College Degree and Jobs

[edr247]

Not sure why he didn't want to do so (my coworker didn't tell me about it) but from what I concluded: he really likes a structured lifestyle and relocating is not considered "structured". Another reason why he didn't want to go to local law enforcement as it requires working "non-conventional hours" (8-5)

No offense to your coworker's son, but that's just crazy.

And I think that's the problem with the way our education system is run. We students are all told to do what we want to do, and to pursue our dreams. Yet nobody thinks to tell kids out of high school to consider what their life will be like after college. I mean, I'm sure there are 9-5 jobs that you can do for decent pay, structured lifestyle with a Criminal Justice degree. But chances are, if they exist, they're going to be far and few in between, and are likely to be filled with older folks with tons more relevant work experience than you.

[cyclone13]

Oh, lord, why in the world could someone who's graduated from college even think that working for the FBI in most any category would help a person maintain a structured lifestyle? Especially if said person didn't want law enforcement as a career/job "because" it had non-conventional hours. If that's the only reason he turned away from LE, I think we're all better off.

Perhaps a more interesting question is, "did his college life provide enough structure for his preferred lifestyle?"

I've seen similar situations with young men/women who just graduated. Or a lot of misconceptions about certain jobs.

A teacher whom I have been working for the last couple of years for her "Career Exploration' class told me that once she invited a police officer to talk about law enforcement career and the officer said that one thing that surprises a lot of people is when he explains that "you really have to like dealing with people" to be successful because it helps you defuse some tricky situations or make sure that situations don't deteriorate due to your actions. The officer mentioned that most people expected that you just need to be quick, be able to pull trigger, etc to be a police officer.

[CycloneErik]

No offense to your coworker's son, but that's just crazy.

And I think that's the problem with the way our education system is run. We students are all told to do what we want to do, and to pursue our dreams. Yet nobody thinks to tell kids out of high school to consider what their life will be like after college. I mean, I'm sure there are 9-5 jobs that you can do for decent pay, structured lifestyle with a Criminal Justice degree. But chances are, if they exist, they're going to be far and few in between, and are likely to be filled with older folks with tons more relevant work experience than you.

That's an outstanding point. That really needs to be taken more seriously during the draining of the finances.

[weR138]

Yeah, that's true. However, make sure they know that it's possible to get into med school with an art history major as well (though you'll have to be pre-med in terms of certain classes taken, volunteering, biomedical research, etc). But your point still remains. Either get a professional undergrad degree (though, I know a few architecture majors who couldn't get jobs straight out of undergrad), or plan on going to a professional school/grad school.

EDIT: Oops. Double post.

This is due to the worst construction stoppage since the Great Depression, hopefully we'll learn some lessons.

Also, my sons don't have to worry if this is their major; Dad's got the hook-up.

[cyclone13]

No offense to your coworker's son, but that's just crazy.

And I think that's the problem with the way our education system is run. We students are all told to do what we want to do, and to pursue our dreams. Yet nobody thinks to tell kids out of high school to consider what their life will be like after college. I mean, I'm sure there are 9-5 jobs that you can do for decent pay, structured lifestyle with a Criminal Justice degree. But chances are, if they exist, they're going to be far and few in between, and are likely to be filled with older folks with tons more relevant work experience than you.

No, I don't take it as offense: I actually agree with you. Too many people don't know what they get into.

My favourite personal story involved a friend of mine. We just finished college back in mid 90s and worked in public accounting where we worked crazy hours (we usually left around 2 AM Mon-Fri and 6/7 PM on sat) during Jan-May. I met a friend on her first day (I had been working for about 2 months) and I told her "don't expect to go home early, you'd be lucky if you can leave around 9-10 PM". Couple of days later I heard from another friend that she quit after first day "and actually, she asked whether she could be excused at 6.30 PM because she felt sick of working extremely long hours"

[azepp]

IMO, it's all about what you put into marketing yourself that determines what you'll get out of it. Part of that is making sure you're getting good grades and part is getting to know people who will help you get jobs in the future (networking!). Most kids just don't think far enough ahead to realize that if you start this marketing process the day you step on campus you're going to have success. If you wait until your senior career fair to start leanring about employers and making contacts in your chose career field, you've missed the bus.

[cyclone13]

IMO, it's all about what you put into marketing yourself that determines what you'll get out of it. Part of that is making sure you're getting good grades and part is getting to know people who will help you get jobs in the future (networking!). Most kids just don't think far enough ahead to realize that if you start this marketing process the day you step on campus you're going to have success. If you wait until your senior career fair to start leanring about employers and making contacts in your chose career field, you've missed the bus.

Some actually made mistakes by not knowing what they're into. I believe almost a quarter of my MBA class didn't know what to do with their degree (no offense: Psychology) that, in their own words, they decided to get a "real" degree. They thought that the degree is easy to get. They didn't even try to find a job with their undergrad degree at all as they thought it was rubbish and certainly didn't think a lot when picking their major apart of "it was easy to graduate".

[Bobber]

Interesting how highly some of the professional degree people think of themselves.....

Actually some of the most sucessful people I know don't have degrees, but that 's a different story.

Some of it's degree, some of it's luck, some of it's timing. I've found that people who generally do well in the end are hard workers, good communicators, and keep after it.

[Judoka]

Interesting how highly some of the professional degree people think of themselves.....

Actually some of the most sucessful people I know don't have degrees, but that 's a different story.

Of course there are outliers that succeed regardless of having no degree or a joke degree, but if you consider the average outcome, there is a reason people with "proffesional" type degrees get a little smug reading articles like these.

[azepp]

Interesting how highly some of the professional degree people think of themselves.....

Actually some of the most sucessful people I know don't have degrees, but that 's a different story.

Some of it's degree, some of it's luck, some of it's timing. I've found that people who generally do well in the end are hard workers, good communicators, and keep after it.

You're exactly right, and I'll bet you'll find that those with professional degrees tend to exhibit those traits more often, on average, than the general population. People with degrees in engineering, architecture, law, or medicine have to be hard working and persistent just to obtain their degree. To then be successful in their careers requires even more discipline.

It's certainly not impossible for someone without a professional degree to have a great career, but the fact that you have a professional degree is an indicator that you probably possess many of the traits necessary to have a successful career.

[cyclone13]

You're exactly right, and I'll bet you'll find that those with professional degrees tend to exhibit those traits more often, on average, than the general population. People with degrees in engineering, architecture, law, or medicine have to be hard working and persistent just to obtain their degree. To then be successful in their careers requires even more discipline.

It's certainly not impossible for someone without a professional degree to have a great career, but the fact that you have a professional degree is an indicator that you probably possess many of the traits necessary to have a successful career.

College degree only opens the door but like a steak, the price depends on what type of steak and how much meat you have. If you have a GPA of 2.0 without a better explanation why you only have 2.0 GPA - it's almost the same as not having a degree when you apply for the job.

[Kitkat]

This is an interesting thread, but the problem is broader than just the kind of degree you obtain. I am sorry not to have a more specific reference here, but I read the following article some months ago. If you are interested in the broader problem of employment in America, take a look at Michael Snyder's "The Middle Class is . . . Radically Shrinking," which I believe was first published in The Business Insider, July 15, 2010. The author gives 22 alarming statistics about middle class life and specifically middle class jobs and salaries.

[GoSTATE71]

I'm a Health and Human Physiology major (Pre-med track) at my university. I just hope i can get into medical school, if medical school doesn't work out I'll probably pursue a graduate degree in Health Administration and hopefully find a decent job with that, I've also thought about dentistry even though dental school is just as difficult as medical school but my dad owns a large practice so i would have great job security out of Dental school..I feel like having connections is also very important. One of my brothers best friends dad was a president of some company i cant remember but it landed him a good job in a unrelated field from his major

[Bobber]

You're exactly right, and I'll bet you'll find that those with professional degrees tend to exhibit those traits more often, on average, than the general population. People with degrees in engineering, architecture, law, or medicine have to be hard working and persistent just to obtain their degree. To then be successful in their careers requires even more discipline.

It's certainly not impossible for someone without a professional degree to have a great career, but the fact that you have a professional degree is an indicator that you probably possess many of the traits necessary to have a successful career.

Actually some of those folks are some of the worst people skills I've delt with. I've met some darn rude engineers.

[cyhawkdmb]

I agree with that sentiment. There probably aren't enough jobs out there in areas that a lot of people love. I know people who borrowed money to get degrees such as art history, and video game design.

If you go that route, you better have the personality to sell for a living or have a love for serving and brewing expensive lattes because that is what your options might be.

Haha Barleys bar in CB is full of Iowa Grads bartending.....


just saying.....