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Career/College Questions

2

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macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 10, 2008
270
0
This is really for my own curiosity since I'm in college with an undeclared major.
What did you major in college/university?
Did you start your job/career right out of school? If not, how long did it take you.
What's your title? (If you're comfortable with sharing)
Is this your dream job/career?
If not, do you plan to change to a different job/career?
 
I'll play...

What did you major in college/university?
Visual Communications with an emphasis on Info graphics/publication design
Did you start your job/career right out of school? If not, how long did it take you.
I worked my regular summer job as a camp counselor while looking for my first "real" job
What's your title? (If you're comfortable with sharing) Design Editor
Is this your dream job/career? It works out for me now, is it forever? I'm sure I'll move on at some point
If not, do you plan to change to a different job/career? I would likely take my skills and use them for a different career, but would still basically be doing the same stuff.....just in a different industry.

I graduated college in 2004, if that helps.
 
My 3 pence:

If you're in an American university get out now! See if you can get into a British university (the LSE does count as university .. almost :D ). An American bachelor's degree is really nothing more than a vocational certificate.
 
^^^

I'm going to ignore that and say that I went for a general major, english, and it has served me really well. I got a job right out of college working in my dream field the automotive industry. The only advice i can give is to do what you enjoy in both school and life. Life is to short to do something you don't like.
 
I majored in Philosophy and Women's Studies, and work with numbers.

Major in what you like, get a job that you like, and figure out from there what you want to do.
 
If you can figure out what your interested in before you graduate that would be ideal. Conventional wisdom is that most people are happiest at jobs they enjoy despite the compensation level. However, many many people don't have that figured out for years.

If you cannot figure this out before graduation the strategy I'd suggest is that you find a job you don't mind (as opposed to hating) that compensates you well in the meantime. Having money makes it somewhat easier to move into another field later. You'd have more resources for re-education or seed money for a business.

Also, unless you are inspired by some cause I'd avoid non-profits like the plague. You work really hard for very little money (unless your the head of said non-profit in which case you're probably wealthy).
 
Three majors in University, sequentially. Business to Russian Language to Poli Sci. (I should note that at that time one could declare your major without actually taking any courses in the department. A friend and I really liked one the prof in the Russian department. The department was really small, and by declaring that as our major we bumped the enrolment by 50%, which made us feel good.)

Took a summer job at a hotel in the Canadian Rockies. Technically, I'm still on my summer vacation - though its now been a couple of decades. Spent a few years in the hotel biz. Loved it. Became unofficial tech support for the hotel chain's front office software, and then changed jobs to work for the hotel software company in tech support and training. DOS days. Used to be able to walk someone with no computer experience into rebuilding their autoexec.bat file, over the phone, at 3:00am. That ending "ctrl-z" was always a bugger to get right. Loved that job.

Went into photography - took a year long college course, opened a commercial photo studio, etc etc. Loved that job. Now I teach photography, and I do mostly fine-art photography, had a photography gallery. Will probably be the career I end up retiring from... except I don't plan to retire.

Most useful course... the touch-typing course I took in high-school. Everything else just helped me with critical thinking and getting words down in a way that makes sense and communicates what I want them to do.

If I had advice for anyone - go into the trades. If I knew how to repair appliances, I would have a license to print money where I live.
 
What did you major in college/university? Social Science B.A in the University of California, Irvine.

Did you start your job/career right out of school? nope, i'm still an undergraduate student, I work as an office assistant.

What's your title? High School Diploma.

Is this your dream job/career? Nope......Medical Social Worker

If not, do you plan to change to a different job/career? Become a Lawyer after I take the LSAT in 2013.
 
colourfastt said:
My 3 pence:

If you're in an American university get out now! See if you can get into a British university (the LSE does count as university .. almost :D ). An American bachelor's degree is really nothing more than a vocational certificate.
Click to expand...

Hands down the most ignorant thing I have ever read on these forums. WOW
 
colourfastt said:
My 3 pence:

If you're in an American university get out now! See if you can get into a British university (the LSE does count as university .. almost :D ). An American bachelor's degree is really nothing more than a vocational certificate.
Click to expand...

brn2ski00 said:
Hands down the most ignorant thing I have ever read on these forums. WOW
Click to expand...

-2! wow! would you say that to the millions of american college students who spent 4 years or more, that their degree is nothing in the UK?:eek:
 
What did you major in college/university?
B.S. in Computer Science; M.S Information Systems

Did you start your job/career right out of school? If not, how long did it take you.
Right out of college.

What's your title? (If you're comfortable with sharing)
Project Engineer Sr. Stf.

Is this your dream job/career?
I love working for my company because there are so many opportunities and so many different types of work.

If not, do you plan to change to a different job/career?
I will stay with the company for life, but I may transfer to a few other business areas as opportunities become available.
 
colourfastt said:
My 3 pence:

If you're in an American university get out now! See if you can get into a British university (the LSE does count as university .. almost :D ). An American bachelor's degree is really nothing more than a vocational certificate.
Click to expand...

brn2ski00 said:
Hands down the most ignorant thing I have ever read on these forums. WOW
Click to expand...

It's not the most ignorant thing I've read, but its way up there. I say that as a Canadian, who feels its my duty to act smug and superior to our American cousins. But that original comment is a bit over the top.

I think they are trawling for the responses.
 
What did you major in college/university? Neurobiology

Did you start your job/career right out of school? If not, how long did it take you. Started work right out, then went back for medicine instead of lab work.

What's your title? (If you're comfortable with sharing) Will be a Physician Assistant, was a Lead Lab Tech / Trainer right after college.

Is this your dream job/career? PA will be
 
snberk103 said:
It's not the most ignorant thing I've read, but its way up there. I say that as a Canadian, who feels its my duty to act smug and superior to our American cousins. But that original comment is a bit over the top.

I think they are trawling for the responses.
Click to expand...

Regardless, it was an uneducated opinion. People are all entitled to their opinions, but let's be remotely educated when speaking to the masses.

Back to the topic.

I am an American who went to school at a well known Canadian University, but also took some classes back here in the states. I majored in Computer Science and currently work in the software industry as a Process Engineer. I was lucky and started working right after graduation.

As far as I am concerned, college is what you make of it - much like life. Just going to higher education already puts you ahead of those who don't.
 
brn2ski00 said:
Regardless, it was an uneducated opinion.
Click to expand...
Agreed! But I've read worse on these forums.
People are all entitled to their opinions, but let's be remotely educated when speaking to the masses.
Click to expand...
But, I thought this place was for the uninformed to speak their minds ... :D ... seriously, to quote an old saying "the noise to signal ratio is very high" ... or something like that. Always has been.
Back to the topic.

I am an American who went to school at a well known Canadian University,
Click to expand...
Western? Waterloo?
but also took some classes back here in the states. I majored in Computer Science and currently work in the software industry as a Process Engineer. I was lucky and started working right after graduation.

As far as I am concerned, college is what you make of it - much like life. Just going to higher education already puts you ahead of those who don't.
Click to expand...
Agreed!
 
What did you major in college/university? Electrical Engineering

Did you start your job/career right out of school? No,it took me a couple of years.

What's your title? Senior Software Engineer

Is this your dream job/career? Not anymore.

If not, do you plan to change to a different job/career? I'd live to.
 
What did you major in college/university?
Physics and Materials Science
Did you start your job/career right out of school? If not, how long did it take you.
Started right after graduate school/postdoc, but yes.
What's your title? (If you're comfortable with sharing)
Principal Systems Engineer
Is this your dream job/career?
At this stage in my life, yes. It's very challenging and rewarding.
If not, do you plan to change to a different job/career?
 
What did you major in college/university?
Doubled in Physics and Computer Science
Did you start your job/career right out of school? If not, how long did it take you.
I worked as a software developer full time while going to school, so I continued that once I graduated. The current job took a number of years after that.
What's your title? (If you're comfortable with sharing)
Limo driver.
Is this your dream job/career?
Yep.
If not, do you plan to change to a different job/career?
I answered yes to above, but I've thought about being a bus driver. The job's not as fun, but it's a better schedule. Now that I'm married, the schedule is becoming more important.


Point is, I'm not doing anything related to what I went to school for. My job only requires a degree, but it doesn't matter what it's in. I had fun in school though, and I'm enjoying what I'm doing now. So I have that going for me, which is nice.
 
Point is, I'm not doing anything related to what I went to school for. My job only requires a degree, but it doesn't matter what it's in. I had fun in school though, and I'm enjoying what I'm doing now. So I have that going for me, which is nice.
Click to expand...

Odd, but cool. The last thing I would expect someone with a double in physics and CS would be to drive limos! That said, good for you; glad you are enjoying your work!
 
dmr727 said:
What did you major in college/university?
Doubled in Physics and Computer Science
Did you start your job/career right out of school? If not, how long did it take you.
I worked as a software developer full time while going to school, so I continued that once I graduated. The current job took a number of years after that.
What's your title? (If you're comfortable with sharing)
Limo driver.
Is this your dream job/career?
Yep.
If not, do you plan to change to a different job/career?
I answered yes to above, but I've thought about being a bus driver. The job's not as fun, but it's a better schedule. Now that I'm married, the schedule is becoming more important.


Point is, I'm not doing anything related to what I went to school for. My job only requires a degree, but it doesn't matter what it's in. I had fun in school though, and I'm enjoying what I'm doing now. So I have that going for me, which is nice.
Click to expand...

That's great. Is this a small business you're running? I've talked to a few drivers and its surprisingly lucrative.
 
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