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The push to go to a four year university has left a lot of people in the United States deeply in debt with degrees they don't or can't use.
Some degrees require post-graduate education levels—masters or doctorate—before a person is qualified to work in the field.
Other degrees don't translate well to careers outside of additional study or research in the same field.
Reddit user PoisonousChicken asked:
"Those who got a 'useless degree', what do you do now?"
Animation
"Bachelor's degree in animation. I deliver mail now."
"I don't think animation is useless. I love animation. I don't think any degree in any field is useless. There is always use in education."
"However, I took the quotes around 'useless' in the thread title to mean 'what other people consider useless'. As anyone who has pursued a degree in any kind of art knows, the world at large loves to tell you your degree is useless."
"That being said, from my experience, a degree in animation vs a diploma in animation signifies only that you spent more money to receive a less focused education. I did get some jobs in the industry and no, I don't want to be in the industry anymore. I'm quite happy delivering mail."
"I made the transition because my mental health was just taking too much of a hit."
~ EkbyBjarnum
Sociology
"I got a BA in sociology. Got accepted to law school, but opted out because I was burned out and hated everything."
"I went to work at a hotel and randomly fell into accounting. It worked for me and now I have a CPA."
"Life is a journey."
~ Winstonisapuppy
Psychology
"Psychology degree —> bartending."
~ huskerdude505
"Got a psych degree, now I'm an electrician."
~ MrSavageManiac
"I have a degree in psychology. I’m a pilot now."
~ PersonalityItchy590
"Psychology degree —> operations/HR Manager"
~ leila_laka
"You usually need a master's or Ph.D. actually to do anything with a psych degree, and I don't think a lot of people realize this when they take the path."
"And unfortunately, most openings for psychology professionals are low-paying school or social work counseling jobs. So you're going into a solid amount of debt for not a lot of pay."
~ ncopp
Fine Arts
"Fine arts degree. Worked my butt off for years."
"Now in sales, which comes so easy to me, and I make so much more money."
"Wish I studied business or marketing and figured this out many years ago."
~ SecretGardenBlondie
English
"What do you do with a BA in English?"
"Cloud application manager."
~ SonuvaGunderson
"I have an English degree and own an IT support services business."
"Who knew that being able to communicate with the written word coherently has applications beyond the classroom?"
~ sugarfoot00
"BA in English, went into finance. I thought I was avoiding math getting that degree."
~ BladedFlame
"Yep, same here. I graduated with my BA in English and realized my options were to become a teacher or keep working retail.
"Hated both so I found an office job doing admin and light bookkeeping."
"A few years, a few jobs, another degree, and I’m an accountant."
~ Carnivore_Receptacle
Classics
"BA in Classical Studies. I'm a Senior Financial Analyst."
~ Munch_munch_munch
"Both of my parents were classics majors."
"My mom became a Latin teacher, and my dad recently retired from a long and successful big law career."
~ itsfairadvantage
"Yeah, my BA was in classics with a Latin focus. I do securities litigation now. My wife convinced me not to be a Latin teacher, so I went to law school instead."
~ derdsm8
Kinesiology
"BS in Kinesiology. MS in exercise physiology."
"I'm a software engineer now."
"I started out doing manual testing and then moved to testing automation."
"I was still curious about how things worked, so I dove into the frontend, which ultimately led to backend and DevOps."
"Lots of googling, reading blogs/books, YouTube videos and free online courses."
~ ljheartless
Human Development
"Human Development degree. I’m a military officer now."
~ 1stLtDick
Philosophy
"Philosophy degree. I think about life a lot."
"I was actually a double major, in Philosophy (because I wanted to explore the Big Questions of Existence) and Economics (because I figured that many philosophers starve)."
"But I didn’t end up directly using either body of knowledge in my work career. I was an editor for some technical publications, then I made an early-midlife swivel and became a middle school math teacher, which I did for decades."
"I really do still ponder those life questions a lot, though."
~ MisterBigDude
Botany
"Was told as a naturally artistic child that there was no point in pursuing art, I needed to 'go to college and get a real job'. So, following this practical advice, I got a bachelor's degree in botany."
"And a minor in art, and then did a one-year Masters of Art with a focus in metals."
"I own over a hundred houseplants—thanks botany!—and have been a jewelry designer and jeweler for about 25 years, and still paint and draw."
"You can't stop the signal."
~ Gibber_Italicus
Creative Writing
"Bachelors in English/Creative writing => middle school math teacher => software engineer."
"Part of the deal when accepting my math position was that I had to teach a STEM class and part of the curriculum was coding robots with JavaScript which I knew nothing about; over the next four years I got familiar-ish with it."
"Then my wife got pregnant and we realized that money was gonna be tight with 2 teacher salaries and so one of my friends suggested doing a coding boot camp that he just completed and was earning 6 figures."
"So I did the 7 month bootcamp and leveraged my math background and masters in curriculum design to get a job working for an EdTech company building a supplemental math game."
~ No_Property1875
"Creative writing degree."
"I fly planes."
~ nbd9000
Film
"Film degree. Work in film production. Be careful what you wish for."
"It's a rough lifestyle. High stress/high pressure work, 13-18 hour days. Getting into a union, especially on films, requires a circus trick and a bit of luck (unless starting as a PA in the AD dept), you're constantly looking for a new gig, and the hours are always changing."
"It's fun in your 20s & 30s, but ages people quickly. And being a movie producer can be a 24/7 hour job, and if you're working indies, you're constantly taking ridiculous financial risks, hustling for financing to pay for filming, putting out every sort of fire imaginable...it requires high intelligence, creativity, problem solving skills, an iron stomach, and helps if you're independently wealthy and can survive bankruptcy."
~ GibsonMaestro
Theatre Arts
"BA in Theatre Arts."
"BFA in Stage Performance."
"Now I'm a Systems Administrator at a world-class art museum."
~ H1king33k
Medieval Studies
"BA in medieval studies from an Ivy."
"I work in VFX. I've wanted to work in the film industry since I was in college and I get to work on the coolest stuff. Love what I do."
~ nifflerriver4
Recreation Therapy
"Recreation therapy degree and now I grow weed for a living."
~ InterestingAd6036
"Makes sense. I find weed to be recreationally therapeutic!"
~ RedheadedStepchild76
Technical colleges or trade schools are becoming more popular with high school graduates.
Do you have a so-called 'useless degree' you do or don't use?