GWJ Useless Degree Club

Bear with me:

I'm Duoae and I have a PhD in Chemistry. Why is my degree useless? Because I'm basically performing the same job (incredibly lucky I have one at all!) as someone who just finished high school (A-Level in UK, around 18 yr old) even though a lot of the people I work with have batchelors' and masters' degrees there's very little that's stopping the management from hiring fresh-from-school.

I spent a year and a half unemployed in my own country after finishing because I couldn't compete with people who had 5-10 years of industry experience who had just been made redundant from other, closing offices for the "proper" R&D jobs (which I would love to do!) nor could I compete with fresh-from-school people who were going into the least well-paid jobs in the industry. I managed to get a temp job at a retail store over one Christmas and then got into the retentions dept. for MBNA, BoA but I just couldn't hack it given the ridiculous decisions from upper management and their expectations of the people on the floor. Luckily, I managed to save enough to emigrate to another EU country for a couple of months and in that time was able to secure a job that's almost in the field I want to be in - hey, at least it's science! Unfortunately, being a foreigner, I'm treated like a second-class citizen. Things (even utilities) are more expensive for me and not "knowing" people is a huge hindrance to being able to get things done. Even the banks are against me and I can't even get a credit card without have 150% of the limit locked in my account from my own cash at all times - similar provisos with loans.

I'm looking around for jobs to maybe move back home, get a better paying job (as we're not paid especially fantastically for the level of work we do - maybe that's why we still have jobs, right?!) but there's just nothing.... and I'm seriously worried about my future as, though I live comfortably enough right now with no real frills I'm not able to save for the future and that scares me sh*tless. I don't even have enough money to cover an accident, robbery or unemployment (hence why I was trying to get a credit card so I can manage my cash flow a little easier).

So that's why my degree is useless - because the industry demands more science graduates in the news all the time but they don't really want science graduates, they want slightly more educated monkeys to push buttons and fill vials without doing any real analysis.

Admittedly I'm whining a lot more than I probably should be... especially after reading some of these!

Scratched wrote:

Quick question: How many of the GWJ academics got their degree straight after school, pretty much a direct continuation of education?

Me. It was either do that and probably not get a job in science (I'd more likely have ended up in retail or customer service as that's where my pre-uni job experience was) or have to pay ridiculous amounts to go to uni due to the way the UCAS system was set up for mature students. Not to mention my A-Level grades weren't great... in hindsight, having the only A in my school for General Studies probably saved me... which is a terrifying thought!

BA with majors in Communication Science and Music in World Cultures, the height of uselessness, from the University of South Africa. Done distance learning while working full time, took 11 years and only stubbornness got me through the last 3. Started a year after school, but still on a whim.

Since finishing I've worked in hospitality as restaurant manager, in construction and currently a waiter while scratching together some funds to start a small import/export company with my fiance next year.

So, ummm, yeah. Pretty pathetic.

I have a BA (Honours) in philosophy and politics. Super useless! But fun. I have no regrets.

I went back to university a few years later and got a computer science degree so now I'm a software developer.

I'll jump in. I graduated cum laude with a BA in History (early modern Europe). After a couple of false starts in "responsible" degree plans that couldn't hold my interest, I said fk it and went with something I enjoyed. I loved every second getting this degree. Useless? Well, I don't teach High School and I don't write books on the Forth Crusades. However, doing what I loved got me though school faster which minimized my debt. It also helped me maintain respectable grades and develop really useful research skills that I've been able to apply to just about every job I've held since graduation. My eventual career path with this degree? IT and software development.

BA in English, minor in basket weaving creative writing here. But I went back to school for comp sci and do web dev now.

Schrensky wrote:

One of the biggest reasons I enlisted was so that I wouldn't have that secret fantasy nagging at me when I got older There was a noticeable boost in discipline when I first started, I'm sure it's still there and I'm just used to it now. The confidence is there, and it'll stay there throughout college because when I run into the cool/hip fresh-out-of-high-school kids I can remind myself that some of them haven't even been out of that state/region and I've already been around the world twice. The free ticket to a degree is also good, now I only have those 3 years prior to worry about paying off, so in the end I guess I'm still getting a 25% off deal. I think one of the biggest things I got out of it though is physical training. It's not as intense as a lot of people seem to think it is, but at the same time I've developed a mentality that doesn't ever want to let me get out of shape.

Also, what's a Library Scientist do :P

It's just librarian. But to any member of the public, anyone behind the counter is a librarian anyway. But an MLIS means more money.

Good luck in the fall, though I don't think you'll need it, and have fun. Don't let my daydream down!

I have a degree in paramedical science.

This is a very practical degree, however as I was already a paramedic when I got the degree and it does not give me any employment options outside of my current job it is completely useless.

PhD in Spanish & Portuguese Lit. The job market in academia for me has always been pretty good, but I don't know if I'd really be competitive in the private sector. I've been doing admin work for the past 6 years, which pays a lot better than a teaching job, but I returned to regular faculty status this year in order to qualify for the sweetest perk in higher education: long-term, paid sabbatical leave.

My degrees certainly haven't been entirely useless, but the nationwide de-funding of higher ed and the institutional trends that come with it make it a questionable choice. I do not advise any but the most exceptional of my students to pursue a doctorate in languages, since tenure track positions are so hard to come by.

I have a degree in "Humanities-English" from Washington State. It's actually a botched architecture degree, but I guess Wazzu has this setup to keep their graduation rates from getting too abysmally low.

For a few years I was able to take my science background (I switched majors a lot before architecture) and ended up in industrial hygiene, checking buildings for asbestos and lead before they were demolished. It was fun, if not very stimulating, and the pay was enough that it took care of basic apartment-based expenses without me having to think about it much. Went back to school a few years ago for a degree in Renewable Energy Engineering, and I really like the coursework, though that's no guarantee of career fulfillment.

Duoae wrote:

So that's why my degree is useless - because the industry demands more science graduates in the news all the time but they don't really want science graduates, they want slightly more educated monkeys to push buttons and fill vials without doing any real analysis.

QFT. I have a PhD in cell, molecular, and developmental biology which isn't useless on its own. But I was trained to work on fruit flies, and it's damn hard to get a job playing with flies, especially in industry. Industry wants people who are highly specialized and can fill a specific cog-shaped hole in their organization. If you don't have that specific skill, they don't want you.

Here's where I echo everyone else in this thread. To get around my lack of real employment opportunities, in my postdoc I leveraged my programming skills and managed to teach myself some statistics, machine learning, and bioinformatics. Now I think I'm valuable (or at least that's what my colleagues tell me) but it's not really due to the degree, it's what I was able to add to it.

gravity wrote:
Duoae wrote:

So that's why my degree is useless - because the industry demands more science graduates in the news all the time but they don't really want science graduates, they want slightly more educated monkeys to push buttons and fill vials without doing any real analysis.

QFT. I have a PhD in cell, molecular, and developmental biology which isn't useless on its own. But I was trained to work on fruit flies, and it's damn hard to get a job playing with flies, especially in industry. Industry wants people who are highly specialized and can fill a specific cog-shaped hole in their organization. If you don't have that specific skill, they don't want you.

Here's where I echo everyone else in this thread. To get around my lack of real employment opportunities, in my postdoc I leveraged my programming skills and managed to teach myself some statistics, machine learning, and bioinformatics. Now I think I'm valuable (or at least that's what my colleagues tell me) but it's not really due to the degree, it's what I was able to add to it.

I did insect developmental biology for my honours degree, although I was a bee man myself. Jumped into a completely different field for the PhD, and then ran screaming from academia once that was done. The current job (which I really enjoy) has nothing to do with my honours degree and doesn't require the PhD, but I only found out about it through contacts I made while doing the doctorate so I guess it doesn't really count as useless. It also seems to be helping a bit with climbing the ladder withing the organisation.

Personally, I don't think any degree by itself is particularly valuable or worthless. I went the international business route since I had earned credits from graduating from the defense language institute while in the military. Worked at Starbucks corporate for awhile when two things happened. First, I met my wife and realized my previous goal of globetrotting was no longer appealing. Second, I realized I kind of hated working as a translator.

Went back to school to study technical communication with an emphasis in localization and have never been happier. I've even gotten a chance to explore my freelance writing which I'm not sure I would have been able to do if Id stayed in the MBA route.

Now, my wife would argue her degree in journalism is worthless, but personally I was impressed at all the economics, history and poli sci courses she had to take to get her degree.A lot of it comes down to finding your own niche and doing something you enjoy. Engineering degrees dont by themselves guarantee a good life, and my law school friends are really hurting as the legal field is glutted. There are rumors the same thing is about to happen in the medical field.

Sonicator wrote:

I did insect developmental biology for my honours degree, although I was a bee man myself. Jumped into a completely different field for the PhD, and then ran screaming from academia once that was done. The current job (which I really enjoy) has nothing to do with my honours degree and doesn't require the PhD, but I only found out about it through contacts I made while doing the doctorate so I guess it doesn't really count as useless. It also seems to be helping a bit with climbing the ladder withing the organisation.

Woohoo, another developmental biologist! Your story is giving me a lot of hope. I like certain aspects of academia, but I'll most likely be running away once the postdoc is over. I guess I should try and make some more contacts too and hope I'll find something I'll enjoy as much as you do.

conejote wrote:

My degrees certainly haven't been entirely useless, but the nationwide de-funding of higher ed and the institutional trends that come with it make it a questionable choice. I do not advise any but the most exceptional of my students to pursue a doctorate in languages, since tenure track positions are so hard to come by.

Yeah. There was a conference panel a couple of years ago on the subject of women in ancient history, in which established professors talked for a while about how to get more women into the field while everyone in the audience who had recent experience of the job market was asking whether it was ethical to try to recruit anyone these days.

I'm grateful for an adjunct position, which (while it's better than most such positions) makes me suspect I'm developing Stockholm Syndrome. Maybe I should pick up some fresh IT skills -- it's been a long time since the part-time network support job I had in college.

gravity wrote:
Sonicator wrote:

I did insect developmental biology for my honours degree, although I was a bee man myself. Jumped into a completely different field for the PhD, and then ran screaming from academia once that was done. The current job (which I really enjoy) has nothing to do with my honours degree and doesn't require the PhD, but I only found out about it through contacts I made while doing the doctorate so I guess it doesn't really count as useless. It also seems to be helping a bit with climbing the ladder withing the organisation.

Woohoo, another developmental biologist! Your story is giving me a lot of hope. I like certain aspects of academia, but I'll most likely be running away once the postdoc is over. I guess I should try and make some more contacts too and hope I'll find something I'll enjoy as much as you do.

I don't think that I can claim the mantle of developmental biologist any more: I've now gone over to the dark side of (dun dun dun) applied science. Luckily my PhD was close enough to one of those cog-shaped holes you mentioned.

I do miss the sense of discovery in academia, but on the other hand I now have job security, much lower stress, and get to go home on time. I see it as a worthwhile trade.

Strangeblades wrote:

I have a two-year journalism diploma which I turned into a three-year trek through Word Land. What? It's not useless? Have you seen the state of journalism today? Gawd!

EDIT: Well, I was employed for 10 years in journalism, but I still would not recommend journalism to students.

SB, do you have a college degree? I'm confused. Sounds like you have an AA in American terms. In my experience (as a copy editor) journalism degrees are almost preferred over English degrees as they are somewhat more difficult. Not trying to open up a war here, it's something what I've seen in the field.

Journalism degree finished last year, and I'm currently the director of supply and inventory for a vacuum cleaner company.

garion333 wrote:
Strangeblades wrote:

I have a two-year journalism diploma which I turned into a three-year trek through Word Land. What? It's not useless? Have you seen the state of journalism today? Gawd!

EDIT: Well, I was employed for 10 years in journalism, but I still would not recommend journalism to students.

SB, do you have a college degree? I'm confused. Sounds like you have an AA in American terms. In my experience (as a copy editor) journalism degrees are almost preferred over English degrees as they are somewhat more difficult. Not trying to open up a war here, it's something what I've seen in the field.

AA? My journalism degree was preferred by employers/editors because they couldn't give a sh*t if I could write. They cared more about getting the facts right, chasing down that politician who won't comment and getting 10 bodies - not just nine! - into the front page photo. That's what journalism degree gave me.

Oh, and the war is on. I've always wanted to be a combat photographer.

Sorry, I meant an Associates degree, which for Americans means a community college degree or 2 year degree (for the most part). You said "certificate" so I wasn't sure if you had a college degree or certificate or an associates degree from something akin to a community college.

The rest you talk about regarding journalism is in part why the employers I've worked for prefer journalists.

This one isn't even useful in Academia, and is only half existent as well!

Computer Information Systems Data Sequence Administration

In English: Rewrites Quickbooks and Excel for command line operating systems.

The great thing is that I earned the credits and should have had the degree, but was sort of institutionalized around that time. When we got back in touch with the college, they said I earned the degree but their oversight had gone unnoticed for too long so I don't actually have the degree after all.

Hello fellow Goodjers With Useless Degrees. I have a BA in Literature and an MA in Literature and Linguistics. I am currently a rice farmer in Japan. Not many of my colleagues are interested in talking much about Chaucer or Charlotte Perkins Gilman, nor are they interested in discussing narratology and how it relates to "On Exactitude in Science". Mostly we talk about tractors and dirt.

Hey Guys,

I have a BA in Lingustics with a minor in Russian, needless to say, I'm a manager at a call center now.

I have a Masters in Architecture, which supposedly is the 5th most useless and most unemployable ( 13.9%), but I call BS. I have a great job, I worked my ass off and found a way to apply myself and round out my experience through work placement and complimentary skills. I'f you like the field of study DONT give there is work out there for you.

I got my BA in Theology (minor in philosophy) back in '03. I'm as non-religious as one gets, so you can see how useless this knowledge is beyond dinner table debate. =P But, I used my degree as proof of my academic ability (it wasn't stellar, but way better than my high school transcripts), went back to school, and now I'm a medical radiographer.

BA in East Asian Studies (China track) with honors (and a pretty crappy thesis about Qing-Early Republican Legal Reform).

I'm in PR now with a goal of marketing and business school, but I use Mandarin sometimes, so I guess my major wasn't entirely worthless.

B Computer Science/Math. Spent 6 years in an office and the last 10 working as a lobster fisherman. Not much Computer Science application on a boat.

Nicholaas wrote:

I got my BA in Theology (minor in philosophy) back in '03. I'm as non-religious as one gets, so you can see how useless this knowledge is beyond dinner table debate. =P But, I used my degree as proof of my academic ability (it wasn't stellar, but way better than my high school transcripts), went back to school, and now I'm a medical radiographer.

Just out of curiosity, why would someone non-religious spend four years in Theology? I figured about the only people that'd be in that were priests and religious people that otherwise would have taken Arts stuff.

My degree sounds like it should have been useful, but was too vague and it was a writeoff for at least 10 years. Basically it was an IT/business BA without getting deep enough into either to be valued by an employer. I wriggled my way into accounting eventually, and scrape by well enough now. I couldn't have got this job if it weren't for the degree, so in a roundabout and long-term thinking way, the degree paid off. I'm also a certified firefighter, which I did nothing with, but I got in the best shape of my life doing that and had the most fun I've had in my adult life so I can't complain too much.

peedmyself wrote:

Just out of curiosity, why would someone non-religious spend four years in Theology? I figured about the only people that'd be in that were priests and religious people that otherwise would have taken Arts stuff.

Well, I wasn't non-religious when I went in. I honestly had no idea what I really wanted to do with my life, so I took something that interested me.

MWDowns, I just checked out your blog and it is so cool! I'd say you won.

Scratched wrote:

Quick question: How many of the GWJ academics got their degree straight after school, pretty much a direct continuation of education?

*raises hand* B.S. in Computer Science. Took me 5 years to graduate because I took 3 semesters off to work full time in a co-op program. Best decision I made since my GPA was nothing special (around a 3.2 IIRC) but that real world experience looked good on my just-out-of-college resume.