College degree and working at "McDonalds"?
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I knew a guy who went and got a degree in history but no teaching certificate. He got out of school and could not find work. Now he is having to go back and get the teaching cert. I have no idea why he thought he would be able to find a job with a BS in history.
I also knew a few people get degrees in marine biology and could not find jobs. The problem is that there are very few places that hire marine biologists and those that do prefer to see ones with a masters or a doctorate.
Some people jump into degrees that seem cool to them. However, they do not look forward and consider how that degree will help them get a job. Once they are out of school, they need to find employment to pay for the bills.
A degree in philosphey or french pottery does not get one too far in the world. They deserve the job they get. These "career" students also deserve what they get, when they work at Starbucks or McDonalds.
In this world, one needs a Master's degree in order to maintain an upper middle class lifestyle. Professional degrees are not for every one and most people do not end up working in the field they major in. A liberal arts education is a well rounded education.
What is your question? Everyone needs to eat.
Nothing as bad as McDonalds, but I know a guy with a Masters who works as a video game tester - that's a low-level, mostly-contract job. His field was History, so it was prettymuch a given that he wasn't going to work in his field much (he didn't want to teach).
Thing is, it /is/ the economy. Before the slump, he had a job at an investment firm and made good money & bennies. Once the bottom fell out, contract work was the best he could get.
OK, by me.
Possibly. I studied advertising communications and realized pretty early on that if I wanted to make lots of money in the field, I would have to promote things that were completely contrary to my personal values. So I work for an in-house company making much less than I would have if I had just "sold my soul" for my career.
Yeah, it's true, if I had studied something else, I probably could have made a lot more without that moral dilemma getting in the way...but it's what interested me, and I don't really regret it.
I believe all degrees are worthwhile. Some degrees may be better suited for higher paying jobs, but the education recieved while pursuing any degree is invaluable.
I agree with you. For example, one can get their associates in psychology, but you can't do diddle with an associates degree in psychology. You have to have AT LEAST a Masters to get decent pay.
I think it just shows a lack of ambition to find anything better. There are SCADS of good jobs out there that require a bachelor's degree. They don't care what kind, just so long as you have a piece of paper that says you showed up for four years and passed your classes. It can be communications, it can be sociology, it can be Hungarian literature, it doesn't matter. Don't get me wrong, if the person is working at McDonald's just to pay the bills while they find a job in their field then that's normal. I spent a year after college working security, tending bar, and waiting tables while I found a job as a chemical engineer. I was just very choosy about the job I took, and was willing to wait for the right opportunity. That was my choice. But overall, if they're working at McD's and complaining about not being able to find anything better they're just not looking. I know for a fact that most insurance companies will hire adjustors with any college degree at all. Maybe not the most interesting job, but it pays a helluva lot more than flipping burgers. On a side note, I knew a guy when I was an undergrad that had a PhD in astrophysics and a PhD in mathematics and worked at a Burger King. As a burger flipper. Super interesting guy, he had made a huge pile of money and was now trying to make the perfect fast food hamburger. He said that if anyone ever came back and told him how much they loved their burger he'd quit on the spot. I don't know what ever happened to him.
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