College grads: How many of you were/are still working in a job that's closely related to your major 10 years after graduation?

class of 2011 wrote:

I graduated in 2011 and hardly know anyone who's still working in a field that's closely related to what they majored in. Here are same examples:

Grad 1: Majored in mechanical engineering but is currently a UPS driver.

Grad 2: Majored in accounting but is currently a human resources analyst.

Grad 3: Majored in aerospace but is currently a construction inspector.

Grad 4: Majored in chemistry but is currently a Walgreens store manager.

Is this common?

I dropped out of HS and worked as a UPS driver, retired at 54 with more money than I'll need. Maybe that engineer got it figured.

Got my Master's in 1998. I'm a teacher- it's my last year.

I'm a history teacher so I really had no choice.

All the history factories are closed- you know, a factory where you make history.

1989, BS in Building Construction from Virginia Tech

1999, 3rd year student at Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine

B.A. in geology from a "selective" liberal arts school in 2011. i work for a tech consulting company now. never even remotely applied my knowledge of rocks to anything i've done since graduating. i had a several year sojourn in the education world (wanted to make a difference, blah blah blah) that i was not a good fit for. dull white collar office work suits me pretty well.

this is why i sometimes chime in on here when parents or high school kids are posting all obsessed with choosing the right school. nobody has EVER asked or remotely cared where i went to undergrad in my 10 years in the workforce. my coworkers and bosses are not especially smart and went to various state schools and bush-league religious private schools. and i did the "right" thing and went to a snooty liberal arts college where we were all little geniuses. luckily i didn't go into debt from it (thanks mom and dad!) but if i had i would probably be even more forceful about cautioning people away from it. i just don't see the value in the education i got in undergrad.

BA Physical Education

MS Ex Phys with an emphasis on Cardiac Rehab

I teach anatomy at the high school level and coach. So, fairly applicable

Out of high school, joined the Army and went to the Defense Language Institute. Graduated With honors. Had the opportunity to do some interpreter work on some 90’s era “Nation Building” exchanges with Belarus. That was actually pretty great, although my translation duties mostly involved questions such as, “how would you like your steak cooked, Colonel?”

Graduated in 2016 with a BA in Finance.

Work in industrial plumbing sales.

Kinda disappointed in myself to be honest.

Joey b wrote:

Graduated in 2016 with a BA in Finance.

Work in industrial plumbing sales.

Kinda disappointed in myself to be honest.

Can't sales be pretty lucrative? I know a girl who supports her entire family (her husband does not work, long story) based on her salary alone and they live in a $400K house.

I guess I understand if it's not your passion.

I’m not 10 years out yet, but my work is closely related to what I studied. Studied chemical engineering. You don’t really do chemical engineering, but aerospace engineering with some overlap.

50% or more of my ChE graduating class probably still has a ChE job directly. There are many (~20%) of them that got into finance jobs at the big banks.

I don’t really know what those jobs entail or why all of these ChE grads would be qualified, but I guess maybe if you’re smart enough and you’re willing work 60-80 hours a week, that’s what the big banks want.

I got a Commodore 64 in 1987 and realized I wanted to be a programmer, and that's what I did as a hobby throughout the 90s while I completed High School, went to the Army, and started a family. In 2000 I got an entry level job at the company I'm still at 22 years later...as a senior software engineer. No college, but I'm doing exactly what I wanted to do.

2000 - AAS in Radiography

2002 - BS in Radiologic Sciences (CT & MRI certifications

2010 - M. Ed. in Human Resource Education

2022 - Union Inside Wireman apprentice and making almost as much money in my second year as I was with almost 20 years experience as a CT Tech. I wish I'd gone to trade school 26 years ago.

B.A. anthropology - 4 year liberal arts college, but had a lot of credits in biology. I kind of wanted to go into paleoecology.

Grad degrees in natural resources and biology (behavior, nutrition, physiology of large mammals).

Spent 20 years as a wildlife biologist/habitat specialist (that included grad school)

20 years in environmental policy and planning, so yeah work combining biology, environmental, and social science (interaction of humans and the environment) probably relates to my degrees.

B.S. in chemistry, Ph.D. in chemistry, professor of chemistry at research universities for 35 years.

20 years out, bachelor's in criminal justice, MBA a year later, and a CPA 5 years later. Been in finance and accounting the entire time

I am. BS in Finance, Econ minor.

Bond Trader, then Equity Trader. Now Investment Analysts. Been in the industry for 2 decades.

I don't think it is bud. I graduated in 2009, a business degree cause I don't know what program to go with but I ended up in marketing.

2009-2013 - I worked for a marketing agency, focused on email - Account Manager

2013-2016 - I freelanced for a bit cause I wanted a new environment - Content, Accounts, Sales pretty much everything.

2016-2019 - Back to the agency life but this time an agency that does everything which became tocix af. - Account Man

2019-2020 - I worked for an agency again but this time one that's focused on email marketing -

https://codecrew.us/

- Business Dev

2021-Present - slowly building my own agency and taking some real estate programs.

Art history BA.

Currently work in private equity.

I don't think it is bud. I graduated in 2009, a business degree cause I don't know what program to go with but I ended up in marketing.

2009-2013 - I worked for a marketing agency, focused on email - Account Manager

2013-2016 - I freelanced for a bit cause I wanted a new environment - Content, Accounts, Sales pretty much everything.

2016-2019 - Back to the agency life but this time an agency that does everything which became tocix af. - Account Man

2019-2020 - I worked for an agency again but this time one that's focused on email marketing -

https://codecrew.us/

- Business Dev

2021-Present - slowly building my own agency and taking some real estate programs.