl;dr: Spent the last half a year paying loans for an expensive Bio degree, hate Bio, wish I went to school for something useful and no idea what to do next
Take heart! All is not lost. Your parents made a mistake by pressuring you into a biology degree when you wanted nursing or computer science.
If you still want to be a nurse, you can be a nurse practitioner - and earn quite a bit more money than you would have earned as a regular RN.
There are programs for non nurses - or as they are called in nursing "generic students" who have a BA in any subject. These are given at many colleges and universities. They are one or two years in length. After finishing the program, you will take a test that will qualify you to practice as an RN.
Only you will be a nurse practitioner. Regular nurses (RNs) earn about 50K per year - on average - upon graduation.
However, Nurse Practitioners earn between 70 and 90K - more in some areas, they are in high demand and their work is considerably less stressful.
As a biology major, you will find this masters to be easier than someone with a degree in management, math or art history.
Off the top of my head I know of one program at Stony Brook University in NYS. There are many more. If you are interested in exploring this field, feel free to send me a direct message. Include the state in which you live and states that you would like to study in. I'd be happy to send you a list of schools.
Alternately, Google "MSN Nurse Practitioner Generic or non nurse students.
I'd be happy to offer you some guidance in the selection of your school. If you do, then you can't complain that no one has ever offered you objective guidance.
Whomever suggested above to get your MSW, do not listen to that.
Most make less than teachers unless you work for a public school, then you'll make more. The cost of grad school can be 30k per year so 60k in debt to start at 30-50k per year.
It's a very poor investment decisions. You must have the passion for it.
Hello everyone. I graduated last May with a B.S. in Biology. I'll admit this wasn't a well-thought-out decision. My parents pressured me into it with some illusion I would go to medical school. They seemed to think a Bio degree was a golden ticket to a great future. So far all I've found are crippling loans and a bleak employment situation.
It's easy to blame my parents for their poor guidance, but I realize I should have put more thought into it. There are absolutely no jobs in my area for this field. I deeply regret not going to school for Nursing or something more practical. My "true passions" are writing and music, and you can't make any money off those. I should have gone to school for something more lucrative.
I'm currently working as an Admin Assistant at a small business, and every day is a challenge not to stab myself in the face. I feel like I paid 30k to be some prick's secretary. I've used roughly 85% of my salary over the past 7 months to pay off these loans. I know that's not practical, but the loans were ruining my health. I obsessed over them constantly and they were a constant reminder of the worst decision of my life. I owe roughly 6k now, and originally I owed 30k. There's something to be happy about.
I'm seriously thinking about quitting this job once the loans are paid off. I have some stocks I plan on selling, so I could quit in roughly a month with some "security blanket money." I'm not going to be on the streets, between my parents and boyfriend I'll have food on the table. I'm 100% certain that if I stayed at this job for another year I would have a mental breakdown.
How can I gracefully exit this loathsome job and make up for this awful mistake? I wasted so much money on a useless degree. I'm not interested in going to grad school for Biology. I hated research in undergrad and I doubt it'll change.
My deepest regret is not going for nursing or computer science. I still resent my parents for giving me such awful guidance, but I was foolish to listen. I won't get financial aid if I go back to school for nursing, since I wasted that opportunity on my Bio degree.
I need a drastic change for my "career path" because I'm already at a dead end with this admin nonsense. (Seriously, never get into admin if you value your health ... and your dignity).
I'm only 23 years old but I feel like I'm 65. I need a fresh start but I'm not seeing any opportunities. I feel so lost and confused. I've had horrible guidance all my life so I could use some unbiased advice.
Tl;dr: Spent the last half a year paying loans for an expensive Bio degree, hate Bio, wish I went to school for something useful and no idea what to do next
You have a college degree that's never going to be mistake, you have so many options, you just don't seem to realize it right now. My number one suggestion would be to invest in some career counseling, and you might want to consider some personal counseling as well to address the hopelessness that has taken over. You have to figure out what you want to do with your life. You mention nursing and computers, why? Do you actually want to be involved in either field, or do you just want something that's easy to find a job in?
If you don't chose a career path that you feel some passion for, you may as well just stay in admin because your not going to be any happier. I'm not sure why you find your admin job so horrible, it might be the company, or your boss. I did plenty of admin work when I was you age, and never felt like it was the nightmare you describe. In many companies admin is just the entry level job, and people can work their way up from there. You might try looking for any job at a company that interests you, and see where it leads.
I started out doing basic admin work for a company, and then was promoted, this could have given me a nice future with plenty more promotional opportunities, but I never liked the work. When I was 28 I discovered a passion for something else entirely, and went back to school. It's okay to give yourself some time to figure out what you really want to do. I had to take loans for grad school, but it was worth it to do something I truly love. In my new field I was able to be self employed, I used the IBR program to keep my loan payments manageable until things took off. Debt is no fun, but there are ways to make it manageable. We are only given one life, we may as well make it as good as we can.
Most people don't really enjoy their jobs, and just work to pay the bills while pursuing their true passions outside of work. You might be expecting too much out of your job, unless you find a career path that truly inspires you there isn't much point in going back to school. If you have no passion for nursing, or computers it doesn't make sense to keep harboring all this resentment for your parents guiding you into bio. You need to take a breath, and realize you are only 23. You have plenty of time to pursue other career fields.
Notice the Op said her parents AND her bf help her out, if it werent for them, she wouldnt have made that much of a dent in her debt. I also think its shameful that the OP feels she is entitled to a job just like she is entitled to other peoples money(bf and parents). Guys, for the love of christ, unless you are married(and even then it is iffy) stop paying someone elses bills. I mean seriously, if the situation was reversed, do you think girls are going to pay YOUR bills? Most of them will not.
When guys spend money, they should really consider ROI and no amount of girl(or sex) is worth thousands.
Op, i know a guy that would love to have your job(has a degree in humanities), and my sister knows a girl working at HEB with a chemical engineering degree. Thats right. You better consider yourself lucky, seriously.
It's good advice because being a doctor is the best job and it's an achievable goal.
It's far from impossible. It seems like half the people I know are doctors. And the fact that I didn't become one was a product of me being too lazy and immature. So, am I projecting? Perhaps.
Either way, it's not bad advice to major in bio and become a doctor.
BA in Nursing and BS Computer Science are 'nice' degrees but they don't guarantee any kind of job stability or income level.
Would I have become a doctor if I could do it over? Maybe not. But if my child wanted just a nice job that paid well, I would push them in that direction.
Nope. Bad advice, when ultimately even the most qualified and most motivated have a less than 16% success rate.
As for "guarantee (of) job stability and income level" - there's no such job.
To my knowledge there is no such thing as a BA in Nursing - it is a BS in Nursing, and median salaries are over $70k.
BS in CS is going to give you a salary in the same range, median levels of 60k or 70k starting, without busting a gut.
But there are no GUARANTEES about that - any more than there is a guarantee that you will ever get through medical school, pass all the boards, and get licensed.
Last edited by NeonGecko; 04-06-2015 at 07:31 PM..
But there are no GUARANTEES about that - any more than there is a guarantee that you will ever get through medical school, pass all the boards, and get licensed.
Thing is that while it isn't common, I've met a few people that have went to medical school, graduated and CHOOSE not to take the boards. They didn't go to med school to become doctors, they wanted to become researchers. They are still "doctors" because they finished med school. They just can't practice medicine on patients. Most people do not go to med school for this reason, they want to work with patients hence, they get licensed.
Hell, I may do this later on in my life, maybe in my late 40s? I do not want to practice medicine but I am interested in it. The cost by then would be marginal if my plans don't go completely out of line
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
