Did you graduate from college? Use your degree?

[kuozzman]

Poll question: Did you graduate from college? Use your degree?

I'm wondering how important college was to DUers. If you actually used what you learned for your degree or if the expensive piece of paper (diploma) was good enough and you went into something else. And if you didn't graduate, how did that impact your future? I can't graduate for the life of me. Three years ago, in my fourth year of college, I got several Ds and Fs, which I hadn't done in the past and that obviously brought my GPA down significantly. So I made my minor, Economics, my major and have gotten decent grades since then, but I've taken 165 credits and can't get above a damn 2.0 GPA, which is required to graduate. I'm at a 1.97 now and just got two Bs, so once again, didn't graduate. This is the fourth semester that, had I gotten better grades, I could have graduated. Anyone else have a similar experience? or any advice?

[thoughtanarchist]

1. just do it...

I used to reduce my coursework in order to keep up my GPA

go to the extreme and take 1 class at a time if you have to...

the degree is vital. Not to a particular job, but as a gateway to a career as opposed to just a job.

[Cobalt Violet]

2. It's pretty hard to use a BFA for a job. n/t

[ChairOne]

19. From what I've seen, BFA > MS mathematics....

Just my goddamnmotherfucking experience tho... LOL...

[Cobalt Violet]

20. Really.

A Bachelor of Fine Art is greater than a Master of Science Mathematics? I'm not saying I doubt it. I really don't know the job prospect of someone with a MS mathematics.

I was a double major Painting and Media.

[JVS]

21. An MS in Math can get you jobs at lot's of 2 yr and community colleges as

a prof

[ChairOne]

28. mebbe in Pittsburgh.... nuthin available here tho..... /eom

[LaurenG]

3. Graduate, just do it.

I ended up leaving in my junior year. It has taken me ten years to get to the salary I'm at now. If I had finished I am sure it would have taken 2-5 years instead.

There is nothing like peristance and integrity to get you where you want to go. However college is important, you gain so much, and you learn to be more open minded and it teaches you how to think.

I am very blessed to have found a really good job without finishing but it took years of experience before I even felt worthy of my wages.

Everyone is different but I'd say learn everything you can, knowledge is power.

[The Straight Story]

4. Dropped out of high school

Used my desire to learn to educate myself. Have a good job now. College? Maybe someday...

[The Zanti Regent]

5. Got an MA in Labor Economics, totally useless.

Took me 5 years to get steady emplyment after getting the degrees. The MA was a total waste and I wound up getting a government clerk job that only required a HS diploma.

Now the stock phrase from private industry is that I am too old to work. The last job interview I was able to get from Private Industry was 1989. I cannot get a job interview and I'm 48, so I'm stuck in my government clerk position unless I match six lotto numbers...

[BlueJazz]

6. I graduated from College and use my Physics degree every day.

....like using numerous Photons in my daily existence.
That's about the extent of it.. :)

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. Find out if retaking the courses you made D's in will help

I was a Biology major and did fine in those classes. I had to take 16 hours of Chemistry too in order to get a BS, so that was my original minor, since I would have only had to take two more courses. I made B's in freshman chemistry (inorganic) but organic chemistry kicked my ass and I got D's for both semesters. I took both semesters again and got B's, so with the D's they averaged out to C's. I went into my first junior level chemistry class, physical chemistry, and it might as well have been in Greek. I knew I wasn't going to get through it, so I went ahead and dropped that class and changed my minor to Psychology, which still qualified me for a BS. I worked part time and took light loads the last 2 years, but I graduated in 5 years with a 3.25.

I got my teaching certificate also and taught for 9 years. Even though I've been in the business world for the last 14 years, the diploma still makes a difference, and frankly, most people don't ask for your transcript. It means you were able to stick with something and finish it, and that matters, and at least half of your classes are in things you didn't major or minor in - English, History, Government, etc. It all makes you a more well rounded person than someone who didn't go to college at all, or who got a 2 year degree from a community college.

Find out if re-taking some of the classes you made D's in will make a difference. Depending on the school, they may average both grades into your GPA or only the highest one. If you have to make all A's your last semester, then do what it takes to make all A's. It won't be easy, but it will be a hell of a lot cheaper than taking more semesters to graduate. Just do it.

[kuozzman]

23. Already got a "B" in a class that I got an "F" in. It doesn't replace it.

which seems like BS to me. It only does if it was in your first 60 hours. Another thing I thought was BS was, after retaking that class, I realized how inconsistent courses are when it comes to the material covered. The class was Macroeconomics and the first time, I just didn't go enough (I worked throughout the day and was able to leave to go to class, but usually chose to stay at work, which was dumb) which is why I failed, but it was also A LOT harder than the one I took from a different prof. Completely different material. Much more mathematics and equations in the first one. We didn't even need (also weren't allowed to) to use a calculator in the second one. I'm sure that's how it is at a lot of places, but it seems messed up.

[Nikia]

8. I have a BA in biology

I work in quality assurance in the food industry. I suppose that my degree is somewhat useful in getting hired intially and in better understanding what I am doing. People can be trained to do most of my job without a degree though. Most jobs are ridiculously specialized and don't require much creative or critical thinking skills despite what they say.

[phaseolus]

10. Hey, I design/program electrical controls in the food industry

We sell thermal processing stuff. My degree's in Metallurgy, though, which they claimed was a fantastic field four years before all the jobs went overseas...

[MattBaggins]

44. Also BA in biology

Work in a Biotechnology Facility in development of a monoclonal antibody.

[baby_bear]

9. My doctorate was very useful

My bachelor's was second to useless; my master's was the most useful in terms of getting a job; and my doctorate was most useful to myself, in terms of personal development and advancing my skills.

All of my degrees are in scientific fields, so may be irrelevant to others.

b_b

[TN al]

11. Sounds very similar to my experience...

...or not, you decide. Circumstances left me with 160 credit hours but a 1.93 GPA and no money to complete the degree. Having no other place to turn I joined the army. During my fifth year in the army I stumbled upon a way to finish the degree and earned my bachelor's degree with 164 credit hours and a 2.07 GPA. Take heart, I now hold a masters degree with a GPA of 3.67. For me it was simply a matter of maturity.

[bobbobbins]

12. You're all slaves!

[jsw_81]

13. Maybe college isn't for you

I don't mean to be rude, but the reality is that a 1.97 GPA is pretty bad and will look awful on a resume. Many employers ask to see college transcripts these days, and a poor GPA -- not to mention the fact that it has taken you so long to graduate -- can really hurt your chances of getting hired unless you have a good excuse (e.g. being a working parent).

Far too many people in our society are pressured into believing this "you MUST attend college or you're a total failure" nonsense when in reality many just aren't suited for it and would be much better off attending a vocational/trade school rather than a university. Maybe you're one of them. But good luck, whatever you decide.

[bleedingheart]

14. Are you studying something you enjoy?

I have an engineering degree and work in a specific specialty within my field which I enjoy a great deal.

I started out in electrical engineering but didn't like it or enjoy it. I ended up getting my degree in industrial engineering and found that it is a field I enjoy.

[kuozzman]

26. Yes, I love economics. I spend a couple hours every day reading

about the world economy and feel like I understand it very well. My professors say I do to. I just have trouble with some of the more difficult mathematical parts and sometimes have trouble graphing stuff that I can easily explain. But I get an "A" on just about every essay paper/test or short answer questions.

[kuozzman]

32. test

[kuozzman]

33. test

[Sleepysage]

15. They can't take it away from you...

...when you finish. It's a nice thing to have on an otherwise barren resume, though the utility of any degree sort of depends on what you want to do. The more technical the job you'd like, the more specific the degree. OTOH, my wife's undergrad was in English and philosophy, and she's the editor of a scholarly journal. It just depends.

My degree was in philosophy and biology, and I'm finishing law school. My Bachelor's helped me before grad school, I suppose, but since I always planned on law, it didn't matter much.

...bottom line... get the degree and get out. It's useful and hey, then you can say you spent the money on SOMEthing.

[Bush was AWOL]

16. graduated in 5 years with a degree in History

I'm in Real Estate now. My degree did zero for me as far obtaining my current job.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

17. Did Post Grad Work In Poli Sci...

I am a publisher now.....


But an education is never wasted....

[JVS]

18. I think you might just have to retake some of those D and F courses and

get them higher. Most schools let you substitute new results for retaken classes.

Look at it this way. An F is worth 0 and an A is worth 4. If you get a 3 credit F you need 3 credits of A to make it balance. If you aren't getting A's then you need to balance it with B's. Do the math
Solve this equation: 2.0= ((3*0)+(X*3))/ (3+X), you'll need 6 credits of B's just to balance out 3 credits of F to a 2.0. So let's look at your case more specifically.

You have 165 credits at 1.97 GPA, this means you have 325.05 Quality points. I'm guessing that 1.97 is an approximation and you actually have 325 quality points. To get a 2.0 you need to either take more couses or repeat some of your F's and D's for better grades. If you are willing to repeat courses then all you need to do is get 330 quality points and then 330/165=2.0. This is 5 Quality points! All you'd need to do is take 1 3 credit class where you got an F and get a C. If you don't think that you could do that you could take 2 3 credit classes where you got F's and only need to get it to a D! YOU CAN DO THIS I AM CERTAIN!!! Doing either of these will give you 6 more Quality points and bring you to 2.01 (actually 2.00606060606..)

The Hard way is to take new courses to try to balance out to 2.0. This is hard because 165 credits is a large number of credits and even a large course load cannot have a big effect. Also to get this to average to 2 you have to do better than 2.0. So let's crunch that number. Assuming that you'll get B's in each class you take we need to solve 2.0=(325+X*3)/(165+X) so X=5. You need 5 Credits of pure B or higher and you can graduate. If you take only 2 3 credit classes and get B's in both of them you'll have a 2.01.

So the choice is A) retake 2 F's get D's or better and graduate
or B) take 2 new classes and get B's and graduate

[kuozzman]

27. Oh, how I wish I could do that! My school (KU-KS) doesn't let you

relace a grade if you retake a class. If they did I would have graduated at least a year ago. It's really frustrating. And it wasn't changed until a few years ago. Now you can only do that in your first 60 credits. Thanks for the encouragement.

[JVS]

29. Well then you just need to get 2 B's

So look for the easiest 2 (3 credit ) courses out there and knock em dead!

Or sign up for a 6 1 credit things

[vixengrl]

22. I graduated in four years with an English lit. degree, but it's funny.

I started out in Biology, and if I had really wanted to hunker down, get tutoring and all that (I passed two semesters of Calc because my boyfriend was a math major) I could've...continued fighting what I wanted to do, but I changed majors to something called Psychobiology--which is mostly psychology with a concentration on the neuro-chemical end of things, like brain development and the effects of drugs and so forth. Fascinating stuff, but I liked the theoretical end of psychology, being realy interested in Freud and Jung and Adler and all, and then, when I was giving a media presentation in a Public Speaking class about how I wanted to be a *guidance couselor* or work with troubled kids--I didn't want to do any such damn thing! I was enjoying my lit classes and taking all my humanities electives all the while, and had been changing my majors largely because I was doing my Lit. papers and dropping my Lab classes for lack of time. I wanted to write poetry and goof off and study Joyce and Pound.

So by my senior year, I changed my major to Lit. and passed, because I already took all the credits. I work in customer service now, but I still write a little and read a lot. But as my parents and all *adults* (besides my lit profs) pointed out--a Lit. degree usually qualifies you to be a Lit. teacher. And that's about it. But I promoted to a professional title in my current job on the basis of having a degree, so I'm making more money doing the same job (more or less) as some people where I work, and will be in management sooner.

(My GPA followed my bliss--I went Magna Cum Laude by realizing what I was good at--if you're having a bitch of a time with your college experience, you might not be getting out all you can from your major. I know a guy who took eight years to get his engineering degree--he is not an engineer right now. It never hurts to reconsider your curiculum.)

[durutti]

24. I feel your pain.

I'm currently a college student, just got done with what was probably my worst semester ever, and am very scared and confused about the future.

Will post more later.

[Hotdiggitydog]

25. Civil Engineering

Took 5 years to earn the degree. I work in a related field where the degree is a requirement, but I swear I use very little of what I learned in my job. A degree teaches you some principles and shows you have an aptitude for the subject matter, a desire to learn and the perseverence to get it done. Nothing more nothing less.

[CTyankee]

30. I finished my BA at age 55

I missed a lot of opportunities by not having my degree and it was contantly an oppressing thought. When I went back to school I went to a school offering an accelerated degree program, 8 week courses for 3 college credits each. They even had weekend courses you could take. It was great. I loved it.

a year after I got the BA I went back for the MA and took one course a semester. It took me 4 1/2 years but I got there. Two of my grown kids and 3 of my grandchildren were at my graduation. I treasure the experience.

Now I am retired but still work part time. I love having my degrees on my resume after all those years when I had to explain why I didn't have the degree.

[Dzimbowicz]

31. I earned a BA in German

and it has landed two jobs for me, the first being the most unusual and the second the most predictable. The German degree landed me a job as a computer operator-JCL programmer. The VP of Data Processing said, "If you can learn a spoken language, you can learn a computer one." I worked for four years in this profession before being laid-off twice.
The predictable job is the one I have now: high school German teacher. But, that only came about because I could not find a job based on my graduate degree: a Ph.D. in history.

I'm glad a earned that BA in German, it has come in handy.

[Sirveri]

34. I started going to college but dropped out during Clinton.

Economy was going apeshit and I didn't need a degree to get into the field I wanted to start in. So I jumped ship and started that route back in '98. Fast forward to '02 and I'm getting laid off and I can't find shit for work. Fast forward to 2 days ago and I just joined the navy to get into the nuclear field. Too expensive to go to college, and society has decided to throw every roadblock it can think of in my path. So I figure I might as well go this route so as to avoid retail for the rest of my days.

[Orangepeel]

40. geez. The navy to avoid retail?

to each his own, but I sure wouldn't make that choice.

Good luck and stay safe!

[Sirveri]

41. I scored really high on the ASVAB

Basically I'm going to be in school for the next two years, and then after that I'll be in the most secure space aboard a ship that exists. My chances of getting hurt are probably as low as any civilian job in that respect.

[Blue Wally]

35. Finished in four years

I finished in four years with a degree in Civil Engineering. Completed 158 semester hours. One semester, carried 23 hours to include a 2:00 to 4:00 lab every single afternoon (M to F). Got a job right away even in the Eisenhower recession which carried forward into the first year of JFK. I got bopred with the job and when i went into the Army (two year ROTC committment), I found that I enjoyed the Army so much more as I had a lot more responsibility and scope (engineering was basically an overpaid draftsman).

I don't regret majoring in engineering because over the years, i was valued for my ability to quantify arguments.

[Guaranteed]

36. B.A. in philosophy. Just getting the chance to use it, now.

Going to paralegal school.

[flygal]

37. I wouldn't say I used my business degree as a flight attendant

but I used a lot of the knowledge acquired in dealing with a lot of situations. I think it got me in the door to be hired - during a time when it was a sought after position. Even now I'm a stay at home mom, but I'm so glad I have that degree for the future. I hope to get either a teaching degree or masters in something.

[Throckmorton]

38. Dropped out at the end of my Second Year,

Then used my high school technical training, I went to a trade school, as an apprentice electrician to find a job as a technician at a small electronics manufacturing plant. After two years, switched to field service in the power generation industry, installing and troubleshooting the equipment I once built. After 9 years in that position, to a job with a client as an analyst. I have been employed by this company 11 years on Jan 4. I am now a Technical Adviser, which is a step above the Senior Analyst position.

I went to college to learn to be a land use planner, a dead path of evolution. I subsequently finished a bachelors degree in American History in 1992.

[AngryAmish]

39. Use both of my degrees

My grades in undergrad were pretty bad, but I test well. So I got into professional school and did pretty well. My undegrad degree is very useful in certain aspects of my job.

[toddaa]

42. Adult Learner Grad

Got my 4 year degree in Comp Sci. after working in the industry for 10+ years. Does that count?

I focused on liberal arts instead of the math stuff because my job may be in IT, but my passion is philosophy. Frankly, getting a degree for a job is stupid. You don't go to college for a paycheck, you go to college to prepare yourself for a lifetime of learning.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

43. My BA was in German and French, but I'm currently a

Japanese-English translator after having earned a Ph. D. in linguistics and teaching college for 11 years.

Actually, that's a pretty straightforward career path compared to some that I've heard of.

All in all, the experience of going to school, being among very smart people from lots of backgrounds and taking advantage of all the opportunities for cultural enrichment that colleges and universities offer had much more lasting effects than any of my coursework except Japanese language.

[Redleg]

45. Which degree do you mean?

I use my Masters and Doctorate but not my Bachelors.

[feistydem]

46. BA in Education. BA in English. I manage a non-profit org.

Should have become an architect like I wanted.

[kurtyboy]

47. Flunked out the first time--now in the middle of my second

I was too troubled and distracted the first go-around. I was suspended for low scholarship from a Community College! They actually sent me a letter that said, "We feel you might be better suited for the workforce..."

20 years later, I re-enrolled, cleaned up my transcript (they have an amnesty program), and spent a couple of quarters finishing my Asoociate's degree. I transferred to the University (Western Washington), where I am earning a 3.84 GPA since returning to college. I'm studying PolySci with dual minors in Economics and Philosophy. I love it!

But the point is, some times are better than others for certain endeavors--for you, college may be such an endeavor. I was able to get a decent job with little more than my military experience and a clean background check. I voluntarily left that job to return to school, and the paycheck I left behind brought me over $70,000 adj gross the last year I was there.

The degree you get will probably have nothing substantial to do with the way you choose to spend your career. Get a degree you can enjoy while you're earning it (I love Economics as well, but the Math kills me) and you'll do just fine. I tell two things to all of the younger colleagues I have: A degree is not a career, and grades are overrated. Just enjoy yourself, or as one of the posters above said, quoting Joseph Campbell, "Follow Your bliss."

[okieinpain]

48. did not see associate degree. used it to raise a family of 6