Dopers without degrees: how have you fared?

In My Humble Opinion
41

Perhaps if I’d earned a college degree, I would have actually been educated enough to post the correct link. :smack:

As for my personal experience, I started going to a community college right after high school, but between struggling with ADD and lacking a sense of career direction, I barely stumbled through the first semester. Over the same period of time, I blew through $11k I’d inherited from when my dad passed away that I gained access to when I turned 18. So I needed a job. I got hired on part time at a Mailboxes Etc. clone near my home, and since they needed more hours and I wasn’t all that motivated with school, I dropped out and started working full time.

My job was basically working the cash register, but it soon got more involved. My boss at the time was a computer whiz (he had run a comupter magazine with Peter Norton for a short period of time), and I had always had an interest in computers since my mom had worked most of her life at IBM. My boss took me under his wing and passed on a lot of his knowledge. I was also doing a lot of typing work at the store, and one of his biggest customers (and good friends) was a private investigator who would bring in dictation to be typed up.

At one point the private investigator needed someone with decent typing skills to come work for him because he needed to fire his secretary at the time. He was familiar with my ability to type and write, and I agreed to work for him as a secretary temporarily. After my first week working there, an emergency developed at the office because none of the investigators in the office could figure out how to use a piece of software to retrieve data on a number of individuals related to a huge case they’d gotten. I took a look at it for them and figured out how the software worked, and ended up working until about 11pm that night getting it all done for them. The next week. the owner of the business gave me a $3 an hour raise and made me an investigator under him. The “temporary” job lasted four years.

During my tenure there, one of our larger cases that had been going on the entire time I’d worked there finally went to trial. The attorneys involved knew I’d been primarily responsible for creating some of the reports and searchable databases that they were relying on at trial, and so they asked me to actually go to trial with them. I sat at the defense table with my laptop taking notes and retrieving info on the fly for them every day for the entire four months the trial lasted. Apparently, they appreciated my help because they hired me after the trial was over.

That was five years ago, and I’ve been there ever since. My official “title” is paralegal, but I don’t actually have a paralegal certification. I mainly do research for them (online and at court), write reports and analysis, maintain their databases, and handle general IT tasks around the office. It’s been a good fit for everyone involved, and I make decent money. No one has ever cared that I didn’t graduate from college.

I think I’m doing alright.

42

I am an editor and page designer at a daily newspaper (circulation about 70,000) and I don’t have a degree.

I went to a very large state university for a year and was not allowed to return. I was delivering pizza for Dominos and living with my parents when my mom saw an ad looking for a sports stringer for the local weekly. I had no experience with writing, and luckily, the editor at the weekly paper gave me a chance. I got $10 for a weekly high school football game story.

After six months, I was offered a full-time job at the weekly, Wetzel Chronicle (circ. about 3,000) With a newsroom staff of two, I learned to do nearly everything. I was getting minimum wage and working about 60 hours a week without overtime.

After a few years, I went to a larger paper (circ. around 15,000) where I was hired as a reporter and ended up as news editor.

In 2000, I was hired by the newspaper I am working for right now.

I am 30 and have worked in the newspaper business for 12 years. I make around $44,000 a year and I enjoy what I do.

Sometimes I wish I had a journalism degree, but most of time I am damn proud of what I have accomplished without one.

IMHO, I learned more about newspapers during six months working at a weekly, then I would have learned in four years in journalism school.

43

I’ve been supporting myself since I was fifteen, and so there wasn’t a lot of time for school. (I didn’t even finish high school, I regret to say.)

People usually seem surprised to hear this, since my innate interests led me to acquire a fair bit of knowledge that is ordinarily the sort of thing one picks up in the course of post-secondary education. The public library is a considerably cheaper route, but not as easily parlayed into employment benefits.

I suppose I’ve done alright, under the circumstances. Worked as a PC technician and alarm technician through my teenage years, and then worked for nearly a decade for an office equipment company. After a wave of layoffs, I soured on the whole corporate thing and decided to try to really support myself, through self-employment. Worked fine for the first couple of years – did freelance graphic and web design, and worked on a primordial video-on-demand internet startup. It got progressively harder to consistently stay in the black with that, though, and my savings went to the place that lost money goes, so I decided to grit my teeth and endure regular paycheques again last spring.

Took a crappy entry-level job with a fashion design house. In the warehouse. Very poor wage, I’m afraid. I busted my ass, though, and took on as much responsibility as was available. (Office positions were being eliminated due to downsizing, so I plugged my abilities and took on a number of additional tasks. And I took over responsibility for our largest major account, which was previously a full-time job.) I asked for and got a couple of raises – but the wage is still not great for the amount of work I do. I was thinking more about my resume, though – that lacuna of several years needed something more substantial over it.

I guess it payed off. I applied for a job as Senior Office Clerk for a building management company, and had an interview today, which went very well. They wanted someone who could do a little bit of everything, and everything they wanted, I had. I felt that the interview was going well enough that when the dreaded “What are your salary expectations?” portion of the dance came around, I named a figure that was quite a bit higher than what they were originally offering – something I’ve never had the confidence to do before.

They hired me on the spot, for $2000 more than they had posted for the position. Woot!

My girlfriend has a Communications degree, and she’s doing about the same.

Still, with the opportunity for reflection that those few years of lean self-employment gave me, I’d like to go back to school. Maybe next year in Québec.

44

Exactly.

I’ve been working at the newspaper I work at now writing things for the paper in AP style (obituaries, briefs, things like that - but it’s practice) for almost a year, and I’m about as good as any other rookie reporter.

My journalism teacher from high school, who I still keep in contact with, keeps bugging me to go to the journalism school up at UNR (the Univeristy of Nevada - Reno). My response is always something along the lines of “Why?” And hers is always a bemoaning “But no one will take you seriously without a degree!”

All three of the editors at my paper take me very seriously, so I don’t think so. :smiley:

~Tasha

45

I’m really of two minds on this. I’ve done perfectly fine with a degree, and so has the rest of my family. We’re all very sharp people (if I do say so myself), but we were all underachievers in school and none of us have particularly excelled in academia. Currently, I’m an account manager for a software company, and while it isn’t a career for me, it’s something that pays relatively well and I’m pretty good at it.

When I speak with folks, they first assume that I have a degree, are astonished that I don’t, then insist that I need one. When I ask why, the answer is usually that I’m too smart not to have a degree. :confused: One person actually gave me an interesting answer. She said that it wasn’t about the education, but it showed that you could commit and follow through with something for 4 years. (However, I really dislike her, and wanted to tell her that it’s much easier to commit to school when your daddy is paying for everything and you don’t have to work or pay bills.)

So, yes, I’m doing fine for myself, but I am going to school because I’d like to have a few more options. (I’d like to teach, oddly enough.) The only problem I see with not having a degree is that I’ve had to take entry-level jobs and work my way to the top. However, as I get older, that’s less and less of a problem.

46

Well, my answer depends on whether you consider success to be money or happiness. If it’s the latter, I’m very successful. I love my job-- I’m one of those lucky few who is actually* happy* to go to work in the morning.

If success means money, I haven’t fared all that well. My paycheck is mostly a symbolic gesture.

A degree wouldn’t have helped me much. In this field, experience is what matters.

47

I would venture to say that the folks that don’t have a degree and aren’t doing well aren’t posting to this thread, or to this board, for that matter. The majority who have posted in this thread seem to be fairly highly motivated, job-wise, which is the most important thing when it comes down to it.

I have a degree…from a small state school in Arkansas, and I do pretty well, but I haven’t really used a lot of my major/coursework in the real world. I’m not very highly motivated, either, though I fake it pretty well.

48

Err, that should be *without *a degree. Make your own joke here.

49

I have a college degree and my husband does not. He barely graduated high school but knows how to work, if that makes sense. He understands how to take steps to advance in a profession, which is a skill I think even college cannot always teach. I think now he regrets not going to college, but at the time it just wasn’t feasible for several reasons. He makes much more money than I do though, although I admit I am not using my degree to its fullest potential.

He has continued his education by taking college courses that pertain to his field, and gotten his Diemaker’s card. He is working in Tool and Die and enjoys it for now, but I think he will be one of those people who really blossoms in their 30’s, not 20’s. He is very intelligent though and picks up technical stuff really fast, so he is thinking about taking more classes and going into design or engineering. I also think he would make a great salesperson, he is very people-oriented and has an easy time making relationships. So in that aspect he has many marketable skills without having a degree, and I think that is really what is important.

We will encourage our kids to go to college, but we know it is not the only path. I think it does make many things easier though, but it is no guarantee of success, I know people who go to school and get general degrees and then do nothing with them. It does, I think, make more doors open for you. There are many careers where a degree is a flat out requirement, but none that I can think of where a degree would have been a complete waste of time. (although some people do waste their degrees.) I have a communications degree and I probably could be making more than I do now, but I choose to work in a field that gives me other perks like a laid back environment and flexibility with my hours so I can spend more time with my child. If I had to, I could persue a more agressive career path that made more money, so it’s nice to have options.

It’s hard to know when you are 18 what your priorities are going to be at 25, 30, or 40. Many people do not choose what they want to be, go to college for it, and then work in that field for the rest of their lives. I think degree or not, you have to be willing to continue your education in some form.

50

The Aristocrats! :smiley:

51

In addition to what’s been mentioned, a person who drops out of high school can still get into a junior college (public 2-year institution), and then, if they take the classes needed to transfer to a 4-year university, and do well in them, they can finish up the last two years in a university for a bachelor’s degree. At least, that’s how it works in California, IIRC.

52

I went to university for a few yrs., mostly on scholarships, but financial realities made it impossible to continue.

When I was in my 20’s and 30’s I glommed onto ANY job that would pay and offer training. Because of that “policy” I have worked as a graphic artist, musuem curator, paint dye chemist and electronics technician.

I have also scrubbed toilets, worked retail, and even tried a year as an artist, although I had to give up the latter as I developed an addiction problem (I realised I was addicted to eating, paying bills, rent, etc).

I come from a family of rather intellegent free thinkers, (I have an uncle who sold his energy self suffiecient farm to the local utility company as the sight of his “Home brew wind mill electric generators” was an eye sore (to them… it was a big eye sore… some one who WASN’T a customer!~). When the power company bull dozed them, he said"Wow… just think… there are many times I would have paid to do what they just paid me a huge sum for!"

I don;t plan to retire “rich”, I plan to retire happy and unencumbered.

I teach (part time, art) at a community college and am currently allowing my (for now) full time employer to decide if they really need a person like me. My big problem will be staying unemployed as I get “head hunted” at my current job about 3-4 times a yr.

I make a comfortable living, and having grown up poor, keep a reserve in the bank.

I volunteer at the local kid’s hospital, and at my daughter’s school ( a high school… she has PROHIBITED me from vol’ing in classes she takes… but it sure doesn’t hurt to know her teachers, and to be considered an asset by them.

One of my friends is a HR Manager for a major firm. She tells me that in the last 5 yrs or so, they almost NEVER look first at the degrees a person has (although it does have a weighting) but instead at their personality and past history. They would rather have a capable person than a qualified one anyday, she says.

I think the important thing is to learn how to be happy. Happyness is NOT a goal, not something you endure ages of tedium for, it is a state you should build within yourself, so that no matter WHAT one does, one will be happy doing it, or be able to move on to the next “happy thing”.

regards
FML

53

1- This whole thread makes me green with envy, and also regret the passing of an era in work… that era where you could actually work your way up, and stay with a company for your career. sigh

2- No degree. I was one of those guys who everyone knew was smart… I always did well on tests, and yet, somehow, barely managed to graduate from high school. With no job experience (I wasn’t allowed) and no license (no drivers training the year I tool drivers ed, and my parents weren’t going to pay, and had no desire to teach me themselves), I drifted to Montana and lived with my mom for a year. There, I got certified as a Nurses Aid, worked graves at a hospital/nursing home and enjoyed it. I moved back to Sacramento after a year or so, hooked up with an hold High School girlfriend, who became my first wife when she got pregnant. I was working at Round Table at the time.

So I got a haircut, and went to a temp agency. They put me with EDS, as a tape monkey, loading tapes into tape drives all day long. After about 8 months of that, I got hired, and managed to fight my way (almost literally) into Operations. I had a manager that hated me, and a repuation as a weirdo… After 6 years, slowly working my way up the ladder, I got got laid off (despite my rather high “ranking” at that point) and wasn’t sure what to do.
The next day, I got a call from manpower, asking if I wanted to work or them (I had posted my resume on Monster just a few weeks before gettin laid off). I worked for them, contracted to IBM (who in turn, was contracted with a major Mutual Funds company). I got divorced and remarried, all while temping.

I got picked up by a payroll company, and started learning AS400. I like it. I quit that job after 2 years to move to the East Coast. Now I’m a contractor, learning more AS400.

I started school last year in California, and once I get my ID for here, I will start again, but I don’t know if that’s going to change what I do for a living…

But, I don’t have enough IT skills to really make the kind of money folks here have talked about… mainframe/AS400 doesn’t pay as well as other IT work, unless you’re a programmer. I’m not a programmer.

I like my job, but would like to be paid enough. Right now I’m making about $25k annually.

It’s not enough.

54

My uni never tried to teach us that. We had a compulsory course on “management of technical industries (aka ‘how to speak with an accountant’)” but they tried to teach us chemistry, process design and factory design… “career design” you were supposed to figure out on your own.

It’s just a process after all.

55

I couldn’t face wasting another year in high school; tried to get into Texas Tech early, but they weren’t having it without a HS diploma, regardless of SATs. So I dropped out, worked at a fast-food restaurant, and took the GED when I turned 19. (Why is it you can drop out at 16, but they won’t let you get a GED until you’re 19? What kind of logic is that?)

Went to ETSU; found that unlike public school, college required some hard work outside of classroom hours. Limped along for a few years, and drifted through most of my 20s with little or no income. (I honestly can’t recall how I kept myself fed during some of that time.)

All in all: nine public schools, one university, and three 2-year colleges; no diploma. A variety of jobs, all at hourly wages ranging from $6 to $18; no actual career. Working on a writing project; if I ever have a real career, that’ll be it.

At this point, I’m perversely proud of having no degree. Also, I’m almost pathologically resistant to anybody trying to teach me anything.

As national policy, I think we should make it possible for anybody who wants to to go to college – but on an individual basis, I think it’s a silly way to judge anybody.

56

Did you have the option of going back & graduating from high school until age 19? If so, it seems logical enough.

57

Technically, I probably shouldn’t answer this thread, but I only got an A.A. and never went on to finish my B.A. And 20 years later, I’m doing just fine in IT. I’ll never be rich, but I’m certainly a lot more comfortable than some people I know who got their B.A.'s.

58

I dropped out of High School at the age of 15. I was living in a small town but was unable to obtain full time work or any work outside the retail industry as I did not have a degree.

I took a good hard look at my life and contemplated moving to a larger city like Toronto but ended up moving to London, England. Companies here are more willing to take on and promote based on hardwork and good attitude.

My salary has increased by over £8000 in the last 20 months (which is more than my entire salary of $12,000 CAN from back home!) and will keep rising. I feel badly for my non-degree-ed old friends back home and loathe the local business who don’t feel any obligation to support local workers.

59

No degree - yet.

I graduated High School in 1988, with a one year old son and not much else. Worked a few retail type jobs - Macy’s JC Penney, etc. The father of my son and I had split up, then got back together within a couple of years time around then. In 1990 I became pregnant with our second son and pretty much quit working (outside the home) for the 3 years or so following his birth. (I’d permanently split with him right around our second son’s first birthday.)

When I did go back to work I wasn’t making much, but I enjoyed the work - managing the bakery section of a small mom and pop gourmet type shop in Central Jersey. Did that for 3 or 4 years. Then shifted to daycare work for about a year. Fun work, but the pay was really awful. I was also working for free at that time, volunteering twice a week as the school librarian of the Catholic school my boys were enrolled in. They offered to hire me on full time - with a whopping paycheck of $100 a week. I declined the offer.

I decided to move out to the middle of PA and had no idea what I wanted to do. My options were pretty limited in the small town we were in, so I hit up the temp agency in State College and landed in hotel corporate accounting. That firm hired me on within six months of being placed. I climbed up the ranks there pretty quickly and in one of my final reviews before I ended up moving to CA my boss told me his plan was for me to be a staff accountant within 3 months. I left before that happened, but I was really thrilled with those words. It would have made me the only staff accountant in the firm without a degree or any kind of formal schooling or training. The money and benefits at that job were decent, and the work was enjoyable enough.

Wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do when I came out here, although accounting seemed the obvious route. After being in CA for 3 months and searching for that perfect job, I finally hit up the local temp agency again and this time was placed in the purchasing dept. of a fairly large winery who hired me on 3 months later.

I’ve been here for 6 years now and absolutely love it. My boss and co-workers are great, it’s a friendly and comfortable environment to work in. The pay is pretty decent (and what the heck - it’s about $45K/year with great benefits and perks; not so bad, but not so great either considering the cost of living in this area), and the work is interesting, even fun.
In the past couple of years wine has become an obsession outside of work and I am now enrolled in the local community college.

My immediate goal is to obtain a couple of ‘Occupational Certificates’, with an AS as the next goal, and possibly a BS as a long term goal. (My area of study is Viticulture & Enology.) I don’t expect the certs or degrees to benefit my career much, but I’ve always wanted to go to school and always wanted to earn some kind of degree. I’m really enjoying it so far and hope to graduate by spring of 2009 - I’ll be 38. Better late than never I suppose.
I’m also taking a few wine industry classes and exams and have so far been able to get work to foot the bill for them. I don’t know if that will continue, but I’m not too shy to ask.

60

I have a HS degree and spent 2 years in tech school - not sure if that would be an associates degree or just a technical diploma. But I seem to have a knack for picking up certain IT fields if I can manage to get my hands on the technology for a short while.

I had the good fortune to get swept up in the tech boom of the late 90’s and got hired by Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) when they were desperate to get anybody who knew anything about wide area networking. I didn’t actually know much about it but I was able to BS my way through an interview and once I was in, I picked up packet switching theory pretty quickly. I took it upon myself to interface with switch vendors and lean as much as I could. After 5 years I became a subject matter expert on several core switching platforms.

After setting myself up in the phone company’s WAN data group, I was well-placed to interface with some of the tier 1 customers like state and local governments and provide tech support and resolutions for serious outages. This resulted in letters of appreciation sent to my VP and I’m now working for one of those customers as a consultant.

Luckily my field of interest was IT, so it made more sense to go the tech school/IT certification route. If my interests had been politics or teaching or something like that, I would not have done nearly as well without a degree.