Degree Programs

[RetiredGypsy]

Did the degree you graduate with have any bearing on the first job you got after college? Does it now? What degree did you get?

Sincerely,
The Association of Confused College Students Everywhere

 

[Khan]

Did the degree you graduate with have any bearing on the first job you got after college?

Only in that it was a degree.

Does it now?

Never did; I'm retired.

What degree did you get?

BA Math; with some graduate work.

Sincerely,
The Association of Confused College Students Everywhere

 

[Rustic23]

Had to have a degree to fly in the Air Force. Any subject would do.

Did it ever help. Most likely. Business degree. I don't think every subject helped, but in general the business and management subject did. Retired now. Not much use, however, I am sure some of what I learned in Finance class helps.

 

[Ronstar]

I got a BA in business 20 years after I started working, so it didnt really affect my career much at the time. But that was 14 years ago, and I think the degree has helped a lot since then.

 

[Caroline]

Did the degree you graduate with have any bearing on the first job you got after college?

No.

Does it now?

No

What degree did you get?

BA, Philosophy.


That said, the degree DID teach me to reason and to write, and those came in VERY handy when applying to grad school for my MBA. THAT degree got me a good job right out of the gate and I'm still in the industry 18 years later.

THAT said, I believe it's a mistake to go to school only with an eye to a future career -- that's taking advantage of a very small portion of what's on offer in college.

 

[citrine]

Bachelor in Liberal Arts (English and Art History)
Associates in Business Administration

Not really.....

 

[putty]

BS in Engineering
MS in Engineering (in progress)
It absolutely helped me get by first job. I use what I learned on a daily basis.

 

[JayOh]

Did the degree you graduate with have any bearing on the first job you got after college? Does it now? What degree did you get?

Sincerely,
The Association of Confused College Students Everywhere

Yes and Yes...

BS in Mechanical Engineering and MEng in Aeronautical Engineering

Currently working on another MS in buzz words (lean, six sigma, statistcial analysis, blah blah blah) that my company foots the bill for. Heck the company even gives stock awards ($10k) to advanced degree recipients, now if I could only finish that master's project.

Hope to start working on an MBA as early as fall '09 (again paid for by the company).

 

[CyclingInvestor]

BS Computer Science in 1979. Since my first (and all) jobs were programming,
I would say it was very important to getting hired. The knowledge it imparted to
me was useful up through my retirement in 2006.

My MBA was interesting, but useless to my career. My graduate CS work was
also applicable to some of my jobs.

 

[mb]

Did the degree you graduate with have any bearing on the first job you got after college? Does it now? What degree did you get?

Sincerely,
The Association of Confused College Students Everywhere

Yes, yes, BS & Ph.D. in engineering.

 

[Coach]

BA in Economics, but I've spent my life as a computer programmer. The BA opened doors, of course. The Economics part hasn't directly applied, but I think it has contributed a lot to how I think -- no regrets about that major.

Coach

 

[megacorp-firee]

BS in Finance. Diploma and good GPA got me a foot in the door and a 30 year gig @ megacorp. Degree did not matter.

 

[podey]

B.S. in Finance. It was the degree to some part, but more the specific coursework I took that got me my first job. Yes degree was relevant, still is.

 

[aworkingrachel]

BA in English. Yes and Yes--every full-time job I've had since graduating has been directly related to my major: bookstore clerk, library assistant, publishing, freelance editing. I'm rather proud of that.

Of course, I haven't used a single thing I learned in my English courses in any of my jobs. But I suspect that's true of business degrees, too.

 

[W2R]

Did the degree you graduate with have any bearing on the first job you got after college?

Yes, the degree that I earned was a fundamental qualification for my first job (as Assistant Professor at a major public university) afterwards, though I backed it up with publications and accomplishments along the way. The degree didn't open doors - - I [-]beat[/-] [-]bashed down[/-] [-]pried open[/-] opened those doors myself, but I needed the degree in order to pull that off. In fact, the job offer was contingent upon it.

Does it now?

Yes. Degrees and applicable experience both help a lot in gaining federal employment. Scientists in my unit were hired to work in our particular areas of expertise in which we have earned advanced degrees, and we do.

What degree did you get?

B.S.E.E., then M.S. & Ph.D. Oceanography.

 

[kaudrey]

BS in Finance got me my fed job as a bank examiner. CFA 10 years later got me my current job as a financial risk analyst. So, yes and yes.

 

[Marquette]

BS in Computer Science

Currently: design and build big IT systems

Did the degree help? Not really. I went in to computer science because I liked programming so much and my first employer after college wanted to hire me before I graduated. However, I do owe my first two paid programming jobs to people I met while at college, so it helped from that standpoint I guess.

 

[oma]

Did the degree you graduate with have any bearing on the first job you got after college? Does it now? What degree did you get?

Sincerely,
The Association of Confused College Students Everywhere

Yes to all. Registered Nurse. Bachelors and Masters degrees, Nursing.

 

[Helen]

BS Business MIS degree.

Yes, the payoff has been tremendous.

 

[A854321]

B.S. in Microbiology
Yes, I now have an MD.

 

[A854321]

There are many really good jobs, many of which are relatively new technology, in the healthcare field that require a college degree. We have lots of opportunity to do on-the-job training that would give some of our best employees a professional license that would essentially double their income the day they had it. However, as they never completed a college degree, they are ineligible and there is nothing I can do about it. I've heard every excuse in the book about why they never finished college.

If you plan to enter college, at least finish it. That's the best advice I can ever give to someone.

 

[HpRyder]

Did the degree you graduate with have any bearing on the first job you got after college?
MSc Physics. Yup, got me in the door to acoustic engineering.

Does it now?
Nope. Nobody does anything related to physics or math. Only rocket science [FONT=&quot]implementation[/FONT] software.

What degree did you get?
Msc. Physics, MBA marketing

 

[madatrub]

BS in Chemical Engineering
MS in Environmental Engineering

My degree got me in the door in big oil. Been there 11 years and counting, Although I'm currently in the mindset of looking elsewhere.

 

[bssc]

BS in International Relations, Law and Organizations
First job, yes you had to have a degree
Second job, yes, you also needed to have a degree although it was the American Psychological Association

Present job, actually using the degee a little since I am in International Risk.

 

[ls99]

The day after I got my BS in Business is when I handed in my resignation to my then boss. When I handed him my transcript, he glanced at it and said..... so what?. By the way, I was in late thirties, and working full time.

Next job it was not relevant to. The process of learning, how to do research and evaluations and getting pretty good at it, priceless.