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Did you work in a major-related job while you were going for your undergrad degree?
I didn't really. I worked in the school's food service, factories. I did work in a cell phone place one summer though.
Do you think it matters if you work in a job (even if it's vaguely related) to your major?
You're a college grad?
I worked unpaid in my field. I could have gotten internship credits, but I didn't need them. It's good to have experience in your field right out the gate, but it's not exactly necessary. Though, these days, I'm sure people will hire people who either have more experience than other applicants or people who will work for free / little pay.
You seem surprised?Quote:
Originally Posted by soilwork
I like how everybody on this site assumes they know everything about me. Especially after 10 years.
There's plenty of things you'd all be surprised to know about me that you all believe you don't know.
If it's any consolation, I'm not surprised you're not a college grad.
I don't even know who the fuck anyone is on here anymore. The only clues I have are the sigs and ranks.
And the join dates.Quote:
Originally Posted by Snair
Amen. Sigh.Quote:
Originally Posted by Snair
No, I don't really know how that would be possible, unless you scored some low-level internship that was unpaying.
I did the same thing you did, Greg, worked in service ind until I graduated.
I didn't go into the field I got my degree in, anyway.
I'm surprised you're a college grad. I'm not surprised you've proceeded to do nothing with it. Nobody is pretending to know everything about you, either. All anybody can do on this site is go by what you present yourself to be, and that's a guy in his mid 30s still living at home with the life experience of a 13 year old.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
I worked in my field all through undergrad and I think it definitely made a difference. Any experience you can get will really help you after you finish up school. Especially these days. I graduated back in 2003 and it was even hard then for a lot of people I knew in the same field (computer science). I got lucky.
No, I've done stuff with it. I worked at Qwest for a brief while, and one other telecom company. I just didn't care for working in that field. The job I have now is more suited to my 2YR degree.Quote:
Originally Posted by soilwork
You think just because I live with my parents you assume I have a slacker/retail job or something? I'm only part time right now.
You really leap to conclusions man.
When I was in college, I worked 3 jobs.
Food Service (Winter Break)
Manufacturing (Summer Break)
Clerical and Service (School Year)
So I got the full gamut of everything.
All three have helped me greatly in life.
The food service taught me a lot of cooking.
The Manufacturing experience gives me a fallback, especially after I graduated.
And I now work int the same sector as my desk job.
Also I think it depends on your major. For example, I had a small portfolio of work to show potential employees. If you have something like that, I think it's less important to have relevant experience.
Undergrad? Not so much, but grad school yes. I worked in a counseling center and it may have given me a minor edge, but honestly I didn't get any practical experience.
Classic liberal arts degrees were never meant to be vocational degrees --that's what joining a trade was for. They were meant to teach young men and women how to think and analyze like adults.
Mine was more practical (international relations was way less theoretical than poli sci), but I opted not to pursue diplomacy as a career (I had friends that did, getting analyst jobs or joining the foreign service). Now my law degree, that was just a fancy, intellectualized vocational degree (just like other "professional degrees" such as medicine/dentistry/etc). Before a little over 100 years ago, it was appropriate for a young (well, man) to apprentice under another lawyer just like a future tradesman.
The Bars should create realistic reader accreditations.Quote:
Originally Posted by ATL
Fuck Law School.
No, I assume you're a slacker because you've admitted yourself that you live at home and for the longest time were unemployed. You have a part time job now, so give yourself a pat on the back, I guess. It's not much of a conclusion to jump to if that's all you ever reveal of yourself on these forums. Combine that with being kind of dumb (although Lonesage seems to believe you're self-aware, I'm not so sure yet), how on earth would anybody believe you were able to somehow trudge your way through college?Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
What did you do at both positions?Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
I had a job as a computer tech before and during college (CS degree, so it fits). It worked out nicely where I even got a few credits for it. It also made getting my first "real" job much easier because I already had lots of real-world experience.
My undergrad degree in Math (Statistics/Probability) didn't do much for me, since the degree didn't mean as much as the actuarial exams. Since then, I've backed away from actuarial work, which is why I'm in a Master's degree program.
I don't think it's necessary, but it certainely helps to work in your field during your studies.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
Personally, I'm an agricultural engineering major and work two jobs loosely related to my major. (one at a university forage research center and another at a crop and soil lab) It has certainly helped me grasp certain concepts quicker than my peers with little or no hands on experience.
For my field, it would have been a huuuuge help.
I think it's probably important for all students to try to do this. It's damn near impossible to get a job without any experience. There are next to no entry level jobs. Grad work, lab work, grunt work, and coffee maker can all be used to show experience in the workplace.
Unless you're a physics, math, programming, or engineering major, let's face it - college isn't really that hard. I had some of those classes, but it wasn't as hardcore as those.Quote:
Originally Posted by soilwork
There are many people on this site and otherwise who would disagree with you. You're posts aren't exactly to the level of wizkid genius, either. That fact that it seems like an issue to you and you point it out and that it even weighs on your mind tells me that you're the ignorant oaf.
When you only go for an AA it isn't really that hard either.
Very few degrees are actually hard to get.
Music majors are fucked.
my Psych degree didn't involve much effort.
Music majors and art majors have to put in a SHITLOAD of time out of class, but I wouldn't imagine those would be that difficult.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
I would have had trouble with the logic classes in Psych. I took a philosophy class that dipped our feet in it and I don't have the brain for logic problems or programming. I barely passed a C++ and COBAL class.
A.A. is only two years, so it's not that difficult, I agree. At least you have something to show for all the money you spent. I had a friend that went to school in the 90s, dropped out, then dropped back in and his classes didn't count.
That's fucked. If you get, for instance, a 2 year degree years ago and go back, your classes count, but if you dropped out, you're SOL.
im a ce major and i've worked for the cs department doing networking and hardware installs, maintenance, etc. the whole time.
so its not hardware/software design but its loosely related.
they are notorious for being the hardest. Music majors require 5 years for a 4 year degree first of all. They also need to learn Music theory which is extremely hard.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
Really? I have a friend who is a former poster on this site who's close to getting his PhD. and the impression I get is that you just have to put in a TON of practice time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Well to even get in you have to audition or have a portfolio. It's not like Arts & Sciences majors where you can just show up with no prior experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
and that isn't hard?Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
I know someone who got a music degree. It's really not THAT much out-of-class work. Well, at least not compared to what I had to do (Media). You basically have to join the marching band or whatever.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard
Music majors do NOT require 5 years for a 4 year / bachelors degree. :shame:
Maybe it's because I've been doing theory since I was 9, but it's really not hard. If you can count numbers, can visualize intervals, and remember what keys / chords have what sharps / flats, that's all there is to it. Theory is actually an incredibly flawed and antiquated standard, but it's too late to change in the world of orthodox music.
edit: oh and by the way. People told me my degree was useless. But music degrees are REALLY useless unless you want to teach. The dude I mentioned? He's doing paperwork in an office for minimum wage.
Even teaching doesn't make that much, but at least you can be your own boss.Quote:
Originally Posted by fakeXsound
Depends. If you're shit, yeah. If you're going for an instrument you just picked up, you're going to need to practice a lot. If you're going for an instrument you've played for years, you just pretty much have to sacrifice fucking around with your instrument for actually learning your assignments.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
Also, you don't always have to audition or have a portfolio. Many places just let you walk right in. Others will take letters of recommendation from a teacher.
I made $20 an hour and it's an easy as shit job. I recommend it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
USF must not fuck around then, you have to go through a long process before they even admit you to the fine arts majors there.Quote:
Originally Posted by fakeXsound
Certain schools have different standards. And it doesn't just apply to music. A friend of mine is an insanely good professional dancer. Her top choice of school turned her down while everyone else was like "uh yeah, you can come here for free you're that damn good." It's hard to judge. Famous schools sometimes have lax entrance processes. Some never-heard-of-it schools are overly choosey. The New England School of Art and Design just let me in, no questions asked. Dunno if it had to do with my high grades or what. It really seems like a wishy washy thing. I think some places may try to overcompensate by making their acceptance requirements ridiculous.Quote:
Originally Posted by Walt Whitman
extremely hard isnt really what i would call music theory. at all.
ive got a music minor. :D
Completing community college isn't hard on any level. The fact that you use "wizkid genius" as some sort of measurement of intelligence makes me think you're probably way dumber than I initially thought. Don't try and confuse the issue and think this is something that weighs on my mind, either; we're in a thread where you're asking a vague question that high school kids somehow figure out to ask before they look into a college. It's only natural that somebody question whether or not you've graduated, and that's not taking into the mass amounts of stupidity you've sprinkled throughout these forums for the last 10 years. You're a dope, and how dare you be insulted that I questioned your intelligence.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
Also, music theory is something that gets harder to learn as you get older. It's pretty much just learning a different language. Most people who don't have a problem with music theory are people who've been at it since they were kids/teens. There really is no huge amount of time put into it out of class, either. If you're taking music theory, chances are you're already involved in an instrument, and all you do is apply it to it.
Right now I'm pursuing a degree in music, and I'm fully aware that it'll pretty much only snag me teaching jobs, which is fine with me. I was considering working toward becoming a pharmacist, but I figured I'd go with something I know I'd enjoy doing in 20 years, even if it only pays a small fraction I'd be able to get.
Yes, it's definitely similar to a language. I hear it's supposed to help with math skillz too, but I'm a living testament that is false.Quote:
Originally Posted by soilwork
I definitely agree that it's better to have a job you enjoy and make less money than have a job that you hate but make a lot of money. It's totally worth not having a lot of money.
I'm a living testament to that, too. I suck hard at math, but that's mostly because I can't be bothered to retain the information. If I don't use it in a couple of days, it flies right out of my head. I have enormous respect for math teachers.Quote:
Originally Posted by fakeXsound
I worked in unpaid internships that were related to my field during my junior and senior years. It sucked not getting paid, but it definitely did help when I graduated and entered the job market...gave me something relevant to talk about at interviews.
Plus, during the summers I also worked misc jobs (landscaping/retail) which did pay, so that was nice, even if it was only short term.
Own boss meaning 10,000 foot of government red tape telling you how to do your job.Quote:
Originally Posted by Harriet Tubman
I'm "that guy" that everyone calls when they have PC problems and I get really frustrated when people ask how to do the same things all the time. I always wonder "don't you want to learn how to do this shit so you don't have to ask me" but when it comes to math I do the same thing as they do. I'm just not interested in learning how to do math shit.Quote:
Originally Posted by soilwork
I don't quite know what that means, but CA still allows people to take the bar after undergoing an old-school apprenticeship. Only a handful of people try it each year and their bar passage rate is horrid --so thank god they're not actual attorneys (because it really is a test about how the law works).Quote:
Originally Posted by Stand Watie
The perfect follow up would be finding out your a neurosurgeon.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoSneth
You do know he already had a BA from a solid university? He got that AA after he realized he hated his field.Quote:
Originally Posted by Walt Whitman
Music programs vary a lot.
USC had a very notable music BFA, conservatory-style program and those people were pretty much all music all the time, the BA people were more relaxed. It was the same for the Theater BFA/BAs.
I dunno man, I think that's completely different. If I was having the same PC problems over and over again, I would take time to study what's going on, especially if I cared about not having those problems and/or needing to seek out help all the time. As far as math goes, I'll never use those equations for anything other than a test, which I will take once or twice (midterm/final) just for a grade. If I was an engineer, I would probably be using a lot of formulas that would require me to remember them.Quote:
Originally Posted by fakeXsound
Depends on what you mean by working in your field. If you apply it loosely, I did for two years. I worked part time in as an accounting tutor, which was frickin great experience. Every time someone came in, I had a chance to sharpen by knowledge of my field because instead of reading the textbooks, taking in lessons, I had questions from those learning it, so it forced me to be able to relate the material. While it's still everything in the academic sense, it really reinforced everything, plus the pay was pretty good for a part time job to boot.
Ha true enoughQuote:
Originally Posted by soilwork