# So I should probably go back to school, what should I study? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2010, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241 "2010-08-05T07:46:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/21 "2010-08-06T17:45:57Z")
I firmly believe that if you have to ask what people think you should study, then you shouldn’t go back to school. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/22 "2010-08-06T17:47:58Z")
Yes, they still (mostly) use [stenotype machines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenotype). Interestingly, there’s an [SD Staff Report](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1442/how-does-a-court-reporter-machine-work) about them\*, which is the second Google hit for “stenotype”. \*who the hell is **Veg**? ---
**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:** [August 6, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/23 "2010-08-06T17:56:59Z")
I’m trying to figure out the date on that Staff Report. It talks about "high speed text entry’, but that might be a red herring if the article’s old. Not only was the stenotype a b\*\*\*h to learn, the teacher really was one, too. Good times. I’ll have to check out the website **needscoffee** gave, I’ll be in \*\*Zebra’s \*\* situtation soon. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/24 "2010-08-06T18:05:36Z")
Yeah, why the hell don’t Staff Reports have dates on them? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/25 "2010-08-06T18:17:18Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](#): > > > [@needscoffee](#): > > > > Zebra, check out Court Reporting (aka machine stenography/transcription). I know one other doper who is starting school for it in the fall. Her aunt does court reporting in The Hague. Gary Wombat Robson’s wife does it. Harvey Keitel used to be a court reporter, and his brother retired from court reporting for the NY Supreme Court, I believe. > > > > Court reporters largely work outside of courtrooms transcribing depositions in lawyers’ offices. They also do closed captioning for TV, and transcribing for deaf students. I knew of one who went to law school with a deaf student transcribing for him. Court reporting in the courtroom pays well with great benefits, but outside the courtroom it pays extremely well - $50 - $100 per hour. You work freelance through agencies and only work the days you want. > > > > You don’t need a college degree, just a good vocabulary and brains. The programs can be up to 3 years long or so. Make sure you take it from a program that is an accredited non-profit, like a city or state college. The for-profit ones tend to be ripoffs. You can find out who’s accredited from the [NCRAonline.org](http://NCRAonline.org) website. > > I used to work for a court reporter - I went out and recorded the depositions, then went home and typed them out on a special computer onto 10-inch (!) discs. (this was 1991) Do the court reporters still use those weird little mutated typewriter-like machines or has the technology changed? You could learn that little machine in high school (stenography?) but boy was it difficult. Maybe this or the PT, I’ll look into. About to be unemployed again! They still use the machines, but they’re higher-tech now. They’re not hard to learn; they’re just different. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/26 "2010-08-06T19:20:56Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > I firmly believe that if you have to ask what people think you should study, then you shouldn’t go back to school. Really? Look. I want a job. I’m not looking for my life’s work. I’ve never taken personal meaning from where I get my paycheck. I’m just looking for advice on what sort of education will lead to long term employment. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/27 "2010-08-06T19:28:31Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > > [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > > > I firmly believe that if you have to ask what people think you should study, then you shouldn’t go back to school. > > Really? > > Look. I want a job. I’m not looking for my life’s work. I’ve never taken personal meaning from where I get my paycheck. I’m just looking for advice on what sort of education will lead to long term employment. I nth nursing. They seem to have a strong career, if you can handle the school and grossness of the job. The state department usually has openings, although that’d destroy your wanting to stay in New York. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/28 "2010-08-06T19:55:27Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Look. I want a job. I’m not looking for my life’s work. I’ve never taken personal meaning from where I get my paycheck. I’m just looking for advice on what sort of education will lead to long term employment. Yeah, I understand that. And I didn’t mean what I said in the sense that you should follow your heart or crap platitudes like that. I mean, if we all could do that we’d all be astronauts and not assistant vice presidents of regional sales. My point is, education is expensive, and getting a different degree guarantees nothing. Plus, predicting employment prospects two or three years into the future is a crapshoot anyway. All the “jobs in demand” articles I read says that demand is booming for postsecondary educators, but all my newly minted PhD friends are struggling to find positions. And what if the economy and job market improve while you’re in school, or you get out and still can’t find a job? Then wouldn’t it at least be better if you had chosen something in which you had some intrinsic interest? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/29 "2010-08-06T22:07:03Z")
So when I’m still unemployed people can mock me by saying I should have gone for something more practical? Believe I KNOW nothing is guaranteed by education. I’ve learned that lesson very well. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/30 "2010-08-06T23:39:32Z")
Have you thought about working for the City? Something like: [http://home2.nyc.gov/html/ccrb/html/Community\_Coordinator\_JVN.html](http://home2.nyc.gov/html/ccrb/html/Community_Coordinator_JVN.html) ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/32 "2010-10-12T16:03:06Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > > [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > > > I firmly believe that if you have to ask what people think you should study, then you shouldn’t go back to school. > > Really? > > Look. I want a job. I’m not looking for my life’s work. I’ve never taken personal meaning from where I get my paycheck. I’m just looking for advice on what sort of education will lead to long term employment. You are correct in your goal, but you need to stop and think first, why? So you don’t waste your money. First of all, do you HAVE to live in NYC? Here’s the thing, NYC has great jobs but it also has the most competition for those positions. Did you like marketing? If so, the job market will reopen again, but that doesn’t help you now. So first thing, if you liked marketing, and want to stay in that field, you need to do this. Find out what companies you WANT to work for. Which are good companies, pay decent, have good benefits. Then what you want to do try to get hired into them in another positon. Maybe an admin. That way once the job market opens up again, and it will, you will already be IN the company. Second if you like marketing, you may be able to get a job in a smaller city. A friend I knew couldn’t get a job in Chicago. He went to Rockford, a smaller city NW of Chicago of about 150,000. He had a masters, but in Chicago, so what? So did everyone else? But in Rockford, a masters was a huge deal and he got hired pretty quick. So while your marketing experience may be nothing in NYC as it’s so big, in a smaller city, it may land you a job. Now, let’s say you want a new line of work. You don’t sound like you want an college degree. That’s fine, so what you want to look for is not a college but a technical school. Here’s what you shoud do, if you want to go this route and we’ll all help you First list ten jobs you WOULD NOT DO. Don’t say I’d do anything, it’s not true. Would you do cold call telemarketing? Would you do construction on the top of the Empire State Building? OK so give us ten jobs you would refuse to do. Next think about ten things you LIKE to do. Now don’t say computers, but be more specific. Say I like to fix computers, or I like to design websites, or even I like to read other people’s blogs. By letting others know what you want to do and don’t want to do, we’ll be better able to guide you. Finally ask yourself this. Can I apply my marketing skills to working for myself. I don’t mean long term, but even short time, part time stuff. Think about what you could do with your marketing and try putting an ad on Craigslist. Tell us what you can do in marketing. Get a Google Voice phone number and put an ad in Craigslist. If it works out great, if not, that’s a great sign of what you’ll be facing. Even if you get answers that are good, you don’t HAVE to answer any Craigslist responses. The key is putting the ad in to sell yourself. Good luck ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241/33 "2010-10-12T16:18:37Z")
Fuck school, get licensed. I have a communications degree with a focus on radio/television production. I am an insurance agent. I make a good amount of money because I took a crappy $9 an hour job with a company that paid for me to get my property & casualty license. I worked there and gained some experience and then used that license to get hired on at a much better, much higher paying company. When I experienced a bit of unemployment in 2008 I took a part time job with a crappy temp company because they sponsored me to get my accidental death & disability license. I quit 3 weeks later (and the company was shortly thereafter reamed in court and driven out of business due to theft and some other business) and used that license to get the job I have now, which is full of puppies and rainbows and free bagels on Fridays. Find any industry where you think you would be competent and figure out what licenses you would need to work there. Lots of companies will pay for you to train and get licensed and you can pay to get licensed on your own if that doesn’t work for you. Education guarantees nothing. Licensing guarantees nothing at about 1/200th of the cost of education. Give it a shot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-should-probably-go-back-to-school-what-should-i-study/549241.md?page=1)