College Education?

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**daedalus**

I have the majority of a BA in Computer Science. Due to a bit of a nervous breakdown my last year caused by stupidly overloading myself on classes, I bailed and got a big boy job. The idea was to just take a break, making money for myself for when I went back, and the job was supposed to be temporary anyway. Five and a half years later, job has become much less temporary, and they've kept promoting me in the meanwhile, so I must be doing something right.

**Ahtman**

Bachelor's in Philosophy and in History with minors in Japanese and Film Studies. As you can guess, employers are beating down my door.

Depending on the living circumstances I will be starting my Masters in Philosophy on a Ph.D track in either August or January.

Or I am lying and really I am a girl that makes money on internet cameras with little post-secondary education. The world will never know...for less than $4.99 a minute.

**azazel the cat**

I've got degrees in history and criminology (I am the Goddamned Batman) and am currently doing post-grad work in education.

**infinite_array**

I'm currently pursuing a history major, and I'm staying an extra semester to pick up a minor in IS&T - which will still give me plenty of options when it comes time to get a real job.

**Ouze**

Ahtman wrote:
Bachelor's in Philosophy and in History with minors in Japanese and Film Studies. As you can guess, employers are beating down my door.

I have to say I laughed at that. Well said.

**dogma**

djones520 wrote:

So, again, what has everyone else got going for them?

The short story is that I have a BA in political science and philosophy, with a minor in economics from Macalester College. This eventually lead to a number of courses in political science taken at Eastern Illinois University, and a PhD awarded by University of Illinois.

The minor in economics was supposed to be a major, but I decided that money spent on booze was better than money spent on additional credits; which is also why I finished with a 2.9.

**Seaward**

BA in History from Thomas Jefferson's alma mater (go Tribe), and then, because I actually wanted to make money at some point in my life, an MBA with a Project Management concentration.

**azazel the cat**

Seaward wrote:BA in History

I have trouble believing this, given some of your past comments.

**Seaward**

azazel the cat wrote:
I have trouble believing this, given some of your past comments.

William and Mary '05, boyo. But yeah, you'd think an easy, rather worthless program would breed bleeding hearts, huh? It usually does. I make it a strict policy not to hire history majors.

**KalashnikovMarine**

"I on the other hand am a fully rounded human being with a degree from the university of life, a diploma from the school of hard knocks, and three gold stars from the kindergarten of getting the gak kicked out of me."
-Captain Edmund Blackadder

Meanwhile in reality between school and the military I have roughly 112 college credits, and I'll be getting an associate's degree in occupational studies from my trade school program Fall 2014. I might go back later for a business degree, but I'm not in any particular rush to do so.

**azazel the cat**

Seaward wrote:
azazel the cat wrote:
I have trouble believing this, given some of your past comments.

William and Mary '05, boyo. But yeah, you'd think an easy, rather worthless program would breed bleeding hearts, huh? It usually does. I make it a strict policy not to hire history majors.

To your comments: Communications, Liberal Arts, etc. I would understand and it would make sense... but honestly? I'm not sure how you equate 'bleeding hearts' to History degrees. I think that's quite a strange leap.

**Seaward**

azazel the cat wrote:
To your comments: Communications, Liberal Arts, etc. I would understand and it would make sense... but honestly? I'm not sure how you equate 'bleeding hearts' to History degrees. I think that's quite a strange leap.

Anything in social sciences tends to breed people strongly in favor of the welfare state, in my experience.

For obvious and self-serving reasons. Ba-dum ching.

**Gorskar.da.Lost**

azazel the cat wrote:
Seaward wrote:
azazel the cat wrote:
I have trouble believing this, given some of your past comments.

William and Mary '05, boyo. But yeah, you'd think an easy, rather worthless program would breed bleeding hearts, huh? It usually does. I make it a strict policy not to hire history majors.

To your comments: Communications, Liberal Arts, etc. I would understand and it would make sense... but honestly? I'm not sure how you equate 'bleeding hearts' to History degrees. I think that's quite a strange leap.

An especially strange leap, given that historians are some of the most outspoken, violently opinionated people I know, and God help you if they decide your theories need tearing apart.

**Happygrunt**

Well, when I finish high school in the next couple months (which cannot come soon enough) I will be going to CWU and working at a BA in Political Science.

After school I would really like to work for the government, so I feel like this would be a good place to start.

**azazel the cat**

Seaward wrote:
azazel the cat wrote:
To your comments: Communications, Liberal Arts, etc. I would understand and it would make sense... but honestly? I'm not sure how you equate 'bleeding hearts' to History degrees. I think that's quite a strange leap.

Anything in social sciences tends to breed people strongly in favor of the welfare state, in my experience.

For obvious and self-serving reasons. Ba-dum ching.

Well, that, or else they've determined that the welfare state actually is the best way to go, insofar as the progress of civilization is concerned. I know it's antithesis to your silly libertarian rhetoric, but then, if your own rhetoric makes you a thousand times more likely to get eaten by bears because you reject civilization and want to go be a mountain man like Jeremiah Johnson, well, maybe you should re-evaluate your rhetoric.

Also: as strong and stalwart as you try to make yourself sound, ultimately everyone here knows that if/when you need the help, you'll hypocritically run towards bankruptcy protection, unemployment and welfare once you get hungry enough.

**Kovnik Obama**

*Sigh*

And this could have gone so well.

**Blacksails**

Have a BA in Military and Strategic Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada.

I'd like to go back and get my master's in War Studies, but its very career dependent at this point.

**Gorskar.da.Lost**

Kovnik Obama wrote:
*Sigh*

And this could have gone so well.

Ah, it was inevitable, really. Put two people with an academic background in a (virtual) room together, and they'll end up brandishing daggers at each other sooner or later.

**Seaward**

Happygrunt wrote:
Well, when I finish high school in the next couple months (which cannot come soon enough) I will be going to CWU and working at a BA in Political Science.

After school I would really like to work for the government, so I feel like this would be a good place to start.

Do you know what, specifically, you want to do for the government? I'd almost always recommend a specialized BS over a BA. I've got a buddy, for example, who does environmental impact consulting, and handles a lot of government business. He went to school for...environmental biology, I want to say? Surprisingly lucrative field.

**azazel the cat**

Seaward wrote:
Happygrunt wrote:
Well, when I finish high school in the next couple months (which cannot come soon enough) I will be going to CWU and working at a BA in Political Science.

After school I would really like to work for the government, so I feel like this would be a good place to start.

Do you know what, specifically, you want to do for the government? I'd almost always recommend a specialized BS over a BA. I've got a buddy, for example, who does environmental impact consulting, and handles a lot of government business. He went to school for...environmental biology, I want to say? Surprisingly lucrative field.

I agree with Seaward 100% on this.

...That's right. That. Just. Happened.

**dogma**

Yeah, political science is really only useful if you intend to work in political or policy analysis, and even then only if you develop a strong background in statistics; which means that you're essentially requiring yourself to earn at least a Master's degree.

That said, some schools roll public administration into their political science major, and that field has significantly broader applications; though you'll still need a Master's of some sort if you want to be competitive in the job market.

**Da Boss**

I've got an honours degree in Biology with a minor in Experimental Physics. I went on to do two years of a PhD in epidemiology after that, but I dropped it for various reasons. Spent a couple of years unemployed/working as a security guard/nursery assistant and then went back to University for a higher diploma in education.

I reckon some day I'll go and get a masters, but I'm pretty happy being a teacher so it will probably be entirely for my own interest and not for career advancement.

**Gymnogyps**

I went to 4 schools, worked 2-3 jobs at a time, and took 7 years to get a BS in Biological Science and a minor in anthropology. My parents thought college was a waste of time, so not only did they not provide support, they actively worked against me getting a degree. So I went to state schools and community colleges just to keep costs affordable, but did graduate with no debt. That was 13 years ago, though.

Just by coincidence, all my electives (except ornithology) were in microbiology. After graduating, I temped as a junior microbiologist at a water quality lab in Southern California, then got hired as a QC microbiologist at a pharmaceutical company. I earned a really cool certificate in Pharmaceutical Engineering, which was extremely useful. Then, to increase my salary, I did a bit of job jumping in QC and QA, in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices. After about 8 years in industry, I started a part time MS at night / weekends, still working full time. Got my MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins, emphasis in Biodefense.

Now I'm thinking about going for another degree or certificate. A year ago I started working in seafood safety. Believe it or not, there are a lot of parallels in quality/safety of pharma and seafood... I'll likely go back for basic food science, food microbiology, or maybe seafood industry type courses.

Edit - better language

**Albatross**

Fafnir wrote:
I'll be finishing up my degree in New Media this summer (...seriously, I was one elective short of graduating...). Essentially, my focus is on graphic design, and digital illustration (for things like concept or promotional artwork for games and other mediums).

Would you be interested in doing some album artwork at some point? Shoot me a PM.

For my part, I have a first-class BA (hons) in Popular Music. Still reviewing my options as regards post-grad, but just got an entry-level job in banking so I'll probably just work my way up, most likely.

**kronk**

djones520 wrote:
Since the Air Force has turned tuition assistance back on, I'm scrambling to get enrolled in a new school. I was in the process of changing schools and programs when the thing got axed, and I want to get signed up for classes now incase something happens and takes it away again.

It's obvious there is a lot of educated folks here in the OT forum, and it made me curious as to what schoolin everyones had.

Mine has kind of been all over the place. I was accepted to Michigan Tech, and University of Michigan, in high school but decided to go the enlisted route in the military instead. I choose to become a weather forecaster and then spent 5 months in a pretty intense training program that awarded me 35 college credits towards meteorology. My first assignment had me take a correspondence course that got me another 8 credits. I was then sent back to school where I picked up another 22 credits in a 3 month period (all this in meteorology). When I was selected for promotion to become an NCO I was sent to a leadership school that awarded 9 credits in leadership and management over 6 weeks. I was then enrolled in another meteorological correspondence course that awarded be 4 more credits. On top of that I've earned a handful of other credits through various training programs the AF has offered me over my career. So I earned 83 college credits from the Community College of the Air Force (fully accredited). In order to complete my Associates Degree through them, I still needed a chunk of general education classes. So I took a bunch of CLEP and DANTES exams. I covered math, history, english, speech, humanities, and leadership and management. Ended up gathering another 36 credits that way, and it allowed me to finish up my Associates degree, earning an Associates of Science in Meterological Technologies.

From there I decided I did not want to push for a higher degree in weather since it would involve a lot of higher math, and quite frankly I hate higher math. So I searched around for some online schools, ended up selecting to go to Trident University International, since they were a very military friendly school, and spent the next year working on a degree for Environmental Health. After taking 6 classes with them, I got fed up with the course material, decided they didn't have any other degree programs that I was interested, and decided to move to the American Military University. Going to be working on a degree in Environmental Science with a focus in Wish and Wildlife Management.

So, again, what has everyone else got going for them?

If you want a decent job in the US, I would highly recommend either a degree or a vocational training (Plumber, auto repair, etc).

Use your GI Bill when you can, if you have the aptitude. I can't stress this enough as a (former) hiring manager.

I have a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, 15 years of process engineering experience with some management, and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. My current job is to study a manufacturing process, generally with a team, and make improvements to avoid quality losses, increase productivity, improve safety, and reduce costs. It's tough, but very rewarding both personally and monetarily. You have to influence many operators (the hourly shift workers) that don't report to you in the management chain, including supervisors and foreman. You have to know your gak, be able to stick to your guns when arguing with a 35 year man, and be tactful.

I'm debating getting a Masters in Industrial Engineering, as that's really what I'm doing.

**djones520**

azazel the cat wrote:
Seaward wrote:
Happygrunt wrote:
Well, when I finish high school in the next couple months (which cannot come soon enough) I will be going to CWU and working at a BA in Political Science.

After school I would really like to work for the government, so I feel like this would be a good place to start.

Do you know what, specifically, you want to do for the government? I'd almost always recommend a specialized BS over a BA. I've got a buddy, for example, who does environmental impact consulting, and handles a lot of government business. He went to school for...environmental biology, I want to say? Surprisingly lucrative field.

I agree with Seaward 100% on this.

...That's right. That. Just. Happened.

*head explodes*

**Easy E**

Gymnogyps wrote:
I went to 4 schools, worked 2-3 jobs at a time, and took 7 years to get a BS in Biological Science and a minor in anthropology. My parents thought college was a waste of time, so not only did they not provide support, they actively worked against me getting a degree. So I went to state schools and community colleges just to keep costs affordable, but did graduate with no debt. That was 13 years ago, though.

Congrats. It sounds like you worked your tail off.