Career vs. Your College Degree? How did you choose after college?

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@Rhubarb Yes, surprisingly med school requirements aren’t too bad. Good luck with organic! Definitely my least favorite subject.

@Tis_Bearself I grew up in a similar situation, though my parents did not give me much direction for what to study in college. I’m thankful for that. I loved studying both of the subjects I have degrees in and honestly looking back both taught me a lot in regard to what I’ve seen while working in a hospital. I’m grateful for this - just wish I was sure I wanted to continue with medicine! Otherwise, the degrees don’t give me much of an advantage. You can’t change the past though.

@alice24 You gave great advice, thank you! I understand the struggle with student loans. Luckily for me I’ve found them reasonably manageable over the last 2 years, though it’s not fun spending 1/4 of your income on loan payments that’s for sure.

@sr.christinaosf Yes, I agree about working on my faith. For the time being though I have some decisions to make that, for financial reasons mostly, can’t afford to be delayed much.

@Bon_Croix I would not consider religious life an occupation. I just wanted to give a little background on where I’ve been in recent years. I do not think religious life is for me personally, though I very much admire and respect it.

@starlady That’s awesome! I would love to become fluent in Spanish but I have a long way to go! 😆
 
I’m not clear how hearing about other people’s path can help you on your path. I would say look inside. What makes you happy?
 
I wasn’t really asking for it to help me figure out my own way. I was more just interested in hearing the different paths people followed and different scenarios that influenced them in moving that direction. Obviously, my life/experiences will not be the same as someone else’s. It’s interesting to hear about others’ journeys to put your own into perspective, I think.
 
Degree in industrial engineering. Decided to go back to school for a chemistry degree. Got into media through a series of coincidences that became too numerous to ignore (never got the chem degree), and worked my way through being a disc jockey, reporter, tv control room operator, traffic (ad scheduling/inventory management), and finally into advertising planning. Left for a few years along the way to sell insurance, and realized that media is where I truly belong.
 
Masters degrees in Nursing & Health Care Administration & recently Masters in Catholic Theology. The first two got me through 47 years in the health care industry. The last; and the most rewarding; is getting me through my second career in Religious Education. Rewarding spiritually not financially. Thank goodness I have a City pension.
 
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One of the things you learn in university is to assess the utility of various pieces of information. From the stories told here, you may have gleaned that not everybody’s path is straight. One job leads to another.

Some people work for low pay and some don’t. Some people are older and have perhaps received a pension. But I don’t think young people can expect much in the way of pensions so that information is dated.

Money will always be tied to medical decisions, even in socialized countries. That fact is a thin basis to leave the medical field or to pick a certain part of the field.

I think if you would like to know more from us, it might help to tell us more about yourself. From the limited amount you’ve told us, I would suggest going into DNA analysis or forensics.
 
i would say; get a pay check (from anywhere); become self-sufficient, pay for your own rent & groceries & figure out your “life course” later

FedEx, ups & amazon ARE ALL HIRING

PLUS THERE IS IS THE MILITARY; the USN is actively seeking live human beings

the US Navy has lowered the physical fitness requirements standards for admission

so most slothful college grads should be able to qualify (if they can pass the urine test)
 
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I’m doing my Master’s in Bioinformatics. How did that happen? Well, I’d say it was God! I never knew what Bioinformatics was. I actually wanted to do Ecology or Bioinformatics and ended up choosing Bioinformatics. I had severe anxiety and depression then, and was under the impression that dreams and passions don’t
matter- only being Christian does. I thought it was sinful to study science or want to be a graduate. Well, thanks be to God, because He saved me and put me in a course where I’m naturally talented and love.

So my advice is pray, do some soul searching and then act. It’s completely okay if your heart takes you another way. And it’s also okay if you heart isn’t passionately burning with the field you’ve taken all the time. As long as you think it’s meaningful, it’s good. A lot of people make a career in fields theyre not really passionate about. The end up making their personal and social lives more interesting and fulfilling.

If you still want to continue in science, I don’t think it matters what you degree you get next. Research (if that’s what you’re interested) these days is multidisciplinary. You’ll end up doing things outside your field anyway.
 
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marylg said:
I’ve entertained the idea of religious life, but I’ve also struggled the whole time I’ve been Catholic with my faith and have been inactive with the Church for several months, therefore this does not seem realistic.
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Sounds like early days for you. The worst case scenario would be rushing into a religious life such as becoming a priest or monk. See if you can talk to a vocations priest. You really need to discern hard and make sure it is not a form of escapism.
I am 60 now. A life as a monk seems appealing to me now but hardly pragmatic at my age and marital status. :).
I got degrees in education, taught for almost 25 years. But in the end got tired of teaching and couldn’t handle the level of stress nor expectation. Never really found a suitable job since then, going in and out of entry level jobs. I am currently cleaning/janitorial. This is despite getting post grad. quals. in Counselling and Linguistics. Very wasteful qualifications. I cant help but feel I have not lived up to nay potential I might have
 
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I have a degree Political Science. But I’m not using it, I work for a law firm as a eDiscovery Project Manager at a law firm

I kind of stumbled into my career by accident. Was working with a headhunter and they just hooked me up and led me into my work.
 
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After college, I went into the Air Force because I liked airplanes. They had me take batteries of tests and they assigned me to be a civil engineer. So I served my time and got out . Saw a help wanted advert in a tech magazine; got the job. Got into finance. The Air Force experience prepared me for international travel … and I ended up doing a LOT of international travel. [When your airline pilot says, “what are YOU doing here?”, then you know you are traveling too much.] I always loved studying and learning new things, so I ended up with two masters and tons of certificates. Commercial pilot’s license, etc. Personal library around 5000 books. My parents wanted me to be a couch potato and watch television; not for me.
 
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I have a BS in Forensic Science. During my first career I did social work within the criminal justice field, then in a prison. Retired at 50 and now I work for my parish as Director of Youth Ministry.
 
brian_custer said:
i would say; get a pay check (from anywhere); become self-sufficient, pay for your own rent & groceries & figure out your “life course” later
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I agree with this. Except for those in medical fields or teaching, I know few people who actually ended up working in the same field as their college major. Life is more interesting that way. Get a job in which you can earn a living. There are lots of jobs and you can like something about all of them. It’s not till death do you part.
 
the military may be a great option; it worked for me

you can gain some maturity, collect a paycheck, serve your nation & see the world

at the end of your obligation you can decide if you want to make the Navy a career or not…
 
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In my case, the first part of the career (Russian linguist in the USAF) came before the degree (BA in Russian), and the latter part of the career (civilian Soviet analyst at a U.S. government agency) came before the second degree (M.A. in Soviet studies).

D
 
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