/biz/ - Business & Finance

>>857786
>16th century french lesbian poetry

>>857786

I did a philosophy degree, ask me anything.

>>857804
What is your job title and how much money do you make?

English lit degree here.

50k year. Graduated in June. Started my job a bit over a month ago. Meh.

>>857806

I recently quit my job as a web developer because I didn't like it. Job title was "Junior Software Developer / Business Analyst". Salary was £25k

>>857786
Well I am unemployed History major but I don't regret it at all. It gave me critical thinking skills most people sorely lack. I also don't give a flying fuck about money, or more specifically, the things money can buy. I have no desire to own anything. I work for a few years, save money, then live on savings for as long as I can. I laugh at people with mortgages and cars.

>>857816
lol, enjoy taking the bus

>>857821
To where? I don't have any place to go.

>>857816
>>857824
>I don't have any place to go.
Goddammit that's sad. Get a fucking job, for Christ's sake.

Oh, and no one cares about your "critical thinking skills". Means absolutely fuck all. Get a job. If you don't have any real skills in anything then apply for graduate internships where you don't need a specific degree - they might take pity on you if you're not a moron.

>>857786
>Le STEM MayMay.
Jeez, /biz/ is filled with retarded teenagers. STEM is useless like Liberal arts degrees. There is a oversaturation of engineers in teh market, and most engineering major work as an insurance salesmen or client service associate aka selling stocks to families, trust, charities in banks. Also most accounting and finance freaks never make it to the big time and only break 60k at their height of a career.

>>857828
I don't think this is true at all.

I know loads of people with STEM degrees and great jobs (trainee doctors, electrical engineers, I knew a guy who worked in aeronautical engineering but quit and decided to change careers to accounting, for God knows what reason).

I think the problem is 4channers say ONLY with a STEM degree will you get a job, which is absolute horseshit. But STEM is still strong. So is business. And other good, strong, practical degrees. I would even recommend philosophy if you plan on going into an appropriate field (best for journalism, teaching, marketing, stuff like that)

>>857836
Liberal Arts has it's place, just not as a major. I didn't do STEM (I went to business school), and I am very glad that I took history and political science courses as electives.

>>857816

>Critical thinking skills
>Spent 30k+ for something that's completely fucking useless

>mfw my degree program is actually just called "liberal arts"

Community college master race.

>>857836
>(trainee doctors
Yet more than half of medical school students are liberal arts majors.
>EE
Its going to a bust cycle.
>Aero
The cold war ended dude. Its an unstable job field. The US needed aerospace guys to create their military jets, and rockets. I know plenty of liberal arts kids in business as well.

>>857786
>>Classics
>>English
>>History
these have some merit though

>>857852
There's free education in some countries, yanno?

>>857857
If you take them as electives.

>>857852
I was about to say this>>857858
You do know not everyone on this site is Amerifat?

>>857816
Can you explain the whole Ottoman Empire and its role in WW1?
It's a history subject I'm not knowledgeable on and I would like to learn from a person who actually knows history.

Most of the liberal arts majors are really just "stepping stone" bachelors degrees prior to getting your graduate degree in your real field.

STEM, computer science, and business majors can often get a good job with just a bachelors, but lib arts needs to take the extra step to avoid work at starbucks like most of my fellow English majors (I'm in business now).

>tfw graduated with 2.9 in international relations

probably will never get into a good graduate school, my math skills suck too bad for the GRE

Im thinking about taking Anthropology, Philosophy and Sociology. Its for personal betterment not for a career. I wont have to pay for it, the .gov will so Im good there.

Anyone here in those courses or have the degree? Would like to know what its like.

>>857931
Which country are you from?

>>857947
.gov denotes USA, we use .gov for almost all government websites.

>>857895
why the fuck would you separate computer science from sTem dumbass. and don't clump business in with that shit.

>tfw getting free liberal arts education by reading the western canon on my own
>tfw it costs only the dollar for the library card
>tfw more rewarding

>>857979

Quick, what's the climax of the Iliad?

>>857816
Then why are you on biz

>>857786
does music fall under this category?

10/10 I laughed

>>857993
I know a guy with a music degree. He's in his late 20's and works as a cashier at the mall. It's a shit-tier degree for people who see university as an extended childhood.

>>857984
I would say the death of Achilles fucktoy, if you mean climax in a turning point sense.

>>857979
Enjoy never engaging with an expert in the field who can add historical and academic context or ask questions that will challenge the way you read the material. Granted, that wouldn't start until third year at the absolute earliest. Lecture hall bullshit you can do on your own.

>>858293
music involves hard work. it's a pretty demanding major. it's not just "muh feels" BS like gender studies, sociology, etc.

but even though music requires legitimate work, it's a poor ROI. some people i know who have degrees work at starbuck's, some work as teachers. i'd advise against it.

>>857804
>>857806

What are the pros and cons of a philosophy degree?
Do you regret getting it?
How did you get a "Junior Software Developer / Business Analyst" job with your degree?

>>858324
Philosophy is a good major if you plan on going to law school, but that actually applies to most of the liberal arts majors I listed. I would only recommend a BA to someone who is 100% positive that they can get into law school, or maybe (to a much lesser extent) journalism school.

Does a degree in film count even if I want to get into the film industry?

>>858329
How about pursuing a MBA? Wouldn't the critical thinking skills developed in a philosophy major be useful in business related situations that involve risk or decision making?

>>858332
No. No one should ever get an MBA unless they already have 10+ years experience in business. Unless you have that experience you will never be hired for an upper management job (unless it's through nepotism) and you will be seen as overqualified for entry level work. The only people who really should be getting MBA's are those who are already steadily employed and need that credential to advance in their company.

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html

Try again

Idiots. Lib arts checking in.

Smart People make cash dumb ones don't regardless of degree.

I've seen stem people flounder and English degrees make 80k in their first job out of college.

Don't let the degrees define people. People define people.

>>857786
>tfw wanted to get a philosophy degree
>professor convinced me to get a political science one since it would give me more opportunities
>doing something I don't like and it's not even useful
granted, in Italy pol.sc. is more useful than philosophy, but it's still shit.
Am I fucked?

>>858358
Shame you weren't familiar with Sartre.

>>858352
>English degrees make 80k in their first job out of college.
>What is an outlier?

I don't buy into this idea that STEM is a golden ticket but I have no doubt that liberal arts is the very bottom of the barrel. There are plenty of non-STEM majors that make you employable (business, education, social work, nursing)

>>858371
And I never will thanks to my fear of getting a useless degree making me take a slightly less useless one. God fucking dammit I also wanted to become a journalist why the fuck did I choose political science

>>858374
I don't know what it's like where you live, but here having a university degree will give you advanced standing in a journalism degree. A political science degree plus a journalism diploma would make you very employable in that area imo

>>858381
And what I mean by this is that journalism here tends to be offered at the vocational school level, but if you already have a university degree you can get your journalism diploma in one year instead of 2 or 3

I did physics and wasn't into it enough to go into grad school and now I don't know what to do with it.

>>858381
>>858384
I should see for myself, but I planned to study outside Italy since even engeneers hava a hard time finding work here. The problem is understanding how foreign schools would value my degree.

>>858392
I get that Italy has it's problems but is still a first world country, it isn't like you were educated at the University of Swaziland or some other horseshit like it, I cant see anyone looking down on your degree.

Shut the fuck up and try doing a pure math degree. Fuck all you robot retards who think life is about streamlining yourself for some worthless job. God this shit pisses me off.

Add to that list:

>> Chemistry (the science, not th engineering)

I'm working now as an english teacher

>>858407
It's more a burocratic problem, from what I've read some University only accept certain degrees from selected schools.

>>857804
What jobs does philosophy lead to?

>>858293
Musicgradfag here. The most valuable lesson I've learned is that majoring in Music is the hardest thing you will ever do in your life and will earn you nothing.

>"You should follow your passion, it doesn't matter what degree you have, as long as you have one"

YESITFUCKINGDOES.jpg

>>858295

Since Achilles doesn't even die in the Iliad, you're pretty objectively wrong.

>>857808
film here, graduated in may, 60k and no debt

shiiiiiiii. o i am laffin

>>858372
>social work
That shit is a crappy field with some of the lowest pay of all college majors. There is a reason why most of them leave by the time they turn 30.
>education
If you want to work for mickey d's wages.
>nursing
There is a lot of nursing grads who can't find jobs. Hospital rather hire pinoy cunts for half the wages.

mechanical engineering here, graduated with 3.9 GPA and currently working for 30k/year.

>>858612
Are you Murrican? I don't really know about those professions in that country, but here those are all very good jobs. Social work and nursing programs are very competitive to get into, and once you graduate you will find a job easily and will get an upper middle class salary plus an excellent government benefits package. Teaching here is pretty good too, at least compared to the US, but their unions are particularly vicious and it can be hard for a new grad to get past the gatekeepers, a new teacher will have to spend years dealing with sporadic substitute jobs or working in remote indian communities before they will ever be considered for a steady job teaching in a civilized locale.

>>857786
>PURE MATH (yeah STEMfaggots you are in here too)

you know nothing

>>858627
In Merica, those fields are underpaid or flooded. So I see why in Europastan they're great careers.

>>858637
Every job in America is though

>>858687
Not the trades.

>>858690
And how long do you think that'll last once going for a trade becomes common wisdom?

Or when the real estate/construction boom ends again?

>>858698
trades are always needed that's what you don't understand. Also its a field with an aged workforce. Too many youngfags think they're too good for the trades. Also there is more to the trades than real estate/construction. There is industrial as well.

>>858624
Fucking lie.

That's just downright depressing. You must have severe autism or something. That's impossible.

>tfw can't let this go.

Utterly impossible. You have to be trolling, you fucking asshole, you. You can't get that degree and accept some 30k/yr gig. That's unacceptable. That's like literally being given a handful of shit after mining for gold.

Nope. Fuck you and your mother. Faggot.

worry.jpeg

>>858633
Partly true. Did pure math B.S., then applied math M.S. Got job offers after the applied math M.S.

>Protip: My applied math was in control theory/dynamical systems.

>>858705
Its quite common for recent grads in engineering.

>>857870
Read a book fagit

>>857816
>implying you don't learn critical thinking skills in STEM

Of course, if that's too hard for you then you can take the bus everywhere.

>>858705
i'm two years into my phd. i recently applied for a an industry position, since grad school sucks and i wanted to see if i can do better, and got offered 40k/year.

>>858817
A lot of these kids think there are a lot of 80k engineering positions. When in reality its far from the truth. The best you can get is an entry level gig that's filling out paperwork for 30-45k. The average engineer makes 50k, also its average so it doesn't reflect the real wages. I think the median is lower. Grad school sucks, that I agree. If you want to come up with revolutionary idea just do it from your computer at home. Heck, I can bet you the person that will solve some of the unsolvable math problem will be a NEET with his crappy laptop.

>>858829
i only went to grad school because i couldn't find a job after graduating. it sucks, and the pay is shit, but at least i'm getting paid until i finish. the 40k/year position could, but it also could not lead to something better. accepting such shit pay 2 years out of college would also make me more likely to receive shit offers in the future.

the last guy that graduated from my lab got an offer in mid 80k/year. at this point i'd rather grind out the rest of the phd regardless of how much it sucks than accept a shit paying and boring job.

>>858838
>job after graduating
That's where I'm at right now. One year after graduation, and nothing. I am this close into going to a trade such as electrician or becoming a technician. Well for a PhD in engineering I would expect high five figures.

>>858332
yes but to get into most top mba programs, you need 3-5 years of experience, minimum. how will you get that experience out of undergrad with a philosophy degree? who's going to hire you unless you're ivy?

>>857816
Nice, you blew a whole lot of money and a few years on something you could have for done for cheap at the public library, bookstores and Amazon. not to mention the info that's online these days.
>It gave me critical thinking skills
Somebody had to teach you that? You couldn't figure shit out through simple observation and application of logic?

Enjoy your McLife to come.

>>857859
This. As a major they are pretty much deepshit fresh out of college.

>>858308
You would be amazed just where, when and how often you can "engage" with experts.

Don't have to be in school to have talks with the professors.

>master's in Tax Law (not in US, btw)

>Le 70k income straight out of university. nod bad

Oh what I couldn't do with all the insider info on clients of our firm, but hey I guess am ethical.

>>859313

So you make 70k euro straight out of university? When Americans say 70k I'm not impressed at all, but in your case that is extremely impressive.

>>859335
I've had some luck though. My father is partner is a moderately sized tax law firm (though highly specialized in VAT tax) and during my bachelors and master's I was able to work there and gain some experience, which helped me a lot in landing a job at bigger firm.

And I had very good grades in my Master's

Now all I need is a gf...

>>859337
LOL NO GF FAGGOT

>>859335
what? isn't 70k really impressive?

Want money get into engineering especially electrical with computer and you will be golden. I have a associates degree in electrical engineering and factories will pay me almost anything to be a maintenance technician. Right now I make $40 an hour just to fix machines and robotic arms. Since everyone is funneled toward like a Masters in engineering there are almost no techs for maintenance.

Majored in philosophy, graduated may of '08 with a 2.7 GPA from a state university. No money. No family support. All loans. During the recession I worked mcjobs and just worked my ass off, made more money than my friends with degrees in more employable fields - read non liberal arts. I took work everywhere I could find it while they waited for their fields to open up.

I ended up getting into IT through the many contacts I picked up while working in 2011. Making a little under 100k base salary now with bonuses. Didn't go to law school like most philo fags and am now doing a masters program in CS. Seriously considering buying a farm and retiring from corporate life around 35.

tl;dr Shit can suck. If you work hard and aren't afraid of learning new skills to survive while meeting new people to try and find opportunity you'll be fine.

>>857786
I'm doing BA politics and international relations at a top 10 uni overall in UK and in top 5 in UK when it comes to politics and IR field, how fucked am I?

>>859447
was it worth it in your opinion or did you regret not studying philosophy on your own while getting a more requested degree?

>>859447
Well done, so I assume you regret doing philosophy? Or since you started making decent money eventually you don't mind the fact that you learned some "critical thinking"?

>>858597
Reread the post, stupid.

>>859486
To be fair to the other anon it is a bit unclear if he meant "Achilles' fucktoy" or "Achilles, fucktoy."
>>859447
I would have loved to study philosophy but I don't think I can deal with ever working another mcjob after putting up with that as a teenager. Good on you for making something of yourself though.

>>857786
> Any foreign language major.
LE, Feds, Military can appreciate these majors. Becoming an LEO or fed is half knowing people and not creeping your interviewers out, the other half is your resume and being up to physical standards..

I didn't even know Folklore was a major. Jesus fucking christ, who comes up with these?!

>>857816
>Critical thinking skills.
Life skill you need anyway. What kind of jobs do you find where they don't see multiple long spaces of unemployment and not throw your application directly into the shitter?

>>859495
>I would have loved to study philosophy but I don't think I can deal with ever working another mcjob after putting up with that as a teenager
Exactly my situation, but I hope that I'll be able to study it on my own since I actually like it

>>857856

>EE

Even with 3D printing and other manufacturing processes already invented since then? I was considering electronic engineering as a major.

>Aero.

Nigga. Like how people want newer and better cars, airlines will want more spacious and more economical planes. That's a constant demand until teleportation or railroad cars somehow make a comeback for long distance travel.

>>858705
Engineering internships pay about that much if you get with the right company. He could be making that for a couple years then his pay could almost triple if he gets hired.

>>857786

> Languages

Highly valuable to coorporations, the military and in the political mengagerie

> Psychology

One of the highest-paid professions

> Geography

With the right courses can lead to employment in mining and oil sector


Not all of these are bad is what I'm saying

>>859313
>>859335
Is tax law a major in the US?

>>857816
>I am unemployed History major but I don't regret it at all. It gave me critical thinking skills

Sounds like something my unsuccessful father would say (who was also a history major). It's an odd sort of ego and pomposity (>implying studying history made you more skilled than other majors in the abstract and conveniently unmeasured "critical thinking skills") combined with the delusion that you don't regret studying something more useful so you could have a higher standard of living.

>I laugh at people with mortgages and cars.

You're bitter. Probably not very likable. Self-righteous.

Ya seem like a dick tbh

>>859484
It would've made life easier to have a career path set up for me if I had majored in something more marketable, but I knew a few people that for instance majored in CS or STEM and not being able to find work they found enjoyable in their field drove them out of it into other things. The fact that they didn't use their degree weighed heavily on them and kept them from looking at opportunities as they were rather than what they wanted.

>>859485

Things worked out for me so I don't regret my decisions, there were hard times where I felt like I had fucked up. I once biked 41 city blocks to deliver Korean food to some drunk for a $2 tip. Learning how to hop cast iron gates with food in hand isn't a very marketable skill and doesn't help your career, but it makes you realize you don't want to do that forever.

I feel that by not having an identified goal it made me work twice as hard to get out of places I didn't want to be. I don't think I would've had that had I picked a major that pushed me into internships and a career right away.

>>859495
>>859500

Here's the thing, I don't have time now that I'm career focused to spend 30 hours a week reading Wittgenstein. Instead I study up for certs or spend time whatever is hot in IT to stay marketable and advance my career. The one thing I don't regret is really being able to ruminate on ideas as an undergraduate. Until I either retire or just decide to stop working I will never be able to do that again and it's one of the things in my life I miss most.

Being able to spend a few years of your life to just read and think, with no absolute goals is amazing.

>>859908

Cont.

I hope anyone that's discouraged from majoring in something that let's them take time for themselves reads this and please don't think I'm being preachy.

You're a tiny ship in a vast ocean. You have so little control over the things in your life take the opportunity to enjoy a few years.

I likely would've arrived at this station in life with or without my major. I've known career oriented people have their livelihoods snatched away from them for seemingly no reason. People get rich because they're stupid and some of the kindest people get stabbed in the neck. We can try and mitigate what happens to us but so little is actually in our control.

Starting to work during the height of the recession opened my eyes to how little control you have. People who were promised jobs out of college found themselves with twice the debt trying to keep their parents in homes or young children insured.

The people I knew that went to Ivy's were the people that were track bound for success but are just as lost and aloof today as they were when they picked their majors as undergrads.

Anyone who acts like they have it all together is either lying, or dumb.

So just major in what you like, mitigate the cost to yourself in the long term - as in don't take out 80k in debt to major in philosophy or classics, but feel free to go into manageable debt to do it. You're going to be in the ocean a long time, you might as well have fun in the port you start in.

Let them waste their money its good for the economy and prevents more competition for the degrees that matter

>>857816

>admitting you don't care about money on /biz/

>tfw Economics major

I fucked up, but at least it's not as bad as the other liberal arts majors.

>>860206
Holy shit stop listening to idiots on an anime website and look up actual statistics

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html
Look at mid-career statistics and you'l see people with Bachelors in econ do just fine for themselves.

>>PURE MATH (yeah STEMfaggots you are in here too)
u could be an actuary

>>860378

Is that more because of the person and less because of the degree though, as is the case with English majors?

>>859480
If you get a master's degree in the field you are on your way towards a great career with governments, NGOs, international organizations, etc.

Or get a master's in law, economics, politics, or something.

What about economics in a very prestigious university? I can't imagine what I'd be doing after getting a BA.

>>860378
>Written by a Journalist

God I'm glad I chose Journalism so I can inform the rest of you what is important and what isn't.

>>859926
Insipiring, I wish I read this years ago