# What color is my parachute? Black. Career options for the over-educated.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-my-parachute-black-career-options-for-the-over-educated/406515>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 2, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-my-parachute-black-career-options-for-the-over-educated/406515 "2007-06-02T21:01:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-my-parachute-black-career-options-for-the-over-educated/406515/21 "2007-06-05T08:23:44Z")

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What is the degree in?

Anyway, there is always Government jobs, many of which reguire _a Degree_. That’s it: a degree. In anything. Pay is not so hot but job security is fantastic and benefits are above average.

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**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-my-parachute-black-career-options-for-the-over-educated/406515/22 "2007-06-05T09:24:06Z")

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Just generic advice here - but by golly the level of writing in the workplace and pop culture is really bad - there just has to be a demand for people who can reasonably construct a paragraph or two. Maybe not the exact job you want will be offered, but still - Vanishing mad skillz, I tells ya.

Keep current of all the trends in “marketing yourself” - resumes, and avail yourself of your local job corps or whatever it is called in your area. They really perform a valuable service in reviewing your resume or helping you fine-tune it.

Learn how to interview! Even if I don’t get the job - don’t “burn any bridges” so to speak, thank them for their time (it isn’t much fun for the interviewer either, really) and be sure to follow up with a thank you note. As an aside, in smaller cities always remember it really is a “small world.” The old fart you just cut off in traffic - golly he looks familiar… Oops. Finally, be willing to move. I know, I know - easy to say. But as they say, ya gotta go to where the jobs are.

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-color-is-my-parachute-black-career-options-for-the-over-educated/406515/23 "2007-06-05T09:36:32Z")

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The whole Training Department in a big chemical company I used to work for had degrees in English, English Lit or Journalism. They wrote the courses and trained the end-trainers, who in turn trained the general users.

Most of them were very bad at targetting their writing - they’d write a course which would be taken by mechanics and use words and phraseology more appropiate for a senatorial speech. If you can do this (and like I say, most of those guys of ours couldn’t), look at real, real big corporations; many have an in-house Training Department or a section in HR dedicated to Corporate Training.

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