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Ba in English, or a Ba in Anthropology.

waloshin

waloshin

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 9, 2008
3,560
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Ba in English, or a Ba in Anthropology.

Some people say that both of these degrees are useless as all you can do is teach, or write.

So I was wondering does anybody here have an English degree, or an Anthropology degree and what do you do? If you know anyone that does also what do they do?
 
Why do you care? Is this a life-choice decision you are contemplating??

If not, please limit your synapse malfunctions to Monday mornings.
 
iJohnHenry said:
Why do you care? Is this a life-choice decision you are contemplating??

If not, please limit your synapse malfunctions to Monday mornings.
Click to expand...

This is the first time I've laughed today ... this response is fantastic!


Oh and unless you want to fondle monkeys and write about it, I say neither.
 
Any degree can be useless, if the owner of said degree doesn't use anything they learned from it in life.

It all depends on what you want to do ...
 
My dad's got an english degree, I've got an english/polisci degree with a minor in history. He and I both went to law school.

Law or Teaching is where everyone with a fun but useless degree ends up (my dad taught for a few years as well).

You need to make a choice between summers off and happiness (teaching) or a crap ton of stress/student loans/alcoholism and the slim chance of having a sweet car and a trophy wife (lawyer).

what you end up doing with any degree is more of a question of your abilities and drive. any degree you get can open up a plethora of possibilities depending on who you are and what you like. in the end the deciding factor is you. pick something you enjoy and are good at and plan your future based on your skill set and what you enjoy. the possibilities are endless so long as you have the ability and drive to make what you want happen.
 
waloshin said:
Ba in English, or a Ba in Anthropology.

Some people say that both of these degrees are useless as all you can do is teach, or write.

So I was wondering does anybody here have an English degree, or an Anthropology degree and what do you do? If you know anyone that does also what do they do?
Click to expand...

Both are equally worthless! Choose based on interest.

I have a BA in English and I'm a retired (j/k, actually just currently unemployed) cashier. My other friends who've majored in English were either double majors and took jobs based on their other major or are also unemployed. None of my friends from college who graduated with liberal arts degrees have jobs that pay more than working at Starbucks, for instance, would. (And we went to the fourth most expensive college in the world!)

Neither degree sets you up for a job so much as it sets you up for grad school. The skills you acquire may-or-may not help you get a job, though, so study what interests you in hopes that you may one day have a job that interests you, too.

It's also really weird that you'd weigh feedback from anonymous internet posters over your personal experience with english and anthro classes.... And you can always double major; for the indecisive, it's the best course of action.
 
Unless you plan on an advanced degree, get something else. Those two are pathways to law school, etc...but on their own, won't get you much of anywhere.
 
waloshin said:
Ba in English, or a Ba in Anthropology.

Some people say that both of these degrees are useless as all you can do is teach, or write.

So I was wondering does anybody here have an English degree, or an Anthropology degree and what do you do? If you know anyone that does also what do they do?
Click to expand...

I got my English degree from one of the premier schools in the country, and it was a complete waste of time. If you are sure you want to teach or write, or if you want to go to law school or something, great. If you want a more regular job, just forget it.

I went in with the intention to teach. Foudn out I hated teaching.

Don't get me wrong, I learned a lot from my degree. It was a rigorous course in critical thinking, creativity, organization, philosophy, etc. Unfortunately, its difficult to translate all of that directly into a job. My job is in the healthcare industry, and any time I've lost a job, I start right back at the bottom. I'm doing ok and move up pretty quickly, but am only now starting to really get a "career" going"

If you have a career in mind that doesn't directly involve either degree, go do something else. If you aren't sure, I'd encourage you to pick something else.
 
r.j.s said:
Any degree can be useless, if the owner of said degree doesn't use anything they learned from it in life.

It all depends on what you want to do ...
Click to expand...

True, but the goal of college is typically providing the knowledge base for earning an income in the "real" world. Unless the OP is serious about being an anthropologist or a teacher then these degrees are useless in the real world.

I know too many friends who went for an english, history, philosophy degrees only to struggle at finding a job because there's not too many companies out there needing a history major.

I'm not saying learning this stuff is without benefit, but students need to look at the big picture and see what they want to do as a vocation, before selecting their major.
 
Consulting companies tend to not specify a degree subject as being required, just that a degree itself is. If you're going for one of those careers then you may as well do whatever subject you think you'll enjoy. You'll still get your foot in the door.
 
That's more true in the UK than in the US or Canada. I like that in the UK, you can study something like history or English, and you can still get a job later because it's not as if the ability to organise ideas, learn to view the world from different perspectives, learn how to be effectively argumentative, and learn how to communicate well through writing isn't needed in the "real world". It's certainly better than what I learnt at uni, which was solving problems that weren't realistic, using math skills that have no real-world application even for those who are in technical fields. I took 8 mathematics subjects at uni. I would have been OK after taking Calculus 1. :rolleyes:


Personally, I think Arts degrees are underrated.
 
What's going to make it really difficult for people with these non-specific degrees is how people now apply for jobs.

the majority of the time people now apply online, and upload their resumes. What they don't see is what goes on behind the scenes. There's is technology that rates an applicant's resume based on the job need. So if a BA degree in computer science is required and I upload my resume (I have a AS in accounting and computer science), my resume will be slotted at the bottom of the pile because I don't strickly fit the rating system - even though I have 20+ years of experience.

Basically the recruiters won't even see these low rated resumes, because of the volume of other applicants that rated higher. My point is, english/history/philosophy/etc type degrees will hamper a college graduate from finding a job more now then any other time, unless he's looking for a job that specifically calls for a degree in that area and those type of jobs generally want something more then a BA, if you're an english major, then a masters is really needed for many of the jobs in the sector.
 
Well one of my friends has a Ph. D in Anthropology, and with that he teaches (at Uni); which supports your rather limited view of the degree... but William Shatner did call him an expert. How many people can say that? :D
 
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