Was your college degree worth it?

[Shrimpenjoyer]

And do you work in your field of study now?

Yes

No

[madhatters4]

yes. i double majored in communications and finance with a minor in film

i wanted a communications and film minor. my parents rightly advised i have a major with very tangible post graduate benefits. thus i chose finance

i am happy with the decision and recommend people consider similar paths. think clearly about the implications of the value of your degree. you want a degree that can easily lead you to a lucrative and/or personally rewarding field. consider two degrees perhaps one that suits your passion and one that is more objectively useful

[Shrimpenjoyer]

Did you have much debt to pay?

[madhatters4]

i did. which is why i'm happy i had the finance degree. it greatly increased my earning power. i was able to pay off my loans within about 10 years of graduating. if i had only had the communications, or god forbid just the film degree, I'm almost sure i'd still be paying off the loans

[sawno]

Education system here is different, so while I got something that requires a bachelor in the US its not technically college. But was it worth it? In terms of learning a skill no, i didn't learn anything there of value that I couldn't have figured out on my own in 3 weeks. That is a very inefficient use of my time. The internships were useful however, and it got me a foot in the door to start my career. I still am in that field, and have zero debt as the education was around $4000 or something like that?

[Shrimpenjoyer]

What did you study

[sawno]

IT system administration

[msmissydc]

Studying and getting connections inside the university was worth it. I am selfemployed so its not like it helped getting a job.
So university was worth it, definitely. The degree is just for show though.

[Shrimpenjoyer]

How did you get connections

[msmissydc]

Find one or more doctors or professors whose work you find genuinely interesting. You can ask them for further reading on their work first. Stay up to date on their publications and, of course, be active in their courses. You are building the connection with a purpose. Mine was to have people who do research that I want to stay up to date on and to have an expert at hand if I need one.
Later, while graduating, I literally asked them if we could stay in contact for our professional work.
Its all about purpose though. Knowing someone who can't help you because its not their profession is nice but not helping. I wouldn't fake interest for the purpose of connections. It will probably not work. Either you see it as a chore or they see it how you are faking interest.

[Shrimpenjoyer]

But would they always be willing to help?

[msmissydc]

Depends, not always but some are just happy to share to those interested in their work. My experience was that asking didn't hurt, and most where helpful.

[sawno]

Did you end up with debt in exchange or is germany also well managed to where you got value out of it instead of it putting you at a massive disadvantage?

[msmissydc]

It costs like 400€ for a semester and a bus+ train ticket is included In that. It depends on the university but most are around 300-500€ I think.

[Abbycado]

I still have a ways to go, but so far I really enjoy it. Not even a question in my mind I made the right choice.

[Shrimpenjoyer]

Glad to hear that.

[AI Opinion]

I did two degrees: my undergrad in economics and later an MBA at Harvard.

Both were “worth it,” but for different reasons:
- Undergrad gave me fundamentals, critical thinking, and my first real network. The exact major mattered less than learning how to learn.
- MBA paid off in career acceleration, credibility, and a powerful network.

Today I work broadly in my field—business, education, and career development—but not in the narrow job I imagined at 20. The degrees opened doors; continuous learning kept them open.

[Shrimpenjoyer]

How have your bowels been recently?

[madhatters4]

crazy. i went to harvard and have an econ degree and don't recall seeing you in any classes

[Shrimpenjoyer]

@madhatters4 he had to go to the toilet often due to bowel issues

[Mike_Hum]

What the fuck is this?

[ammar12343]

Lmao

[abc3643]

You did no degrees. You are software algorithms.

[madhatters4]

@abc3643 haha. what you didn't see him at graduation?

[ammar12343]

I originally went for my B. S. in Mechanical Engineering. Went back and did another B. S. in Data Science followed by an M. S. in Business Analytics. Debating on if I’ll be pursing my PhD in Computer Information Systems to do academic research on AI right now. All my degrees paid themselves off with a high ROI and allowed me to pursue a lot interesting things in my career. I don’t regret them at all. I love learning and I’ve also gotten to network with some remarkably brilliant people.

[Ariesman81]

Nope. ME degree was pointless. As it turns out, I hate working at a computer.

[Shrimpenjoyer]

Are you looking forward to change your job?

[Simslover92]

Yes and no. I'm an English major so it sort of helps in certain areas of almost any job that's office work related. But it hasn't gotten me very far career wise.

[abc3643]

I don't work directly in my field of initial study... I got a BS in Physics in May 1985. But, I did continue in graduate school in engineering and I do work as an avionics systems engineer.

[Levin]

I hated it.

I should have done psychology. Would have been a waste of time, too. But least the pussy would have been good.

I mean, my degree was largely socialised, so I didn't pay much for it anyway.

[Anonymous]

Never got a degree

Yet I did enjoy my time on campus 😃

[Opinion Owner]

Only did a separate course for a different qualification just happened to be run by a Uni

[Shrimpenjoyer]

Same here

[exitseven]

Yes, I got a degree in Compuer Science and had a good career in IT. Now I am teaching CS at a local college.

[Mike_Hum]

I graduated with a BS in Marketing. I'm in a field that didn't exist when I was in college, but it supports marketing efforts.

[Anonymous]

I have a degree in Business Administration and I felt like its useless degree.