Employment in St. Mary's

[czygvtwkr]

These days people only care that you have a degree, not necessarily what you studied. An English degree at least lets an employer know you have some grasp of the English language and can hopefully communicate well. I could be a technical writer, they prefer an English degree...

A buddy of mine in college said that and now he is an assistant manager of a McDonalds..... you may want to reconsider that.

If you want to get a job I suggest a degree that is percieved as harder to get such as Math, Biology etc.

 

[Pete]

These days people only care that you have a degree, not necessarily what you studied. An English degree at least lets an employer know you have some grasp of the English language and can hopefully communicate well. I could be a technical writer, they prefer an English degree...

You overestimate the clout of an English degree. As anyone who went to college can attest, by the time you write papers for 4 years and take 3-4 English classes ANY college graduate will have enough skill in English composition to suffice in any job short of English teacher. Technical writers don't rely on English that much, they rely on their knowledge of technical things to write.

 

[czygvtwkr]

I think people are missing the point slightly...I have a job, and am being groomed for management (no, it's not in the food service industry, it's at a legitimate business ). The marketing director of my company has a degree in philosophy, and the majority of our IT department did not major in IT, although they are a very capable bunch of people. I wouldn't leave my job to be the assistant manager of a McDonalds, or any other less than desirable position...

But that is today, things could change drastically if the company goes bye bye.

 

[crabcake]

Our company isn't large enough to support the overhead costs of Admins. We all answer our own phones, make our own copies, file our own papers etc. etc... We even take out our own trash and vacuum our own offices. :shrug:

I have zero degree, BUT I do have my miitary experience (which was free). I make far more than most college graduates with no military experience, but I also have unique qualifications that you can't get in college. :shrug:

I guess it boils down to having something to offer to an employer and/or knowing the right person at the right time.

truer words were NEVER spoken. a lot of companies (and gov't agencies) will hire a military person with no degree over some newbie college kid. And knowing someone at the right time CAN make alllllll the difference. I'm in the same boat as Christy ... no degree but military experience and significantly out-earning my graduating classmates who do have a degree. that's not to say there's no value to a degree, but depending on the circumstances, sometimes companies value the experience a person has in a particular niche vs the piece of paper showing they can show up for class 75% of the time. I think it all comes down to "marketing". If you see an opening in a company that you really want, and you have the skills to do that job and offer the company something besides a seat warmer, you have to market yourself accordingly. The job market is so competitive down here that if you can't show where you can offer something of value to the company, they can keep thumbing through the resumes and find someone who will.

 

[crabcake]

We're the number one company of our type in the country, and our biggest competitor just took a huge hit and is now cutting out their main market...consumers. I doubt we're going anywhere soon. That being said, it's not that great of a company to work for, but also not the worst. I have job security, there's sort of a family atmosphere there, so if your kid gets sick in the middle of the day, it's not a big deal if you leave. Having a degree means zilch at my company, they judge us by our merit (I'm sure that's not part of the hiring process, but to be promoted within the company you have to prove you're capable, I've been promoted once, and have been told that I'll get another one when an appropriate position opens). I don't dislike my job, I dislike the pay.

Nickel, not asking this question sarcastically, but have you sat back, taken a look at your job, and thought about what you could do differently? What more you could offer your company to show them a 'value-added service' for your paycheck? I'm not saying you don't work hard, but I know full well first hand how much it can suck being stove-piped when you do the same thing, day in and day out. I go through that all the time. My boss can be a first-class snapper sometimes, but one thing I like about her is when I get bored, I can go to her and say, "Look, I've got a handle on what I have going on right now; is there something else different I can do to mix up my work day ... a different project?" Since she doesn't like doing her own work, that seems to always work for me, and she sees me taking on more and more, which helps me b/c it exposes me to other things which, in the long run, make me more marketable to another company.

Just something to think about ... It sounds like your company is pretty decent and accomodating of personal matters, and that's not something easily found any more. Might be easier to stick with it and work with what you have vs. opting for what looks like greener grass elsewhere.

Someone told me the other day ... where the grass appears greener, there is usually a cesspool underneath.

 

[crabcake]

This may sound ghey, but while I'd like to make more money, the thought of leaving my company this year saddens me. I have a fat bonus coming up right before Christmas (and another one in March), plus I've managed to be off from Dec 24 til Jan 3 while only using 3 days of leave...what a cathartic experience this has been...I've realized I don't hate my job, and have it a little better than I thought. :shrug:

See if you can trade some responsibilities with someone else to spice up both your jobs a bit; sell it to your boss as "cross-training" so that they see a benefit by having a back-up for that service in the event one of you is out.

 

[Christy]

You overestimate the clout of an English degree. As anyone who went to college can attest, by the time you write papers for 4 years and take 3-4 English classes ANY college graduate will have enough skill in English composition to suffice in any job short of English teacher. Technical writers don't rely on English that much, they rely on their knowledge of technical things to write.

I disagree, a good writer with a decent grasp of the English language, is like finding a needle in a haystack these days. You can definitely make decent money with an English degree with a focus on technical writing.

 

[crabcake]

a good writer with a decent grasp of the English language, is like finding a needle in a haystack these days.

I review stuff written by scientists, program analysts, SESs, etc. daily ... folks with masters and doctorates ... yet they can't write themselves out of a paper bag to save their edumacated lives.

 

[Pete]

I review stuff written by scientists, program analysts, SESs, etc. daily ... folks with masters and doctorates ... yet they can't write themselves out of a paper bag to save their edumacated lives.

They are not hired for their spelling ability.

 

[crabcake]

They are not hired for their spelling ability.

you're right, but you expect a certain level of "ability" from someone with a masters or Phd ... like the ability to operate "spell/grammar check". :shrug:

 

[Pete]

you're right, but you expect a certain level of "ability" from someone with a masters or Phd ... like the ability to operate "spell/grammar check". :shrug:

Personal disappointments aside if a scientist figured out how to splice a gene and prevent birth defects or create a polymer that has thousands of uses, I could care less if he/she can even spell "phd"

 

[crabcake]

Personal disappointments aside if a scientist figured out how to splice a gene and prevent birth defects or create a polymer that has thousands of uses, I could care less if he/she can even spell "phd"

see, this is where knowing the value of sentence structure and proper spelling and grammar usage come into play. it could mean the difference between a misdiagnosis; or in a legal document, a comma has the ability to change the interpretation of a law or statute. I know that sounds extreme, but I've seen it time and time again. I'm not biatching really ... after all, it keeps me employed.

 

[Pete]

whatever

 

[Pete]

Anyways....I'm done with this thread.

Perhaps an even bigger problem than not having a degree.

 

[BuddyLee]

The answer to this question will probably be a 'no'.

Does anyone know of any internships in the area that offer something along the subject lines of political science, history, sociology, or philosophy?

 

[BuddyLee]

I'll pay you ten bucks a day to straighten up my desk and lower the blinds when the sun starts creating a glare on my computer monitor. :shrug:

Deal

 

[czygvtwkr]

The answer to this question will probably be a 'no'.

Does anyone know of any internships in the area that offer something along the subject lines of political science, history, sociology, or philosophy?

Can you learn to say "do you want fries with that?"

 

[BuddyLee]

Can you learn to say "do you want fries with that?"

I'll amount to much more than that. For me it is just a matter of deciding which field to subscribe to. If it looks bleak in the future there is always room for more teachers.

 

[baswm]

I hope to one day get a job on base and cut my drive in half. Having my BSEE and working on my MSEE, I should be able to find an engineering position when I am ready to switch. Coworkers tell me I should just get a masters degree in management to go along with the BSEE and really get a good paying job.

If a person works full time and goes to college at night to further their education, that will give them some work experience as well as show the future employer that they are hard workers and determined to get the job done.

 

[czygvtwkr]

I'll amount to much more than that. For me it is just a matter of deciding which field to subscribe to. If it looks bleak in the future there is always room for more teachers.

Its not a knock on you, just those fields you listed.