# If you have a degree, are you working in your field? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2004, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552 "2004-07-11T12:16:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/1 "2004-07-11T12:16:09Z")
I’m just wondering how many people actually use their degree. It seems like many people major in something, say, biology, and end up working in tech support (or a different job than a biology area). What is your experience? How many people actually work in the area their degree is for? ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/2 "2004-07-11T12:36:11Z")
I have a BS in English Education (secondary level) and a minor in Journalism Education, with a (lapsed) Ohio teaching certificate. I have been a substitute teacher, but I work in retail sales. Iwould have sought a fulltime teaching position, but I married a military man and we didn’t know where we were going to be living, and then when we got to Colorado I would have had to take another course or two to get certified, and we moved again, and had kids, and on and on. But I “use” my degree every single day! One of the benefits of an English degree, I guess, when working in a field where spelling is critical! ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/3 "2004-07-11T12:37:28Z")
Typing and spacing were options. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/4 "2004-07-11T12:41:50Z")
Music graduate here…very vaguely still in the same field as my Master’s degree (doing some archive work, and freelance music typesetting)… Of the other Master’s and PhD music graduates I know, all are working in the same area. Those who finished study after their undergraduate degree, however, have gone on to: Several teachers (all teaching music) A number in arts administration, working for music publishers etc One MBA One law conversion graduate course A couple of MScs, in computer science and the like, and then jobs related to that …Actually, most seem to be somewhere in a music-related field. But I guess it’s a lot less specific and more wide-ranging than many other degrees. ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/5 "2004-07-11T12:55:27Z")
I have a BA in Business but I work in tech support. I wanted to get a degree in a computer related field but I chose the wrong A-Levels and then had no choice (I received some bad advice from my careers advisor). ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/6 "2004-07-11T13:02:19Z")
Come the 19th of July, I’ll be working in the field I got my degree in. I majored in biomedical engineering, and I’m going to be a biomedical technician. Not exactly what I studied to be, but it is, technically, in my field. Hopefully I can get a batter job in a couple years. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/7 "2004-07-11T13:05:08Z")
BS in Finance and (nearly) an MS in Accounting and Information Systems. I’m a CIO, so although I’m not doing accounting/financial work _per se_, I’ve used my understanding of the concepts throughout my IT career. Now, as a company officer, I routinely review and interpret balance sheets, etc., as part of my job. A more important point: Even though I majored in Business, I think my general grounding in Liberal Arts was every bit as important. The computer industry is chock full of relative idiot savants - talented programmers who have no idea what their clients are asking for because they lack the cultural literacy and grounding in other subjects. ---
**Author:** ![Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/8 "2004-07-11T14:00:36Z")
I majored in English and I work as a business manager for a childrens’ publisher. Financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning, that sort of thing. I’m not really sure how that happened actually. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/9 "2004-07-11T14:00:46Z")
Bachler’s in Computer Science. Manage a software develpment team. Since manager’s don’t really work does that still count? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Grant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a5b964/32.png) [@Grant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grant)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/10 "2004-07-11T14:01:57Z")
I have a BS in Chemistry. Technically I work in my field as I’m a lab manager but as the manager I have no time to do any bench work. I have slowly morphed into a pencil pusher. ☹ :eek: ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/11 "2004-07-11T16:09:01Z")
Ph.D. in sociology of religion. Left academia in '87 when it became clear I wasn’t going to get a tenure-track job. Working as a puzzle editor since 1992. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/12 "2004-07-11T16:16:44Z")
I got a degree in Radio/TV broadcasting. I am currently working in broadcasting. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/13 "2004-07-11T16:24:41Z")
BS Mechanical Engineering. I am now in school en route to a Ph.D. in History. I guess that’s a no for me. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/14 "2004-07-11T16:32:41Z")
Majored in Anthropology, with minors in Sociology and European History. Graduate work in Education. I teach high school history, government and debate. So, yes I am. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/15 "2004-07-11T16:40:17Z")
Degree in nursing. Still a nurse, currently in the “D” division of R&D for a dialysis lab, so not so much patient care as I used to be. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/16 "2004-07-11T17:16:56Z")
I’ve got a BA in archaeology and spanish, and an MA in linguistics. I had been working for a _bit_ as an archaeologist in college and for a while after; however, it just didn’t pay the bills and I decided after getting my masters that I didn’t really feel like getting my PhD. So I’m a copywriter. I use my spanish sometimes for research and the occasional translation, and the archaeology I sometimes use for articles; however, I’m more likely to write marketing language rather than anything that related to my degrees. I’m still happy I have them, though. I think they made me a much better writer and researcher. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/17 "2004-07-11T17:37:01Z")
B.A. in Computer Science. Spent 7 years after university doing Operations Research (my compulsory stint with the IDF, plus one more year because it was interesting) - vaguely computer-related (wrote a fair number of simulations, “managed” our fledgeling network…) Working as a programmer and/or manager (civilian - yay!) since 1993. So my answer is “yes.” Dani ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/18 "2004-07-11T17:42:23Z")
B.S. in meteorolgy. I work for a software company. I love weather and breezed through my degree, but I knew by my Senior year that I didn’t want to work in the field. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/19 "2004-07-11T18:13:12Z")
I got a degree in film production, specializing in cinematography. I work for a college bookstore and part time for a college TV station. So, I’m in the ‘sorta’ catagory. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/20 "2004-07-11T18:19:55Z")
B.S. in Computer Science then -\> Software Developer today. 🆒 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552.md?page=2)