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I don't know, but it kind of feels like they wouldn't have taken me as a network engineer for a national ISP if I had studied business administration instead of computer science.
Maybe I'm missing the point of the question. Right now the answer just seems to be "obviously yes"
Outside of the hard sciences where youre there to learn necessary specific foundational knowledge and technical stuff - mech/elec/civil engineering, high level medical, etc - it really doesn't. The degree is proof that you can put your head down and manage yourself well enough to survive in the white collar world.
And the debt that degree costs will keep you beholden and subservient to the corporate overlords.
They've outsourced their own training and shouldered the costs onto teenagers.
There's a reason it's called "fuck you" money.
Yeah student debt is no joke. I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I could commute and had enough student aid and scholarship to go debt free first 2 years and use savings from working part time to pay next 2 years off in (less than 6k each year). But I wish more companies would invest in proper training than push that on students and college to do (poorly imo).
So, I got a ba in political science and like two minors. I ended up doing computer repair for a good decade then got into a job doing purchasing then eventually got into IT sourcing/procurement. I wouldn't be able to do that if I didn't have some good fundamentals in reading and writing, which the BA provided.
But in the long run, it doesn't matter once you get work experience. The degree is a check box at some point.
For some jobs, it is important. However, there are some boring white collar jobs that generally want college graduates for their soft skills.
It sounds like you basically got a BA in business with some specialization, so I would go for jobs like that.
It entirely depends on the degree and career path you are after.
I actually think community based sustainability is going to be a huge in demand area as climate change worsens. Depending on how much you want to sell your soul to the capitalist machine, there will be plenty of work opportunities in helping companies implement sustainability initiatives.
Also, social work and community development are widely applicable across the human services industry. You could get a job in government or not for profit organisations. In order to qualify as a social worker you'd probably have to do a masters, but there's plenty of community based roles that you can get into with a bachelors.
I was actually a Sustainability major but switched to Social Services then made my own, because I wanted to focus on stuff I was interested in. But yeah, thinking about it I feel it just depends on how I market it. And I was considering grad school and might get a MSW or MPA.
I won't say it doesn't matter, but I will say that having the degree is a thousand times better than not having one at all, whatever major you chose
Yes. For many companies, a 4-yr degree is a non-negotiable requirement. Any 4 year degree just to be considered. If you manage to get a good job without a degree, you will still be categorized by HR as a degree holder or not. This doesn't always factor into raises, promotions, layoffs, but it can.
No, unless you're in engineering or medical you're winding up a barista all the same.
Those counselors who told you you'd be a loser unless you went, go for anything it doesn't matter all you need is a piece of paper, they lied.
If you're lucky, you'll get a job at a nonprofit organization, spending day in and day out trying to justify your paycheck. You'll get paid pretty good, but it comes at a cost: there will always be an empty hole you can't fill, one that is there because you'll never know the deep in your soul joy of delivering anything of value to another person.
Then, maybe one day, you'll become a manager and get to do some hiring, at which point you'll haze the potential hires by requiring them to go through the credentialism rigmarole that you went to just to prevent yourself from accepting the fact that you wasted your youth, just to make them do it because you had to. You'll become a cog in a machine that perpetrates the injustice you've suffered, the ridiculous system that requires young people to go into debt and spend their youth pretending to learn just to get a busywork job.
If you're lucky.
Dude baristas do a very valuable job for society! Everyone enjoys a beautiful coffee. There’s no need for inner void.
OP, this is very dependent on your situation. I got a dumb bachelor’s degree, got a job in insurance because I had a degree of any sort, and did interesting work interpreting legacy contracts with a German degree. I was lucky in lots of ways, but most of my friends are in similar situations- the degree got their foot in the door, then they went from there.
Full disclosure, I left and am now getting a master’s degree in German, but at least I’m living here and have a concrete career plan following the completion of my degree now. I did however, make enough money in about 7 years at my company to fully support myself for the three year program, so it was still a help.
Edit: also, what? Nonprofits pay well, but don’t feed the soul? I’ve never heard that, though it describes insurance pretty accurately.