Is a Bachelor of Arts worthless?

[NeoZeedeater]

Actually, they screwed me over more when they combined the Hindi and Urdu class one year. Here I was trying to learn one language and they throw in another. Urdu is more difficult from a reading and writing standpoint. And practicing Hindi with my girlfriend just confused me more since her dialect is practically a different language.

OmniGear, I wish I knew.

[xS]

Yeah you should check out the Microsoft MSCSE courses, they can help you get some quick knowledge and some ok paying jobs.

[Omni]

My sister is going through the same thing. She doesn't know what she wants to do so she's just trudging her way through this crappy advertising job that she landed, with a crappy boss and crappy people that she has to deal with. She knows she doesn't want to do this for the rest of her life, but she doesn't know what she does want to do either, so she's stuck in the middle. Until she finds something that she wants to focus her energy on, she'll never progress. I'm boring you with this because it seems that you're in the same situation.

My advice to you is to think hard about what you're interested in and what you like, and try to find someway to pursue that. As that guy who says all those wise things once said, the man who does something he loves never works a day in his life.

[Klonoa]

Originally posted by OmniGear
She knows she doesn't want to do this for the rest of her life, but she doesn't know what she does want to do either, so she's stuck in the middle. Until she finds something that she wants to focus her energy on, she'll never progress.

That's so me....I'm worried about my future. I've spent many hours just sitting there, thinking about what the hell I want to do. I know its in the art field, but what?

[Hero]

Originally posted by ssbomberman
A degree of any sort is only worthless if you got nothing out of it. I got a B.A. in journalism and am doing well, but that's also because I write all the time (even outside of work). So I may have been able to get a writing job without the degree, but I would never trade all the experiences and information gained by going to school. As long as you do the work and take as much from it as possible and pick a major that will get you a job--you will be a better person for it.

Knowledge is a powerful thing and yes you do not need to go to school to gain it, but it sure helped me. Also, you need it to go further for the MFA and then the PH.D.

People these days look at a degree and say, how much will I make with this? But that's entirely wrong--look at it as, how much will I learn and grow by studying this subject? Money is not the sole reason to go to college--do it for the experiences (did I mention chicks and partying? If that's your thing, you could "major" in that...) Either way, it's truly a life-changing experience.

Now why aren't there more of you in my college? All anyone seems to talk about is how much bank they'll make by being in school.

*bangs head on monitor*

[StriderKyo]

Originally posted by NeoZeedeater

OmniGear, I wish I knew.

Man, I'll tell you now - sit down, write down all the things you like, all the things you never want to do, and don't get up until you've decided some things you really want to do. It doesn't matter if it's something seemingly ridiclous and unobtainable like rock star, actor or pro game reviewer (heh), you're wasting your time doing anything else.

Otherwise sooner or later, you'll find yourself sitting in a data entry job in an insurance company hating every minute of it but not willing to leave because you don't want to let your wife down, and because there are bills to pay, and because life's just easier that way. That, unfortunately, is what happens to most people in this world.

You're still plenty young, so even if later on you decide that what you sat down and decided isn't what you want to do forever, you've still got time to change.

[CypherUppercut]

Yeah, A BA won't get you a job just like that. If you want a job, you eventualy need to learn how to get one. They don't just fall in your lap after showing someone your degree unless your a Computer Science or Engineering major (sometimes its hard for them too). I made a lot of mistakes in thinking that getting a job after college is easy.

My fisrt big tip for people still in school is to take internships and to start looking for that big job during your last year of college. Employers are much more eager to hire the freshly graduated college student when they're so fresh that they haven't graduated yet! All of my friends (myself included) who didn't have a job secured after graduation day spent at least four months getting a job.

Internships are the job experiences that compliment college. Don't worry if you don't get paid for your internship either, you get college credit for it so treat it like its a class. The important thing about it is that you can put it on your resume an eployers will look at it as something beyond college classwork.

Other than that, communication is key. Talk to the people that are doing the hiring at the companies you apply for. Let them know who you are and ask them for update on how the hiring process is going. Don't be afraid of rejection and always realize you have a lot to learn beyond college.

I graduated with a BA in Visual Arts with an emphasis in Film and Video. I was looking for some type of media job in order to get some industry experience, because I had no experience outside of college. I sent out resumes and made follow up calls and had only three interviews. I went unemployed for seven months until I took a temp job to make some money. During the temp job I still looked for jobs in my field, but discovered that most of the companies I applied to were looking for Communications majors more than Art majors.

Three months later I went to a networking semimar and met the Production director from a local independent television station. I talked to him at the seminar, gave him my resume, got his buisness card, and called him up to set up an interview. I then went through the interview process, job shadowed, and did follow-up calls. He eventually hired me a week later. Having that direct contact with a director ment that I didn't get the run-a-round from human resources and secretaries. I also worked both my temp job and my new job for a month, then i put in two weeks at the temp job. It helps to be flexible like that.

Right now I've been working this job for about eight months. I work nights as crew to produce two nightly newscasts and some special shows every once in awhile. I'm not making very much money yet, it's all still a learning experience and i'm happy about that. I'm also happy to work with a lot of good people who have been in the media and journalism industry for a long time. I'm not really applying very much of they art theory that I learned in college towards this job though. However after a full year I can put "One year experience in Live Television Brocasting" along with all the new skills i've learned on my resume and I plan to see where that can take me along with my BA in Visual Arts.

[Melf]

Originally posted by ssbomberman

Knowledge is a powerful thing and yes you do not need to go to school to gain it, but it sure helped me. Also, you need it to go further for the MFA and then the PH.D.

People these days look at a degree and say, how much will I make with this? But that's entirely wrong--look at it as, how much will I learn and grow by studying this subject? Money is not the sole reason to go to college--do it for the experiences (did I mention chicks and partying? If that's your thing, you could "major" in that...) Either way, it's truly a life-changing experience.

Perfectly stated. I graduated with a BA in Secondary Educuation in English in May 1997 and started teaching the first week of August that same year (that's when school begins in PR). English teachers are in demand here in the private and public school systems, so I found a job pretty quick.

My goal was to do my MA and then my PH.D. I began taking classes in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and graduated in 2001 (I was a graduate assistant throughout my studies). I started part-timing at 2 different universities the semester after graduation and am now full-time at the Catholic University's Mayagüez campus, while I part-time at the university where I graduated. My full-time job is offering to pay my PH.D as long as I agree to teach there for 5 years after I'm done (tough choice ).

So, in effect, my BA has helped me greatly.

...and trust me, no one becomes a teacher for the money.

[remotec]

Originally posted by Chibi Nappa
I took Mechanical Engineering in college. My sister took Biology. I graduated with a BS, she got a BA. I have no idea why they gave her a BA. She has no idea why they gave her a BA, but she was pissed about it. Every single course she took was scientific! She got a job as a biologist anyway, but she never did accept her diploma. The physical rolled up sheet of paper, that is.

How could she not be aware of what degree she was striving for until after she already graduated? Schools typically document all of this in extensive detail in student handbooks and what not.

Most schools offer scientific majors as either a BS or BA, the seperating factor is the BS requires more coursework (my BS will require about 7 more classes than the BA does). The BA and BS are not equivalent degrees, the BS is more demanding and indicates slightly more education.

[cigsthecat]

Why would you get a BFA/BA if you're not an artist?