A degree used to be the door to almost instant success in life.
2007-01-26 17:21:38 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
I earned a degree in mathematics with high honor, but I took a lot of courses that math majors don't usually take, like English literature, economics, European history, and languages ( 3 years of Russian, 2 years of Spanish, and 1 year of German), just because I was interested in these subjects and I wanted to learn more about them. These were not Mickey Mouse courses, either. They were mostly upper level courses that required a lot of time and effort. I also took science courses (in chemistry, physics, astronomy, and genetics) that had strong laboratory requirements because I wanted to carry out for myself some of the famous experiments of scientific history that I had read about. I felt that if I were the best student that I could be, then everything else would take care of itself, but, again and again, when I have applied for jobs as a mathematician, I have been told that I had not taken the "right" courses to make myself marketable. (I also took plenty of math and computer courses and did very well in them!) When I told one interviewer that I attended college to get an education, not a job, she actually became angry! I have decided that these interviewers actually know very little about the jobs that they are entrusted with filling or about how to evaluate an applicant's potential, beyond mechanically applying profiling formulas and checklists that come out of their own textbooks.
You asked "Was it worth the effort?" For me, "Yes, of course!" If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't change much at all. I laid a foundation upon which I continue to build my education. I take the jobs that are available to me and learn from all of them. No job is beneath me, as another answerer put it. My successes and failures are the results of my own decisions, and I can live with that.
2007-01-26 19:03:16 · answer #1 · answered by wild_turkey_willie 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
From my experience a degree means nothing unless you want to become an architect or doctor nowadays. Most employers will take experience over qualifications due to a lot of graduates thinking the work s below them.
2007-01-27 01:43:33 · answer #2 · answered by sammy_weir 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The currency has been debased, I'm afraid. When everybody's somebody, then no-one's anybody.
2007-01-27 01:38:50 · answer #3 · answered by Martin 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋