Studied liberal arts in college and have a job that has nothing to do with my major. Anyone else in this boat?

Thanks For Stuff wrote:

It doesn't say ANYTHING about the college system.

Where did you get the idea that the undergraduate college years were for professional preparation anyway?

I went to one of the nation's so-called top 50 colleges. My plumber makes more than I do and I am envious of his freedom and his stud muffin status. (chicks dig his butt crack and that he wears a tool belt in their kitchen.)

the whole college things is overrated, right up there with the "everybody deserves to own a home," that killed our economy back in 2008-2009.

Thank you for your post! We keep telling our students that they can major in the humanities and then get great jobs in lots of interesting fields. And you have proved us right! We feature you prominently on the departmental website and in the brochures we pass out in every 101 class. Look at Just Another Guy, we say. He majored in history, and now he's earning six figures in banking. In a few more years, we hope you'll begin donating regularly and generously to the people who made you what you are today.

You know what's a lot more boring than studying history? Just about everything, actually. You could have spent four years of your life staring at accounting textbooks and ended up exactly where you are today, except you'd be even duller to hang around. Instead, you used your hard work in high school to get into Yale, where you networked your way into a great job. Congratulations. You're doing it right!

Just another guy. wrote:

So I studied history at Yale because I thought it would be just awesome to be that guy at bars who could tell you everything about the agrarian precapitalist societies of the southern colonies and crap like that.

Good Will Hunting. Nice.

X-Runner wrote:

Just another guy. wrote:

but can someone make me feel better about the 4 years I spent in New Haven studying freaking history?

If you didn't complete your degree, you wouldn't have your job today.

Getting a college degree, in anything, shows you set a goal and accomplished it.

It you gives you an advantage for employment over others that did not get their degree or didn't even try to go to college.

He would have the job. Nepotism. Look it up.

Who Owns History? wrote:

Majored in Philosophy at a "Baby Ivy"

Wall Street

Now a serial entrepreneur.

I reflect on my studies constantly. I am very lucky to have had the luxury to study liberal arts. It is invaluable, but increasingly a pursuit of the wealthy.

have some self respect, wtf is a "baby ivy"?

Cunliffe wrote:

...

- How many people here, at least five years out of college, use any of the technical skills that they learned as an undergrad? None.

...

I went to a liberal arts college and double majored in ME and math, then pursued an MS in mechanical engineering. I'm not strictly a mechanical engineer so I don't use all of the technical skills (especially fluids, heat transfer, thermodynamics) I learned in college but leverage many aspects of my undergraduate and graduate education on a daily basis in the design and control of robots.

That said, I graduated from college four years ago so I have yet to cross your five year threshold.

Got degrees in Geography and Computer science at a liberal arts college...I'm now in construction management for a gov't contractor and using absolutely nothing I learned in school.

On the other hand, I did go to the Ivy League school with the most highly regarded geology department and the top two guys on the freshman cross country team ended up majoring in geology. And they're both geologists now, quite prominent ones in their field Of course they do have advanced degrees, but they got on the right track as undergrads, as it were..

ivy diapers wrote:

Who Owns History? wrote:

Majored in Philosophy at a "Baby Ivy"

Wall Street

Now a serial entrepreneur.

I reflect on my studies constantly. I am very lucky to have had the luxury to study liberal arts. It is invaluable, but increasingly a pursuit of the wealthy.

have some self respect, wtf is a "baby ivy"?

Some call them, "Little Ivies"

Hmm, I have a BS from a NESCAC school and have never heard anyone seriously refer to our alma mater as belonging to that category

The problem is forcing undergraduates to pick 'majors'. Stupid. Majors serve academic departments more than they serve students. Just get a well rounded college education that includes science and the humanities.

http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2016-01/well-educated-officer

Pop_pop!_v2.2.1 wrote:

X-Runner wrote:

If you didn't complete your degree, you wouldn't have your job today.

Getting a college degree, in anything, shows you set a goal and accomplished it.

It you gives you an advantage for employment over others that did not get their degree or didn't even try to go to college.

He would have the job. Nepotism. Look it up.

I don't know if his dad's friend would have hooked him up if he dropped out if college or never attended.

Right now you have a chance to save some money. Don't get in debt, don't blow it on "lifestyle".

Save for a few years. Think about what you love to do. Then do it.

notroll wrote:

My plumber makes more than I do.

I don't know whether my plumber makes *more* than I do, but he lives one street over (and we live in a, um... "aspirational" town). His son is being groomed to take over the biz. Smart boy.

I actually like my plumber: he's a great guy. Very helpful. Only serves the local neighborhood ('cuz, really, that's all he needs to do). Plus he helps me in my charitable activities. Praise be we both served; gives us some common ground.

Just remember that Gordon Wood did not underestimate the impact of social distinctions predicated upon wealth and you'll be fine.

You may have missed the point of a history degree, which is not about memorizing mundane factoids, but rather the ability to look at sources from the past, analyze their meaning, discuss your ideas with others, and synthesize this process into a reasoned interpretation on some facet of the way the world works. This is in addition to the technical skills of learning how to write, to read quickly, to communicate with other people with a balance of clarity and expertise, and the ability to listen to others. As a doctoral candidate in history, I stress this to students in my history courses every week.

Also, can you get me a job?

ivy diapers wrote:

Hmm, I have a BS from a NESCAC school and have never heard anyone seriously refer to our alma mater as belonging to that category

Typically, "Little/Baby Ivies" refers to 3 schools only.

Undergrad in Physiology, advanced degree in Immunogenetics. Worked in the organ transplant field for 10 years. Then spent the next 18 years in IT as a developer and solution architect. My current company requires a college degree. It didn't matter that I don't do anything with DNA or chromosomes in the position I now hold.

Who Owns History? wrote:

ivy diapers wrote:

Hmm, I have a BS from a NESCAC school and have never heard anyone seriously refer to our alma mater as belonging to that category

Typically, "Little/Baby Ivies" refers to 3 schools only.

Radcliffe, Smith and Wellesley, per chance?