Did you end up making any use out of your college degree?

History degree – no direct use but in general, for my current position, I could not have this position without at least a Bachelor’s, and it has taught me how to do research and write reports.

I would love to be able to do something to make use of it, perhaps when I retire. I used to volunteer in an archives, so something like that would be fun. As a paid position, those jobs are few and far between.

B.A. in Elementary Education and an A.S. in business. (Accounting major.) Although I taught elenetary school on and off, I stopped because I wasn’t good with classroom discipline or writing lesson plans. I now teach at a bank. And don’t let anyone tell you that teaching adults is different than teaching 8 year olds!

I was a Business Economics major. The last Economics class I took was Investments. And I have worked in the securities trading industry ever since. So I guess I will say yes.

ACK! Just saw my typo and it’s too late to edit! “Elementary” not “elenetary”!

I’m retired now, but except for a stint working for a detective agency, always used my formal education in my work and in my personal life. Just last night I said to my husband, “Aren’t you glad I took Physiology?” as I explained how keeping his feet up would lessen the swelling of his feet.

I majored in astronomy and got a BA at a first-class women’s college. My first job was doing astronomical research at the Harvard Observatory.

After that I taught French and was the Director of College Placement at an independent day school.

The degree and the college experience provided me with skills that transferred into many jobs…critical thinking, writing skills, public speaking, ability to do research on any subject, intellectual decision-making.

After I retired, I wrote press releases for artists who exhibited at a local Performing and Fine Arts Academy gallery. I cranked out something moderately interesting every month for years. My official training was one gen-ed course on the history of art and what my maternal grandmother called seykhel, seychel, saykhel (Common sense or general intelligence).

@gailcalled You majored in astronomy? Cool!

I got a B.A. in Diplomacy/Foreign Affairs. I have to be diplomatic every day at work – but aside from that (and an ability to write documentation in somewhat organized structure) I don’t really use my degree..

I used my electronics engineering degree during all of my 40 year career. I find simple elegant designs and solutions to manufacturing automation tremendously satisfying. I guess you could say that I never worked a day in my life because I was employed doing what I love. I am very sad that my career has ended.

Only for about 3 years. But it looked good on my resume.

Majored in economics. I’ve worked in consulting, investor relations and currently equity research. So, yes.

B.S. in Communication Sciences
M.A. in Audiology

More than 20 years in my career, and I still love what I do.

Only in the sense that it got be the credential to be admitted into graduate school – It is the graduate degree that has led me to my career.

So the undergrad degree was useful as a means to an end, but it was not the end itself.

Of course, having the undergrad degree (and core curriculum) made me a better and well rounded person, so I would argue that having a degree prepared me for life. Indirectly.

I used my engineering degree from the day I graduated. I still use it.

@Rarebear: A BA in astronomy from a women’s LA college is an odd little degree, but has come in very handy. I (stupidly because of a concern about stage-fright) turned down the job of narrating the public shows at the Hayden Planetarium in the late 60’s. Very short-sighted of me.

@gailcalled Art and astronomy. My partner would love you!

^^^That’s why a BA in liberal arts is so useful.

Well, I wouldn’t say it was useful. If I had not went to college I’d be more ignorant about how fucked up the world is and why people do such stupid things.

My BA in Zoology was helpful to me. My grades weren’t good enough to get into veterinary school so I just took a few more classes to become a Medical Technologist.

I majored in history and French, I’ve been getting paid to teach history 101 to undergrads, and now I get to spend a year in France studying history, so….Yes’m.
I’ll tell you in five years if I ever get a decent job, however.

Absolutely. I used it every day of my working life in one way or another.

Now that I’m retired, it’s a big part of my leisure occupation.

I’ve always said that your education isn’t just for a job but for your life. Given all the wrong bets I’ve made, it’s nice to know I called that one right.

Definitely. I’ve been working as a nurse ever since I graduated with a Diploma in practical nursing. From there, I completed my Associates degree in Nursing and my Bachelors degree in Nursing. Now I am working on my Masters in Nursing and Masters in Healthcare Administration.

Not at all! I majored in Business English of all things… I have my own flea market business and work ebay, odd jobs, and several online stores. I’m not broke. I have to say though that college was a waste for me. In fact, with what I’m doing now I could have dropped out of high school and done just as well.

I haven’t graduated yet, but I sure as hell hope I do. The way I see it already is that college is a waste of bloody time. I’m just here for a paper that says I know information I’ve known for years. I’d be awfully mad at myself if I went and put myself in all this debt for something I didn’t intend on doing for a good part of my life.

^^^ It isn’t really about how much info you have learned but how well you can think, analyze, problem-solve, write and speak.

@gailcalled this is true but I honestly don’t feel like I’m any better off by being in college. I was rather good at these things pre-college . I honestly think a lot of that has to do with being on fluther…

I got a degree in math and work programming computers. I could try to make the case that the discipline and logic involved in doing math carries over to programming, but that would be a bit of a stretch. What the math training allows me to do is to pursue math in my leisure time, and for being able to do that I am very thankful.

Actually, yes. I graduated in Building Construction (now called Construction Science) and, except for the first five years after college I have worked in it for, oh lets see, the last eon.
I changed to this field after I determined I could not afford to go all the way to a Masters degree in Architecture and figured this would get me a job.
I should have gone into Anthropology and to hell with the pay.

@uberbatman: Interesting, particularly about fluther. (Remember all the lame jokes about grammar police, “who cares how it is written as long as you can understand me?,” “I shure dont kare weather u uze theyre, there or their,” guessing, blue-sky assumptions, lack of evidence, and other recurrent screeds?)

@gailcalled when I first joined, you jumped on me for something other than grammar. I deserved, though (a few relationship questions). I smartened up after that.

@Mama_Cakes: Sorry. Uncalled for, I am sure. You didn’t need any tickling from me to tap into your innate smarts.