Have I ruined my life? (employment, bachelor's, courses, science)
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My sugestion: Take your poli-sci degree and apply to a law school. If you do it right, and start RIGHT NOW, it will be less than you think. Set yourself up in a state like Florida with low in-state rates (Florida State is a great school) and work for a year before starting school so you can get the low in-state tuition. Work really, really hard and push to get into the top 1/3 of your class, and graduate law school in 3 years with a law degree and a road to a six figure income. My sister did that and now she's VERY, VERY glad she did. Other than that, start working and pay off that student loan debt as fast as possible. Best of luck to you.
I'm definitely trying to. Thanks!
I'm not sure I want to pursue law. I'm leaning more towards an MBA with an emphasis in Management Information Systems I guess the scary thing about it is this. Every career field I'm interested in (computer programming, systems analyst, general IT) seems to be either in danger of being outsourced, extremely expensive to study, or is extremely difficult to get into. At least that's what I hear when I ask around. Maybe it's just a reflection of the economy. Everyone's like do accounting or nursing. First off, it's kind of late for picking a major since I just graduated. Secondly, I have no interest in either of those fields. I hear that the MBA labor market is even flooded. So, honestly what other decent paying fields are out there that aren't flooded with over qualified applicants? Maybe the people I talk to are clueless and just have a negative perception, but so far, this is all I've been hearing.
There are a lot of companies out there that offer tuition reimbursement. Why not wait and see if you can get a job with one before paying for a MBA on your own?
There are a lot of companies out there that offer tuition reimbursement. Why not wait and see if you can get a job with one before paying for a MBA on your own?
This is definitely what I would like to do. My current employer is a no go. I don't think they really value education much, considering I am the only one to possess a degree right now (aside from upper management). You'd think that that would be to my advantage, but not really . I'm hoping in the not to distant future to find a company that cares about the education of their emploees.
To the OP: I wouldn't pursue another generic degree if I were you. Waste of money and time, trust me. Right now, the country is in dire need of qualified computer security people, either cyber security, network defense/security, or computer forensic. This is the kind of work that will not be easily outsourced, since it's dealing with sensitive information. Most people who are in this field start their career as network support, then move on to network admin, then network security, then move on to the high level information assurance work.
Have you thought of getting yourself a professional certification instead of the MBA route? There are many computer certifications you can get, starting from the easiest and cheapest (A+).
Since you're single, I would strongly suggest you move to an area with historically high IT jobs such as DC or Northern VA area. Even in this recession, the county where I live (Fairfax County) still has a very low unemployment rate (4.8%) compare to California or other states. This area gets a lot of work from government agencies, and yes, you can get in there even if you don't have clearance, with no prior government experience, as long as you're willing to be a contractor through a staffing agency for a while. There are tons of staffing agencies in this area that can help you find a job.
Don't just talk to people on the board, but if IT is where your heart is, talk to IT recruiters as well, both from the agency and corporate sides, because they're the ones who know first hand about the IT industry and hiring trends.
I'm only 24, and I feel that I ruined my life. But not because I killed anybody, took too many drugs, or performed any other criminal act. No, I feel I've ruined my life because I tried to better myself by going to college.
In college, I went from computer science major (dropped that because of what I heard about these jobs being offshored), to economics major (dropped that because it would have taken an extra semester at a cost of about $10,000), and finally, to political science major. Because of working a full time job, transferring schools, not having money to attend summer semesters, it took me 5 years to complete my bachelor's degree. While doing so, I amassed a debt in the $40k range.
While I was in school, I did some research as to how I could work my degree. Many legitimate job/salary websites (Payscale.com, Salary.com, CNN, MSNBC, etc.) showed the types of jobs and salaries one could expect to see after graduation with my degree and work experience. The salaries ranged from $38k/yr to $43k/yr; not bad to start out on. Well, I can say that those certainly weren't the job offers I received. The job I have now initially offered me $29k per year. I took it, because I had bills to pay.
The sentiments on Internet forums such as this one have led me to my greatest fear. I fear that I will be stuck with low paying jobs that offer no career growth or advancement opportunities for the rest of my life. In addition, I fear that I will never be able to start a family, purchase a house, or simply live a financially stable life. There seems to be a widespread belief that white collar jobs are diminishing and that my degree is nothing more than the "new high school diploma". Well, I don't recall a high school diploma ever costing an individual $60k, but I digress.
Trust me, I don't have an issue with confidence. I do a very good job at what I do. I have a lot of essential skills that I see lacking in even some of the upper level management people. Having taken business and advanced math classes in college and working with computers since I was 10, I have a strong background in all of these areas. I've been working office jobs since I was 17 years old. Yet, it seems that a lot of people now days frown upon college graduates. The mentoring I received in the past seems worthless. I used to hear that many people worked in fields other than what they studied in college and were successful. Are these happy days over? Have I dug myself into a hole that I'll never get out of? Is it worth going on?
Bottom line...I don't want to spend the rest of my life working only to pay off my student loans. That's not a life worth living.
The idea that everyone needs a College Degree to be anything is one of the great lies sold to the American public. Go in the Army
My sugestion: Take your poli-sci degree and apply to a law school. If you do it right, and start RIGHT NOW, it will be less than you think. Set yourself up in a state like Florida with low in-state rates (Florida State is a great school) and work for a year before starting school so you can get the low in-state tuition. Work really, really hard and push to get into the top 1/3 of your class, and graduate law school in 3 years with a law degree and a road to a six figure income. My sister did that and now she's VERY, VERY glad she did. Other than that, start working and pay off that student loan debt as fast as possible. Best of luck to you.
Unless you're in a top 14 law school right now, it's a waste of money. Lawyers are being laid off left and right and STILL it seems like every other liberal arts major is planning on law school (all 5 of my roommates are applying). My ex went to an Ivy League for undergrad and a top 30 law school, was on the law review, and worked a pretty serious internship for his last 2 years of law school and he's still unemployed 2 years out. It's just not worth it right now. Law is definitely not some magical path to wealth- especially not in this economy.
Unless you're in a top 14 law school right now, it's a waste of money. Lawyers are being laid off left and right and STILL it seems like every other liberal arts major is planning on law school (all 5 of my roommates are applying). My ex went to an Ivy League for undergrad and a top 30 law school, was on the law review, and worked a pretty serious internship for his last 2 years of law school and he's still unemployed 2 years out. It's just not worth it right now. Law is definitely not some magical path to wealth- especially not in this economy.
I agree 100%. I don't want to go to law school anyways.
No you didn't ruin your life. You just didn't play the game right.
Network, and work hard. Do something you want to do and if you're lucky enough not to live on the coasts, your cost of living shouldn't be too bad. If you do live on the coasts, may God have mercy your soul.
Philosopher and motorcycle repair-shop owner Crawford extols the value of making and fixing things in this masterful paean to what he calls manual competence, the ability to work with ones hands. According to the author, our alienation from how our possessions are made and how they work takes many forms: the decline of shop class, the design of goods whose workings cannot be accessed by users (such as recent Mercedes models built without oil dipsticks) and the general disdain with which we regard the trades in our emerging information economy. Unlike todays knowledge worker, whose work is often so abstract that standards of excellence cannot exist in many fields (consider corporate executives awarded bonuses as their companies sink into bankruptcy), the person who works with his or her hands submits to standards inherent in the work itself: the lights either turn on or they donÖt, the toilet flushes or it doesnÖt, the motorcycle roars or sputters. With wit and humor, the author deftly mixes the details of his own experience as a tradesman and then proprietor of a motorcycle repair shop with more philosophical considerations.
I can tell you once I started fixing things and doing stuff myself how much better and happier I have been. It's a great book. There is something to be said for working with your hands and accomplishing tasks. Unlike my spouse who is always planning and working on things, and leads a more stressful life.
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. I'm hoping in the not to distant future to find a company that cares about the education of their emploees.
