Did any of y'all go to school and get a degree but now work in a job you coulda done with ...

I work for a family company and have a PhD. Most of my work could be done by someone with a bachelors, but sometimes I do masters/PhD level analysis of data.

It's all good. I wouldn't have as much time to entertain you guys if I had more initiative. Also, my wife makes a nice salary as a company executive, so collectively we do much better than if we'd followed my career around and have her (masters) get what she could wherever my work took us.

I finished high school at 16 (actually 15 when I took my exams just because of how late in school year my birthday is).....I went straight in to a full time job as an office junior. I never went to college or uni and now have a very good well paid job. Some people in the same position as me spent thousands on getting degrees and additional qualifications and have had big student loans to pay off, but I don't have that.

I'm not trying to put anyone off from going to college or uni, obviously some jobs absolutely require qualifications. But some don't. Hard work, experience, determination and drive can get someone a long way.

Hope you manage to move on to new things which are better suited to your qualifications. Don't give up, aim high and I am sure you'll catch some good luck eventually x

I pray this doesn't happen to me. I am currently an undergraduate going into my final year. I plan on getting a masters and am working on my CV for the programs right now. My Master's degree would be quite specialized and one that is needed in today's society with our over-emphasis on health and disease. So I really really hope I can do what I dream of!

Cutaway_Collar wrote: »

Very few get rewarded for their own merits. Otherwise, it's always who you know and your network circles. If you are from the middle class and have no connections, you're just not going to make it.

I have seen stanford/harvard graduates here crunching spreadsheets for several hours and making 60 to 100K despite their credentials. The job market has changed for the worse. Ten years ago, salary as high as 100K+ was easy to attain. Now not so much. Our middle class has been completely shredded.

But if you have the right connections, your job, salary and promotions will be plenty.

Also, I don't find this particularly true from my experiences thus far. Although I am from an upper-class family, my parents work in fields completely different from the field I am studying. I am also extremely introverted and have social anxiety so bad that it borders on characteristics of Aspergers. Yet, so far, without their help, I manage to work for a research magazine for one of the top schools in the world (unpaid) and work as a student researcher at one of the top children's research hospitals in the world (also unpaid). Although I do not get money, they are incredibly competitive opportunities that will help with my future goals and that did not require any of my parents' "connections" to get into. It was all me and my ambition. That being said, I am fortunate that I can choose experience over payment since I don't need to worry about paying for school. So I guess you are partly right, but not in a way that has to do with "connections" but rather whether someone can afford to focus all of their attention on their goals. Most of my friends are like this and have experience behind them. Yet my one friend whose parents refuse to pay for education is stuck working crazy hours and having no time to do things that will help with her future goals.

Yeah I'm working a job that doesn't really require any skills and 2 of my coworkers don't even have geds/hs diplomas.

cee134 wrote: »

Yes, trade school would of been a better choice. All my friends that went to trade school did better for me, much faster. That being said, it's very hard to be a manager or better without a masters in alot of fields.

This is true for me, too. If I could go back, I would've gotten a trade.

Not me, my husband. He went to school and worked 15 years in a job he hated. Now he's a truck driver and still paying off the damn loans.

yep, got my juris doctorate, passed 3 state bar exams, work in a non-profit art museum. i used to think i was saving my soul. but this has its own pitfalls with half the compensation.

Fortunately, I'm not in that boat. I studied accounting and I'm working in that field and doing well for myself...you can't be an accountant without an accounting degree.

I do know people in that boat though...and in most cases, they have the degree but it's kind of broad like "business management"...it's not really specific to anything and doesn't really specialize them to do anything. Others I know have degrees in interesting fields of study, but there's just not much of a market job wise for whatever it is that they studied.

I know a handful of people who are working in fields unrelated and for which they do not need the level of education that they have, but it is by choice in that once they graduated and went to work, they didn't particularly like what they were doing...a former colleague of mine is a good example...he has a masters in accounting and he left the field to go work for a not-for profit doing marketing and fundraising primarily because he didn't like having to work the hours he had to work at the firm and the stress was eating him up.

There are some people who think my talents are being wasted where I am as my level of expertise exceeds my job duties but I like it...I too grew weary of the accounting firm and working seemingly endless hours and traveling 25 weeks out of the year and wanted something that would allow me to spend more time with my family. I have a much lower ceiling income wise where I am now but I'm pretty much an 8-5er and work in a pretty flexible environment that allows me time to spend with my family and see my kids grow up and that's what's most important to me.

Pam_Shebamm wrote: »

My job is listed as only requiring a high school degree, however I was hired for the position based on the fact that I was the only applicant with a college degree, so.....yeah.

Yeah, this happens a lot too and has happened with a few people I've hired on at work...which is why it's still actually important to get the degree...even if the position only requires a HS diploma, someone with a degree who applies would likely win out...it's frustrating I'm sure, but you still have greater options and are more hire-able with the degree.

I am not working in a field for either of my Masters' degrees and only semi-working in a field for my undergrad.