Did you utilize your college degree (if you had one)?

[big-papa]

A degree in engineering and a difficult test is required to get a state issued engineering license. As a licensed engineer my stamp is on lots of engineering documents and plan sets. Without a license you are limited to technician level job.

Also have an MBA. Used finance education and knowledge to develop cash flows, predict project cost of capital and to acquire bond financing on mega-projects.

I came across my EIT certificate just a few days ago. At my university, they just sort of assumed that all graduates would eventually end up in a career where a PE license would be required, so they encouraged everybody to take the EIT exam. Not at all required, encouraged, or rewarded in any way in the industry I was in, though I did have a few colleagues who were PE's.

Cheers.

 

[SnowballCamper]

The Army said I needed a degree to get officer pay, and they didn't care what it was. I started in some management program but found I liked math better. I'll never forget the math professor that made sure I knew that there is no such job called "mathematician" before he signed off on my change of major form. The major was very useful when applying to graduate school in the same field, and got me a very short lived stint as an adjunct faculty. A wise professor in grad school said, "The world doesn't need very many mathematicians, about five good ones would be enough." But if you have a good understanding of the math, you can teach yourself just about anything else.

 

[skyking1]

^ I have used math and trig my whole life, once I knew how to apply it. Trig plus physics allowed me to figure the forces and strokes on a lift for my BIL to use by his pool, for example.

 

[dickoncapecod]

Just an income optimization swap, now that December ex-dates are known. Took some modest profits on half my GOF (ex-date 12/15) and increased PTY (ex- 12/11).
PTY has had extraordinary multi-year total returns on NAV and has recently had the **** kicked out of its market price. It currently yields "only" 10.7%, but IMO even if only one PIMCO CEF trades with a 9-handle market price yield in this cycle, it will be PTY.
Regards, Dick

 

[jfn111]

I earned a Liberal Arts degree in Political Science and went into sales. That degree was my opening into mega corp. back in 1978. Even though the job had nothing to do with Political Science, I wouldn’t have landed it without the degree.

 

[surprising]

On my internship, I directly used knowledge and equations from my semiconductor physics courses. It was well received and I was offered a job on the spot with no need to go back to school and finish my degree. I declined, got a job at another company, where I didn't use much of the physics side of the degree, more of the computer architecture side, but I'd say I learned 90% of it on the job.

 

[athena53]

I'll never forget the math professor that made sure I knew that there is no such job called "mathematician" before he signed off on my change of major form.

I know quite a few Math Ph.Ds who were actuaries- very sharp people and the ones with business sense and people skills ended up as partners on major consulting firms.

I earned a Liberal Arts degree in Political Science and went into sales. That degree was my opening into mega corp. back in 1978. Even though the job had nothing to do with Political Science, I wouldn’t have landed it without the degree.

When companies were doing on-campus interviews in 1975, the only ones looking for any major involved sales. Sales is a whole different skillset that I don't have. I tried "rainmaking" in my consulting jobs and was a miserable failure. Sales is really a good example of a field where you don't need a degree unless you're selling something highly complex and need to be able to explain it. I had one coworker in the insurance business who spent a weekend selling cars for a friend, made more there than he had the whole previous week in the office, and quit to sell cars.

 

[dickoncapecod]

I know quite a few Math Ph.Ds who were actuaries- very sharp people and the ones with business sense and people skills ended up as partners on major consulting firms.



When companies were doing on-campus interviews in 1975, the only ones looking for any major involved sales. Sales is a whole different skillset that I don't have. I tried "rainmaking" in my consulting jobs and was a miserable failure. Sales is really a good example of a field where you don't need a degree unless you're selling something highly complex and need to be able to explain it. I had one coworker in the insurance business who spent a weekend selling cars for a friend, made more there than he had the whole previous week in the office, and quit to sell cars.

Aside ;0) --- as someone who rubbed shoulders with both accountants and actuaries, the popular old joke (among we consulting types): an actuary is a person who wanted to be an auditor but didn't have the personality....
Regards, Dick

 

[Winemaker]

DW had a BS and MS in Education, she taught for 40 years, DD has a dual degree in Social Studies and Education, she's been teaching for almost 20y, and DS, has a BSME and is employed as such as a Project Manager.

 

[N02L84ER]

Yes. I have a BS and MS in science & math Education. I taught for 10+ years including teaching a course in programming. Then I switched to software development in the private sector. DH studied electrical engineering and worked as an EE his entire career.

 

[athena53]

Aside ;0) --- as someone who rubbed shoulders with both accountants and actuaries, the popular old joke (among we consulting types): an actuary is a person who wanted to be an auditor but didn't have the personality....
Regards, Dick

Oh, I know- we have a terrible reputation! There are even pages of actuarial jokes on the Web. Although the Jobs Rated Almanac one year put us at the top of the list of good jobs (and it attracted quite a few to the field), just last month I saw an on-line article about "The 10 most Boring Jobs that Pay Well". Sure enough, "Actuary" was the first listed. DS, who's now working through the exams, and I had a good laugh. Not boring to us at all and we both agreed it paid well.

 

[TheWizard]

...But if you have a good understanding of the math, you can teach yourself just about anything else.

Where I went to school, they said that of PHYSICS...

 

[scrabbler1]

Oh, I know- we have a terrible reputation! There are even pages of actuarial jokes on the Web. Although the Jobs Rated Almanac one year put us at the top of the list of good jobs (and it attracted quite a few to the field), just last month I saw an on-line article about "The 10 most Boring Jobs that Pay Well". Sure enough, "Actuary" was the first listed. DS, who's now working through the exams, and I had a good laugh. Not boring to us at all and we both agreed it paid well.

I believe it was in 1988 that Actuary was rated #1 overall even though it wasn't rated #1 in any category. And it did spur growth in people pursuing that field, one that we were both in back in 1988.

 

[imjustawarrior]

It's great to hear so many have made use of their college degrees. It's interesting how many here are in upper level careers. Engineers, Finance, Computer Science, etc.

For some reason, engineers are drawn to sites like this. Maybe it is because engineers like to solve problems.

problem: I don't want to work for any more jerks or lousy companies.
solution: FIRE

 

[Pointby2]

I got a marketing degree from a small college. It took a while for my career to get going, but I held various marketing j*bs for over 45 years.

 

[aja8888]

For some reason, engineers are drawn to sites like this. Maybe it is because engineers like to solve problems.

problem: I don't want to work for any more jerks or lousy companies.
solution: FIRE

Made me laugh and it is true. (old engineer here....had my own business in the end)

 

[big-papa]

For some reason, engineers are drawn to sites like this. Maybe it is because engineers like to solve problems.

problem: I don't want to work for any more jerks or lousy companies.
solution: FIRE

Yep, pretty much.

 

[jgrdarrash]

My masters in experimental psychology included 8 classes in statistics and experimental methodology and required original research and a thesis. I never really used my 'specialty' of social psych but every position I had used my knowledge of statistics and how to set up rigorous tests to evaluate either government programs, marketing campaigns, or commercial websites (both in terms of usability and marketing).

When I started out a masters wasn't really required but definitely helped set me apart. Thirty years later a masters would be considered an entry level requirement with more and more of the hires having PhDs. I think I got in and got out at just the right time!

I have a similar Masters in Research Psychology. It was required for my first job doing patient satisfaction surveys for a large health system. Then I went more the data analyst route in healthcare. So yes, I needed my degree. My husband also yes as a science teacher. Our son graduated recently with a political science degree but didn't want to work in politics or law. He's an insurance adjuster so no, he didn't use his exact degree. His job just required any degree.

 

[UpQuark]

I remember teachers in college telling us our goal was to 'learn how to learn', so although I only used specific information from my major maybe twice in my career, I definitely used the skills to learn and apply and prove stuff. My degree was just a bachelor's in Math, my career was in Software Testing. It was an enjoyable career, kind of like getting paid to do fun puzzles.

My daughter is totally wasting her college (degree in Criminal Justice and also went to nursing school), but thank goodness it was all paid for by her father's family so there is no load of debt on her (or me). She's working in a low paid retail job but she likes her boss, he likes her, she gets to fly to different cities (apparently to earn commissions selling other people's Pokemon cards or something absolutely ridiculous like that), and she's learning a few useful bits about business re ordering, inventory, etc. My hope is that when she gets out of her twenties she'll become more ambitious.

My sister had a degree in psychology but from what I remember (she died very young) what she was doing in her job would be like a Business Analyst.
My brother got a master's in business and he used that.
My college boyfriend got a degree in psychology, but went to work in his family's auto parts business (I imagine that would have been the path regardless of his major, probably college was to let him mature etc).

 

[imjustawarrior]

Made me laugh and it is true. (old engineer here....had my own business in the end)

Are you saying you are the jerk that ran a lousy business?

Just kidding.

 

[OnTheBeach]

Accounting Major and Finance Minor from Fairfield University and MBA from Seton Hall. Earned my CPA. I spent 4 years in public accounting then 4 years as controller at hedge fund. Then 25 years as CFO/COO/Partner at a Hedge Fund. Retired at 52.

 

[Sue J]

I have a Bachelors degree in Early Childhood Education with certification for K-3. When I graduated in 1977 there were too many teachers and not enough job openings. I applied everywhere and never got a teaching job.

So I moved on to other things and tried a Continuing Education Basic Bookkeeping class. I loved it and felt like I found what I was supposed to be doing. Eventually I worked as a clerical supervisor in an accounting department and when one of the accountants left I got the job of Staff Accountant. I did that until our first son was born. I missed the job but I was doing important stuff!

DH got his Masters in Social Work and became a Social Worker! He stayed in the same field, finally retiring as Intake Manager.

Our older son got his Bachelors degree in Computer Science and went directly into his first job as a programmer. He's now the Database Administrator. Coming up on 20 years with the same employer.

Our younger son got his Bachelors in Theatrical Sound Design. He worked freelance for a while and then advanced to working for a sound and lighting company. A few jobs later he is now an Event Production Audio Specialist for a branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. They do many video conferences and presentations. He also does a lot of the lighting and rigging for the events.

So I'm the only one who got the degree and never used it.

 

[sparky08]

For sure. Used my degree in Comp Sci to work in the field for 35 years. Most of it writing software.

 

[stepford]

I see several folks here have math degrees. Me too, but while it (and the Physics degree that followed it) were indeed useful in my career, they haven't done much of anything for me in retirement. I don't think I've done any math beyond high school algebra/trig in the 10 years since I quit playing scientist.

 

[RunningBum]

Comp Sci major. 25+ year career in the computer/networking industry. Along with learning how to write code, which can easily be done at a tech school, I learned the guts of an operating system and how to debug by digging into the raw hex dumps and assembler level code. Being able to do this well helped get me the job that enabled me to ER. Other comp sci classes gave me enough background on things like databases, which I didn't actually use until about 15 years after graduation.

I worked with 2 people who did not have a degree. They both were really good at what they did. I think both learned in the military. One became an industry expert at writing scripts for a mainframe program, so there is are niches where you didn't need that depth. The other one did seem to have that depth, which I guess he learned through experience. Not impossible at all, but I think my college education gave me a jump on it.

I had a finance minor. I can't point to anything directly at the moment but I think the concepts I learned helped me with with the money part of ER.