The Post-Secondary Education Thread

Trylakos

Trylakos

gimme my key bitch!
Apr 10, 2005
1,974
12
38
Newfoundland,Canada
Most of my friends are graduating this year and are starting to think of school after highschool, and that in turn is causing me to think of some stuff. I am interested in Computer Science and physics, hoping to do something in either of those. What do yout think of these choices? What did you do or are doing, and how do you enjoy it?

discussion begins!

?!
 
Anything is pretty good provided that you like it and you're good at it.

Computer Science: destined to be a desk-jockey somewhere, but if you like computers, no problem!

Physics: I thought about studying Physics for awhile. It's pretty interesting, but there's a lot of math involved, and you're more than likely not going to be able to do much with just an undergraduate physics degree.

That being said, I started in Engineering, then dropped out and started studying Classical Languages and Literature, which is by far even more impractical and less likely to get me a job than either of those, so hey, like I can talk.
 
I majored in Visual Communication (design). I very much like doing this type of stuff and it allows me to be highly creative.

My advice, find something you really like doing (as Moose said) but make sure you'll be able to find a job using that expensive degree. If not, plan on going for your Masters and be a professor or something :Smokin:
 
For me... I started out going to school for electronics, I dropped out after the 2nd quarter cause it sucked. Then I went to the local music school (music tech) for recording and live sound production. After a dead end job for 6 months. I went back to school for Computer Programming. I am now in the computer programming field and been doing this for about 8 years. Myself I would go with Computer Science. Reason: $$$.
 
I got my college degree in Creative Writing, got a job with a finance company, eventually got into banking, and now I'm a farmer.

My only advice is to go to school in the Midwest where college is fairly cheap and you can concentrate on having fun while wasting your money on a degree you'll never use.
 
College is a gamble. The chances that you'll still want to do the same thing four years from now are pretty slim I'd say. However, changing majors late in the game can be a real bitch sometimes.

Just go for what you think you'll enjoy the most. Then hope you'll still think the same way four years down the line and that the job market for your particular field isn't shit.
 
Thanatopsis123 said:
College is a gamble.
Click to expand...

No, it's never a gamble. It can only be a good thing to be well educated.

The chances that you'll still want to do the same thing four years from now are pretty slim I'd say.
Click to expand...

Well your degree has virtually nothing to do with your long-term career for the most part. What a degree does is get your foot in the door, and then your career will naturally evolve from there - provided the company you work at allows for that type of career growth. (And if you're an entrepeneur then the world is your oyster, so to speak).

From an employment standpoint, I wouldn't even look twice at someone who hasn't got a degree. It's less to do with what you majored in and more to do with your character. Even more so if you're a post-grad with an MBA or whatever.
 
Thanatopsis123 said:
College is a gamble. The chances that you'll still want to do the same thing four years from now are pretty slim I'd say. However, changing majors late in the game can be a real bitch sometimes.

Just go for what you think you'll enjoy the most. Then hope you'll still think the same way four years down the line and that the job market for your particular field isn't shit.
Click to expand...

FYI, there is not ONE SINGLE JOB MARKET that is going to be "shit" pretty much right now.

edit: well, provided it's not a dead or dying technology, i.e. making VCRs is probably not a great idea
 
My company cannot be hiring quick enough....another myth that companies don't hire over the xmas period. I've just spent the last 5 Friday's interviewing Columbia, NYU, and Duke(!!) graduates (both under and post).
 
JayKeeley said:
No, it's never a gamble. It can only be a good thing to be well educated.
Click to expand...

Of course it's good to be well educated. But when most college graduates these days are leaving school with an average of $20k debt and then finding that their degree is about as worthwhile as a high school diploma used to be, I'd still say it's a gamble. I know a ton of people with undergraduate and graduate degrees who've not been helped in the slightest (career wise) by their educations.
 
$20K debt is nothing by the way. I suppose the school you go to plays a big part.

EDIT: When I say 'nothing', I mean compared to ivy leaguers. Of course I'm the biggest advocate here that the government should subsidize tuition fees for every single US citizen by goddamn right.

But really, something is obviously very wrong when a university graduate can't get much further than a high school kid in the job search.
 
I'm studying to become a teacher which feels like pretty much a dead end when it comes to making a career outside my degree. I'm screwed
 
^ cool stuff!

I'm studying Sociology, which I'm almost sure I don't want to have anything to do with after I graduate, but that's fine. It is easy, enjoyable and very easy.

I just started a new job for Coca Cola today making $13.75/hr! This is actually a step up in the world for me :erk:
 
Physics: I thought about studying Physics for awhile. It's pretty interesting, but there's a lot of math involved, and you're more than likely not going to be able to do much with just an undergraduate physics degree.
Click to expand...

no. there are plenty of things you could do with a bachelor's in physics and even more physics-related things you could do with a bachelor's in applied physics.
 
Mormagil said:
no. there are plenty of things you could do with a bachelor's in physics and even more physics-related things you could do with a bachelor's in applied physics.
Click to expand...

I was just going off of what a physics prof. told me, and well, you know how detached from reality professors are. Thanks for the correction. ^_^
 
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