# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/41 "2004-07-12T02:30:35Z")
BA Economics. Manager for a standards auditing company. Not in my “field” at all. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/42 "2004-07-12T02:56:33Z")
Almost a BA in Film Studies, minor in History I do statistical process analysis for the IT department of a Fortune 500. So, no. Funny thing, I picked a major that required NO math courses in college. Scared of math. Didn’t like numbers. Was supposed to be bad at it. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/43 "2004-07-12T03:38:50Z")
B.S. and M.S. in tech writing, with secondary focuses (minors or what-have-you) in computer science, experimental psychology, and human factors. I do a combination of usability engineering, interaction design, and tech writing. My day-to-day work is vastly less ivory-tower than what I did in school, but it’s still the same general field. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/44 "2004-07-12T05:43:40Z")
Double-majored in Journalism and Communication Studies. Write news for a network morning show. Explain flaws with major media at cocktail parties. Call it 2 for 2. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/45 "2004-07-12T07:09:28Z")
BS + MS in Automotive Engg. -cum- Management in Auto. industry ==\> now running a construction company. Make that a no. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/46 "2004-07-12T12:22:48Z")
BA in Political Science, MURP in Urban and Regional Planning. I’m a land use planner for a local government. Yes on both counts. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/47 "2004-07-12T12:49:52Z")
Kinda. I have a law degree and a business degree (double major in accounting and corporate finance). I’m working as an expat in London, so this means I’m doing whatever pays the rent and lets me travel. Right now I’m a financial analyst, which is almost what I trained for. I’ll probably never use my degree to work in law. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/48 "2004-07-12T13:23:59Z")
I graduated from college in 1992 with an associate degree in marketing. By the time I was ready to graduate I lost interest in persuiing business management or I would have likely gone on to persue a bachelor’s degree. I currently do printer testing, which has virtually nothing to do with my degree and only has some vague connections to my education as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/49 "2004-07-12T13:32:26Z")
I have a BA in History. I am the office assistant to school psychologists in art school. Before that I had a career in personnel placement. So, no, not at all. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/50 "2004-07-12T13:35:20Z")
Degree in Environmental Science / Music. Work for State Environmental Agency answering public environmental questions. Music? I listen to classical radio during the day; so… not so much. ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/51 "2004-07-12T18:27:27Z")
I have a BS in theatre, technical emphasis, and I work as a lighting guy and management-type guy. I’ve actually never had a job outside the theatre world. So, yes, I use my degree, but what got me to where I am today was working in little summer stock theatres all summer while the rest of my classmates hung around on the beach and drank. I now work in theatre. They now work in restaurants. In my experience, very few people who get degrees in theatre actually end up working in professional theatre. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/52 "2004-07-12T21:07:12Z")
Degree in Electrical Engineering Software Developer doing statistical/revenue forecasting So, not so much… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jeevwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@jeevwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeevwoman)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/53 "2004-07-12T21:50:25Z")
Count me in the kinda/sorta group. I have a Ba in English with a Spanish minor and an MA in linguistics. I spent 2 years teaching English as a Foreign Language, which was exactly what my MA intended. Then I worked for a year in a language school in the US as a teacher trainer/evaluator among other things, so still yes. Then I spent 3 years with an international non-profit–as a pencil pusher–where I used my Spanish a lot and was also always assigned to do the writing for the dept, so that is still sort of a yes. I now work at a university with a program that helps Latinos enter med school and stay here. I am doing grant writing and just wrote the annual report, so still sort of yes. But not exactly. It’s not like I get to talk about Faulker with the students or anything, but anyway the writing part has served me well (if by well you mean a bunch of crappy low-paying jobs, I mean!). ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/54 "2004-07-12T22:43:29Z")
BA in Environmental Science; MS in Geology, marketing MBA. I’m a software developer. I guess not. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/55 "2004-07-13T01:26:27Z")
I have a BA in Fine Arts and an AS in Web Design. I’m currently working for a small online print company, so yeah, guess I’m _sorta kinda_ working in my field. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/56 "2004-07-13T05:29:55Z")
Barely. BA, German Lit. MLS. Got into programming after about 18 months into my first professional job as an indexer, after demonstrating a knack for it. But I wouldn’t have gotten into the indexing job without the MLS. And I wouldn’t have gotten into the library school program without the BA. I think the reputation of the school had something to do with it. It’s not what I thought I’d be doing, but it’s been fun. Vicissitudes…It’s all in the vicissitudes, baby. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/57 "2004-07-13T07:12:18Z")
B.S., Civil Engineering M.S., Engineering Science Since graduation (I won’t tell you how many hundreds of years ago 😉 ), I’ve worked for an Engineering News Record Top 500 consulting firm, worked for a local City as their drainage engineer, and now run my own company specializing strictly in Hydrology & Hydraulics. So, yeah, I’ve actually used both my degrees & experience to focus on a tiny little niche of civil engineering. It’s a blast. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/58 "2004-07-13T07:20:41Z")
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology Ed.M. (Masters in Education) Yes, I’m licensed and see patients, but not full time. Don’t use the Masters much, but it was at Harvard and I wanted to go - it was cool just being there. I also do commercial art (illustration), which I have no degree in. I was an art major for 2 semesters in college. I’m a good artist, though, for self-taught. I make more money doing art, really, and frankly I like it more. Insurance companies really don’t pay very well. I consider myself severely over-educated and severely in debt as a result. FWIW, I know lots of people far less educated than I am who make tons more money. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/59 "2004-07-13T07:27:20Z")
I just got my BS in Journalism, with a concentration in magazine writing, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2004, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552/60 "2004-07-13T11:35:51Z")
Ph.D. and Sc.B.\* in Physics; M.S. in Optical Engineering. Working as Director of Tech. Applications for an optics manufacturer and a Visiting Scientist at a Spectroscopy Lab, so I seem to be working in my discipline. - I think they wanted to avoid the ruder implications of “B.S.”, so they changed the name of the degree. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-have-a-degree-are-you-working-in-your-field/254552.md?page=4)