LordEden

I have a Bachelor's degree and I don't really want anything to do with it. With that statement out of the way, here is my problem. When I was younger, (Age:25 as of this posting) I loved computers. I was a computer nerd and everything I did involved computers. I started working as a intern in a computer shop when I was 14 and thought that I could work on computers for the rest of my life. Fast forward to my college years as I am working for my degree. I figure out that I *loath* programming, so I switch degrees from Computer science to Computer Information Systems. 2 years before I finish my degree I figure out that I *don't* want to work in computers for the rest of my life. I try to explain this fact to my friends and parents. This does not work. I finish my degree and try to just work past the feelings that I have about my job. I start working freelance jobs around my town, fixing computers, setting up networks and creating web sites. I don't want to do this and unless I want to work in a factory or office building in a big city, I have no other job openings. For steady work I go back to the job I had in college; working in a restaurant.

Throughout my college career I worked in restaurants, because it was easy work and everyone partied in restaurants. I liked cooking, but most of the time I only cared about getting fucked up and trying to screw hostesses. Long story short, I realize that I LOVE cooking and I want to become a chef.

Here is my real question: You have a degree (whatever level) and you realize that you want nothing to do with the job market that surrounds your degree. Do you give up on all that time you put into it or do you bite your lip and get a job that you know you will hate?

I haven't posted on here in a while, but I want opinions that I haven't heard before from my friends and family. Maybe something will jar something lose in my head.

__________________
Vice-President of the CinnamonGirl Fan Club - The Meat of the Zombiesquirrel and CinnamonGirl Sandwich

Baraka_Guru

You're only 25. You still have lots of time. You're only 25 and you've realized what you love to do and you want to do it. You're ahead of a lot of people.

Use your computer skills and experience to make enough money to put you through a good culinary school.

Do what you love to do, not just what you think you should do. You can make money and have a career as a chef. It is a realistic goal. Do it.

I spent 3 years in college learning how to manage businesses and marketing. I hated it when I graduated, so I spent another nearly 4 years in school, this time studying literature at the university level. I don't regret it. Now part of my job includes reading poetry and getting paid for it. I love it.

You will always have your first degree. You will always be good with computers, which is a good skill to have in just about any industry. You might even find uses for it as a chef, especially if you ever get around to opening your own restaurants. Most industries have moved toward a greater computer dependency. You have a great skill, but this shouldn't consume your life. Do something you know will be rewarding both monetarily and personally.

Good luck.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

allaboutmusic

I got a computer science degree, worked in an investment bank for a few years, then left to become a musician. I'm now training to become a teacher. The teaching qualification requires that you have a degree already, so the degree I did was useful even if it wasn't strictly relevant. The fact that you have a degree of some kind will be useful to you if you pursue other qualifications generally, and certain jobs will require that you have a degree (even if they are not specific about what degree you have).

abaya

Hey, look at it this way... at least you're not several years into a PhD degree, and feel the same way that you do now. If you know what you want to do NOW, then go do it, and don't look back! I've changed careers/degrees so many times, and I still don't know what I want to do. 28 years old here.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

eribrav

LordEden, do you think you got anything else out of your 4 year education other than the piece of paper?

ratbastid

Most chefs I know (and I know a few) aren't actually trained at culinary academies, although that is one way to go. Most working chefs I know started out in a kitchen somewhere as a prep person, worked their way up to sous chef, and then started looking at jobs running the whole kitchen. Some don't even have college degrees at all.

If you really want a career in food service, just go get a job and start getting trained as you go.

PonyPotato

I will have a degree in Anthropology in June. I don't want to work in the Cultural Resource Management field (I destroyed my wrist digging over the summer, and I do volunteer work in the Ohio Historic Preservation Office where they review CRM reports.. I hear all kinds of horror stories regarding practices and ethics, yuck), I don't want to get a Ph.D. in Anthropology and spend 10 years of my life worrying about tenure, and jobs aren't very available in the preservation office (the one niche in the field of Archaeology that I actually enjoy). So guess what! I'm screwed!

I've known for at least a year now that going to graduate school is a requirement for me with a B.S. in Anthro. There's not much you can do without grad school, unfortunately. The problem, however, came in choosing a field again. I've looked at library science, biostatistics, engineering, etc. and I have finally settled on education. It's a field I always came back to when I'd have a "career goals crisis" and I have experience working with kids in a semi-educational environment (camp) and enjoyed it. It's also a job that exists everywhere and needs more people constantly. So, logical choice.

I pushed back my graduation until June so I can take a handful of classes that are prerequisites for middle childhood education. I'm going to apply to a school in VA for just certification, and apply to OSU for their master's program. Actually, OSU has already just about offered me a fellowship for their master's program, but I'm terrified of hitting a wall in the job market by being "overqualified" compared to a lot of other new teachers with just a B.A. Now I'm just in the "wait and see" period.

__________________
"Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark."
— Henri-Frédéric Amiel

The_Jazz

I have degrees in History and Russian and Eastern European Studies. I finished last year with $40M premium book of excess and surplus lines insurance business. 2 of my 3 assistants have 4 year degrees, one in English and one in Biology.

I found insurance as a career when I was 26. It's been very good to me. And for the record, any job candidate with a degree in insurance has an extra hurdle to clear if they're interviewing with me. There'd better be a good explanation besides "this is what I really want to do".

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

Jinn

Have my four year degree in Computer Science, hate it. Detest programming and the field I once loved.

I'm looking into going back to school for a BA in Fine Art.

Interesting how it happens, isn't it? I say go for it... I will, if I can get over my apathy.

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

Baraka_Guru

"Credentials" are a funny thing, aren't they?

Baraka_Guru, BA


What?

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

ngdawg

Take it from an old Dawg who completely changed her path while seeing her second half of a century looming on the horizon....it is NEVER too late to change your course and everything up to this point is a learning experience.

Don't think of those years in college as a waste-if it weren't for those, you may still be wandering aimlessly. Now that you know....do. Pack it all in a neat little backpack of knowledge and move ahead. When things don't go smooth, you can always reach into the backpack and pull out something to use.

LordEden

I feel that the experience that I got out of college was more important than the piece of paper I got at the end. The people I met, the (fun) classes I took, the jobs and the heartaches made me who I am today.

I am currently working towards my goal of becoming a chef by starting at the bottom and clawing my way to the top. I just accepted a job on a cruise line as a prep cook; I feel that this is my "make it or break it" time. If I can't handle a cruise ship and the work that is involved with it, I should just give up on it. The two Chefs I work under now didn't go to school, just worked their asses off in a kitchen until they were good enough to be a chef. Both of them truly inspire me to become the best chef I can be.

__________________
Vice-President of the CinnamonGirl Fan Club - The Meat of the Zombiesquirrel and CinnamonGirl Sandwich

inBOIL

Don't make a decision based on sunk cost. Getting a job that you know you will hate doesn't "unwaste" the time and effort you spent on your degree.

__________________
And you believe Bush and the liberals and divorced parents and gays and blacks and the Christian right and fossil fuels and Xbox are all to blame, meanwhile you yourselves create an ad where your kid hits you in the head with a baseball and you don't understand the message that the problem is you.

Plan9

Wow.

This thread makes me think too much. Makes me ponder my future, too. What is the purpose of me spending all this money on a "piece of paper?"

Whatever genius philosopher said that “Education is not a preparation for life, it is life itself...” was right.

When seeing that I immediately thought of my former mentor, a salty old soldier and school teacher who made me memorize and tout his life mantra, “You are what you do.” I really believe that. He also taught me that the most effective way to start tackling any intellectual challenge is to first build a firm base of facts. Today, whenever I’m presented with an academic situation that encourages debate, I find myself quickly assembling the literal definitions of the words that comprise the matter to be argued. While quite often the literal definitions aren’t necessarily the most desired tool for the job, they usually feature useful descriptors that the build / push / fuel the discussion.

Life, as it applies to an individual’s time on Earth, is defined as “a period of animate existence” and words like adaptation, liveliness, elasticity, and growth are conjured up. Education is commonly defined as “the act of acquiring knowledge or skills” and words like school, study, instruction, and training are associated with it.

I have always felt that life experience is education, and vice versa, that education is life experience, and that neither stops regardless of age or location. I learn something new every day regardless of whether or not I’m sitting behind a textbook in a classroom. While few would consider dissecting a fetal pig in entry-level biology or writing an essay on the meaning of education / life to be a particularly valuable life experience, the understanding of the mechanical mortality of life on Earth and the ability to formulate a reasonable philosophical argument based on educated personal opinion is something that cannot be measured and prove to be invaluable life skills.

The inspirational quote above that touts the value of education as a lifelong process may be an overbroad generalization, but it is not without its merits. There is validity in it so much that it demonstrates that living is learning and not necessarily the brand that is furnished by a textbook or a chalkboard. It says that life is a grand classroom. Can we quantify that on a piece of parchment?

It seems man isn’t happy without rank structure, and the education system is not immune. We crave titles and tangible symbols of success and ability. While society has created these credential concepts such as diplomas and certificates, there are no real merit badges in life. Life experience cannot be “buttonized” (not a word?) or made into a colorful cloth patch for wear on a jacket sleeve.

I think there is very little difference between the degree hanging on the wall of an “A” student who dedicated four years of his life to academic greatness and the degree hanging on the wall of a “C” student who majored in binge drinking and doing the absolute bare minimum required to slink by academically. Society seems to say, “in order to be successful in life, you must follow these graduated steps,” and in doing so has created a cookie cutter concept out of contemporary education. I worry that modern employment focuses purely on certification over expertise because certification is safe, tangible, and can be managed as such. It seems young adults spend their lives chasing titles and documents so that they can be accepted in the employment venue of their choice only having to learn an occupation from the ground up regardless of said degree.

... what the fuck am I trying to say? Uh...

I whole-heartedly appreciate the significance of a quality college education, but only in that it shows the required adequate dedication to a specially structured system for an extended period of time and that it expresses an individual’s applied potential.

I feel that human beings are extremely concept-oriented creatures and perhaps education, the willful and intentional assimilation of knowledge (sometimes unintentional?) and skills through attentive effort can best be defined, in this case, as both the journey and the destination that compromise the adventure of life, and through integration and application... perhaps the joy of being alive?

Does a degree define your occupation as a job, a career, a passion, a hobby?

I don't think so.

/pontification

Blargh. I'm not a genius... and I don't have a degree yet. I SUCK UH-GAIN!

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Ustwo

My first degree was in Ethology, Ecology, and Evolution. I did one year post grad in ecology as well.

I only use it when I need to point out that I'm one of the only ones on TFP with any sort of formal training on the subject.

As BS or BA degree is more like extended highschool in my book. Very few have you ready for the real world in any particular subject. It gives you real 'grow up' time as well as helping focus you on what you want to do.

If you want to be a chef, which would be a lot of fun in my book, do it. I'd spend the time and money for formal training as well, as it can open the door to the finer establishments where you can learn under other 'master' type chefs.

Being 25 is nothing in this, I didn't start my doctorate program until 26 and a masters after at 29.

Hell I still think about getting a PhD a couple of subjects I enjoy but I know thats not going to happen logistically at this point.

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Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host

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Dammitall

My college degree doesn't have too much to do with my current profession (I have a BA in English Literature and manage a website for a financial firm). Something got me from doing too much insomnia-induced web surfing in my freshman year to aspirations of becoming a graphic designer and website programmer to where I am today. My attempted mastery at the English literary canon was in no way wholly responsible for it, but it definitely helped me along the way.

What comforts me is that we're no longer living in a world where the decisions we make as high school and college students set the course for the rest of our lives. Lifelong careers are becoming a thing of the past, and it's not uncommon for people, even well into adulthood, to change their line of work significantly a few times before they retire.

I'm not doing exactly what I want to be doing in a career right now, but to be honest I'm still not even sure that I know what that would be. Right now I have a long list of things that interest me, some of which I feel intensely passionate for; many of these probably wouldn't make very realistic career choices for me right now. I plan to stay where I am for a while longer; the benefits are excellent and the long-term incentives are definitely... incentivizing. All of this is not to say that I won't end up back in school five to ten years from now to pursue an MFA in design or writing, or in a conservatory to for a degree in violin performance, and turn those passions into my livelihood.

The other blessing in disguise is simultaneously a challenge: to keep a less than 100% inspiring career within the confines of the work day and use your time outside of it to find your excitement and/or peace. As Crompsin said, you may be "what you do," but you are not where you work.

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If one million people replaced a two mile car trip once a week with a bike ride, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 50,000 tons per year. If one out of ten car commuters switched to a bike, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 25.4 million tons per year. [2milechallenge.com]

snowy

The point of a Bachelor's degree is general education; it is meant to teach students to read well, write well, and speak well. We get further and further away from the original purpose of the BA/BS each year, with an increased emphasis on more specialized education at the lower levels.

At any rate, a four-year degree will help you regardless of what field you go into. Having that little piece of paper is what's important--what you got it in, not so much, provided you can read, write, and speak well.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

funydjane

If you only work in one field ever, it's a very sad life. Embrace the variety of opportunities life has to offer.

TotalMILF

I know a LOT of people that aren't using their degrees.

Dad has his bachelor's in journalism, his master's in law and a JD. He is an executive senior vice president at one of the nation's largest bank and designs/implements/maintains their software. He also serves on some sort of committee hand-picked by Bill Gates. He doesn't "use" any of his degrees.

Mom has her bachelor's in English and has been a mainframe administrator at another one of the nation's largest banks for over 20 years.

Aunt has her JD and works as an elementary schoolteacher.

Cousin has a music degree and works as a manager at Enterprise rent-a-car.

Friend has a film degree and works as a residence hall director at a university.

In fact, my uncle is the only person I know that actually uses his degree (he is a lawyer).

My father says that when he's hiring employees it often doesn't matter WHAT their degree is in, but simply the fact that they HAVE one (except for a few professions, obviously). So don't go thinking that your degree is useless -- it shows that you at least had the dedication and intelligence to finish college. It's actually quite valuable, even if you don't "use" it.

And you're only 25, forchristssake! It's not like you can't go to a culinary arts school for some training or even a second degree.

Good luck!

__________________
"I'm sorry, all I heard was blah blah blah, I'm a dirty tramp."

LordEden

I just have a lot of pressure from family and some friends that being a chef is not a "real" job. Which I know it is, I work harder at my job than most of my friends who sit in a office watching youtube all day. It's hard to convince family members who have never worked in the low-end service industry that cooking can be fun and that I want to do it for a while.

I love the environment I work in more than anything. Friends of mine complain about not being able to put up personal items on their desks because of company policies and working with old ladies who do nothing but talk about their kids all day. 2 weeks ago my chef asked me if I want to go with him to the strip club to see a midget stripper, "A fucking MIDGET! I HAVE TO SEE HER! I hope she can do pole dances!" I can talk about anything I want too and work with like minded people. I love it.

I just needed someone else to tell me what I already knew. It helps to have someone tell you what is in the back of your mind.

__________________
Vice-President of the CinnamonGirl Fan Club - The Meat of the Zombiesquirrel and CinnamonGirl Sandwich

xepherys

Why do you have to convince anybody? It's your life and your career. Do what makes you happy. If they can't be happy for you, they aren't really all that important.

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allaboutmusic

I'd add the words "... in making this decision" to that sentences. Families generally want the best for us - my family was resistant to my change in career because they were worried about my future quality of life. We value different things in terms of defining quality of life, but they genuinely want the best for me and weren't resistant for selfish reasons.

doncalypso

As an international student on an F-1 visa earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology would not have gotten me far, but it did help me get into grad school though. Now that I have a Master of Science degree in my field it does make me a more palatable candidate for a job, but nevertheless I wouldn't have been able to make it that far if I had not gotten my 4-year degree (which took me 5 years to get because I repeated some classes).

Another option in the sciences is for someone to get a BS/MS 5-year degree where you get your master's degree in one fell swoop. And honestly, I don't know how anyone can get ahead in the sciences without first going through undergrad and getting that 4-year bachelor's degree.


Going back to the original poster's point, I think he should go ahead and finish with his degree and then go ahead and pursue his dream of becoming a chef. Who knows? Maybe the computer programming and Information Systems training might prove helpful in designing a software that helps manage a restaurant someday. And then again, the training in logical thinking provided in the computer science field may also help with problem-solving skills in the kitchen eventually.

I don't think a college education is ever a waste unless you pissed off your college years getting drunk, partying, and not learning anything in class.

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Doncalypso... the one and only Haitian Sensation

Slims

Hey bean.

I don't use my degree in an official capacity at all here. However, even though I am in a totally different career than my degree would suggest, I do use what I have learned.

Go to chef school and you will probably find that much of what you learned in college will help you succeed there and afterwards as well.

Good luck, I didn't know you still posted here.

Greg

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"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence