What is the Over 35 opinion on getting a business degree?

[steveyjones]

Is it a surefire way to a middle class job?

I just was wondering

[BarbieBoomer_OLD]

No. There isn't a surefire way to any job, but I believe education is never a waste.

[steveyjones]

No. There isn't a surefire way to any job, but I believe education is never a waste.

I think one degree will increase your chances over another...

[BarbieBoomer_OLD]

Perhaps, but I wouldn't base my decision on a college major solely on prospective job opportunities. If you don't have some level of passion for what you're studying you'll be miserable in your career choice.

[steveyjones]

Perhaps, but I wouldn't base my decision on a college major solely on prospective job opportunities. If you don't have some level of passion for what you're studying you'll be miserable in your career choice.

I make about 12.00 an hour and I am miserable NOW. However, I come home to a ****ty apartment.


Making decent money and hating my job beats my current situation.

I could major in something like social work,but I wouldnt be much better than I am now.

So, you are very wrong.

[immuno]

Are you talking about a "general" business degree, or an accounting/econ/finance degree?

[immuno]

Accounting/econ/finance.


maybe managment information systems

I did accounting, but wish I hadn't. It's fantastically boring. Lol. If I were you, I'd see if your local university has assessment testing to help you figure out where your strengths/weaknesses/interests lay.

[BarbieBoomer_OLD]

Making decent money and hating my job beats my current situation.

So, you are very wrong.

Really? Believe me, I'm not. All I'm trying to say is find your passion and things will fall into place.

[immuno]

Did you end up working in the field?

My interest lie in getting a stable middle class job...


I know that one chick is like "do your passion"

My passion is playing video games.........will that lead to a stable middle class job? No.


If she were in my position of working a ****ty job with no respect. she would change her additude

Lol.. I love your honesty.

Here's the thing tho.. No matter what profession you go into, there will be supervisors/managers/boards of directors who will think they are better than you, and will try to treat you like garbage. Respect is earned by who you are, not by what you do. In fact I think I saw more egregious behavior while in the professional workplace than I did in my "non-professional" jobs.

BarbieBoomer is 100% correct. If you don't like what you do (no matter what it is), you won't be happy at all, even if you are pulling in good money. I worked as an accountant right out of college until just a few years ago, and freakin' hated it.

[BarbieBoomer_OLD]

You aren't in your early 20s going to a job where people treat you like **** and you know your job sucks.


No, you DON'T get it. I'm sorry.

Well I can certainly tell you have the right attitude to have a stellar career. Best of luck.

[Montecristo409]

I make about 12.00 an hour and I am miserable NOW. However, I come home to a ****ty apartment.


Making decent money and hating my job beats my current situation.

I could major in something like social work,but I wouldnt be much better than I am now.

So, you are very wrong.

No she is right. If you love your work, it doesn't feel like work. Getting up each morning to go to a job you love is a hell of a lot easier than dragging yourself out of bed each morning to go to a job you hate.

[Dave76]

You aren't in your early 20s going to a job where people treat you like **** and you know your job sucks.

No, you DON'T get it. I'm sorry.

Yeah, you're right. None of us have ever been in our early 20s much less had a sh*tty job.

Furthermore, we've never had kids in their early 20s with sh*tty jobs.

You, sir, are one of a kind. No one has ever experienced what you're going through.

[BarbieBoomer_OLD]

Guess I acted like a ass sorry

Now you're making progress. Change your attitude and opportunities will open up for you. I'm serious.

[-=FLEX=-]

Do it.

I dropped out of high-school then went to University as a non-matriculant at age 27 and I did a business degree, then I got an MBA, and then an Accounting designation.

I used to lift boxes for a living.

Now I am an Exec at a Fortune 500 company.

DO IT.

:)

-=FLEX=-

[runswithscissor]

Did you end up working in the field?

My interest lie in getting a stable middle class job...


I know that one chick is like "do your passion"

My passion is playing video games.........will that lead to a stable middle class job? No.


If she were in my position of working a ****ty job with no respect. she would change her additude

A "stable" "middle class" yob? Well, UMC, MMC or LMC? for higher LMC to lower MMC, suck off the gobermint and get yerself one of them thar jobs like cop, firefighter, EMT, etc. etc. 2 years in college and yu r expert... (haha).

There is nothing left that is stable, nothing left that is middle class. Do you want to work way to much, sell your soul, never see your family and not have a life? Then I can get you a job after four years of hell that starts out at about $35 an hour and tops out in the billions.

It is called engineering.

Anything with math, you will win. Other fields that need people are things like nursing (they have an astronomical burn out rate) and other things that deal with the general sheeplage that is known as society.

Good luck. Don't go into education, social work, anything art related, or an english degree. You will be paying off them student loans forever.

Higher education is a joke anymore. Plenty of great jobs that go begging becuase everyone thinks they have to go to college. Jobs that are going to go begging? Jobs that require a 2 year associates degree.

Plenty of out of work 4 year college holding "political science majors" sit around the local starblechs...

[JoelM05]

Making decent money and hating my job beats my current situation.


Perhaps, but I wouldn't base my decision on a college major solely on prospective job opportunities. If you don't have some level of passion for what you're studying you'll be miserable in your career choice.


No she is right. If you love your work, it doesn't feel like work. Getting up each morning to go to a job you love is a hell of a lot easier than dragging yourself out of bed each morning to go to a job you hate.

^^These^^

Do something you will at least slightly enjoy. If you do something you hate because it pays well, you will still end up being a miserable, pissed off SOB with a very bad attitude.

[DaddyR]

It'll definitely help you land that primo job managing the local Burger King. And hey you'll be able to say you've got more business acumen than the President!

[Brackneyc]

Good luck. Don't go into education, social work, anything art related, or an english degree. You will be paying off them student loans forever.

\

I found this odd. ^^ My wife and I are both in education, we both love our jobs. I am in the middle of getting my second masters, and paid for my first one with no loans, as did my wife. Also paying for the second one as I go. Did I mention I love my job.

Now, if your main goal is to make a lot of cash, start your own business. This will allow you to really see what you are made of. :)

[cozener]

Have you considered healthcare administration?

[Tyrbolift]

My degree is bachelor in bus admin (marketing) from a 4 year state college and my opinion/experience is

You probably won't land a dream job right away, but your degree makes you more interesting to prospective employers simply because it shows that you are capable of following through on a commitment and finishing a task, and also that you are literate and no dummy.

They also know that a typical degree requiring 128 cred hours actually requires about half (64) in fields other than your specialization. So you are, therefore, well rounded and have some worthy knowledge in many areas.

Is the degree necessary to succeed? No. Some people get further by working those 4 years. But I am glad I had the chance to learn so much about psychology, philosophy, sociology, political science, economics, finance, and much more. I have drawn on that knowledge many times in my life. I wish I'd gotten an education degree instead, but my point is the degree puts you at an advantage if the employer must choose between several, and the rest really is up to you.

[Rdez]

Is it a surefire way to a middle class job?

I just was wondering

Not anymore.

But it's a good default degree if you can't think of anything else or anything you actually want to do with your life.

It's the new high school diploma basically.


The current corporate trend is METRICS. So any degree with Metrics, measurement, productivity and work tracking in there somewhere might be a good bet these days. Of course, it's just a stupid buzz-trend and is largely worthless in most non-industrial environments, but yep its FOTM now.

[Rdez]

What if your job is just OK......but you get to do fun stuff outside of work due to a nice income

You'll get to point where you need to make a choice perhaps. Work a "job" and not like it, but have a good enough income that you can do the other things you want in life (have a family and a home, have hobbies, travel the world, etc), or, perhaps suffer in all those things but pursue an actual 'career' that you truly enjoy.

Some people are lucky enough or smart enough to score on both accounts. Not me, though.

[BarbieBoomer_OLD]

Do it.

I dropped out of high-school then went to University as a non-matriculant at age 27 and I did a business degree, then I got an MBA, and then an Accounting designation.

I used to lift boxes for a living.

Now I am an Exec at a Fortune 500 company.

DO IT.

:)

-=FLEX=-

That's an incredible success story, Flex, but what you failed to tell OP was that what you achieved took tenacity, sacrifice, and tremendous drive....something OP is sorely lacking right now.

[hochspeyer]

Have you considered healthcare administration?


Where did that come from

Most of us here did not start out in the workforce and stay in the same field or the one we trained to be in. You've drawn us a picture of a nice, comfortable sounding box, and covered it with a glass ceiling of your own making. This is where the expression, "Think outside the box" comes into play.

If you can see yourself in some sort of middle class happy place, you have some vision, and you also have a sense of your situation right here and right now, and you can't draw the line that connects the here-and-now to that happy day in the nebulous future. I'd bet that when we were in our early 20's, we were equally clueless. In many ways, I still am. Weird situation, but I didn't strike out on my own and leave home until I was twenty-eight. Within two years, I was living in Germany and had a wife and child.

I cut grass and made sidewalks then. Now? Now I'm a programmer.

[cozener]

Where did that come from Healthcare admin is still within the realm of "business"...which is to say you could take a lot of that knowledge and the experience you'll get in that field and apply it to other business endeavors should other opportunities arise. It's a good field to get into when you consider the way healthcare works here, our unhealthy and aging population, decent pay, decent job security. Wish I'd majored in it.