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26 (almost 27) with a master's, stuck with part time retail.

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Velociraptor
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30 Jun 2012, 2:37 am

WhoKnowsWhy wrote:
What do you mean sometimes? :)


Bahaha.

Well, there are a few exceptions. You're not going to get hired as a research chemist or a medical resident/intern without the education.

For most else, work experience is indeed important.



noname_ever
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30 Jun 2012, 12:02 pm

WhoKnowsWhy wrote:
Spinster wrote:
You know what I hate? When people come on here talking about how they have some sort of degree and can't find employment, yet refuse to inform anyone on what kind of degree they hold, where they went, how long they went, etc. Just saying that you "did stuff" in "something" with "some kind of qualifications" is kind of annoying. It's not even like I come on here to help anyone really, I just want to know what's going on with peoples lives in our community, and in some cases just entertain myself. I guess there is the matter of privacy, and the possibility that user to user discussion took place at some point outside of this thread, but regardless I'm still left in the dark. Please tell me, anyone, what the hell is going on with this man's life.


Maybe because those people are sick and tired of having their degrees denigrated because they're not in a STEM field? I think anyone who took the time and made the effort to attain a degree should have a decent-paying job....I don't care if the degree was in puppetry.


Higher paying jobs usually require decent technical skills and/or social skills. The employer isn't going to train you in social skills. Therefore you either need great social skills (think sales positions) or already have the technical skills required. Employers don't want to train you the technical skills. They will train you to do the job, but that's not the same thing. Your degree is largely important to the types of jobs you can get in the beginning. Eventually, experience and skill updates matter more than the actual degree, but not having a relevant degree can still shut doors.

Many degrees don't qualify you to do much more than retail. It would probably help if your masters was in a STEM field even if you BA was not (that requires a ton of remedial work before starting the masters).



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30 Jun 2012, 10:11 pm

noname_ever wrote:
Higher paying jobs usually require decent technical skills and/or social skills. The employer isn't going to train you in social skills. Therefore you either need great social skills (think sales positions) or already have the technical skills required. Employers don't want to train you the technical skills. They will train you to do the job, but that's not the same thing. Your degree is largely important to the types of jobs you can get in the beginning. Eventually, experience and skill updates matter more than the actual degree, but not having a relevant degree can still shut doors.

Many degrees don't qualify you to do much more than retail. It would probably help if your masters was in a STEM field even if you BA was not (that requires a ton of remedial work before starting the masters).


It's a commonly held stereotype that Aspies are highly proficient in math and science, and while it's true for some, it's equally false for others. I simply don't have the aptitude for STEM...I struggled with the subjects in high school.

Also, I don't think most people with liberal arts degrees expect to get a "HIGH-paying" job (at least not right away)....many would settle just for a middle-income job or in some cases, any job at all.



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30 Jun 2012, 10:39 pm

The problem with many liberal arts degrees for people who don't have any other skills besides their degree is that there is either insufficient jobs that use it or no job uses it directly. If you major in STEM, law, business, etc..., there are many jobs that use it directly. In the case of a liberal arts degree, much of the time it's just to show that you can learn and earn a degree. They don't apply directly to a job. Other degrees that don't fall into the categories listed above require extremely high education to get a job in that field. What type of job does someone with a BS in psychology or sociology get? Don't those basically require a PhD before you work in the field?

Yes, your choice of major matters whether people like it or not. If it didn't, I wouldn't have bothered with a STEM degree and went for something much easier and less time consuming.



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Velociraptor
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22 Jul 2012, 12:24 am

noname_ever wrote:
The problem with many liberal arts degrees for people who don't have any other skills besides their degree is that there is either insufficient jobs that use it or no job uses it directly. If you major in STEM, law, business, etc..., there are many jobs that use it directly. In the case of a liberal arts degree, much of the time it's just to show that you can learn and earn a degree. They don't apply directly to a job. Other degrees that don't fall into the categories listed above require extremely high education to get a job in that field. What type of job does someone with a BS in psychology or sociology get? Don't those basically require a PhD before you work in the field?

Yes, your choice of major matters whether people like it or not. If it didn't, I wouldn't have bothered with a STEM degree and went for something much easier and less time consuming.


Yeah. Education and work experience matter. Majoring in something useless to the work field isn't a good idea. You can overcome it with work experience and internships, but having a career relevant education is a good thing.



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22 Jul 2012, 3:16 pm

This is a very huge issue and I think it's only going to continue to blow up.

People are getting masters degrees without any actual experience, but experience is what business wants.

We routinely turned down Masters Degrees in computer science because they had no practical work experience for IT Support.

I got my B.A. in 2008, I have not gone back for a Masters and I won't until I feel that I have reached the terminal position my B.A. can take me to.



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Velociraptor
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31 Jul 2012, 1:13 am

thewhitrbbit wrote:
This is a very huge issue and I think it's only going to continue to blow up.

People are getting masters degrees without any actual experience, but experience is what business wants.

We routinely turned down Masters Degrees in computer science because they had no practical work experience for IT Support.

I got my B.A. in 2008, I have not gone back for a Masters and I won't until I feel that I have reached the terminal position my B.A. can take me to.


Yeah. Schools should emphasize internships, jobs, volunteer experience, etc. during the academic career. You don't want to end up 40 years old with a Ph.D. (plus) and not a day of work experience.



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31 Jul 2012, 1:21 am

Word to the wise - be sure you know how to type. You can always find clerical work.



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31 Jul 2012, 3:00 pm

Sandwich degrees with a year's experience are great, I wish I did one now. They can also offer the opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture, by travelling abroad. I believe the University I went to, the University of Huddersfield, now provides special assistance with these placements for people with Aspergers.

A part time job in retail is better than no job at all.


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01 Aug 2012, 12:34 am

Electricbassguy wrote:
I'd like to believe this is just a feature of our current economy, but I've had a master's degree for almost 2 years and just 9 months of decent employment (meaning anything that required more than being 16 years old and having cashier skills)

I felt like I did something that made me stand out (in a negative way) at my last job. Any advice on what to do nexT?


I am 10 years older than you and have a Masters in Finance & BA in Accounting and can't even get part time retail.. No one will hire me now for anything because my Resume is a mess with many short term temp jobs that lasted 1 year or less.



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24 Aug 2012, 10:11 pm

Seems to be more and more of a common occurance with our present day economy


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WhoKnowsWhy
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25 Aug 2012, 10:03 pm

It's fine if experience matters more...I don't have a problem with that, but I do have a HUGE problem with parents and teachers telling us that education is more important. "Just get your degree! You won't ever make more than minimum wage without it!" Why weren't we told as kids that employers valued experience more? I was also told GPA mattered more than major. That's obviously not true.



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28 Aug 2012, 1:04 pm

WhoKnowsWhy wrote:
It's fine if experience matters more...I don't have a problem with that, but I do have a HUGE problem with parents and teachers telling us that education is more important. "Just get your degree! You won't ever make more than minimum wage without it!" Why weren't we told as kids that employers valued experience more? I was also told GPA mattered more than major. That's obviously not true.


I wish I knew that before I went to university. I avoided all co-ops, internships, etc to focus on finishing as quickly as possible. I assumed the degree WAS the experience but how wrong I was! Same with marks. I busted my you-know-what to get good grades in High School only to find out nobody cares what your marks or GPA is at all.



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28 Aug 2012, 8:44 pm

GiantHockeyFan wrote:
I wish I knew that before I went to university. I avoided all co-ops, internships, etc to focus on finishing as quickly as possible. I assumed the degree WAS the experience but how wrong I was! Same with marks. I busted my you-know-what to get good grades in High School only to find out nobody cares what your marks or GPA is at all.


Yeah, that's another thing....there was so much on emphasis on graduating on time (which I did, albeit only by going in the summer), but I've found that people who took time out of school to gain experience are now doing better than me. Sigh...