# Jobs for a Bachlors Degree **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 5, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757 "2019-09-05T21:48:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757/21 "2019-09-06T20:55:11Z")
It might be better for you to say what kind of job you’d be interested in, and we could give you an idea of wether that’s realistic or not. Pointless to give you suggestions of jobs you don’t want to do. You said an office job? Yeah, I’m pretty sure you can get _an_ office job with almost any degree. What you _do_ in that office is another matter. FWIW, I have a communications degree (probably nearly as worthless), and am a mobile app developer. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757/22 "2019-09-06T21:15:45Z")
You’ve got a bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary Studies? That qualifies you to take more courses in something actually useful, period. Either go back to school and get training you can use, or… …I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757/23 "2019-09-06T21:33:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You’ve got a bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary Studies? That qualifies you to take more courses in something actually useful, period. Either go back to school and get training you can use, or… > > …I got nothin’. Let’s be fair, there are a number of jobs that just want **a** degree, **any** degree. These admittedly would mostly be jobs that didn’t use to require a degree at all, but such jobs exist. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757/24 "2019-09-06T22:49:04Z")
I went to college and got a diploma in Creative Communications - what I had going for me is that the program I took was a pretty competitive one (500+ applicants and they took about 40), so I was pretty employable. Since then, I went back into the military as a Public Affairs Officer, and am now a Major, and making good money - my job is a lot of writing, speeches, articles, and a lot of speaking - in May we had a major release and I did 17 media interviews. It is a weird little pocket of a lot of creativity in a very regimented system. There are also jobs for professional photographers in uniform, for example. I am now going back to school to chase a different dream - you never know where you may end up, so I suggest you figure out what you want to do/like to do and figure out how to do something in that area? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2019, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757/25 "2019-09-06T23:29:33Z")
My brother _doesn’t_ have a bachelor’s degree and he just got a job at a large grocery warehouse in a non-physical, non-union position, for a not-too-shabby salary. With lots of room for advancement. I’ve got other friends at warehouses too who don’t have degrees but they are smart and capable, so they got decent desk jobs. I have a friend who used to work at McMaster Carr (they’re kind of like a warehouse but they’re a supplier) and everyone who worked in her department had Master’s degrees. She had a Master’s in Chinese History or something. Some places are just looking for competent people with a good work ethic, and having a bachelor’s degree just puts you over other not-as-educated applicants. You should just go apply to places that strike your interest and suit your salary needs. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2019, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757/26 "2019-09-07T00:54:17Z")
As we’ve discussed here before, many jobs want a degree and it doesn’t matter in what. That’s because they want the skills associated with academic success, not a topical specialty area. If your college has career services available to alumni, ask someone to direct you skills and interests sorters that generate a “RIASEC code,” which is used to identify jobs held by people with those skills and interests. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2019, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757/27 "2019-09-07T11:11:22Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > It might be better for you to say what kind of job you’d be interested in, and we could give you an idea of wether that’s realistic or not. Pointless to give you suggestions of jobs you don’t want to do. > > You said an office job? Yeah, I’m pretty sure you can get _an_ office job with almost any degree. What you _do_ in that office is another matter. What does “office job” mean? That the only requirement is the work is performed inside a building? I don’t think there are a lot of “dumb office jobs anyone can do” these days. Secretaries and admins are not nearly as common. Much of the filing, collating and data entry temps used to perform 25 years ago is handled by computer systems. I also think that the days of Peter Gibbons falling into some do-nothing job he hates at Inetech, griping about his six bosses are long gone. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2019, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757/28 "2019-09-07T13:32:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > How did the advice you received when [you previously asked essentially the same question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=871452) work for you? I’m wondering about this, too. Before pontificating on the topic, I suggest folks look at this very thorough EMSI report which came out last month:\*\*[Degrees at Work: Examining the Serendipitous Outcomes of Diverse Degrees](https://www.economicmodeling.com/2019/07/30/degrees-at-work/) \*\* I think it contradicts some of the assumptions which inevitably turn up when we have threads on this issue. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757/29 "2019-09-08T02:56:23Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > I’d like to be able to work my way up. Because if I am going to be honest I’m killing myself at my current job just to make sure that things get done and aren’t a disaster but I feel like management doesn’t notice. It seems like they never see all the work I do but never fail to see when I mess up. I know it’s just a restaurant job but I just don’t like waiting for someone to get their task done. So you don’t like working at a restaurant. Are you somewhat capable at using Microsoft Office? If you don’t know how to use database or spreadsheet functions, you can train yourself. Then you’re qualified to get temp work in an office. You might have to work two jobs until you can get hired for a full-time office job. > [@Machinaforce](#): > > It’s an internet forum and you knew what I was talking about, obviously I would make sure it was right in a professional setting. Another thing you might consider is to resist the urge to fire back at minimal slights on internet fora. Either ignore them entirely, or resolve to work on your typing skills. In fact, try to do both. Look, I’m retired and my hands shake. It’s getting increasingly difficult for me to type, and I don’t always catch my mistakes. But I’m not trying to convince anyone to hire me. Regardless of your career aspirations, at this stage you need to adopt a sales-oriented mentality of 1) assuming everyone is a potential prospect - in your case a potential employer - and 2) trying to make a good impression on that person. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757/30 "2019-09-08T04:13:33Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > So you don’t like working at a restaurant. Are you somewhat capable at using Microsoft Office? If you don’t know how to use database or spreadsheet functions, you can train yourself. Then you’re qualified to get temp work in an office. You might have to work two jobs until you can get hired for a full-time office job. > > Another thing you might consider is to resist the urge to fire back at minimal slights on internet fora. Either ignore them entirely, or resolve to work on your typing skills. In fact, try to do both. > > Look, I’m retired and my hands shake. It’s getting increasingly difficult for me to type, and I don’t always catch my mistakes. But I’m not trying to convince anyone to hire me. Regardless of your career aspirations, at this stage you need to adopt a sales-oriented mentality of 1) assuming everyone is a potential prospect - in your case a potential employer - and 2) trying to make a good impression on that person. I can learn Microsoft Office, I already have a decent grasp of excel but it needs work. And you might be right about the second point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jobs-for-a-bachlors-degree/839757.md?page=1)