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I have 3 degrees (one is advanced) from a good University. Even with my degrees I went through what you went through. Here's the truth - in the Corporate/Business world, people are very quick to insult and categorize you as either "you have a use to me" or "you do not have a use to me." It is simply because everything is profit driven. From what I saw 10 years working for Fortune top 20 company (with technology focus) is this: If you had an engineering degree you were useful as is, if you had sales experience/talent, you were useful... everything else kind of fell in the middle and you really had to prove yourself many times over before you earned any respect (and a decent wage). That said, I knew of many people who had degrees like you, ones which didn't really fit, but you could get hired with them if you had enough experience or tacit knowledge related to the company you are seeking employment from.
All that stated, here's my advice. Don't get a Political Science degree. Figure out what the heck you want to do with your life before you do anything else educationally. I also heard "you can use this particular degree to do anything" from someone and they in fact were pretty much right with their suggestion. That didn't help me out though in terms of my overall happiness quotient and ability to use my University education to further my own goals. In retrospect there was a distinct disconnect of alignment of my goals to my education... but for some reason I didn't see that at the time I was taking classes. What helped me to figure out what I wanted to do was 1) visiting and doing informational interviews with business owners and 2) I analyzed my strengths and weaknesses and interests objectively and found something that made sense.
Where am I today? I own my own businesses, have tens of thousands of customers and fantastic employees and I do better than most. I have no regrets but if I had a do-over I would have taken the time to really figure out my educational path and how it aligned with my goals before I jumped into enrollment at University.
What am I recommending to my children? Well they know they will inherit the fruits of my labor, but I am encouraging them to become educated in employable areas throughout their youth. To get degrees and experiences that specifically prepare them to do something, either for themselves or for someone else (I suspect they will only work for themselves following in my footsteps though - there are so many benefits you cannot imagine it if you are not an Entrepreneur - my children know this/see this everyday.).
That's not my understanding. From what I've read 'free' financial aid has greatly diminished, hence more students are taking out loans. It might be worthwhile for a practical degree, but can turn out to be a disaster for a BA.
Times are changing. Universities, both public and private, are reacting to to the problem, and are doing fundraising and other strategies to make more financial aid available.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PanapolicRiddle;
The problem is everyone and their mother and father have BAs, esp here in Seattle. Most entry level insurance jobs don't pay that well either. Unless you're an actuary or accountant, most insurance jobs with a BA are just mundane office, or sales jobs. The insurance industry is also pretty awful: I'd have more respect for prostitutes than insurance salespersons.
Hey, it's a dirty, illegal, morally corrupt job (in your view, apparently), but somebody's gotta do it. Many people don't have the luxury of turning down a steady paycheck and free on-the-job training. You'd be surprised how grateful some people are at being offered that option. Would we all prefer to do something more creative, that draws on our talents and provides meaning to our lives? Sure, but reality is what it is.
I have 3 degrees (one is advanced) from a good University. Even with my degrees I went through what you went through. Here's the truth - in the Corporate/Business world, people are very quick to insult and categorize you as either "you have a use to me" or "you do not have a use to me." It is simply because everything is profit driven. From what I saw 10 years working for Fortune top 20 company (with technology focus) is this: If you had an engineering degree you were useful as is, if you had sales experience/talent, you were useful... everything else kind of fell in the middle and you really had to prove yourself many times over before you earned any respect (and a decent wage). That said, I knew of many people who had degrees like you, ones which didn't really fit, but you could get hired with them if you had enough experience or tacit knowledge related to the company you are seeking employment from.
All that stated, here's my advice. Don't get a Political Science degree. Figure out what the heck you want to do with your life before you do anything else educationally. I also heard "you can use this particular degree to do anything" from someone and they in fact were pretty much right with their suggestion. That didn't help me out though in terms of my overall happiness quotient and ability to use my University education to further my own goals. In retrospect there was a distinct disconnect of alignment of my goals to my education... but for some reason I didn't see that at the time I was taking classes. What helped me to figure out what I wanted to do was 1) visiting and doing informational interviews with business owners and 2) I analyzed my strengths and weaknesses and interests objectively and found something that made sense.
Where am I today? I own my own businesses, have tens of thousands of customers and fantastic employees and I do better than most. I have no regrets but if I had a do-over I would have taken the time to really figure out my educational path and how it aligned with my goals before I jumped into enrollment at University.
What am I recommending to my children? Well they know they will inherit the fruits of my labor, but I am encouraging them to become educated in employable areas throughout their youth. To get degrees and experiences that specifically prepare them to do something, either for themselves or for someone else (I suspect they will only work for themselves following in my footsteps though - there are so many benefits you cannot imagine it if you are not an Entrepreneur - my children know this/see this everyday.).
How did you get an informational interview with business owners? or analyze your strenghts and weaknesses? I'm interested in running my own business but I don't have the financial means to do so yet because it is hard getting an interview for a high pay job with just a BA economics degree. I also have a real estate exam pending to get licensed but I don't think that will make a difference. I don't know what to do at this point. I can't figure out wether I want to get my masters first (since Bachelors degree are fast becoming very common in the job market) or put that cash into a first business. And if I go the educational route I don't even know what I want to study!
I am all for going back to school in order to get a more "practical" degree but political science- do you know of jobs/industries that are specifically recruiting political science majors over history majors? School is usually not cheap and if I was going back for a "2nd round" I would surely want it to be in a degree that is directly applicable to the work force.
I'll go ahead and echo the chorus - that does not make any sense. Instead, I'd suggest the following:
- Check programs at community colleges. They're much less expensive than getting a second, impractical BA. Not all CC programs are useful, so do thorough research.
- Very cautiously consider grad school. There are some potentially practical grad programs, but of course this might be prohibitively expensive. Also, as others have mentioned, many MA degree aren't all that practical.
- Look into apprenticeships, usually offered through unions like the IBEW, etc. I don't know much about entry requirements, but I think a basic aptitude test is required (math, language comprehension) and you have to commit for the length of the program (typically 2-4 years). While these jobs aren't glamorous, they do pay fairly well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth
Hey, it's a dirty, illegal, morally corrupt job (in your view, apparently), but somebody's gotta do it. Many people don't have the luxury of turning down a steady paycheck and free on-the-job training. You'd be surprised how grateful some people are at being offered that option. Would we all prefer to do something more creative, that draws on our talents and provides meaning to our lives? Sure, but reality is what it is.
I'm currently a transit operator (bus driver). The pay and benefits are significantly better than the vast majority of private sector jobs, and many other public sector jobs as well. I don't have to deal with tedious paper work and office politics.
It's generally a pretty good gig, but of course it's completely unrelated to my degree (or at least it doesn't require a degree).
I'm currently a transit operator (bus driver). The pay and benefits are significantly better than the vast majority of private sector jobs, and many other public sector jobs as well. I don't have to deal with tedious paper work and office politics.
It's generally a pretty good gig, but of course it's completely unrelated to my degree (or at least it doesn't require a degree).
The transit operator gig can be a good one, as long as you don't have unruly riders (can be an issue in some cities). I know an engineer who quit his profession when he realized what a good deal bus driving was, and how low-stress it was (he was from Russia). I've also seen bus drivers in Berkeley/Oakland, CA, functioning as social workers, striving to keep gang-talking kids out of trouble. The job is what you make of it, I guess. But yeah, transit driving is one option open to the OP. Great benefits. Personally, I'd be bored out of my skull in that job, but to each his/her own.
Figure that out, then go talk to people who have that job. What is the education and skills needed?
If you want to work for a non-profit, what is stopping you?
You can use your history BA. How about working on environmental documents like EISs or EIRs - the government agencies and the consulting firms that write these need people to research the history of the area including native tribes and cultural resources where a project may be developed.
If you are going back for an MA, why not check out an MPA? Master of Public Administration? That would work well in government and at a non-profit.
BUT before you do anything, seriously, go see someone in the career you want, or email them, and find out what it takes.
It took more than a decade for me to appreciate the value of my history degree. Then I realized that the study of history taught me to weave a narrative to explain the facts, to connect the dots, to take a step back and consider the long view, to write effectively, and to think creatively.
It has been immensely valuable to me, even though my work has no obvious tie to the study of history.
But then, I always knew what kind of work I wanted to do, and when I graduated, I got after it.
Personally, I'd be bored out of my skull in that job, but to each his/her own.
Yeah, it is pretty boring, but I'm only part-time so it's much more tolerable. I've had many different jobs and they all got boring eventually. But it pays well enough that I don't have to work that much, which is nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marcopolo
It took more than a decade for me to appreciate the value of my history degree. Then I realized that the study of history taught me to weave a narrative to explain the facts, to connect the dots, to take a step back and consider the long view, to write effectively, and to think creatively.
It has been immensely valuable to me, even though my work has no obvious tie to the study of history.
But then, I always knew what kind of work I wanted to do, and when I graduated, I got after it.
As a psychology major I gotta say that sounds like pretentious, delusional BS. In the history classes I had all I had to do for decent grades was parrot what the instructor wanted; it took virtually no thought at all.
How did you get an informational interview with business owners? or analyze your strenghts and weaknesses?...
Surprisingly simple... I mean "smacking your forehead simple!" I just identified a person that ran a company similar to what I figured I might want to run someday and then called them up! My pitch was simple and honest, I was calling because I had a college project to reach out and to do a 15 minute informational interview with someone that was successful in a business or industry I might want to have a future in. I went further after my first call was so successful and made interview appointments with a couple of others ;-) I went in with my book bag, a prepared questionaire, a clipboard and pencil and just talked with these folks. They were all really awesome. I took a lot of notes. Since I had genuine interest in these folks (and I researched ahead of time as much about them as I could get online at the time), they picked up on my energy and interest and gave me honest answers. It was awesome for sure and changed my worldview of things because I actually heard directly from people I was seeking to be like, what their experiences and thoughts were on a large range of things.
Regarding self-analysis... that was actually a bit more work. I needed to be honest with myself at a time that I was young and still not in the habit of doing that. SWOT analysis of yourself... I haven't looked, but I am certain you can find instructions for doing that. It's not rocket science, but self-deception is a potential problem as most people young and old alike rarely take a mirror to themselves, and frequently when they do they don't like what they see. You are looking to figure out what career path fits you, the "you" you are right now AND the "you" you can make yourself into through training/experience and acquiring knowledge.
The reality is that most people are not cut out to be an entrepreneur... just as most people likewise are not cut out for sales, nor for rising the ranks of a corporation to become a CEO, nor for becoming a Heart Surgeon. It's just reality, but if you align your career path appropriately with who you are, you will find something you can be passionate about and even if it doesn't directly make you a millionaire... you will be happy and find joy in the work that you do.
Yeah, it is pretty boring, but I'm only part-time so it's much more tolerable. I've had many different jobs and they all got boring eventually. But it pays well enough that I don't have to work that much, which is nice.
I must congratulate you on this! I've always been an advocate of working to live, not living to work, and making do with less material cr@p in life in favor of more free time. Most people don't realize they have a choice. It doesn't have to be a rat race. Good for you!
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