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Stupid for choosing my college path?
DaftChris
Spiritually conflicted. Not of this world. Veteran
Just recently, I had someone tell me that I was wasting my time with a Journalism degree and that no one will hire anyone with a Religion degree (I'm considering getting a Grad degree in Religion and Philosophy and maybe becoming a college professor). They then went on to say that I have no clue how college works since I even considered a degree in Religion and that "I'm" the reason why they believe parents should not pay for college (even though I'm going on loans and financial aid).
Is said individual just perpetuating wrong speech, or do they have some merit? I know I shouldn't really pay attention to those who say things just to be an ass (as opposed to actually being constructive), but hearing that I was wasting my time did actually kind of get to me.
Is said individual just perpetuating wrong speech, or do they have some merit? I know I shouldn't really pay attention to those who say things just to be an ass (as opposed to actually being constructive), but hearing that I was wasting my time did actually kind of get to me.
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Comments
To put it into perspective a bit, there's a movement on the Republican side to declare college a waste of money, and unnecessary. Seriously. The world has gone mad, at least a significant corner of it in the US. So this sounds like it was partly a political rant, even though they made it sound very personal. Let it roll off your back.
A career in academia is a valid choice, and can be rewarding. How can you have "no idea how college works" when you're IN COLLEGE? You're in the middle of it, of course you know how it works!
I'm so sad this happened to you. Look, you've got to get a degree in something, you may as well get in a field you love. An MA is a good idea, too, because in a down economy, only the MA's are getting jobs these days, at least--halfway meaningful jobs. BA's are just getting coffee barrista and cashier jobs.
Go see the graduate student adviser in the Religion Department, and ask about career options. Ask about the availability of college teaching jobs in that field. Do some research, and rally some support. Make use of the resources the college offers--the academic advisers. If there's a faculty graduate adviser, see him/her, too. Explain you're planning to go to grad school in religion after you finish your BA. Are you taking some religion courses now? The advisers can tell you if certain courses are required in order to qualify for admission as an MA candidate.
And by all means, keep on keepin' on! :thumbsup:
Whatever the intentions of your critic you are showing wisdom in considering their words, but opinions are ten a penny and you should always do what your heart tells you regardless of what anyone thinks.
You may not get rich, but does this world really need more people learning to sell useless trinkets?
If you consider merit in your life as graded on a scale of efficiency (i.e. how efficiently you study in a knowledge acquiring:money acquiring ratio) then perhaps what has been communicated to you does have merit - in the sense that other degrees / occupations may yield higher cash for less effort or just higher gross cash - keep an eye on your markets!
It's your time - how could you 'waste' it while you're alive and experiencing things? Go with your heart - if you enjoy what you are learning and you are doing what you are naturally doing then things will come together for you - people can advise you but they don't live your life.
If your main interest is journalism...go for it. After all, there will always be a need for journalists, but things are shifting away from print media. So, where possible, I would suggest taking courses that would slant more toward the emerging aspects of journalism.
I think the other thing you should consider is what your minor or second degree is. Make that in a field that is more practical (if we are assuming journalism is less practical), but with which there is still a tie in.
Some of my most successful teachers (I was a school principal before I retired) took that path. One, for example, had a degree is political science (which some thought was not practical), but had an excellent job on Capitol Hill for many years. Then she fell back on teaching history when she needed a change or didn't like the feel of how things were going politically.
And my other piece of advice -- stick with the journalism, but be an absolutely top student. When there are limited jobs in a field, it's the most outstanding candidates that will get those jobs.
I left academia recently. A modern university is always struggling to make money. Departments and people which bring in money accrue power. Departments which don't are shrinking, and giving more and more work to adjunct faculty, get pretty seriously shafted.
So, it's good to be forewarned, but I want to give you a little hope, too. Also, bear in mind that the current Religion faculty will be retiring at some point, so openings will come up. Competition will be stiff, as always, but with great grades, a good publishing record during your MA career, lots of networking at professional conferences (a must!), and a degree from the right university, you'll be competitive.
What can you actually do with a religion degree, other than teach? Getting an education is great, but at some point you have to consider what is the point of getting said education - especially with how expensive it is nowadays. People go to very pricey 4-year institutions to get a degree in art history, and then don't even make enough to pay back their loans if they're lucky to find a job? What's the point?
They were probably just pissed off about their own college experience, though. People often have very misguided ideas about what happens when school is over and they have to transition into the real-world. Don't let them get to you, though. Having a degree after your name never hurts, and especially with journalism, you learn a lot about your field and will have skills that are difficult to develop on your own unless you have a TON of free time
My friend Philip has a degree in journalism. He doesn't take no for an answer—but jobs in this area are tough to find. So he went to Paris, studied at a culinary institute for two years with the best France had to offer and became a chef. In addition, he worked with a number of great chefs (estage). He is not going to be a millionaire, but a new restaurant is opening and he is the featured chef.
I know graduates who have become mixologists, who started a coffee shop (where I hang out), who are designing clothing for cyclists (a friend of mine), and so on. Don't be afraid to go to Paris.
And I think that most people end up having jobs/careers that slowly or quickly branch out and away from whatever their degree was. Not like the title of the degree will have any say on your personality, your skills, or what you value as an individual. Heck, you could get a degree that says Ice Hockey Spectator and you could still become the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation. Why fret about the words on the paper when it's all about developing and investing in yourself (and your ability to serve others by being awesome in the first place !) ?
In Japan, for example, any college student will tell you that they are studying something that they love or are very interested in -- the jobs they get are almost always unrelated to what they studied in school -- in the US there is this sort of illusion that you need a degree that corresponds to what sort of work you want -- but that's simply not the case.
If you're really looking for confidence, help others find confidence in themselves ^.^ A smile, a compliment, a word of encouragement can go a long, long, long-long-Longlonglonglonglong way.
I'm sova and I approve this message xD
People are going into so much debt over their college education, and not thinking about how they are going to pay it back. If you get a degree in the arts, for instance, especially a bachelor's, you will have a much harder time earning enough to just repay your debt than, say, someone who is taking a profession-specific path and has a plan.
Education at the university level is all about earning money, because it costs so damned much. I would LOVE to go to college forever, and take classes on writing and art and languages, but I cannot afford it (in money spent as well as money not being earned for my family while I'm studying), and I cannot justify taking out obscene loans or asking others to sacrifice to pay for me to learn things when the information is free and I can learn those things on my own. What I cannot do on my own is make an acceptable piece of paper that says "Amanda graduated this school with this degree, and has completed an education program." which is required in many fields, and the only practical need to get one is for employment. It doesn't make one a better person or smarter, it just looks good or fills a requirement for an employer.
I went to one of the pricier universities in Texas last year (which was a huge mistake), and there were a ton of 18-year-olds that were studying art (not even studio art, but art history), and I'm sorry, but I see that as a possible wreck. An 18-year-old deciding that $47,000 of (at that school, this was true) their parent's money a year is worth them learning about art history. I didn't know what I wanted to do at 18, and so I didn't commit but dabbled in many things on a lower scale.
A lack of familiarity with the humanities also leaves us unable to contribute our voices to political discourse, as the political landscape, and the various competing narratives within the history of that landscape, are at the core of all humanities subjects. It is easy to marginalise the ignorant.
For corporations who are looking to make short term profits, I agree: it's better for them to have specialised and narrowly trained workers. It is far better for us to be well-educated than well-trained.
I agree that the consideration of cost is changing our relationship with education. I am still amazed that in the UK the decision was made to charge money for university education at all; it signifies my country's decline.
He said that, while academia is a great place to work, and simultaneously learn, budget cuts (especially public universities) prevent a lot of qualified people from getting a good job. Also, if you do get hired, you'll more than likely only get part-time; which will not pay the bills.
He recommended this:
If I want a grad degree in religion that will be useful, then I should get an undergrad in Sociology, Psychology, or Communications. Then get a Masters in Theology/Divinity and become a chaplain or counselor. Of course, he said I should actually talk to chaplains and religious counselors to get an idea of what the field and job market are like.
What do you think?
I know someone who's a religious counselor. She's semi-retired now, so only working part-time out of her home, but she finds it very rewarding. Do you like working one-on-one with people, and helping people? Are you a "people person", for whom counseling would be a good fit? Lots of food for thought, here.
1.) The religion would focus on would be Buddhism (all schools, but more particularly Vajrayana/Tibetan) and Unitarian Universalism.
2.) I do like people, and I like helping people emotionally and intellectually; just not at my current job (retail cashiering). Once I leave retail and follow my own path, I'll start liking people a lot more.
So, if you're into Vajrayana/Tibetan, why not study Tibetan? If your school doesn't offer it, there's a 2-year university course in Tibetan available from Snow Lion Press (Google it), in Ithaca, NY. It's a package of CD's and textbook for around $150. That'll get you started, at least, and you can proceed at your own pace. However, classical Tibetan, the language of the religious texts, is a bit different, is more challenging, and would require an instructor and a dictionary to tackle successfully. It's a very old language, and is highly idiomatic, which means you have to look up entire phrases at a time, because translating word-for-word as with spoken Tibetan doesn't help you make sense of it.
It seems like you're going to have a really full plate, pretty ambitious. Best wishes for success and hapiness~!
I think I've found my path. Still have to make absolutely sure though.
We spend so much of our lives working, it seems quite sad to just do something for the sake of it.
If you have the freedom to do something meaningful to you then I think you should take advantage of it. Some people have too many constraints on them - families to take care of, mortgages to pay - to get out of their jobs and go back to school or to take the risk of quitting to pursue their dreams.
Having the freedom to think about it a little and do what's required to have the kind of job you find fulfilling is quite a blessing.
Of course, there is a balance, and you need to keep a roof over your head, and sometimes we're just not suited to our dreams (see any American Idol auditions on YouTube) so a healthy dose of common sense is a useful thing to have
He and I actually talked about this just tonight, because the counseling office at his school only focuses on the more popular majors, and anyone on the outskirts of that has to work pretty hard to figure out what possibilities exist. I would have taken a far different path in my college career (and probably even used my expensive degree) had I know what the options where when I was making choices.
When you get that degree, you are showing potential employers in ANY field that:
1. You can understand instructions and can meet deadlines
2. You can gather information, analyze it, understand it, and communicate it to others
3. You can think on your own
These are invaluable qualities for many employers.
If you end up working at what you got your degree in, this is fortunate. But understand that unless your degree is in
Business,
Computer Science,
Education, or
one of the professions (engineering, law, medicine, dentistry, accounting ... where you must be a member of your profession to practice it)
... that you might very easily end up doing something else for your career.
Wasting your time? Who knows .. that is always seen only in hindsight.
Even if your education were to end up being no help in a career (which is highly unlikely), having learned how to understand information, to actually understand our world, to evaluate what is happening, to be able see through public scams and lies ... this is never a waste of our time.
WE are our own only asset in life. It never hurts to invest in ourselves, and such an investment should not be based on $$$.
Become a stock-broker, DC. End of dilemma. :rolleyes:
The belly is always hungry and sickness is always just around the corner - what we do with the calm inbetween is different for each who experiences it - finding a static happy medium in a changing environment is challenging.. so what of a relative happy medium - does that require all plans to have born fruit already or can it be a moment by moment affair?