# Does anyone here have two degrees? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246 "2009-07-16T18:28:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/61 "2009-07-17T21:31:10Z")
AB in Economics, AM in Public Policy Working in accounting, so no I don’t use them. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/62 "2009-07-17T23:29:34Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I have two. The wife beats me with three, and she’ll have a fourth one in the next couple of years or so. > [@Antigen](#): > > Does she roll them up in little cardboard tubes first for a better impact? As a matter of fact, she does. And she’s just lucky that foreigners can’t own guns here. I AM from Texas, after all. Actually, I _might_ be able to stretch it and claim three degrees myself, as my bachelor’s was a double major in disparate fields, but it was still only one actual piece of paper. Still, it counts as one in one field and another in another. My master’s was just in one single field. I wonder if a pertinent side question might be: “Do you use your degrees?” My wife certainly does use most of hers, although not so much her bachelor’s. But mine were in diverse fields, none of which I’m active in now. And yet, the particular experiences I had while earning my degerees were all part of what brought me to where I am, so I can’t say they were not worthwhile. Ah, memories. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/63 "2009-07-18T01:05:42Z")
Bachelor of Arts in Music Master of Music Doctor of Musical Arts ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/64 "2009-07-18T03:01:25Z")
> [@Animastryfe](#): > > Wow, do people usually forget/not care about their undergraduate degree(s) once they get a professional degree/masters/PhD? I have three: BA in Plan II Liberal Arts Honors Ed.M. in Adminstration, Planning, and Social Policy Ed.D. in Higher Education The first is from The University of Texas at Austin. The latter two are from Harvard University. (Now I’ve made it possible for someone to track me down, haven’t I?) I’m a professor of higher education. To answer **Animastryfe’s** question, I think in my field (education, the professoriate) it’s true. My undergrad degree is unknown to a large swathe of the population, but nobody’s ever asked me about it. Every now and then a colleague will make mention of their undergrad training, especially if it’s totally unrelated to what they do now. (I have a colleague who was a music major.) I think people in fields with strong “cultures” around their undergraduate degrees - like a colleague who was an engineer - tend to hold that identity. But your average liberal arts major doesn’t have a strong identity attached to being a X major, so it likely fades with a terminal degree… just my $.02 in my field. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/65 "2009-07-18T03:46:26Z")
I like hearing about the unique combinations (Zoology and Nursing) because I’m considering going back to school. I have an education degree but I was thinking that maybe I could even try Law or if I’m really ambitous Medicine. I think I’m pretty intelligent and disciplined. When I was younger I had little confidence in my abilities. Now that I’ve entered the real world successfully, I sometimes think I might like to challenge myself more. But this might be another thread entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/66 "2009-07-18T06:37:51Z")
I’ve got four: B.A. in History & PoliSci. LL.B. (common) LL.B. (civil) LL.M. (comparative) I’m a practising lawyer using much of what I learned in all four degrees, to varying degrees. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/67 "2009-07-18T07:20:00Z")
BSc in biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology BCA in commercial law and marketing Currently working as a marketing manager in financial services. The bio came in handy when I worked in insurance though (trauma and IP). Plus it’s an unusual combination which invariably gets me noticed on job applications. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/68 "2009-07-18T15:18:08Z")
I actually have two BAs. For historical reasons my HS (founded in 1838 IIRC) grants BA degrees and has a president not a principal (but his vices are vice-principle). Then I have an ordinary college degree (as well as a PhD, no master’s). ---
**Author:** ![corvidae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@corvidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corvidae)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/69 "2009-07-19T14:07:45Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > A zoo nurse? 😃 One of my jobs is in a pediatric practice - does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/70 "2009-07-19T14:12:13Z")
B.A. in Japanese That led to seven working in Japanese tourism in Hawaii A.S. in Computer Science For the past fifteen years or so, I’ve been working with databases and I’m a better programmer than I was a translator. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/71 "2009-07-19T19:33:58Z")
MA Sociology, MSW Social Work. The former is not a ‘terminal degree’, meaning a) No one goes out and seeks and gets an MA in Sociology and stops there on purpose. b) It’s therefore kinda useless. Some would argue that a PhD in Sociology is also kinda useless, but let’s not go there. I didn’t get a PhD in Sociology, so I won’t ever find out. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/72 "2009-07-20T12:38:40Z")
A **Bachelor of Science** in _Chemistry_ A **Bachelor of Social Science** in _Computer Science_ I finished my BSc after 4 years (3 funded by the govt grant) with some C- passes (long story) so I could not keep doing chemistry, but had two years of grant available (due to completing my first degree) and had no job. So I cross-credited a pile of courses, chose the school of Social Sciences so I could do music and philosophy and english as well as Computer Science, and finished a second degree in two years. And the wider range of courses help me get my first IT support role. I have never used my first degree professionally. Si ---
**Author:** ![\_xiao\_wenti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b782af/32.png) [@\_xiao\_wenti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_xiao_wenti)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/73 "2009-07-20T23:54:55Z")
BA (European History), BS (Metallurgical Engineering, magna cum laude), MS and PhD (Metallurgical and Materials Engineering), plus non-degree graduate work in Latin American history and Industrial Engineering (about 3/4 of the coursework). …And I am an idiot with no excuses. Should have left the universities a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/74 "2009-10-29T10:13:11Z")
I’ve got a BA in communication and journalism, and an MS in communication studies. I’m now in a master of arts in teaching program so I can teach, and once I’m certified, I’ll probably end up in a third master’s program thanks to the professional development requirement. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/75 "2009-10-29T10:59:34Z")
BA Mandarin Chinese BA economics Use both on a daily basis ---
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/76 "2009-10-29T12:24:39Z")
BSc and MSc in economics BA and MA in poli sci (working on PhD) from two different schools ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/77 "2009-10-29T14:02:10Z")
B.B.A. (earned in 1988) M.S. Geoscience (earned 2007) Unemployed going on almost a year now. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/78 "2009-10-29T14:07:31Z")
Degrees, no. But I have a buttload of certifications. BA - Liberal Studies (Anthro major, Soc. and Euro. Hist. minors) Teaching Credentials - Social Studies, English, Life Sciences, Earth Sciences Certificates - Gifted and Talented Education, Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/79 "2009-10-29T15:37:28Z")
BA in History MBA I work as a financial analyst. The MBA gave me the financial skills and the history degree helped me with switching between micro and macro analysis. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246/80 "2009-10-29T15:41:57Z")
Did I answer this one already? I don’t see an entry from me. I’ve got three – a Bachelor’s in Physics, a Master’s in Optical Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Physics. They all sorta go together, but they’re from two separate “schools” – Physics comes from Arts and Sciences, but the Masters’ is from College of Engineering. And they’re from three different schools. Especially unusual for this day and age, each required its own thesis. Even the Bachelor degree. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-here-have-two-degrees/503246.md?page=5)