Anyone have a Univeristy degree?

[glenn1]

What does that mean?

It means I'm not naturally smart although I work in a field and am competing with people who are. Rhodes scholar types don't almost fail out of high school for goofing off thus becoming military knuckle draggers. I've since made up for that earlier lack of effort with a mix of cunning, hustle, and just plain willingness take on the really shitty work no one else wanted just to learn how to do what other people learned years before while I was dragging my ass around a giant sandbox carrying 100+ pounds of shit and pretending to fight imaginary bad guys. I pretty much worked my way up by the very hardest method possible, which is pretty much the definition of dumb; I completely inverted the "work smart not hard" paradigm.

 

[highland145]

It means I'm not naturally smart although I work in a field and am competing with people who are. Rhodes scholar types don't almost fail out of high school for goofing off thus becoming military knuckle draggers. I've since made up for that earlier lack of effort with a mix of cunning, hustle, and just plain willingness take on the really shitty work no one else wanted just to learn how to do what other people learned years before while I was dragging my ass around a giant sandbox carrying 100+ pounds of shit and pretending to fight imaginary bad guys. I pretty much worked my way up by the very hardest method possible, which is pretty much the definition of dumb; I completely inverted the "work smart not hard" paradigm.

I knew I liked you.

You should stay out of P&N. That's fighting an uphill battle...insurmountable even.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Older self never needs defending. You can get away with anything if your old. Start a five car pile up? "oh he's just old". Poop your pants in Walmart and shake it down your pants leg? "oh he's just old". You can go around yelling swear words out the window while driving on the sidewalk against a one lane road and the most they'll do is give you a happy shot and sit you down in your easy rocker.

Can't wait till i'm old.:twisted:

My boss does exactly as you described. If he forgot to call in on something "senior moment", if he forgot to send an email he was gonna forward me "senior moment", yea... you get the idea. To top it off, he just turned 65 and doesn't give two shits about anything. He could retire tomorrow if he wanted. He's already told me I'm next in line to take his spot when he leaves, so I guess I can deal with all the senior moments until that time....

 

[HeXen]

My boss does exactly as you described. If he forgot to call in on something "senior moment", if he forgot to send an email he was gonna forward me "senior moment", yea... you get the idea. To top it off, he just turned 65 and doesn't give two shits about anything. He could retire tomorrow if he wanted. He's already told me I'm next in line to take his spot when he leaves, so I guess I can deal with all the senior moments until that time....

yeah I've seen old people get by with a lot of shit.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I have a culinary degree, a food and beverage management degree and, am half way through a cs degree. The university degrees have only added to my knowledge but, have meant nothing to my earnings. On paper I am better educated than anyone I have ever worked for. In my industry, experience is worth 10 times more than education.

 

[John Connor]

No degree. Went to Job Corp and studied welding. Got a GED and then my high school diploma.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I have a theoretical degree in physics.

 

[Mai72]

I have a degree in special education. I'm currently working with children who are diagnosed with severe behavioral and emotional disorders. I just acquired the position two months ago.

Its a difficult position. IMO, what prepared me was that I taught in South Korea and Thailand. Teaching abroad changed my life, and I would encourage anyone to do the same. Life is about experiences. The more you have, the more fulfilled you will be in life.

 

[GregGreen]

I got my BA in Sociology in 2008. Went to work in sales for a couple years. Although some salespeople might use Sociology in their day to day work, the place I was working wasn't the type of place where that would be useful (or maybe it was my particular job that it wouldn't have been useful -- was definitely an entry-level employee).

Didn't like that so I went and got my MA in Interactive Media, graduating in 2011. Most of the classes were aimed more at journalism type people, but we learned some programming in the classes and with a lot of work on my own, I've been employed as a web/software developer since then. I wish I had gone for CS tho -- lots of companies in this field screen non-CS people out by way of things they will never/rarely use in their day-to-day job.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

ph.d. in business
wife ph.d. in education

I'm a professor
Wife is starting a nonprofit

You will notice that the starting, median, and top 10% income for EVERY university degree is higher than that for EVERY blue-collar job (i.e. philosophy does better than electrician).

 

[HamburgerBoy]

BS in biochemistry, working on my PhD now.

You will notice that the starting, median, and top 10% income for EVERY university degree is higher than that for EVERY blue-collar job (i.e. philosophy does better than electrician).

[citation needed]

 

[pcgeek11]

No degree. Working as an Electronics Technician and Automated Assembly Maintenance for the last 22 years. Living very well; average 6 figures a year in the South East US.

Plus my military retirement pay...

 

[Dr. Zaus]

BS in biochemistry, working on my PhD now.



[citation needed]

Congrats!

Starting:

Liberal arts/Humanities $36,237


Electricians $31,170



Mid-Career

Liberal arts/humanities: $78,300

Electricians $51,110


http://time.com/money/3829776/heres-what-the-average-grad-makes-right-out-of-college/

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/electricians.htm#tab-5

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffrey...es-degrees-provide-great-return-on-investment

 

[John Connor]

ph.d. in business
wife ph.d. in education

I'm a professor
Wife is starting a nonprofit

You will notice that the starting, median, and top 10% income for EVERY university degree is higher than that for EVERY blue-collar job (i.e. philosophy does better than electrician).

PhD in Business, huh? I'm surprised because you didn't even know who Encyclopedia Brown was. Hell! I should just go on ahead and get my BA in Computer Science and history!

 

[Blanky]

Yes and no I'm not working in the field. It was stupid degree, just something to say I have one, like so many these days. Absolutely positive I would be making tons less money if I didn't have it, though. You should always ignore poor people telling you a degree doesn't help your career.

 

[lxskllr]

I feel bad now as I have no degree. Change title to feel bad if you have no degree thread. lol

Me neither, and if I could go back in time, I wouldn't do anything differently regarding schooling. As posted in another thread, I would have liked to learn blacksmithing. That would be my retirement occupation. Sell crap at festivals and on etsy. Maybe score a living history gig at a museum or something.

 

[John Connor]

Maybe score a living history gig at a museum or something.

...or one of those Renaissance festivals.

 

[John Connor]

Hell, now that I think of it that could be a rather useful skill. I have wanted to always buy some kights armor on ebay, but it's mighty pricy. I'm talking about a full man suit to display outside your front door. But if you had the skills you could make a suit of armor for perhaps a fraction of the cost!

Here you go. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carlos-V-Su...236657?hash=item43ea735871:g:SCQAAOSwezVWz4uk

Free shipping, but $99?

I do have a 2 foot knight that I got from my sister from Pier One Imports. LOL!

 

[lxskllr]

...or one of those Renaissance festivals.

That would be loads of fun. Renaissance workers are like carnies. A big family that parties hard after the punters leave. I also like feel at the festivals. They're really medieval festivals, that only give lip service to the Renaissance.

 

[HeXen]

I never had a clue what I wanted to be, never aspired any particular job but after HS, I really had no idea what kinds of jobs were really out there. I'd take a cushy office job or something but if I could do it all over again, I'd still have no clue. My luck I'd get a degree in something and never find a job doing it but I just can't do the whole study and tests thing anymore.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

PhD in Business, huh? I'm surprised because you didn't even know who Encyclopedia Brown was. Hell! I should just go on ahead and get my BA in Computer Science and history!

haha! didn't I pretend you were making some sort of racial remark when you said "encyclopedia brown".. that was, indeed, funny

BTW I always thought you were my friend's alt... But then I think everyone is my friend's alt.

I'm the first in my family to get a degree of any kind though... as anyone who's known me during the 17 years i've been on ATOT can attest, without the aid of a computer I'm illiterate.

 

[Exterous]

I have a degree but don't work in the field I got it in and haven't since my first year out of college. Working full time and living well

Starting:

Liberal arts/Humanities $36,237


Electricians $31,170

Using an average across a large range of degrees as proof that "EVERY university degree is higher than that for EVERY blue-collar job" is a terrible idea.

Using a far better source we can quickly see that your statement is wrong. For example the lower 25th percentile of Religious and theological majors make <$30,000 a year which is below your cited amount of $31,170 for the lowest 10% of electricians

https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/valueofcollegemajors/#explore-data

 

[Dr. Zaus]

I have a degree but don't work in the field I got it in and haven't since my first year out of college. Working full time and living well



Using an average across a large range of degrees as proof that "EVERY university degree is higher than that for EVERY blue-collar job" is a terrible idea.

Using a far better source we can quickly see that your statement is wrong. For example the lower 25th percentile of Religious and theological majors make <$30,000 a year which is below your cited amount of $31,170 for the lowest 10% of electricians

https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/valueofcollegemajors/#explore-data

Cool chart, way more nuanced than the data I was running on. Mine weighted back the likelihood of a masters, this breaks it out: Thanks!


We can't compare BLS's percentiles across the board, but we can compare medians, lets look at them:

30k - Construction Laborers and Helpers
45k - HVACR technicians
51k - Electrician

The worst degree is early childhood education: 39ug/53k grad.

Degrees in the 40 most popular degrees making less than 51k:
UG/Grad
49k/65K - Psychology
46k/60k - Education
43k/57k - Elementary Education
49k/60k - Fine Arts
45k/60k - Family and consumer sciences (formerly called home-economics)
42k/55K - Social work
49k/61k - Music

The other 83% make more without grad work.

Bottom line: If you go into a 'feel good' industry like Education you'll be about on-par with an electrician. If you get a grad degree you'll beat the electrician.

Even more so for the other, much lower paid, blue collar jobs.