Education

[longshot]

How far have you gone in school, and what has it done for you?

Are you working in a field related to your degree?

I've graduated from a four year University with high honors as a dual major. My degree was in advertising and East Asian studies. I teach English in Japan until August of this year.

It's difficult to interview for positions overseas, and I really don't think a career in advertising is for me.

So...

I've decided at this point, unless I get a terrific offer, that I'm going back to school for a second degree. After that, I'll possibly enter grad school.

I'll be honest, the response from family and friends has been lukewarm.

[Miss X]

I have a BA hons in Sociology and I'm working for Social Services at the moment, going on to do a masters in social work in September if everything goes to plan.

Having a degree hasn't really made it any easier to find a job, and really, it doesnt have a lot to do with what my job is about. I thought I would finish uni and know what I was gonna do with life, but I really dont. I wanna be a proper sociologist but that involves a PhD and I'm not sure I have the motivation.

As for you doing a second degree, I say go for it. :heart: learning and studying, its so much easier than work. My mum always told me, education is never a waste, get as much of it as you can. Good Luck!

[Scott]

I have a masters degree in CS. I hope to have my PHD as soon as I can pry myself from my current job to go back.

What I am doing and hope to continue doing is to computer repair. I enjoy it, and I hope to continue to do it. My current job is working for a corperate office repairing the network and everything else stupid people break..... I love it, and I hope I can continue working here or another building for the rest of my life.

[AnticorRifling]

No degree, but I got about two years of random, general studies knocked out while I was in the Marines. I was hoping to be dangerously close to my BA but 9/11 put us on some serious work schedules that from what the guys in my old unit are telling me are just now begining to slow down.

I was going towards a MCIS and I currently work as a hardware tech for a large pharma company. I'm switching roles to take over the logistics because our inventory system is retarded and I told them I could make it better. Gotta use technology not just deploy it :cool:

[Myshel]

I got my BA, then quit school to get my Real Estate License. I worked for years in that field. I decided to become a personal chef, quit Real Estate and got some training in that.

[TheEschaton]

I have a B.S. in CS from a university.

I plan on, after going to the Peace Corps, going to law school/public policy school/Divinity school. Yes, all three.

-TheE-

[Wezas]

I've got 2 semesters at NoVa (w00t, w00t) where I took a few programming classes and dropped calc. twice. I didn't feel like going to college, but it may had been different if I'd have applied and gone to a real school.

Currently I'm a programmer at a company I've been with 6 years. The company's been bought twice, and we've had 2 or 3 layoff rounds, but my position seems to be secure. I goof off most of the day on the boards and playing games. Every now and then program something that "wow"s them and makes them think I worked for days on it.

[Kuyuk]

I'm in training to become a chef at New England Culinary Institute(http://www.neculinary.com/). It's the bomb. I'm going on internship to Idaho's South Fork lodge (southforklodge.com) in 2 weeks. In a year, I'll be going on my second year internship where-ever I choose. The school kicks ass, the classes kick ass (except for the schedules of being up at 2 AM for bakeshop) and most of the people in the college kick ass. After I graduate, there's like a 97% placement rank, and within two years, 75% of the grads make between 50k-200k. Not that I care about money, but it shows that the placement is for head/sous chefs and manager positions.


Kuyuk

[Myshel]

I think life is an education, if you have been out in the work force after you think your education has finished, and find that its not what you wanted. By all means go for it. I know so many people who have degree's and are not using them at all.

I also know people who never had a chance at a higher education and are doing quite well without one. My husband is a perfect example, he left Greece when he was 15 to work on a tanker. He never finished HS, but is self educated. He immigrated to this country, within a year taught himself to speak, read and write English, by the time he was 30 he was making over a 100k a year. He has had to work 60 to 90 hours a week to do that. He drills it into the kids what he could have done with his life if he had a education. His words to them are "don't be too busy making money that you don't have a life".

[Edited on 4-2-2004 by Myshel]

[Soulpieced]

I'll be graduating in May with a BBA in Information Systems.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

I doubled in Chemistry and Zoology in college, getting BS in both. I work as an analyst for AOL, so I'm not using it at all. My passion and skill really is in databases, programming and math, so I'm doing what I love.

My "dream job", I know I've said before, would be to own/cook for, my own restuarant.

[TheEschaton]

I don't use my degree in CS at all, either, SHM. All it does for me is make scripting easier in GS and zMUD. Heh. But I'm doing what I love now too, so it doesn't matter.

-TheE-

[longshot]

Originally posted by Suppa Hobbit Mage
I doubled in Chemistry and Zoology in college, getting BS in both. I work as an analyst for AOL, so I'm not using it at all. My passion and skill really is in databases, programming and math, so I'm doing what I love.

My "dream job", I know I've said before, would be to own/cook for, my own restuarant.

I've always been good at math, but I shyed away from it in college.

I've declared economics as a major, so I will be taking a lot of math. Tough math. I always liked, but the first time in college I was too wrapped up in other stuff. I thought I didn't need it... big mistake.

You're an analyst... if you had to learn one programming language, what would you learn?

[Edited on 4-2-2004 by longshot]

[Galleazzo]

I never went to college, went into the Navy right out of HS. I haven't done too bad.

[peam]

I've an A.A.S in General Studies from the Virginia community college system. <3Wezas<3

I should be graduating sometime in 2005 with a B.B.A. in either Finance or Business Admin.

[Tsa`ah]

Bachelors from Illinois State University in Liberal Arts & Science. Pre-med with honors.

The degree isn't relevant to my field, but the chem and mathematics are used daily.

The private holding I work for makes plastic containers used all over the continental US and now in the Eastern European block. I specialize in the beverage branch serving as customer support and relations, statistical and logistical analysis, process and materials R&D, quality concepts and quality engineer. :S

Mint makes as much as I do an hour, but I put in hellacious hours to scrape in at under 90 a year. I'm currently considering Myshel's husband's advice.

I could spend roughly 20 semester credit hours and get a bachelors in nursing and double my hourly working through services. I just burned myself out pre-maturely on the bureaucracy that is our medical system.

Honestly, I want to attend culinary school and open a vineyard or ski lodge bed and breakfast. Cooking is a passion with me.

Alternatively I would chuck the degree in a heartbeat to take over the family farm or any farm. I miss simplicity and sense of accomplishment.

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

Originally posted by longshotYou're an analyst... if you had to learn one programming language, what would you learn?


Hmmm, thats a good question.
Right now I know SAS, BRIO, VBA stuff for Access & Excel, and some Business Objects.

If I was thinking "Whats the database language of the future?" I'd say Business Objects and SAS are great languages/codes to know.

I personally, want to learn C++ and VB, which I hear are both logical and fairly easy, I just haven't applied myself to learning them.

I'd also like to learn XML.

[DeV]

Miss X, a degree in Social Work rocks! My mother has her Masters and I find that she absolutely loves what she does.

[Chadj]

In HS. I work for the city. Yay.

[Fengus]

Originally posted by Suppa Hobbit Mage
I personally, want to learn C++ and VB, which I hear are both logical and fairly easy, I just haven't applied myself to learning them.

I'd also like to learn XML.

VB isn't logical although while it not easy to learn and use its easy to create things once you know what you are doing.

Also XML isn't a language, its markup and to be honest there is very little to learn. Now XSLT, thats something and a very interesting development that I am sure you'll see more of down the road. I've used them both for an application and they solved a lot of problems elegantly.

[Wezas]

Originally posted by Suppa Hobbit Mage
Right now I know SAS, BRIO, VBA stuff for Access & Excel, and some Business Objects.

I personally, want to learn C++ and VB, which I hear are both logical and fairly easy,

While I can't speak for C++, if you've done VBA in access, you'll have no problem learning VB. My company is still using VB for all of our internal products. Slowly they're trying to steer us programmers from VB to a more java-based atmosphere. C++ (from what I hear) is more difficult to learn then VB, but is much more powerful.

VB is to Programming as
AOL is to Internet

[Latrinsorm]

Just wrapping up my first year of college (minirant: adults always lied to me about school :() and I've yet to have a job that requires thinking. I'm hoping to get some kind of lab job involving physics when I get out of grad school (which my school will pay me to go to, how sweet is that?!?) and if I decide a couple other things.

Aside: C++ takes a goodly amount of practice, but I found it eventually becomes second nature. Books are worthless, I've got a bunch of powerpoint things that teach it just fine.

[HarmNone]

Bachelors in Psychology, Bachelors in Nursing, Masters in Health Care Management. My degrees allow me to do what I love doing. :)

HarmNone

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

Originally posted by Latrinsorm

Aside: C++ takes a goodly amount of practice, but I found it eventually becomes second nature. Books are worthless, I've got a bunch of powerpoint things that teach it just fine.

Mind sending em to Tayvin@aol.com? :-D

[Anebriated]

If you have knowledge in other languages C++ isnt that bad. I think its a little more logical than some of the other languages out there.

[Mint]

Originally posted by longshot
I'll be honest, the response from family and friends has been lukewarm.

Are they the ones that will be funding your continuing education? If not then don't worry about them. Don't wake up one morning when you are old and think 'Crap, shoulda done what I wanted'

[Skirmisher]

Yes.

[Hulkein]

Almost finished my fourth semester at a University.. Journalism major, got accepted to the major like a week ago. I've only really taken GenEd so far, so I mean I've applied some of what I've learned here and there, but nothing major.

I work as a plumber part time and full-time over the summers. Not much my history or english classes do to help me in that field, heh.

[Latrinsorm]

Originally posted by Suppa Hobbit Mage
Mind sending em to Tayvin@aol.com? :-D Not at all. How much space do you have, though? They get pretty big.

[Sean]

I'm currently at the end of my 4th year out of 5 for a Bachelors of Architecture. Well hopefully 5th I might have an extra semester or summer session to clear up some gened classes I never took. Currently when I'm not in school I work for an architecture firm doing cad work and design work. So I am using the skills that I'm learning in school.

[Shari]

I'm in my fourth year getting my BFA in photography. I'm sure in some way or another I'll be using my education from the school to apply it to my job. Most places I've worked don't really care WHAT degree I got, so long as I'm going/have gone to college.

I graduate this December (FINALLY) and I'm so burned out on studio projects I think I'll take a year off from anything art-related all together. My brain is numb from trying to get projects/ideas put together for the last four years and I can't believe I'm saying this...but I would really like a normal, 40hr/wk job that I don't have to use creativity on!

[Vesi]

I started working straight out of high school and waited two years to go to college. I worked full time while attending college. I ended up never finishing college since I had a job that paid more than most jobs I could get with a degree at the time. (this was in the olden days kids... finish college) I finally took a buyout from my company and decided to be a stay at home mom when my daughter was around 12. She'll be going to college in the next year and a half. I might go back to college just because I love learning or work part-time someplace. I really haven't decided... just taking it as it comes.

Vesi

Edited to fix a sentence and it still doesn't look correct! Stay in school. <wink>

[Edited on 4-2-2004 by Vesi]