I know I've left it kinda late to ask for advice, since my choices have to be entered in within three hours, but this is more out of curiosity than advice.. How many of you have a job in the field which you took your degree in ? If so, Did the degree help you immensely ? Did the job value/require that specific degree ? Did you feel compelled to do any postgrad studies ? Do your employers look at the uni you attended ?
Challenger I attained a bachelors degree in business to help me run my plumbing company. I would have gone farther but the masters program only dealt with large companies and multi nationals. I really did not need that much education to run my own shop. Not that much but any education is better than none at all. My company did not require that I had a degree but again I found it useful. Not at all. I have retired and sold my company to someone who now runs it and has changed the mname of the company as well.
Yes, but it would have been pretty difficult to get into engineering without a degree, Yes, and it required a Masters (Bachelors seem toi be getting phased out in the UK) Nope. I might have considered it if the jobs market for engineers was tough, but at the time there were plenty of opportunities. The thing is, some jobs dont require a specific degree. I could have gone into the financial sector like accounting or something with my degree, in fact the finance industry has been recruiting engineering grads for years. Skill that are transferable are very useful. I knew I wanted to do engineering, and thats what degree I chose to do.
Nope. Nope, you don't need a degree to be in engineering. Nope. Nope. Which is not to say that I don't study/ learn new things. But that's my own agenda.
i do. accounting. climbed the ladder for 10 years after graduating, got immensely sick of the corporate world and left for almost a decade, and now am reluctantly back, until my plans for something else come to fruition. oh yeah. there's no way i could do what i've done without it. yes. i did at one time, until i found i wouldn't have a life at all between a full time job and grad school, so i quit grad school.
Got a degree in accounting. A degree with honours, that is, and pretty high marks. Was on my way to become a Chartered Accountant (equivalent of the American "CPA" designation). I also happen to be a computer geek with some education in computers, so I was already working in IT when I graduated in accounting. When I failed to get a job with one of the "Big Four", and then all the medium-sized and even smaller firms, I thought about it and reached a decision to continue with my IT career. I am very happy as all of my co-students who did make it are miserable, overworked, underfriended, overweight, some are depressed... and who can blame them... the path to become a CA, and then having the life of one, are hard and thankless. Even the money you make, you don't have time to spend it, or to enjoy whatever you end up buying, since you're always working. I'd say most people with university degrees that I know are not working in their field, if they have a job at all. My advice is, unless you're insanely driven and very very specific about what you want to do, and know EXACTLY how to get there, choose something very practical, because a bachelor of fine arts or political "science", or literature, or advertising, won't get you anywhere except as a "sales associate" at the local mall, or a secretary, or taking some completely different 2-year continuing-education college certificate after you graduate already. Or worse, continue towards a Masters degree because you just don't want to give up. And then, once reaching that milestone and seeing you've still got no job prospects, you do your PhD. Then their job prospects are in teaching and researching. To become a full fledged professor with something RESEMBLING a steady half-decent and stable income, it would take you 5 years at the earliest. That's after 4 years of university, 2 years more of masters, and 3-5 years more for PhD. Good luck. EDIT: Now to the other questions: To become a CA (my original goal) there are lots of prerequisites, one of which is specifically degree in accounting. I am mostly self-taught. My one year of "official" education (I wrote 2 years on my resume) make me look just a little better... but mostly, you start at the bottom and work there for 1-2 years. You learn on the job, prove yourself a good worker to your boss and co-workers who would be the ones hooking you up with other jobs in the years to come (a.k.a. "networking"), and gain experience for your next job. What you learn on the job becomes more relevant to the boss than the degree you've attained years ago. It will most likely lead to that, but I'm going to hold off as long as I can. Nowadays getting extra certificates after graduation and while working are the norm. Mostly those are individual courses and certifications, but some people go for MBAs (I think that's useless), or PMP (project management post-grad degree). From what I saw, MBAs wont get you any further unless you're already there. As for PMP, again, unless you're promised a PM position upon completion of PMP, it's most likely to give you no advantage at all at work.
Have several degrees. Don't use any of them. Some of my doc friends do. Most of my other friends are in totally unrelated fields.
Great. So, If I do a double degree, Say, Communication studies and Engineering, I'll have greater prospects than if I did A Ba in Science majoring in Psychology.. Also, Do your employers care about specific universities more than others ?
I got a degree in Graphic Design and Photography. I am now working in a similar field, but hardly anything I learned applies. It was a little help as far as learning the way designers talk about things. The degree did help get the job, it was a positive thing for my resume. I don't feel compelled to do post grad in art or sculpture. I doubt my employer checked my school records. The certainly didn't care about my grades (which were awful). Most of my training was on the job, but I took a few courses in various 3D modelling programs.
How many of you have a job in the field which you took your degree in ? Me. If so, Did the degree help you immensely ? Yes. Did the job value/require that specific degree ? It required a degree in my field. Did you feel compelled to do any postgrad studies ? Not compelled, but it is an option they're giving me. Do your employers look at the uni you attended ? Yes.
