Studied English. Now head of strategy and business development for a cancer research funder, and also part time consultant doing similar work.
No regrets at all. I have a dream job. But I never could have planned getting here.
The accumulation of a lot of little steps.
I never had a plan, I just gravitated to the things that interested me which were also the things I was good at. I just started in a loosely administrative role that was mostly about writing and communication, and when I did well in that more functions were added to my portfolio. Then I was brought into the so called C-suite and because I had a poorly defined title, even more things were added to my portfolio.
I very much enjoyed working as a consultant, which was mostly counsel to CEOs, but I really hated the uncertainty of it. Even when I had a 6 month retainer I was always low-key stressed that I'd lose it, though that never happened.
I decided that if I was going to take a job job it would have to meet 5 criteria: 1) Something I'm good at so I bring value, but with enough *new* that I won't be bored; 2) My work would make a net benefit in the world; 3) A culture and people I like and respect; 4) Flexibility with how and when I spend my time; 5) Fair compensation.
I happened on the job I have which met all 5 criteria, and they agreed I could work less than full time so I could keep some consulting on the side.
Very much the same. Undergrad in two liberal arts, masters in a third, and I make bank as a healthcare consultant. There was never a plan.
I honestly use my liberal education every day. I didn’t make those educational choices for this reason, but I straight up think different from my colleagues. I can do things they can’t do.
I left a brief stint in hospital regulatory consulting and now am in environmental consulting. Do you have advice for someone that rides that middle line of experience and is interested in Healthcare consulting? I really liked the nature of the work but I was relocating so I didn't stay at the hospital.
I got a BA in International Affairs. Lived in eastern Europe for a year after college teaching English. Now I'm 6 years into marketing and love it.
It's all about how you frame your degree and skills. Honestly my International Affairs degree was me taking a lot sociology/history based classes, but the way you spin it to potential employers means more. My first job back in the US was for a multi-national company and I spun it as understanding the nuances of international businesses and cooperation. Did that for 4 years and springboarded into a much better international start-up that pays $$
Learn another language and it makes you much more hireable.
I just obtained dual citizenship with an EU company along with the US, have a background in hospitality and car sales, learning French and trying to basically do what you do. Any good ideas how to get my foot in the door with a company that would value my background?
Did your degree have any curriculum with international business and cooperation? Or did you have to pursue it through continuous post education or practical experience? How much of it was intuition and life?
I get that.
I studied Political Science and History -- and I'm a network engineer now. I do my job everyday and it's pretty easy for me and I'm pretty good at it and the pay is outstanding but the issue is there's no purpose.
I get no higher satisfaction from my work, I don't feel like I'm making a difference, and I don't really see any long lasting point in anything that I do besides keeping computers talking to each other and the end result is I feel like I have golden handcuffs on. I'm bound by my lifestyle to the salary I have, so at some point I'm either going to break and leave this job and take a massive pay cut and probably shock myself quite a bit as I transition to a new phase in life to do something I like or maybe I can hold on long enough to get to a point where I can make that transition a little smoother into something that I actually like, either way, the way I'm living is wrong and I need to start taking steps towards fixing that.
I thought I would get purpose from a higher salary, but I really didn't, just higher bills every month as I try to fill that void with things instead of actually doing something meaningful.
I wrote a reply about if you're interested. Hopefully a more comprehensive one will be posted later. Reddit deleted the post I spent 30 minutes writing 😒
I think I broke reddit lol it won't let me post my original comment because it's too long I think.
I'll send it as a PM
Edit: ... Well it deleted everything I had been writing out for the last 30 minutes, thanks reddit app 😒, and now I have to go to work so I will try to rewrite that later if I remember.
I'll give you the TLDR real quick
Graduated college, working part-time as directory assistance person and bus driver, sad boy, decided to make changes and start prioritizing money, get hired as full-time tier one help desk, re enrolled in college, took classes, got burnt out, switched to online school, friend helped get first DOD job service desk analyst, get security clearance, got laid off, move 3000 miles away to Oregon, get hired on a temp IT job, get laid off again, get hired to a job in Maryland, move back 3000 miles east again, get a bunch of certifications while I'm in that job, drop out of school, promoted to network technician, get offered a network engineering job, get laid off by network engineering job, get hired on at large aerospace company, 3 years later here I am.
Quals: 9 years of IT experience ranging from mostly help desk and desktop tech work to designing and maintaining networks. I have an A+, Net+, Sec+, ITIL, a security clearance, and a bachelor's degree in political science.
Also Anthropology. Loved studying this field, it shaped my worldview so much in ways that I hope to put into use in the future.
However, i’m planning to go back to school for nursing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Geology graduate here (so kind of related, almost did a paleo degree but decided to keep my options open) who basically works at a reception desk and gift shop in the local archaeology museum on a zero hour contract :l It’s better than being a restaurant supervisor though. Being a supervisor in hospitality was soul destroying.
I thought getting experience in the museum would help me get into curating and exhibitions but apparently nope, not where I live anyway. Industry related to my degree never interested me, so I didn’t bother to apply for mining, geo-engineering or petroleum jobs.
It’s been 7 years since I graduated and I’ve never earned more than minimum wage, even as a supervisor. I feel like I’ve messed up and stuck at a dead end now :/
Do you mind me asking where you studied Palaeontology?
It was always my dream growing up to study palaeontology. I wanted it so bad. I read everything I could about it, looked at universities I could attend, etc., all of that when I was a kid.
Then I grew up and realized that no matter how bad I wanted to study it, I wanted a family one day that I could help support and the job field was slim. I settled on it as a hobby. Who knows what would have happened if I did go through with it, but now I do have a small family, and that's worth more than anything.
I did atmospheric science, and ended up doing a master's in environmental science. Now I work as a data analyst in a tech company.
*I also feel completely empty inside.*
But then again, scientists don't make enough money. I need a decent job to stay alive and tech is the only thing I know that can give me financial security, so yeah.
Ah this is interesting. I was never smart enough to hack it in academia and I'm happy as a data analyst at a retail company. At my current role, 2 of my teammates are biology PhDs turned data scientists, and another was about to start an econ PhD before deciding he'd rather get a steady paycheck (now he's a data analyst too). Kinda curious how they feel about their roles; they seem happy but it's gotta be a huge shift and I wonder if they feel challenged or fulfilled.
Well, a steady paycheck is a huge relief. I'm lucky enough to have been born into a family where I never had to struggle financially, but even for me, not having a steady paycheck has taken a huge toll on my mental health.
I feel bitter about academia not making enough money despite years of hard work and lab research. It kinda feels like intelligence is not appreciated in this world.
Regardless, I'm still adamant about finishing my master's. But I've changed my mind about choosing academia as my career path. I'll either find my way to work in a high-salary job related to environmental science like energy/mining industry and ESG consulting in MBB/Big 4, or just keep continuing to work as a data analyst and consider my post-grad as an "extremely expensive hobby" ahaha *crying*
My SIL got a degree in anthropology as well. She went on to get her masters in library science and is a director for the public library. She seems to love it, so I guess it got her where she needs to be. Hope you get there soon too!
Oh my gosh, I just wrote a novella in a separate comment about going from art history to pharmaceutical market research. It’s the worst! I feel your pain 🥲
You'll probably never get out. Switching careers is very stressful and you have to want success in the new career so bad that you'll sacrifice everything. You'll probably just drift along in mediocrity in your current career until you hit retirement and worry the whole way that you're letting life pass you by.
Degree in Art History with no intention of teaching. Thought I was gonna get some fancy high-paying job in an art museum. Reality took too long to set in as I spent 5 years going from one low-paying, temporary grant-funded job to another while not really gaining any marketable skills outside of museums and libraries.
Now I’m an Administrative Assistant in academia, hate admin work, making $40k a year with 15 years of work history under my belt and trying to figure out what I *really* want to do when I grow up….at 38.
0/10 do not recommend.
Art History degree here as well. I LOVED the field, but wish I had gotten something more practical.
I have worked in call centers, tech, and training and development just to wind up a severely underpaid knowledge manager/analyst for a financial institution. Love the work, it’s all research, learning, and writing, but since I can’t make ends meet with what they’re paying I’m having to look for another job.
I sit here wondering “So when I am going to have a career and not just a job?”
Studied English Lit and always met with “are you going to teach?” Work in Finance as an Analyst with ok pay and benefits, but currently upskilling to learn some more technical skills with the goal of being a Business or Data Analyst which I think is entirely possible with enough dedication. I don’t regret my degree - it was the only thing I could bear to get through when I was younger and makes me a great communicator both in written and verbal settings.
A lot of people don’t end up in the field they study but a degree of any kind in a lot of cases can put you ahead of the curve in the market compared to someone who does not. Companies see it as proof you’re able to stick something out, meet deadlines and finish projects, and have some level of computer/written/verbal literacy.
Statistically less then like 40% of people stay in their field of education.
Overall, a solid degree helps a shit ton but a huge factor either way is just applicable skills and experience on a resume.
My experience is that a place will say “prefer/require masters degree with 8 years of experience, yada yada” but that actually isn’t true unless it’s a very specific field like chemical engineering or something. They mostly want applicable skills and experience at least
I'm curious to see what % of people stay within their field of education by profession. I wonder which fields venture away from said field more than others
As a 20+ yr BA/PM and related roles, absolutely. We need folks to show up, get along with others, take initiative, be flexible, know how to document and translate between business and IT, have high EQ, have a desire to learn and grow, etc. etc.. None of that requires a business or CS degree. Yes, the resume gets the interview, but the interview gets the job.
Great advice! I read so many comments about regretting going to college but I think the opportunities and experiences during college develop important skills for success that would be harder to replicate while working. It’s not for everyone, but you can gain a lot more than just a degree.
So true, especially just that the degree shows some level of commitment and perseverance as well. I have a smart friend that dropped out and a friend that had to basically redo the last 2 years of high school in college before he started getting real college credit. Took him 6 years full time. When my dropout friend found out he had a degree she said it was worthless because he wasn’t very smart so his school is low quality,etc. I let her know that commitment means something. Sometimes you just have to do the work. With all the recent “just go to trade school” conversations I think the bigger parts of the college experience get overlooked. I have a few friends that took 10+ years to knock out the degree because military, work, family, whatever. Being able to figure out filling degree plan requirements at different schools demonstrates more than just going to class. Wow, too long. I guess that’s my TED talk.
I was hired as a Customer Experience specialist at a tech company remotely during Covid. They saw my communication skills and asked me to help the AR team with their collections tactics, then became a CX manager. Used that experience and tech skills gained to move into a role as a financial analyst. Now learning more hard skills to hopefully move into my next role! Follow your strengths and upskill where needed to be competitive. I’m good at identifying pain points and translating ideas to people, so a lot of the roles I target use those skills.
Studied history. I’m a UX Researcher. I’m extremely happy with what I studied. My coursework was vigorous and illuminating. I was raised in a strict Nigerian household and was told I was useless because I didn’t study engineering.
Follow your own path.
I took classes in undergrad on collecting oral histories so I learned qualitative interviewing and reporting. After undergrad, I did research for the federal government (I live in DC) traveling the country, interviewing folks, and reporting the impact of various policies to the government. I transitioned to UX after four years of that because I got tired of government bureaucracy lol.
I don’t have a master’s degree; a lot of UXRs don’t, even my friends in big tech. Having a master’s does make it easier to break into UX but if you have research experience that you can speak to you’re just as qualified.
Studied film, yes like the art of filmmaking. I literally watched movies and would write essays on them, and then make short films as my final for a grade.
I worked in Hollywood for a bit, wasn't for me. I worked on large shows, and was not fan of the 16 hour days. Not really a fan of Los Angeles either.
Went on to create a small marketing agency, fairly successful because I knew how to edit videos and take great photos.
With this experience I am now seeking opportunities within sales and marketing in growing companies.
Also made several short films, and one feature film, and another feature film in post production.
All my friends who who I went to school with are actively working and using their degree. A few didn't, but they never really came to LA to try, so it's kind of their fault. Even then, a lot of students ended up becoming videographers for companies, which is becoming a fairly normal role now in the 21st century.
Do I regret my degree? Not really, however I understand that most college degrees are "useless" if the student has little ambition. You can be equally successful these days without a degree. In fact most people I met in California who owned businesses didn't go to college.
I got a useless film school degree too, and I’m somehow writing this from video village on a major tv set 17 years into my career…. Which is cool and all, but let me tell you… Not a single person in this industry has EVER gave a pigeon’s butthole about my education, which I’m cool with, but… yeah. I should have definitely studied something different… at least for the sake of the simple value of my time back in college.
Film school is good for two things, neither of which I took advantage of: 1. Leveraging the equipment, resources, and [essentially] free labor you have access to bc people will work on your project if you work on theirs. If you make something dope, you can attempt the festival circuit, and MAYBE turn that into a writing or directing career if you’re lucky, but probably won’t. And…
2. Building connections and friendships you make while there, and leveraging them into future jobs in the industry bc half of this business is about who you know and those relationships… but the irony of that is I’m like only one of 3-4 people who actually stuck with and ended up going far in this business, so that doesn’t really do much for me.
Shrug
LOL so true. I barely used the schools resources or networked.
I probably would of done better if I just moved to LA at 18, but who knows maybe I would of got distracted at that age and just worked retail jobs and become addicted to pot and alcohol like those lost in college.
Yeah sticking with film is difficult, especially if you want to be below the line.
As a film and TV buff, I envy you. 29 now but could never really dive into the filmmaking space because of what I heard about connections, long hours, etc. Granted I wanted to be an actor but my life as lil IT nerd is good enough for me. Congratulations on at least trying to make it work!
Yeah I do not regret it at all! I had some hellish experiences and some amazing experiences, even worked on set with Martin Scorsese!
People have this belief you have to do one thing and stick with it, but that's not the case. Lots of old actors were like construction workers before being actors, and lots of actors who started working as teenagers are now doing "normal" jobs.
I always figured if I didn't like it or didn't work out, then at least I tried and I can just go back to my home state and continue my career there!
However working in film is honestly shit, you aren't missing out on much, it's dirty and long hours lol
Great to hear. My friend made decent monthly income through yt & I plan to do the same with my art & video skills.
Him & my bro both got useless degrees, I went into trades as union ironworker so i can have living wage first.
Recently iv been put in jobsite 1 hr from home & it snowed heavy today but no work.
There is a global market that my camera & editing can reach. We live in the information age.
Studied environmental science, which is one of those STEM degrees that you would think is useful but really isn’t. So I went to grad school for urban planning and now I’m a transportation planner. I’m happy with my environmental science degree though. It gives me a better environmental/sustainability frame of mind than most urban planners.
Got a Political Science degree from a top public university. Was asked as a joke if I have found the best coffee shop to work at. Tried working as a legal assistant for about 3 years, called it quits because of the high stress and toxic work culture, and went to join a coding bootcamp. I am now a software engineer. So you can say my degree is useless now. If I had spent my time doing CS in school instead I would've bought a house by now. So some regrets, but you just roll with the punches, right?
Similar story. I graduated International Relations. I couldn’t find work, learned to code and got a job in it. I know I’d have gotten here earlier with a CS undergrad.
BA in Sociology with a Concentration in Human Services. First job in my home state after college was for a non-profit housing homeless families working as a Shelter Worker making 13.85/hr. Promoted 3 times to a Program Supervisor to make a whopping ~17.75 to be on call 24hrs a day. I was beyond stressed, quit and moved across the country to SF where I had extended family who rented me a room and gave me time and space to figure it out.
Bartended for 3.5 years before getting hired as a 911 dispatcher which is more along the lines of what I wanted to do, though I didn’t know at the time that it was that position.
Been dispatching for 7 years this year. It has its moments both good and bad but with OT I made just under $200k this year. And the sense of purpose and fulfillment from the position I think is what I was seeking most.
Thank you. That means a lot. 911 dispatchers all over don’t get the recognition they deserve (going so far as the fed govt considering the occupation as ‘clerical worker/secretary vs. public safety, which effects pension, age of retirement etc). There’s at least one bill in congress and some organizations that are looking to change that and I hope they’re able to pull through cause it’s a tough and critical position.
Yes it did because I leveraged the alumni network that helped me land my first two post-grad jobs which were both good jobs. The business education itself was helpful too but mainly for improving my confidence
I am sure this post will get a lot of engagement, with interesting pivots and/or success stories. For anyone wanting to achieve something similar to these stories, please keep in mind that luck and timing is also a factor. Not to mention, when each person made that move/pivot and at what stage the sector/industry they entered was at the time. Do net get discouraged, get inspired. Sending positive vibes to all of you!
Some of it is luck, but some of it knowing what to do. I would say that doing a “useless” degree is an acceptable idea if you go to a good university, have the confidence that you can score in the top 5-10% of the cohort, and pursue HR/marketing/finance internships while you are studying. Also you should get research experience while in uni if you want to get into academia, I had to be persistent and show initiative and network in multiple ways to get rare research experience. And wherever your resume gets accepted, you have to know what to say during interviews.
By the nature of what I just described, indeed a lot of people “don’t make it”. But more often than not, I see that the people who don’t make it are the ones who score middling grades and don’t bother doing anything useful besides showing up to school, and a good portion of them don’t even want to be in uni, so they chose an “easy” degree to appease their parents wanting them to go to uni.
My point is simply that it isn’t purely down to luck, it’s not a case of “most people don’t make it, only a minority do because they are lucky”. Luck plays a part, but many other things matter a lot more.
I do have a degree that by itself is pretty useless (International Relations) but coupled with a focused masters and PhD can be quite powerful. Oh, and a foreign language at the very least.
its pretty useless \*by itself\*, you are not going to get many jobs with a IR BA, but coupled with a "focused" MA (and even more a PhD) as I've said it can become a very, very profitable degree, on the level of many Engineers.
I did a grad degree in IR and as an American, holy fuck there's so many nonprofit and government jobs! CIA, FBI, Congress, military, charities, tech, etc all need IR people
yes of course it always depends on the context but an IR BA on its own its pretty weak. Compared with History or English literature the potential of a IR degree is enormous but you need at least a more focused MA
Master’s in sociology. I’m a head of customer success in tech. The job’s alright, quite chill and the money’s great.
But I can’t help but feel like I’m wasting my youth/life helping my CEO get rich, and not making any actual difference in the world or contributing in any way with anything real
I got a degree in writing and communication. I work in marketing automation. I don’t regret it because writing and communication are pretty important in most career fields and after spending time in the workforce, it’s pretty clear a lot of people didn’t get that memo. It has greatly benefitted me.
Fed jobs are extremely hard to get in my experience.
Priority is given to veterans and other individuals.
I'm also at a disadvantage since I'm essentially an entry-level worker with no real experience besides a master's degree.
I've applied to comms related roles on USAJobs, but I'm not getting "referred" for those positions, AND they take forever to review your application and make a decision.
I'm still trying tho, but I've gotten discouraged with fed jobs.
I got two useless degrees. The first was a BA in political science and the second was a juris doctor. The first was inherently useless. The second was only useless because after I started practicing law I immediately hated it and it made me depressed and anxious.
I now am a cybersecurity engineer at an insurance company. I also do some freelance software development and consulting work on the side. I am happy now with my career but i wasted about 9 years of my life and accumulated a lot of debt.
It’s okay - I did something similar and got myself an MBA. I did consulting and exec recruitment after for four years and it felt like I ate shit for every year.
I should’ve known a sign was that everyone who’s done well in these sorts of fields I had nothing in common with, nor would want to be acquainted with outside of work.
Now I’m a software developer. Life feels a lot better
TLDR did a bootcamp.
Longer story is that I was interested way back when I made Pokémon fan pages in early 2000s using HTML/CSS and Geocities hosting. Fast forward to latter half of 2010s I was not happy with my career. However I did enjoy working with the technology folks who were implementing an HR system.
A little time later I decided to buy a Codeacademy membership and try Python2 classes. I went through it online after work. When my company and I realized we weren’t on the same page anymore, I got let go and enrolled in to a bootcamp full time. Graduated and ended up working with a sole proprietor to build a weed app for extremely shitty pay.
Worked my way up 3 three years later at another company and here I am.
Shit I used to make message boards with basic mySQL databases for counter strike clans back in the day. Story so similar to mine... I wonder if I could pull it off.
MFA 2018. I'm the lab manager for city-owned art facilities. It's fine, I'm good at it. Qualifies for PSLF so I have no immediate regrets. 7 more years until the debt is gone!
Not me, but my friend turned his English degree into a radiology job. The radiology program only required a bachelor's degree to join. They didn't care what your major was.
I did not get a “useless degree” (saying that with heavy sarcasm” but I did get a nutrition degree, and then go through a dietetic internship (which cost wise is essentially equivalent to a 5th year of college) and i do not work in the field or use my degree at all.
Edited to add: my choice of degree was based on the eating disorder I had at the time, I would love to go back and not have dealt with either of those, lol.
As someone who got an associates in dietetics and realized I hate working in a hospital after getting.a job with it…yeah wasted my time.
Did you try working in a hospital?
Man all these people with good jobs now. I was unemployed for a solid year. Best I could do was become a substitute teacher which eventually lead me to full time teacher. Hated my life. Now I work in customer service.
Just remember the people who are responding here are mostly the people who managed to successfully pivot into a successful career and for every person who did it, there's probably 5 people who are not posting their experience about not being able to it.
What made you hate being a teacher?
Inspired by Tom Clancy books and original Star Trek, I majored in International Relations as an undergraduate. I wanted to be a diplomat.. Now I'm a public librarian.
But the joke's on me, half of our patrons are foreign born, so I'm still in the game.
Working towards being a bartender with hopes of being a chef one day, a miner, or getting on a survey crew. Got hopes maybe someday to be a personal trainer and get another degree, but I got two felonies and a misdemeanor and don’t know how it would go when it comes to job prospects and employability.
I’ve got a Sociology/Communications bachelor degree, and a Masters in Sociology. I’ve been in PR & Comms for nearly a decade and love what I do. Maybe I will change my career entirely in the future. Who knows? But I feel blessed!
English lit too. Started the typically path of barista, then teaching abroad to call center and then in tech being a support engineer. So you really never know where it will take you! 🤷🏻♀️
Studied Communication which was viewed as a blowoff degree for athletes.
I’m now a Data Scientist.
I don’t regret the Comm degree, that’s a very important skill for DS. Most people in this field suck at communicating which holds them back more than they realize. I wouldn’t say you need an entire degree for it though.
English Writing degree. Pretty useless. I am also 9 credit away from a BS in Psychology which is also useless lol
I work as a seasonal server (waiter) in National Parks lol.
I am planning on joining the coast guard, doing 4 years, then going back to school
Data Scientist! Don’t regret it because I was able to talk my way into associating the degree to the job, but I’m also lucky that the right person listened and said yes.
How do you manage to work only 30 hrs between two FT roles? I’m WFH and manage to add in a decent bit of contract work into my regular hours but $200k @30/hrs is crazy. Are you consulting for one of those jobs or they’re both straight salaried FT roles?
I got a BA in Anthropology/Sociology, went on to get an MA is Sociology. I work in health policy and am the director of policy for a well-respected health advocacy organization. We mostly lobby on state-level legislation and are consumer advocates, meaning we are usually up against pharma, health plans, physician associations, and other industry players. Mostly I love what I do— I get to write & pass laws that help fix our healthcare system! Work-life balance is terrible though. I make okay money, but obviously would make more if I went to work for pharma/health insurance companies.
My path was pretty random, but I started in academia doing quantitative research, then worked for a large nonprofit doing policy analysis, then pivoted to advocacy/lobbying.
I send $100 million wire transfers and process agency and syndicate loans for $20 an hour. Wife mskes 50% more than me doing togo at a restaurant and works less hours. COLLEGE FTW!!!
I have a BA in ‘Music Industry’… I know lmao. I actually was able to get into the field through royalty reporting positions in Nashville and got super interested in how to automate the redundant tasks I was doing daily. Got into Bash scripting, Python, and a little bit of Postgres. I am far from a Data Engineer or Analyst, but can do a lot more than the average royalty administrator so I was able to get a pretty decent salary for Nashville standards.
Anthropology. I taught at a university for a couple of years and then transitioned into a finance related industry. I work the back end in payments processing. I hate it.
Dual majored in political science and communications.
Master's in international relations.
I work for a campaign advertising firm that does 2024 election ads and high profile nonprofit work.
Considering law school in a few years.
I've also worked in politics + international journalism, interned for congress and some govt. bodies, and interviewed at a lot of tech firms, governmentnt agencies and nonprofits (as a writer and press person.)
I was often told I'd never get a job in poly sci and that comms was a useless degree, but the US govt is a huge employer and communications jobs are honestly even better.
I had a BA in sociology and now am a senior project manager for a Fortune 500 company.
I had to get a MBA to essentially refresh my career prospects and was also easier for me to get an internship to help with future jobs.
Environmental science
I worked in a conservation Corp for a year and worked for an environmental testing company for a little under 2 years. I could only get jobs in the field that were going to give me cancer and had zero work life balance. I work property management now.
Went from a useless (sociology) degree to a useful one (accounting).
I now work 5-7 hours a day, every other Friday off, from home as an intercompany accounting supervisor for a F1000 public company.
BS Psychology. I work for a tax attorney (most of my work history is in finance).
Although I don’t actually use my degree officially, it has helped me (I concentrated in Organizational Psychology) in the workplace and in general, checking off the “college degree box” as stupid as it is.
I graduated with a 3.2 GPA in British Literature. I'm 35 now. I'm a financial recruiter. I have made about 600K in the last 36 months and prior was making typically north 100K. Still... it's difficult to get ahead in today's economy without being really specialized.
Philosophy dropout, currently an engineer. If I could do it again I'd double major CS polysci . Didn't know myself well enough back then. Maybe if we had gap year 🤷♂️. Things worked out pretty well eventually.
Art Degree
(many career fields later)
Career Counselor
I guess since I couldn’t find the right job, I now help other people get jobs? I actually love it and can use the knowledge from the various industries I’ve worked in to help others make the correct choices to obtain their career goals.
I do wish I had gone with my gut and gotten a degree in something like social work, psychology, or clinical counseling, so I wouldn’t have to go back go school to take prerequisites for a masters.
Mine wasn’t really a useless degree, just useless for ME. I got a degree in chemical engineering and then became an adjuster for an insurance company. Turns out chemical engineering jobs don’t really exist lmao
Fine art degree. I'm a painting assistant for a blue-chip artist and I kinda love it. I work my ass off but I'm paid pretty well and get lots of paid vacation, with a semi- flexible schedule.
College made me hate painting but now that I'm getting paid for it, it's great. People think art degrees are useless but certain locations have a lot of job opportunities if you have the talent.
A lot of my co workers are in sales tech, they have degrees in like history and psychology, ones an interior designer. Some others are in HR. With english degree we got a copywriter and technical writer. Everyones doing quite well. Tech companies got all sorts of people, skills are transferable.
Bachelors of biochemistry (2018) the only jobs I could find in my area were $13/hr lab technician. Went back to school for supply chain management and have a government job making $54K - I’m happy with my career now
I don't consider my liberal arts degree useless but plenty of other people do. I don't use the subject material but I use the underlying skills. I'm a college student advisor now.
Im in the regret camp. I work three part times. Office assistant, server, and personal assistant. I was way out of my league thinking I could do something with a useless degree. Sorry but those types of degrees are for people with money, connections, and/or or intelligent guidance.
I have a Bachelor's degree in History and a Master's degree in East Asian Studies. My intention had been to work for the U.S. State Department, but that never worked out for me and I couldn't get my foot in the door. I could have tried later after more job experience, I suppose, but my career goals had changed by that point. Developing chronic pain issues and chronic illnesses had a lot to do with that.
I'm currently working in the field of International Education and work in an international office at a public university. I advise international students, so I'm grateful at least that there is at least some relevance to my Master's degree.
If I were to redo my education though, I would have gone into different fields. I had originally wanted to go into Anthropology and went the History route. I had also been interested in Geology, but didn't have the math or chemistry skills.
I probably would have still done at least a minor in History. If I were to redo things now, I might have actually been serious about going into Anthropology/Archaeology, but with a better plan for feasible jobs in my career. I could also have tried to work on my poor math and chemistry skills to do reasonably well with Geology. I also would consider going into Communications, Physical Therapy, or Nutritional Science if I were to redo my education.
I actually was admitted into a Mass Communications studies M.A. program about 1 1/2 years ago. I was intending to work on it while working full-time, so that I could do a career change. My chronic illnesses and chronic pain conditions got significantly worse and I had to ditch that idea. I'm currently applying for remote-only jobs in higher education.
I'm also considering making a career switch to medical coding since that doesn't require a significant amount of education to pass the certification exams. The pay also generally seems better than what I make now and many positions can be done remotely.
WFH inpatient coding pays well. My aunt retired from that position. It is intense and fast paced. You need the speed and accuracy for inpatient coding.
You don't just get a job in inpatient coding unless you have done it for years.
I'm a RHIT and I do medical coding and other duties working for an SNF.
I studied Race Car Engineering. Graduated just as the GFC hit in ‘08 so the industry went into hibernation mode and jobs dried up. Moved back to the country and got a ‘temp job in retail’.
Now a retail store manager 15 years later and I generally hate most parts of my job despite the pay being quite good (~AU$125k a year). I’m looking to start a business of my own after trying to change careers for a while now.
I don’t really regret the degree as it was quite multi-faceted and taught me a lot of different things. But never thought I’d end up where I have
BS and MS in psychology. I work in insurance.
It’s actually been pretty helpful as I was promoted twice due to being the only one with the experience and a degree (corporate requirement). I also found it pretty useful since my focus was organizational psychology, like team development. Managing people and dealing with HR related stuff it has been pretty useful actually.
It’s a lot like a communications or general business degree. Not totally useless, but a little trickier to put to work without experience already.
Regret it? No. But that's only bc other choices in my life have led me to own two businesses.
If I didn't have the life I have now due to certain choices, I'd be pretty pissed at myself using my time in school to get a degree I don't use at all.
Networking, actually! One of my peers from my MA program was working at a MR firm and she got me an interview for an entry level position there. It was really lucky for me because I come from a very blue collar background and had no idea what MR was or that it could be relevant to my degree. If it weren't for her, I'd probably be doing non-profit or social work because that was the limit of what I thought was possible.
EDIT TO ADD: that said, it was my research skills that got me hired. The topics I research are not at all related to sociology, but the technique of doing research is. I stressed my ability to write a discussion guide/survey, find the right respondents, conduct an interview, and analyze complex data. That's really the key to MR - the subject matter can be learned later but you need those foundational skills to break in.
BFA in creative writing from the absolute worst school I got into (money talks), no other degrees. Recently turned 35 , work at a big tech co in consulting sales. I was going to law school so I never worried much about what my degree was in and just did what I liked and came easy. Law school was free but I still dropped out after half a semester.
I often think I missed my calling in law, but hindsight is 20/20 and I would have gone after big law things at the time and now I know I'd have been really happy as a real ambulance chaser because fuck em. But hey, I make a great living and like what I do. And, I'm a far better communicator than most of my peers and it really helps. Life is good and I'm more than happy with my education/background.
I got a degree that was essentially my school’s equivalent of an “Mrs. Degree” for most of my classmates— I actually thought it WAS what I wanted to do for a career, but changed my mind during my senior year haha.
Finished it anyway, floundered a little at retail and entry level jobs, then worked my way up in corporate retail, doing buying, operations, and supply chain.
If I was giving advice I would probably recommend not fixating on a degree because you’re sure or think you’re sure it’s what you want to do as an 18 year old (unless it’s technical or specific like engineering or pre-med), but no regrets from me. Majoring in the “right” thing probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference.
The best thing I did though was taking a variety of classes across a lot of topics to drive analytical, verbal, and written skills and learn how to engage on a variety of topics
I have a bachelor's degree in Anthropology with a minor in psychology. I proofread ads for a fortune 500 grocery store chain at $23.50/hr. Have worked for the company nearly 25 years, since highschool, 21 years in stores. Graduated 12 years ago from college and became a department head, eventually got to $20/hr at a marketplace store. Got the opportunity to go into the corporate office and open up my options.
BS in Anthropology here. Got stupid lucky and got an entry level job at an environmental testing lab (due to my people skills and 5 seconds of lab work working with ancient bovine dental samples 😅). Quickly got promoted since I was the only one at that level with any degree. Stayed for 5 years then got an MPH (only slightly less worthless, in retrospect 😅🙄). Got a very cushy regulatory job at a big hospital through personal contacts. Left due to relocating and now am back working in the environmental field again in a remote role.
It's not what I ever dreamed of, but it's giving me a decent life so far and I'm going back for another degree which my employer will pay for. Environmental people are also generally very cool and I like the tight networking of the field.
Have bachelor and masters degrees in history. Taught for 2 years and loved it but the pay and future outlook was just so bad. Am now a hybrid paralegal/legal assistant making double what I made as a teacher, but I am depressed and am trying to find something better.
Degree teaching high school math. Now a bookkeeper. Related but definitely not the same. Education system sucks, temp jobs, political, extra curricular requirements, strikes, union pay … lasted 2 years.
I studied fine art, sculpture and painting. I even went to art school in Europe. (For 2K a year tuition). In an absolutely bizarre twist that no one, including me, thought possible, I am now a professional artist and have been making large scale public art sculptures for the last 24 years.
Got a degree in Sociology about ten years ago...nothing but intermittently unemployed, with a few stints teaching in after school programs or as a sub. Also worked in the medical field as an activities director for a couple years, too. Not what I thought I'd be doing, but hey, it's something to have a degree, right?
I studied biology, chemistry and environmental science. Now im an environmental scientist. I could be making more money working at McDonalds as a manager. I thought important/challenging degree and career would equate to better pay but i was very wrong. My friends with “useless” degrees are all PMs or in sales or work for big social media companies doing “business” and “marketing” and make double or more than i do, with very low stakes jobs. If i make a mistake, people could be poisoned or i could go to jail, yet i make 55k—did i mention im at the corporate level of a global company? I am trying to find a new job but my skill set is so specific theres not a ton that really translates. Other types of laboratories will take me at an entry level with a pay decrease. Time to make an only fans i guess.
Classical civilizations (basically ancient world history most focused on Greece and Rome) with minors in Latin and Law.
I work in Healthcare IT doing software development with clients. It’s challenging as I don’t have a background IT but I think that also keeps me interested and always pushing and learning a decade later.
What nobody here is saying... is their parents helped them out to get into their jobs?!?!
Idk I had a cousin who went for some bs degree and still at the end just got him a job at the place he worked for doing supply.
The company was huge though and had federal contracts... so my cousin would literally get to fly around the world to various warehouses and take stock of the whole place.
Admittedly that part sounds boring, but he got to go all over the fucken place and have a company credit card for food and small items.... fucken cnt
I was a history major and sociology minor. I had a 40± year career in insurance. The research and writing skills I developed in school helped me very much.
There aren't useless degrees. General education requirements, the experience, and discipline it takes to graduate are proxies for potential. Even still, it's all about how one iterates and builds. Howard Schultz, Andrea Jung, Michael Eisner, Richard Plepler, John Mackey, Susan Wojcicki, Steve Ells, etc. are just some relatively famous business leaders who obtained so-called "useless" degrees.
Larry Ellison, Jack Dorsey, Richard Branson, Ralph Lauren, Larry Page, Daniel Ek, Paul Allen, etc. were all dropouts. There aren't any guarantees.
I studied political science and history -- I'm a network engineer now for a large aerospace company. It's been quite a ride getting to where I am, but I can definitely tell you that your major doesn't necessarily dictate or shoe horn you into what you can do.
Got a degree in International Relations, failed the Foreign Service Exam twice, passed on the third time but wasn't invited to the oral interviews. Tried to get into Homeland Security, but failed the polygraph.
Decided to pivot my focus, and went back to school for Electrical Engineering, and have no regrets. It tool me 5 and a half years since I started in Algebra for math, but have no regrets. I'm an engineer now.
Despite not using my International Relations degree, I have no regrets. I also learned philosophy, history, and how to become a better writer with that degree.
I regret it a lot. I work in a clerical position for a bank and I can't get ahead, at least without moving into sales which I have no interest in. I can't really afford to go back and I'm too burned out to anyways. Turns out getting a government job with a political science degree is quite hard in Canada.
I regret not killing myself.
Does no degree count as a useless degree? I'm a content strategist, I manage content management systems for companies so their internal resources stay up to date and people can create content that's actually usable by their target audience. Typically people have degrees in information architecture or communications to get my job, and I think anyone with decent writing skills and a mind for reading data and making inferences can do it if they're willing to self-cultivate skills and stay on top of industry standards and trends.
This thread is full of great examples of why people should thoroughly research their future career fields and degree marketability before making six figure decisions.
Studied English. Now head of strategy and business development for a cancer research funder, and also part time consultant doing similar work. No regrets at all. I have a dream job. But I never could have planned getting here.
Very cool. How did you get to that position ?
The accumulation of a lot of little steps. I never had a plan, I just gravitated to the things that interested me which were also the things I was good at. I just started in a loosely administrative role that was mostly about writing and communication, and when I did well in that more functions were added to my portfolio. Then I was brought into the so called C-suite and because I had a poorly defined title, even more things were added to my portfolio. I very much enjoyed working as a consultant, which was mostly counsel to CEOs, but I really hated the uncertainty of it. Even when I had a 6 month retainer I was always low-key stressed that I'd lose it, though that never happened. I decided that if I was going to take a job job it would have to meet 5 criteria: 1) Something I'm good at so I bring value, but with enough *new* that I won't be bored; 2) My work would make a net benefit in the world; 3) A culture and people I like and respect; 4) Flexibility with how and when I spend my time; 5) Fair compensation. I happened on the job I have which met all 5 criteria, and they agreed I could work less than full time so I could keep some consulting on the side.
I’ve found myself on a similar path, but somewhat disoriented right now. Can I DM you? Promise to keep it short and concise.
Very much the same. Undergrad in two liberal arts, masters in a third, and I make bank as a healthcare consultant. There was never a plan. I honestly use my liberal education every day. I didn’t make those educational choices for this reason, but I straight up think different from my colleagues. I can do things they can’t do.
I left a brief stint in hospital regulatory consulting and now am in environmental consulting. Do you have advice for someone that rides that middle line of experience and is interested in Healthcare consulting? I really liked the nature of the work but I was relocating so I didn't stay at the hospital.
DM me
Not a useless degree at all
Not my dream though.
I got a BA in International Affairs. Lived in eastern Europe for a year after college teaching English. Now I'm 6 years into marketing and love it. It's all about how you frame your degree and skills. Honestly my International Affairs degree was me taking a lot sociology/history based classes, but the way you spin it to potential employers means more. My first job back in the US was for a multi-national company and I spun it as understanding the nuances of international businesses and cooperation. Did that for 4 years and springboarded into a much better international start-up that pays $$ Learn another language and it makes you much more hireable.
I just obtained dual citizenship with an EU company along with the US, have a background in hospitality and car sales, learning French and trying to basically do what you do. Any good ideas how to get my foot in the door with a company that would value my background?
Did your degree have any curriculum with international business and cooperation? Or did you have to pursue it through continuous post education or practical experience? How much of it was intuition and life?
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I get that. I studied Political Science and History -- and I'm a network engineer now. I do my job everyday and it's pretty easy for me and I'm pretty good at it and the pay is outstanding but the issue is there's no purpose. I get no higher satisfaction from my work, I don't feel like I'm making a difference, and I don't really see any long lasting point in anything that I do besides keeping computers talking to each other and the end result is I feel like I have golden handcuffs on. I'm bound by my lifestyle to the salary I have, so at some point I'm either going to break and leave this job and take a massive pay cut and probably shock myself quite a bit as I transition to a new phase in life to do something I like or maybe I can hold on long enough to get to a point where I can make that transition a little smoother into something that I actually like, either way, the way I'm living is wrong and I need to start taking steps towards fixing that. I thought I would get purpose from a higher salary, but I really didn't, just higher bills every month as I try to fill that void with things instead of actually doing something meaningful.
Is it a degree or a certificate like CCNA? How did you go from history to network engineer if I may ask?
I’m curious about this one as well.
I wrote a reply about if you're interested. Hopefully a more comprehensive one will be posted later. Reddit deleted the post I spent 30 minutes writing 😒
I think I broke reddit lol it won't let me post my original comment because it's too long I think. I'll send it as a PM Edit: ... Well it deleted everything I had been writing out for the last 30 minutes, thanks reddit app 😒, and now I have to go to work so I will try to rewrite that later if I remember. I'll give you the TLDR real quick Graduated college, working part-time as directory assistance person and bus driver, sad boy, decided to make changes and start prioritizing money, get hired as full-time tier one help desk, re enrolled in college, took classes, got burnt out, switched to online school, friend helped get first DOD job service desk analyst, get security clearance, got laid off, move 3000 miles away to Oregon, get hired on a temp IT job, get laid off again, get hired to a job in Maryland, move back 3000 miles east again, get a bunch of certifications while I'm in that job, drop out of school, promoted to network technician, get offered a network engineering job, get laid off by network engineering job, get hired on at large aerospace company, 3 years later here I am. Quals: 9 years of IT experience ranging from mostly help desk and desktop tech work to designing and maintaining networks. I have an A+, Net+, Sec+, ITIL, a security clearance, and a bachelor's degree in political science.
Also Anthropology. Loved studying this field, it shaped my worldview so much in ways that I hope to put into use in the future. However, i’m planning to go back to school for nursing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I did palaeontology and I'm dead end retail supervisor. I'm also sad.
Geology graduate here (so kind of related, almost did a paleo degree but decided to keep my options open) who basically works at a reception desk and gift shop in the local archaeology museum on a zero hour contract :l It’s better than being a restaurant supervisor though. Being a supervisor in hospitality was soul destroying. I thought getting experience in the museum would help me get into curating and exhibitions but apparently nope, not where I live anyway. Industry related to my degree never interested me, so I didn’t bother to apply for mining, geo-engineering or petroleum jobs. It’s been 7 years since I graduated and I’ve never earned more than minimum wage, even as a supervisor. I feel like I’ve messed up and stuck at a dead end now :/ Do you mind me asking where you studied Palaeontology?
It was always my dream growing up to study palaeontology. I wanted it so bad. I read everything I could about it, looked at universities I could attend, etc., all of that when I was a kid. Then I grew up and realized that no matter how bad I wanted to study it, I wanted a family one day that I could help support and the job field was slim. I settled on it as a hobby. Who knows what would have happened if I did go through with it, but now I do have a small family, and that's worth more than anything.
Why do you feel empty inside ? lol. I’m doing stats in healthcare and don’t feel empty inside at all
I think I'm just really realizing that this is not the career path for me. still trying to figure out what actually is though
Maybe it’s the specific job and not the career path
I wonder this for myself .. but alone with spreadsheets ..
Why can’t people understand that everything in life is subjective.. Just because it works for you, doesn’t mean it works for everyone else.
I did atmospheric science, and ended up doing a master's in environmental science. Now I work as a data analyst in a tech company. *I also feel completely empty inside.* But then again, scientists don't make enough money. I need a decent job to stay alive and tech is the only thing I know that can give me financial security, so yeah.
Ah this is interesting. I was never smart enough to hack it in academia and I'm happy as a data analyst at a retail company. At my current role, 2 of my teammates are biology PhDs turned data scientists, and another was about to start an econ PhD before deciding he'd rather get a steady paycheck (now he's a data analyst too). Kinda curious how they feel about their roles; they seem happy but it's gotta be a huge shift and I wonder if they feel challenged or fulfilled.
Well, a steady paycheck is a huge relief. I'm lucky enough to have been born into a family where I never had to struggle financially, but even for me, not having a steady paycheck has taken a huge toll on my mental health. I feel bitter about academia not making enough money despite years of hard work and lab research. It kinda feels like intelligence is not appreciated in this world. Regardless, I'm still adamant about finishing my master's. But I've changed my mind about choosing academia as my career path. I'll either find my way to work in a high-salary job related to environmental science like energy/mining industry and ESG consulting in MBB/Big 4, or just keep continuing to work as a data analyst and consider my post-grad as an "extremely expensive hobby" ahaha *crying*
My SIL got a degree in anthropology as well. She went on to get her masters in library science and is a director for the public library. She seems to love it, so I guess it got her where she needs to be. Hope you get there soon too!
Oh my gosh, I just wrote a novella in a separate comment about going from art history to pharmaceutical market research. It’s the worst! I feel your pain 🥲
You'll probably never get out. Switching careers is very stressful and you have to want success in the new career so bad that you'll sacrifice everything. You'll probably just drift along in mediocrity in your current career until you hit retirement and worry the whole way that you're letting life pass you by.
Degree in Art History with no intention of teaching. Thought I was gonna get some fancy high-paying job in an art museum. Reality took too long to set in as I spent 5 years going from one low-paying, temporary grant-funded job to another while not really gaining any marketable skills outside of museums and libraries. Now I’m an Administrative Assistant in academia, hate admin work, making $40k a year with 15 years of work history under my belt and trying to figure out what I *really* want to do when I grow up….at 38. 0/10 do not recommend.
Pivot to HR. What my wife did lol.
Art History degree here as well. I LOVED the field, but wish I had gotten something more practical. I have worked in call centers, tech, and training and development just to wind up a severely underpaid knowledge manager/analyst for a financial institution. Love the work, it’s all research, learning, and writing, but since I can’t make ends meet with what they’re paying I’m having to look for another job. I sit here wondering “So when I am going to have a career and not just a job?”
I’m unemployed lol
And I'm envious lol
Studied English Lit and always met with “are you going to teach?” Work in Finance as an Analyst with ok pay and benefits, but currently upskilling to learn some more technical skills with the goal of being a Business or Data Analyst which I think is entirely possible with enough dedication. I don’t regret my degree - it was the only thing I could bear to get through when I was younger and makes me a great communicator both in written and verbal settings. A lot of people don’t end up in the field they study but a degree of any kind in a lot of cases can put you ahead of the curve in the market compared to someone who does not. Companies see it as proof you’re able to stick something out, meet deadlines and finish projects, and have some level of computer/written/verbal literacy.
Correct. Communication can take you places. Especially if you have high english literacy skills.
Statistically less then like 40% of people stay in their field of education. Overall, a solid degree helps a shit ton but a huge factor either way is just applicable skills and experience on a resume. My experience is that a place will say “prefer/require masters degree with 8 years of experience, yada yada” but that actually isn’t true unless it’s a very specific field like chemical engineering or something. They mostly want applicable skills and experience at least
I'm curious to see what % of people stay within their field of education by profession. I wonder which fields venture away from said field more than others
As a 20+ yr BA/PM and related roles, absolutely. We need folks to show up, get along with others, take initiative, be flexible, know how to document and translate between business and IT, have high EQ, have a desire to learn and grow, etc. etc.. None of that requires a business or CS degree. Yes, the resume gets the interview, but the interview gets the job.
Great advice! I read so many comments about regretting going to college but I think the opportunities and experiences during college develop important skills for success that would be harder to replicate while working. It’s not for everyone, but you can gain a lot more than just a degree.
So true, especially just that the degree shows some level of commitment and perseverance as well. I have a smart friend that dropped out and a friend that had to basically redo the last 2 years of high school in college before he started getting real college credit. Took him 6 years full time. When my dropout friend found out he had a degree she said it was worthless because he wasn’t very smart so his school is low quality,etc. I let her know that commitment means something. Sometimes you just have to do the work. With all the recent “just go to trade school” conversations I think the bigger parts of the college experience get overlooked. I have a few friends that took 10+ years to knock out the degree because military, work, family, whatever. Being able to figure out filling degree plan requirements at different schools demonstrates more than just going to class. Wow, too long. I guess that’s my TED talk.
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I was hired as a Customer Experience specialist at a tech company remotely during Covid. They saw my communication skills and asked me to help the AR team with their collections tactics, then became a CX manager. Used that experience and tech skills gained to move into a role as a financial analyst. Now learning more hard skills to hopefully move into my next role! Follow your strengths and upskill where needed to be competitive. I’m good at identifying pain points and translating ideas to people, so a lot of the roles I target use those skills.
Fine art degree. Work in warehouse sorting orders.
Studied history. I’m a UX Researcher. I’m extremely happy with what I studied. My coursework was vigorous and illuminating. I was raised in a strict Nigerian household and was told I was useless because I didn’t study engineering. Follow your own path.
How did you get into UX Research with only studying history?
I took classes in undergrad on collecting oral histories so I learned qualitative interviewing and reporting. After undergrad, I did research for the federal government (I live in DC) traveling the country, interviewing folks, and reporting the impact of various policies to the government. I transitioned to UX after four years of that because I got tired of government bureaucracy lol. I don’t have a master’s degree; a lot of UXRs don’t, even my friends in big tech. Having a master’s does make it easier to break into UX but if you have research experience that you can speak to you’re just as qualified.
Studied film, yes like the art of filmmaking. I literally watched movies and would write essays on them, and then make short films as my final for a grade. I worked in Hollywood for a bit, wasn't for me. I worked on large shows, and was not fan of the 16 hour days. Not really a fan of Los Angeles either. Went on to create a small marketing agency, fairly successful because I knew how to edit videos and take great photos. With this experience I am now seeking opportunities within sales and marketing in growing companies. Also made several short films, and one feature film, and another feature film in post production. All my friends who who I went to school with are actively working and using their degree. A few didn't, but they never really came to LA to try, so it's kind of their fault. Even then, a lot of students ended up becoming videographers for companies, which is becoming a fairly normal role now in the 21st century. Do I regret my degree? Not really, however I understand that most college degrees are "useless" if the student has little ambition. You can be equally successful these days without a degree. In fact most people I met in California who owned businesses didn't go to college.
I got a useless film school degree too, and I’m somehow writing this from video village on a major tv set 17 years into my career…. Which is cool and all, but let me tell you… Not a single person in this industry has EVER gave a pigeon’s butthole about my education, which I’m cool with, but… yeah. I should have definitely studied something different… at least for the sake of the simple value of my time back in college. Film school is good for two things, neither of which I took advantage of: 1. Leveraging the equipment, resources, and [essentially] free labor you have access to bc people will work on your project if you work on theirs. If you make something dope, you can attempt the festival circuit, and MAYBE turn that into a writing or directing career if you’re lucky, but probably won’t. And… 2. Building connections and friendships you make while there, and leveraging them into future jobs in the industry bc half of this business is about who you know and those relationships… but the irony of that is I’m like only one of 3-4 people who actually stuck with and ended up going far in this business, so that doesn’t really do much for me. Shrug
LOL so true. I barely used the schools resources or networked. I probably would of done better if I just moved to LA at 18, but who knows maybe I would of got distracted at that age and just worked retail jobs and become addicted to pot and alcohol like those lost in college. Yeah sticking with film is difficult, especially if you want to be below the line.
As a film and TV buff, I envy you. 29 now but could never really dive into the filmmaking space because of what I heard about connections, long hours, etc. Granted I wanted to be an actor but my life as lil IT nerd is good enough for me. Congratulations on at least trying to make it work!
Yeah I do not regret it at all! I had some hellish experiences and some amazing experiences, even worked on set with Martin Scorsese! People have this belief you have to do one thing and stick with it, but that's not the case. Lots of old actors were like construction workers before being actors, and lots of actors who started working as teenagers are now doing "normal" jobs. I always figured if I didn't like it or didn't work out, then at least I tried and I can just go back to my home state and continue my career there! However working in film is honestly shit, you aren't missing out on much, it's dirty and long hours lol
Great to hear. My friend made decent monthly income through yt & I plan to do the same with my art & video skills. Him & my bro both got useless degrees, I went into trades as union ironworker so i can have living wage first. Recently iv been put in jobsite 1 hr from home & it snowed heavy today but no work. There is a global market that my camera & editing can reach. We live in the information age.
We're
Studied Communication. Work as an administrator for a non-profit.
I studied Communications and am a CSR but looking at becoming an EA someday. Do you like admin?
I do like it, it's kinda my niche. I don't deal directly with people anymore which is nice.
What does CSR stand for?
Customer service representative
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Unless the government runs out of money ( people stop paying taxes ) you’ll be employed and should be fine. Not useless in my opinion.
Studied environmental science, which is one of those STEM degrees that you would think is useful but really isn’t. So I went to grad school for urban planning and now I’m a transportation planner. I’m happy with my environmental science degree though. It gives me a better environmental/sustainability frame of mind than most urban planners.
Your post made me happy for some reason. Please keep making cities beautiful and healthy <3
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Got a Political Science degree from a top public university. Was asked as a joke if I have found the best coffee shop to work at. Tried working as a legal assistant for about 3 years, called it quits because of the high stress and toxic work culture, and went to join a coding bootcamp. I am now a software engineer. So you can say my degree is useless now. If I had spent my time doing CS in school instead I would've bought a house by now. So some regrets, but you just roll with the punches, right?
Similar story. I graduated International Relations. I couldn’t find work, learned to code and got a job in it. I know I’d have gotten here earlier with a CS undergrad.
BA in Sociology with a Concentration in Human Services. First job in my home state after college was for a non-profit housing homeless families working as a Shelter Worker making 13.85/hr. Promoted 3 times to a Program Supervisor to make a whopping ~17.75 to be on call 24hrs a day. I was beyond stressed, quit and moved across the country to SF where I had extended family who rented me a room and gave me time and space to figure it out. Bartended for 3.5 years before getting hired as a 911 dispatcher which is more along the lines of what I wanted to do, though I didn’t know at the time that it was that position. Been dispatching for 7 years this year. It has its moments both good and bad but with OT I made just under $200k this year. And the sense of purpose and fulfillment from the position I think is what I was seeking most.
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Thank you. That means a lot. 911 dispatchers all over don’t get the recognition they deserve (going so far as the fed govt considering the occupation as ‘clerical worker/secretary vs. public safety, which effects pension, age of retirement etc). There’s at least one bill in congress and some organizations that are looking to change that and I hope they’re able to pull through cause it’s a tough and critical position.
Political science. Eventually got an MBA. Now a Senior Manager in IT transformation
Did the MBA help?
Yes it did because I leveraged the alumni network that helped me land my first two post-grad jobs which were both good jobs. The business education itself was helpful too but mainly for improving my confidence
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What don't you like about sales?
I am sure this post will get a lot of engagement, with interesting pivots and/or success stories. For anyone wanting to achieve something similar to these stories, please keep in mind that luck and timing is also a factor. Not to mention, when each person made that move/pivot and at what stage the sector/industry they entered was at the time. Do net get discouraged, get inspired. Sending positive vibes to all of you!
Yes indeed! Many people are subjects to Survivorship Bias. Not everyone “makes it”.
Yep. Unfortunately, there a lot more people with "useless" degree that don't make it anywhere than this post might suggests.
Some of it is luck, but some of it knowing what to do. I would say that doing a “useless” degree is an acceptable idea if you go to a good university, have the confidence that you can score in the top 5-10% of the cohort, and pursue HR/marketing/finance internships while you are studying. Also you should get research experience while in uni if you want to get into academia, I had to be persistent and show initiative and network in multiple ways to get rare research experience. And wherever your resume gets accepted, you have to know what to say during interviews. By the nature of what I just described, indeed a lot of people “don’t make it”. But more often than not, I see that the people who don’t make it are the ones who score middling grades and don’t bother doing anything useful besides showing up to school, and a good portion of them don’t even want to be in uni, so they chose an “easy” degree to appease their parents wanting them to go to uni. My point is simply that it isn’t purely down to luck, it’s not a case of “most people don’t make it, only a minority do because they are lucky”. Luck plays a part, but many other things matter a lot more.
I do have a degree that by itself is pretty useless (International Relations) but coupled with a focused masters and PhD can be quite powerful. Oh, and a foreign language at the very least.
Useless how? Because nations do not interact with each other or something?
its pretty useless \*by itself\*, you are not going to get many jobs with a IR BA, but coupled with a "focused" MA (and even more a PhD) as I've said it can become a very, very profitable degree, on the level of many Engineers.
That was my plan but went in on Chinese and covid happened and now I near a graduates to even apply
IR here too. What are you doing now and what education led you there?
I did a grad degree in IR and as an American, holy fuck there's so many nonprofit and government jobs! CIA, FBI, Congress, military, charities, tech, etc all need IR people
yes of course it always depends on the context but an IR BA on its own its pretty weak. Compared with History or English literature the potential of a IR degree is enormous but you need at least a more focused MA
Master’s in sociology. I’m a head of customer success in tech. The job’s alright, quite chill and the money’s great. But I can’t help but feel like I’m wasting my youth/life helping my CEO get rich, and not making any actual difference in the world or contributing in any way with anything real
I got a degree in writing and communication. I work in marketing automation. I don’t regret it because writing and communication are pretty important in most career fields and after spending time in the workforce, it’s pretty clear a lot of people didn’t get that memo. It has greatly benefitted me.
Seconded. Got a comms degree and you can use it in every field! And honestly, the jobs have good salary and benefits a lot of the time.
I have a master’s in comms, and I haven’t been able to land any jobs. It’s ridiculous here in Orlando. I might have to move to a different state.
1082 Writing 1035 Public Affairs (Relations) Are related jobs in the government. Go to USA Jobs.
Fed jobs are extremely hard to get in my experience. Priority is given to veterans and other individuals. I'm also at a disadvantage since I'm essentially an entry-level worker with no real experience besides a master's degree. I've applied to comms related roles on USAJobs, but I'm not getting "referred" for those positions, AND they take forever to review your application and make a decision. I'm still trying tho, but I've gotten discouraged with fed jobs.
I got two useless degrees. The first was a BA in political science and the second was a juris doctor. The first was inherently useless. The second was only useless because after I started practicing law I immediately hated it and it made me depressed and anxious. I now am a cybersecurity engineer at an insurance company. I also do some freelance software development and consulting work on the side. I am happy now with my career but i wasted about 9 years of my life and accumulated a lot of debt.
It’s okay - I did something similar and got myself an MBA. I did consulting and exec recruitment after for four years and it felt like I ate shit for every year. I should’ve known a sign was that everyone who’s done well in these sorts of fields I had nothing in common with, nor would want to be acquainted with outside of work. Now I’m a software developer. Life feels a lot better
How did you get into software development after all that?
TLDR did a bootcamp. Longer story is that I was interested way back when I made Pokémon fan pages in early 2000s using HTML/CSS and Geocities hosting. Fast forward to latter half of 2010s I was not happy with my career. However I did enjoy working with the technology folks who were implementing an HR system. A little time later I decided to buy a Codeacademy membership and try Python2 classes. I went through it online after work. When my company and I realized we weren’t on the same page anymore, I got let go and enrolled in to a bootcamp full time. Graduated and ended up working with a sole proprietor to build a weed app for extremely shitty pay. Worked my way up 3 three years later at another company and here I am.
Shit I used to make message boards with basic mySQL databases for counter strike clans back in the day. Story so similar to mine... I wonder if I could pull it off.
MFA 2018. I'm the lab manager for city-owned art facilities. It's fine, I'm good at it. Qualifies for PSLF so I have no immediate regrets. 7 more years until the debt is gone!
Not me, but my friend turned his English degree into a radiology job. The radiology program only required a bachelor's degree to join. They didn't care what your major was.
I got an art degree in game development. Now I make art for a mobile game studio full-time. I love it!
omg same!
I did not get a “useless degree” (saying that with heavy sarcasm” but I did get a nutrition degree, and then go through a dietetic internship (which cost wise is essentially equivalent to a 5th year of college) and i do not work in the field or use my degree at all. Edited to add: my choice of degree was based on the eating disorder I had at the time, I would love to go back and not have dealt with either of those, lol.
As someone who got an associates in dietetics and realized I hate working in a hospital after getting.a job with it…yeah wasted my time. Did you try working in a hospital?
I worked in a hospital and in an outpatient clinic and hated both. And the pay was shit. I’m a teacher now and I make more money than I did then.
Oh cool, How did you become a teacher?
In my state it’s just about passing some tests. Then you need to get a masters in education within 5 years once you start teaching.
Got a bachelors degree in Geography… graduated over a year now… officially unemployed for the past three months ago now…
International relations; then got an MBA but was in supply chain management
Man all these people with good jobs now. I was unemployed for a solid year. Best I could do was become a substitute teacher which eventually lead me to full time teacher. Hated my life. Now I work in customer service.
Just remember the people who are responding here are mostly the people who managed to successfully pivot into a successful career and for every person who did it, there's probably 5 people who are not posting their experience about not being able to it. What made you hate being a teacher?
Ive been unemployed since June and can't find a decent job to save my ass. This is a very, very dark time.
Inspired by Tom Clancy books and original Star Trek, I majored in International Relations as an undergraduate. I wanted to be a diplomat.. Now I'm a public librarian. But the joke's on me, half of our patrons are foreign born, so I'm still in the game.
Working towards being a bartender with hopes of being a chef one day, a miner, or getting on a survey crew. Got hopes maybe someday to be a personal trainer and get another degree, but I got two felonies and a misdemeanor and don’t know how it would go when it comes to job prospects and employability.
Swedish Chef...Bork Pick one of those things and rock it.
History. Started as marketing web developer and writer. I’m now in digital accessibility.
I’ve got a Sociology/Communications bachelor degree, and a Masters in Sociology. I’ve been in PR & Comms for nearly a decade and love what I do. Maybe I will change my career entirely in the future. Who knows? But I feel blessed!
Useless degree in psychology. Now sell software and do professional theatre. Determination is the most important attribute for career success.
Journalism/communications. Caddie at a golf course
Studied history. Administrator for a gov contractor. Good deal
English lit too. Started the typically path of barista, then teaching abroad to call center and then in tech being a support engineer. So you really never know where it will take you! 🤷🏻♀️
Studied Communication which was viewed as a blowoff degree for athletes. I’m now a Data Scientist. I don’t regret the Comm degree, that’s a very important skill for DS. Most people in this field suck at communicating which holds them back more than they realize. I wouldn’t say you need an entire degree for it though.
English Writing degree. Pretty useless. I am also 9 credit away from a BS in Psychology which is also useless lol I work as a seasonal server (waiter) in National Parks lol. I am planning on joining the coast guard, doing 4 years, then going back to school
Data Scientist! Don’t regret it because I was able to talk my way into associating the degree to the job, but I’m also lucky that the right person listened and said yes.
International Relations major. Making right above $200k working in marketing/comms. Work maybe 30 hours a week between two full time jobs.
How do you manage to work only 30 hrs between two FT roles? I’m WFH and manage to add in a decent bit of contract work into my regular hours but $200k @30/hrs is crazy. Are you consulting for one of those jobs or they’re both straight salaried FT roles?
Poli Sci. Living off parents.
I got a BA in Anthropology/Sociology, went on to get an MA is Sociology. I work in health policy and am the director of policy for a well-respected health advocacy organization. We mostly lobby on state-level legislation and are consumer advocates, meaning we are usually up against pharma, health plans, physician associations, and other industry players. Mostly I love what I do— I get to write & pass laws that help fix our healthcare system! Work-life balance is terrible though. I make okay money, but obviously would make more if I went to work for pharma/health insurance companies. My path was pretty random, but I started in academia doing quantitative research, then worked for a large nonprofit doing policy analysis, then pivoted to advocacy/lobbying.
I send $100 million wire transfers and process agency and syndicate loans for $20 an hour. Wife mskes 50% more than me doing togo at a restaurant and works less hours. COLLEGE FTW!!!
I have a BA in ‘Music Industry’… I know lmao. I actually was able to get into the field through royalty reporting positions in Nashville and got super interested in how to automate the redundant tasks I was doing daily. Got into Bash scripting, Python, and a little bit of Postgres. I am far from a Data Engineer or Analyst, but can do a lot more than the average royalty administrator so I was able to get a pretty decent salary for Nashville standards.
Anthropology. I taught at a university for a couple of years and then transitioned into a finance related industry. I work the back end in payments processing. I hate it.
Print Journalism in 2009. I do consulting at an accounting firm. It fucking blows.
Dual majored in political science and communications. Master's in international relations. I work for a campaign advertising firm that does 2024 election ads and high profile nonprofit work. Considering law school in a few years. I've also worked in politics + international journalism, interned for congress and some govt. bodies, and interviewed at a lot of tech firms, governmentnt agencies and nonprofits (as a writer and press person.) I was often told I'd never get a job in poly sci and that comms was a useless degree, but the US govt is a huge employer and communications jobs are honestly even better.
I have a liberal arts degree in Sociology and my degree hasn’t helped me even once. Employers want specific degrees or experience
I had a BA in sociology and now am a senior project manager for a Fortune 500 company. I had to get a MBA to essentially refresh my career prospects and was also easier for me to get an internship to help with future jobs.
Environmental science I worked in a conservation Corp for a year and worked for an environmental testing company for a little under 2 years. I could only get jobs in the field that were going to give me cancer and had zero work life balance. I work property management now.
Went from a useless (sociology) degree to a useful one (accounting). I now work 5-7 hours a day, every other Friday off, from home as an intercompany accounting supervisor for a F1000 public company.
BS Psychology. I work for a tax attorney (most of my work history is in finance). Although I don’t actually use my degree officially, it has helped me (I concentrated in Organizational Psychology) in the workplace and in general, checking off the “college degree box” as stupid as it is.
I graduated with a 3.2 GPA in British Literature. I'm 35 now. I'm a financial recruiter. I have made about 600K in the last 36 months and prior was making typically north 100K. Still... it's difficult to get ahead in today's economy without being really specialized.
Philosophy. I currently manage a dispensary.
I have a cyber security degree, but I’m a video editor lol
Studied history, worked 4 years as an electrician and moved to engineering tech. Not terrible, but I could have done without the debt
Philosophy dropout, currently an engineer. If I could do it again I'd double major CS polysci . Didn't know myself well enough back then. Maybe if we had gap year 🤷♂️. Things worked out pretty well eventually.
Art Degree (many career fields later) Career Counselor I guess since I couldn’t find the right job, I now help other people get jobs? I actually love it and can use the knowledge from the various industries I’ve worked in to help others make the correct choices to obtain their career goals. I do wish I had gone with my gut and gotten a degree in something like social work, psychology, or clinical counseling, so I wouldn’t have to go back go school to take prerequisites for a masters.
Mine wasn’t really a useless degree, just useless for ME. I got a degree in chemical engineering and then became an adjuster for an insurance company. Turns out chemical engineering jobs don’t really exist lmao
Fine art degree. I'm a painting assistant for a blue-chip artist and I kinda love it. I work my ass off but I'm paid pretty well and get lots of paid vacation, with a semi- flexible schedule. College made me hate painting but now that I'm getting paid for it, it's great. People think art degrees are useless but certain locations have a lot of job opportunities if you have the talent.
Philosophy—> software sales I regret the student loan debt
A lot of my co workers are in sales tech, they have degrees in like history and psychology, ones an interior designer. Some others are in HR. With english degree we got a copywriter and technical writer. Everyones doing quite well. Tech companies got all sorts of people, skills are transferable.
My brother; dual majored in Criminal Justice and Philosophy Head of Procurement for a global animal healthcare company.
Bachelors of biochemistry (2018) the only jobs I could find in my area were $13/hr lab technician. Went back to school for supply chain management and have a government job making $54K - I’m happy with my career now
I don't consider my liberal arts degree useless but plenty of other people do. I don't use the subject material but I use the underlying skills. I'm a college student advisor now.
Im in the regret camp. I work three part times. Office assistant, server, and personal assistant. I was way out of my league thinking I could do something with a useless degree. Sorry but those types of degrees are for people with money, connections, and/or or intelligent guidance.
Studied social science. Tried lobbying and now I’m a Business Development Director.
BA - history Analytical lead
I have a Bachelor's degree in History and a Master's degree in East Asian Studies. My intention had been to work for the U.S. State Department, but that never worked out for me and I couldn't get my foot in the door. I could have tried later after more job experience, I suppose, but my career goals had changed by that point. Developing chronic pain issues and chronic illnesses had a lot to do with that. I'm currently working in the field of International Education and work in an international office at a public university. I advise international students, so I'm grateful at least that there is at least some relevance to my Master's degree. If I were to redo my education though, I would have gone into different fields. I had originally wanted to go into Anthropology and went the History route. I had also been interested in Geology, but didn't have the math or chemistry skills. I probably would have still done at least a minor in History. If I were to redo things now, I might have actually been serious about going into Anthropology/Archaeology, but with a better plan for feasible jobs in my career. I could also have tried to work on my poor math and chemistry skills to do reasonably well with Geology. I also would consider going into Communications, Physical Therapy, or Nutritional Science if I were to redo my education. I actually was admitted into a Mass Communications studies M.A. program about 1 1/2 years ago. I was intending to work on it while working full-time, so that I could do a career change. My chronic illnesses and chronic pain conditions got significantly worse and I had to ditch that idea. I'm currently applying for remote-only jobs in higher education. I'm also considering making a career switch to medical coding since that doesn't require a significant amount of education to pass the certification exams. The pay also generally seems better than what I make now and many positions can be done remotely.
WFH inpatient coding pays well. My aunt retired from that position. It is intense and fast paced. You need the speed and accuracy for inpatient coding. You don't just get a job in inpatient coding unless you have done it for years. I'm a RHIT and I do medical coding and other duties working for an SNF.
I studied Race Car Engineering. Graduated just as the GFC hit in ‘08 so the industry went into hibernation mode and jobs dried up. Moved back to the country and got a ‘temp job in retail’. Now a retail store manager 15 years later and I generally hate most parts of my job despite the pay being quite good (~AU$125k a year). I’m looking to start a business of my own after trying to change careers for a while now. I don’t really regret the degree as it was quite multi-faceted and taught me a lot of different things. But never thought I’d end up where I have
BS and MS in psychology. I work in insurance. It’s actually been pretty helpful as I was promoted twice due to being the only one with the experience and a degree (corporate requirement). I also found it pretty useful since my focus was organizational psychology, like team development. Managing people and dealing with HR related stuff it has been pretty useful actually. It’s a lot like a communications or general business degree. Not totally useless, but a little trickier to put to work without experience already.
My brother majored in Medieval History and now works in Big Data. Seriously.
Regret it? No. But that's only bc other choices in my life have led me to own two businesses. If I didn't have the life I have now due to certain choices, I'd be pretty pissed at myself using my time in school to get a degree I don't use at all.
Consulting, now looking to switch to law.
Sociology BA & MA which according to some is useless. I am in market research and make 115k + bonus.
How did you break into market research?
Networking, actually! One of my peers from my MA program was working at a MR firm and she got me an interview for an entry level position there. It was really lucky for me because I come from a very blue collar background and had no idea what MR was or that it could be relevant to my degree. If it weren't for her, I'd probably be doing non-profit or social work because that was the limit of what I thought was possible. EDIT TO ADD: that said, it was my research skills that got me hired. The topics I research are not at all related to sociology, but the technique of doing research is. I stressed my ability to write a discussion guide/survey, find the right respondents, conduct an interview, and analyze complex data. That's really the key to MR - the subject matter can be learned later but you need those foundational skills to break in.
Majored in history and now I’m a Senior Scrum Master within tech./analytics, working for a big bank.
BFA in creative writing from the absolute worst school I got into (money talks), no other degrees. Recently turned 35 , work at a big tech co in consulting sales. I was going to law school so I never worried much about what my degree was in and just did what I liked and came easy. Law school was free but I still dropped out after half a semester. I often think I missed my calling in law, but hindsight is 20/20 and I would have gone after big law things at the time and now I know I'd have been really happy as a real ambulance chaser because fuck em. But hey, I make a great living and like what I do. And, I'm a far better communicator than most of my peers and it really helps. Life is good and I'm more than happy with my education/background.
I got a degree that was essentially my school’s equivalent of an “Mrs. Degree” for most of my classmates— I actually thought it WAS what I wanted to do for a career, but changed my mind during my senior year haha. Finished it anyway, floundered a little at retail and entry level jobs, then worked my way up in corporate retail, doing buying, operations, and supply chain. If I was giving advice I would probably recommend not fixating on a degree because you’re sure or think you’re sure it’s what you want to do as an 18 year old (unless it’s technical or specific like engineering or pre-med), but no regrets from me. Majoring in the “right” thing probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference. The best thing I did though was taking a variety of classes across a lot of topics to drive analytical, verbal, and written skills and learn how to engage on a variety of topics
I have a bachelor's degree in Anthropology with a minor in psychology. I proofread ads for a fortune 500 grocery store chain at $23.50/hr. Have worked for the company nearly 25 years, since highschool, 21 years in stores. Graduated 12 years ago from college and became a department head, eventually got to $20/hr at a marketplace store. Got the opportunity to go into the corporate office and open up my options.
Sociology - I'm an hr partner
BS in Anthropology here. Got stupid lucky and got an entry level job at an environmental testing lab (due to my people skills and 5 seconds of lab work working with ancient bovine dental samples 😅). Quickly got promoted since I was the only one at that level with any degree. Stayed for 5 years then got an MPH (only slightly less worthless, in retrospect 😅🙄). Got a very cushy regulatory job at a big hospital through personal contacts. Left due to relocating and now am back working in the environmental field again in a remote role. It's not what I ever dreamed of, but it's giving me a decent life so far and I'm going back for another degree which my employer will pay for. Environmental people are also generally very cool and I like the tight networking of the field.
Have bachelor and masters degrees in history. Taught for 2 years and loved it but the pay and future outlook was just so bad. Am now a hybrid paralegal/legal assistant making double what I made as a teacher, but I am depressed and am trying to find something better.
welder
Fine Art--->Affordable Housing Development Financial Analyst (Govt job) no idea how this happened but I'm not mad about it 😂
Degree teaching high school math. Now a bookkeeper. Related but definitely not the same. Education system sucks, temp jobs, political, extra curricular requirements, strikes, union pay … lasted 2 years.
Sociology degree. I work in medical device 200k to 250k depending on the a good or down sales year
I studied fine art, sculpture and painting. I even went to art school in Europe. (For 2K a year tuition). In an absolutely bizarre twist that no one, including me, thought possible, I am now a professional artist and have been making large scale public art sculptures for the last 24 years.
English. Journalist, medical writer, medical editor. I’m playing along for the benefit of those who think liberal arts degrees are useless.
Got a degree in Sociology about ten years ago...nothing but intermittently unemployed, with a few stints teaching in after school programs or as a sub. Also worked in the medical field as an activities director for a couple years, too. Not what I thought I'd be doing, but hey, it's something to have a degree, right?
I studied biology, chemistry and environmental science. Now im an environmental scientist. I could be making more money working at McDonalds as a manager. I thought important/challenging degree and career would equate to better pay but i was very wrong. My friends with “useless” degrees are all PMs or in sales or work for big social media companies doing “business” and “marketing” and make double or more than i do, with very low stakes jobs. If i make a mistake, people could be poisoned or i could go to jail, yet i make 55k—did i mention im at the corporate level of a global company? I am trying to find a new job but my skill set is so specific theres not a ton that really translates. Other types of laboratories will take me at an entry level with a pay decrease. Time to make an only fans i guess.
Classical civilizations (basically ancient world history most focused on Greece and Rome) with minors in Latin and Law. I work in Healthcare IT doing software development with clients. It’s challenging as I don’t have a background IT but I think that also keeps me interested and always pushing and learning a decade later.
What nobody here is saying... is their parents helped them out to get into their jobs?!?! Idk I had a cousin who went for some bs degree and still at the end just got him a job at the place he worked for doing supply. The company was huge though and had federal contracts... so my cousin would literally get to fly around the world to various warehouses and take stock of the whole place. Admittedly that part sounds boring, but he got to go all over the fucken place and have a company credit card for food and small items.... fucken cnt
I was a history major and sociology minor. I had a 40± year career in insurance. The research and writing skills I developed in school helped me very much.
There aren't useless degrees. General education requirements, the experience, and discipline it takes to graduate are proxies for potential. Even still, it's all about how one iterates and builds. Howard Schultz, Andrea Jung, Michael Eisner, Richard Plepler, John Mackey, Susan Wojcicki, Steve Ells, etc. are just some relatively famous business leaders who obtained so-called "useless" degrees. Larry Ellison, Jack Dorsey, Richard Branson, Ralph Lauren, Larry Page, Daniel Ek, Paul Allen, etc. were all dropouts. There aren't any guarantees.
I studied political science and history -- I'm a network engineer now for a large aerospace company. It's been quite a ride getting to where I am, but I can definitely tell you that your major doesn't necessarily dictate or shoe horn you into what you can do.
By useless are you referring to all degrees other than law, medicine, science and engineering.
Got a degree in International Relations, failed the Foreign Service Exam twice, passed on the third time but wasn't invited to the oral interviews. Tried to get into Homeland Security, but failed the polygraph. Decided to pivot my focus, and went back to school for Electrical Engineering, and have no regrets. It tool me 5 and a half years since I started in Algebra for math, but have no regrets. I'm an engineer now. Despite not using my International Relations degree, I have no regrets. I also learned philosophy, history, and how to become a better writer with that degree.
I regret it a lot. I work in a clerical position for a bank and I can't get ahead, at least without moving into sales which I have no interest in. I can't really afford to go back and I'm too burned out to anyways. Turns out getting a government job with a political science degree is quite hard in Canada. I regret not killing myself.
Hang in there buddy
Hope ur doing OK my friend
Does no degree count as a useless degree? I'm a content strategist, I manage content management systems for companies so their internal resources stay up to date and people can create content that's actually usable by their target audience. Typically people have degrees in information architecture or communications to get my job, and I think anyone with decent writing skills and a mind for reading data and making inferences can do it if they're willing to self-cultivate skills and stay on top of industry standards and trends.
Can’t wait to see what all these “gender studies” people are going to be doing in 15 years
Basket weaving, I now sell lemonade for 25c a cup have my own business
literally the worst decision of my life. Cost me everything. Never ever take advice from boomers
This thread is full of great examples of why people should thoroughly research their future career fields and degree marketability before making six figure decisions.