What should I do now that I got my degree and I didn't like it? No Job yet, but I hate the field?

Question

I didn't know if I liked Computer Science when I started college, but just before my senior year I realized I still hated it after 3 years and I had no job in mind that I liked either. I thought I better finish and just take a related job, but I think I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm out now and there are almost no jobs that I like the looks of in IT and I seem to totally hate the field. I have a phobia of computer programming or related things and I got a GPA of 2.6, but made dean's list once, and spent 62% of my college fund to get the BS. It took me a while to realize I hate CS and my interests and personality really changed while I was going through college and they didn't offer CS in high school (like other subjects) so I didn't know that I wouldn't like it so much. I really really hate it. What should I do?

I hated it from the start but just couldn't admit it to myself because I didn't know what else to do.

One guy here answered I should study law or get a masters, but how can I get into law school with a 2.6 GPA? My GPA was so low because I hated my major. So I don't see how a Masters would take me , especially not a law school. I did consider law at one time because I like that type of thought, but my GPA is kind of got me stuck to switch unless I can improve it.

Answer 1

Since it sounds like you still have money for education left, how about a master's degree in something that interests you? Most programs are about two years long, and many do not require you to have a bachelor's in the area you're getting the master's in. Off the top of my head, I know that you can get a master's in social work or a JD (law degree) without having a bachelor's in either of those fields. I'm sure there are others.

It's not uncommon for people to get degrees in things they end up not liking, so don't feel like you've done anything wrong. Sometimes, people need to really experience something - even for three or four years - before realizing they don't like it. I didn't find my professional "calling" until I was in my mid-30s! By then, I had finished bachelor's and master's degrees in subjects I either didn't like very much or would never find a job in, and I had worked in a wide variety of jobs, not liking most of them. I went back to school to get a law degree, and I can't tell you how many of my fellow students, even after two years of studying law, hate law! There is an equal number of people in my program who entered law school after working in a completely unrelated field and hating it. So it looks to be almost unusual for someone to know what they like and pursue it from the start.

EDIT: To reply to your question... I will admit that I completed my undergrad degree with a 2.7. Despite that, I did get into a master's program since the minimum GPA to get in was a 2.5, and I got a good score on the GRE.

I also got into a well-respected law program. Law schools are just as, or more, interested in applicants' scores on the LSAT as they are in GPAs. If you were to decide on, say, a law degree or an MBA, if you do well on the LSAT or GMAT, it'll balance out your unremarkable GPA. Since just about all master's programs require you take some sort of test, if you just do well on whatever that test is, you'll have a shot. No, you probably won't get into Harvard, but there are literally hundreds of excellent schools out there that you could get into with a good test score to balance your GPA.

Since you've said that you've been interested in law, check out this site: http://officialguide.lsac.org/UGPASearch/Search3.aspx?SidString=
It's the site to the official organization that handles the law school application. At that page, you can plug in your GPA, then put in random LSAT scores and see where you'd have a chance of getting in. Click on LSAT Data Search.

Answer 2

No loss. If any prospective employer asks "do you have a degree" you can say "Yes!"
Many times having a degree )in anything) will get you past the "No" that not having a degree gets.

Regardless of whether you loved your major or hated it, you did accomplish the following:
1. Started something and finished it.
2. Complied with the requirements, likeit or not.
3. Got yourself through the rough spots.
4, Didn't quit.

This is what employers look for, so if you're looking outside your major for a job, if asked "why don't you apply for IT, " just say "I didn't really enjoy it." They'll respect you.

Now, unless the thought of going back to school sickens you, you might consider an evening course in into to accounting, or a related business course.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Talk to counselors at colleges and see if you can transfer your prerequisites and some of your other courses as electives towards a B.A. Try something more versatile like Sociology or Communications. Those credits aren't garbage ya know.

Answer 4

3 Years to find out you hate the field, wow. Seems kind of ironic that you are now playing on the same thing that you hate. I'd ask you what other field you might like, but I'm afraid I would be dead and buried before you would reply.