/lit/ - Literature

Anyone in or considering higher educational at all should check this out

>>1953799
I am thinking really hard about it.
I am going to teach English at Highschool, which is something I've wanted to do for a very long time.
I may get another degree part time while teaching, and may consider becoming a professor. I want to find something to specialize in and write essays on it (while teaching, of course), and see how well I can do.
I am also considering writing, for myself, and if I think I have written something good then I will consider publishing it.

What did you expect?

>>1953799
>>1953799

maybe you should have thought about what YOU were doing before jumping into any degree without looking at the job prospects.

congrats though, you can jump off to do a one year law degree, then work on one of two qualifications (called GDL and something else here) which will enable you after 2 years to become a trainee, which lasts another 2 years but which is paid at around 18,000 a year (england)

enjoy!

>>1953804
And this is why I'm glad I never paid a cent for my undergraduate degree. Fuck yeah Pell Grants. I've just about secured a free ride for my Master's as well. I'll probably only be paying for my PhD, somewhere along the line.

>>1953804
>67% of grad students feel hopeless at least once in a year

What the fuck kind of bullshit is this? "Oh no, I might feel hopeless at some point in a year!"

>>1953828

>never been to grad school

>>1953814

>maybe you should have thought about what YOU were doing

Kind of the point, no?

Well at least you're not a retard.

>>1953884


Consolation prize!

>>1953875

What? I'm not questioning the statistic, I just think it's an idiotic one on the chart.

>>1953893

I see your point, but considering that most people in America seem to think that depression is a viable enough affliction to take drugs for it, it DOES seem like a relative statistic to include.

I know plenty of people that have been on anti-depressants since high-school.

What the hell do you do with an English degree other than teach?
My dad wants me to be an English major 'cause he thinks that's all I can do.

I'm considering a doctorate in engineering, but I don't know. Maybe I'll just work for a company instead. You have to eat a lot of shit before someone gives you a biscuit in academia.

I'm on a placement now (at an engineering research institute) and the postdocs work like two-arsed whores and have absolutely no social life.

oh god what have i done. Also, more depressing academia pics please

why do smart people always make bad life decisions?

>>1953905

You'll be damn lucky if you actually get a teaching job.

And that's the highest thing you can aspire to.

>>1953908

This is exactly why I turned down an architecture program.

Those poor assholes LIVED in their collective lab.

>>1953897

Well the statistic after that is about depression. But:
>feeling hopeless at least once a year
>at least once a year
That is such an open thing. Maybe this is just because I'm on that track, but I assumed most people, grad student or not, would feel hopeless at least once a year.

>>1953930
Not that guy, but there are dozens and dozens of teaching positions just in the town I'm living in's school district, to say nothing of all the smaller school districts within 50 miles. Maybe its where I live, but there has always been a huge demand for teachers in my part of Texas. I know this because I've worked as a substitute in a couple of the districts. There's always a shortage.

>this thread

Time to consider dropping out again.

My friend is hellbent on getting a degree in Creative Writing, with a minor in... Writing.

The pain I feel watching them make this decision.

Why don't you go study medicine? Good verbal skills are helpful and it only takes some work to get in. I'm not that smart and I did it. It's hard work studying but job prospects are pretty good. And it's never too late to start. One of my classmates is 40+.

>>1953962
>>1953962
>>1953962

All of my hate.

I have seen way too many shit books on "Kickstarter" from people with Creative Writing degrees to even consider that a realistic degree.

>>1953966
>English major
>good verbal skills

No, no, WRITING skills.

Not only do I not have a college degree, but I passed highschool on a GED.
I work in a graphic design firm with about 49 other employees, including management.
The company makes around $2mil in revenue a year. I got here because I started interning for nothing back in my Junior year of highschool instead of going to class, and I'd still be at this company if they didn't pay me at all.

Moral of the story: education is only relevant insofar as helping you do what you love. If there is a more direct way to pursue your dreams, follow that, not school.
Pic related: I helped make the goddamn label, and it makes me damn proud every time I see it in Duane Reade. I wouldn't quit for the world, and if you have the oppurtunity to do something that fulfills you, then you shouldn't worry about anything else.

>>1953966
I don't think I could ever do medicine as even reading about things involving excessive blood or mentioning veins makes me aware I have them and then I sit in horror for hours without moving trying to forget their existence. I cannot watch most TV shows for this reason as well.

OP you da gayest for implying other fields are soulless. Its YOU who is soulless. Ever considered that?

I'm going to get my bachelor's in English next spring. Fuck it, no one else is in a better position than I am without going to school for another 2-4 years.

What about journalism?

I'm working on a computer science degree, job prospects don't seem that bad at the moment, don't know about in a few years though.

>>1953982

Dissecting bodies will toughen you up. But I guess you can't be too squeamish.

>>1953981
Sir, you are awesome.
>>1953905

Same person. I was thinking of studying computer related stuff (mysql, php, JavaScript) to become a database analyst in a library. I like information, so hopefully this is viable.

Word of warning on CompSci degrees, you better be fucking great at math.

>>1954003

Thankfully math can be learned.

>graduating with a master's in english
>not declaring bankruptcy then train hopping all across America

OP did you ever learn anything in school

>>1954009

I used to suck at math. then I found patrickjmt and khan academy

I just want to be a teacher and my plan is to double major in both English and Philosophy, do English as a Foreign Language for a few years, then come back and pursue a Master's, and as I keep looking at this plan, I'm pretty sure I'll be one of those people that works part-time on a PhD for ~10 years. I don't want kids, I want to travel around, being poor when you're single is a fucking cakewalk compared to being poor married/parenting, and I have no monetary goals or ambitions in my life, I don't want kids, and I don't really see any purpose to living. I want to be an academic purely for the sake of being an academic. It beats being just a bum.
And I'm fairly certain as 30 years old creeps closer that I'll be a bachelor for most of my life with the occasional relationship with somebody who doesn't bother me all the fucking time.

So most of the image earlier in the thread doesn't faze me a bit. I've suffered worse and it was even more awful because I was surrounded by people who had absolutely none of the interests I do, and adding to this I had no source of investigation for further learning than myself; I was constantly alone and unaided.
College, here I come. Maybe I'm the just-right type of crazy to go through with it.

>>1954014
>>1954014

> mfw you've planned my life in a 4chan post equally

besides the part where I kill you

>>1954025
Cool. Maybe we'll meet one day, have coffee, duel to the death...

>>1954030
>>1954030

Unfortunately, no.

I would never, never, never, never go to Brazil.

I've got a large group of ties with Russian people - I think I'll just follow up that. But we'll be doing like the same shit across the globe.

If you're writing a book, we'd be like equals completely.

>peers don't have degrees
lol poors

I just finished a degree in English.

My job choices are:
Do further study in education, become teacher
Ignore the depressing statistics and get my novel published, become billionaire, create and live in Rapture.

I am fuuuuucked. Also I have a girlfriend which is FUCKING expensive. People joke about it, but I shit you not. I love her dearly, but stay the fuck single if you ever want to be comfortable.

>>1954039
Sorry for getting off topic, but erm, why would you never want to go to Brazil? It's a beautiful country, and the people seem nice enough. (mind you, im basing this of of having seen Orpheus). Do you have something against Brazil? Did your father flee to live there with his mistress when you were five or something?
Again, I apologize for the off-topic post.

>>1954043
>2011
>not dating a rich girl

>>1954047
>>1954047

Visited once.

Hot as hell, food isn't my taste, tropical environment.

Sorry, I didn't mean it like negatively or anything. I just meant it as like I prefer practically the opposite - it's just my taste in food, culture, lifestyle, stuff like that.

I don't hate the country, sorry.

>>1954043
Two people who both have decent paying jobs can live easier than one person with a job (generally speaking), especially if you don't move into a larger/better living place immediately. That is, if you were living on your own to begin with. If you're still at your parents, that's always the cheapest.

>>1954054
Sensible. Sorry for calling you out.

>>1954043

>build and live in rapture off money from publishing novel that is probably barely off ground

Are you me?

>>1954056

This guy speaks the truth.

I'm married, so combined incomes. Neither of us have exceptionally well-paying jobs, however we easily pay our bills and have money left over.

>>1954056
>Two people who both have decent paying jobs can live easier than one person with a job (generally speaking)
This is a common misconception that completely ignores living expenses being doubled, more money required for rent or (UGH) mortgage on a home.
Been there, done that, it's not true. Two people living together = more shit to buy regularly, more money spent regularly (electric bills are higher because someone's at home more often, etc.) more shit bought irregularly (going out, luxuries, entertainment, etc.).
You think the fact that there's two incomes makes it even out, but it doesn't, the fact that you're sharing, in most cases, only increases spending because you're sharing your expenses.
And that's not even getting into personal and sexual dynamics, free-loading boyfriend or a needy girlfriend, and on and on and on

>>1954062
I'm about 40 pictures in. The only thing bigger than my dreams is my naive optimism.

Is it weird that I objectively disagree with objectivism, but find that I apply it to my daily life as much as possible and it somehow factors into all my aspirations?

Just me?

>>1954065

sounds like someone just had a bad experience....

>>1954064
To qualify, I understand how this works, it seems common sense, I'm only pointing out that saying it's "generally" true doesn't mean shit, especially the further down you go with payscales. Two people making $10 an hour struggle just as much or sometimes more than one guy.

Am I the only person not giving a damn about career prospects? If I don't even end up using my degree I'll be glad I have it, I'll be glad I spent time doing what I want to be doing. If I end up in a minimum wage job, so be it.

>>1954068

hullo self. It's been awhile.

>>1954065
This, and there is also stuff that is not easily quantifiable, too.

For instance, as a bachelor I can happily go for weeks on ramen and omelette. I might splurge and buy a steak every so often, but breakfast and lunch don't even come into the equation because I just munch on a sandwich or something when I feel hungry.

In a relationship, however, there is all kinds of shit that just blindsides you. The other week my girlfriend spent 300 dollars on getting her legs waxed. Granted, that lasts four months but the lump sum killed my wallet for a bit. We're both students with part time jobs. We make the rent every week, but every spare bit of money goes into my account for when the bills roll around. If I were single I would be living in a shitty 100 dollar a week place, or move back in with my parents and live the high life.

I can understand how couples would be better off once you are both in careers, but at my age it is far better to be a single gentleman at large.

Besides, if you have kids you are well fucked. Show me a woman who doesn't want to have kids and I will show her a wedding ring.

>>1954072
I can see myself being happy in a shitty retail job for a lot of my life. If I am writing, I am happy.

I know that is over-romanticised, but fuck it.

>>1954072
That's basically the final thought I had that convinced me to quit taking classes I hated to work towards an engineering degree.

>>1954081
>>1954072
>drowning their voice of reason in the white noise of cliched romantic mantra
Protip: you'll feel like shit in the end.

You are all idiots. Getting a BA in English is perfectly fine RE: job prospects. Apply to entry-level graduate jobs in cool careers like finance or PR or advertising. Maybe do post-graduate law and get rich that way.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO GET A JOB THAT RELATES TO YOUR DEGREE IN ANY WAY
90% OF JOBS DO NOT CARE WHAT YOUR DEGREE IS IN, THEY JUST CARE WHERE YOU GOT IT FROM
ENGLISH IS NO MORE OR LESS EMPLOYABLE THAN MOST OTHER DISCIPLINES
IF YOU GO TO A SHIT UNIVERSITY THEN THAT'S YOUR FAULT FOR BEING STUPID

>>1954043
Hurrr. Or you could apply to real jobs?

>>1954089
>YOU DO NOT NEED TO GET A JOB THAT RELATES TO YOUR DEGREE IN ANY WAY
I used go into this rant often here. What people don't realize is that a degree, to most employers, means:
1. You're (probably) not a dumbass.
2. You've learned how to learn.
3. You can finish what you start.

What looks really bad on applications is saying that you've done some college. This screams "Quitter!"

>>1954093


such as?

>>1954095
>What looks really bad on applications is saying that you've done some college. This screams "Quitter!"

This is why you don't do that.

Lulz, fuck that OP. I left school and worked shitty level jobs, kitchen hand, cheffing, even as a gardener. eventually decided it was time to go to uni, doing english/phil double major. Planning to go into teaching, good as way to see the world. like has already been said, the main thing about having a degree is that it proves your ability to stick to something over a time period . It sucks but the world does run on those pieces of paper.

>>1954095
>>1954095

So why the major in philosophy?

Are you planning on teaching that at some time or writing books/essays pertaining to some of your views? Do you think it ties in well with an English degree? Do you just think you'll enjoy it?

I'm still considering my second major but I'm definitely double majoring to side with English. I was considering just doing a Sociology/Developmental Psychology thing to go with it.

>>1954065
I've been there and done that too, several times. And it was much, much cheaper than when I was living alone. Rent for me, alone, was $400. Together, it was $400, because I didn't feel the need to move into another house or apartment immediately. Electricity was included, so there was no change in that. The food expense went from $200 to $400, easily covered by the other person's minimum wage job. Car insurance went up $40, which was also easily covered. There were other piddling bills, like an extra car to fill with gas, but seriously. Another person working a minimum wage job - an extra $900 or so a month - made everything so much easier. This has been the case with most of my relatives and friends as well, as far as they confide in me.

I'm not accounting for the other person being some kind of enormous wasteful retard (like a $300 beauty treatment that >>1954080 mentioned), I was speaking generally. I want to believe that there are other responsible people out there.

>ITT capitalist society fucking individuals by forcing them to sacrifice their passions and values in order to survive

but it isn't our faults, right?

I STUDY ACCOUNTING BECAUSE I ENJOY IT. THANK GOD THERE'S AN ABUNDANCE OF JOBS FOR IT.

JUST SUCKS IF I WORK IN TAX THE FIRST FEW YEARS AS I STUDY FOR MY CA I WILL BE STUCK DOING INDIVIDUALS' TAX RETURNS.

>>1954114

>I STUDY ACCOUNTING

That explains a lot about you Capsguy.

>>1954087
Admittedly, I do have a safety net of sorts in that I have contacts in both media and financial sectors. So it's not totally irrational.

>>1954119
MANY PEOPLE SAY THAT THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE EXPECTED ME TO BE AN ACCOUNTING MAJOR UPON KNOWING ME.

>>1953804
The two-body problem makes me really sad.

>>1954100
philosophy is a solid base for practically every discipline.

i'm shocked at how many people in this thread are so stupid that they think all you can do with a humanities degree is teach

i mean in THIS economy, sure, that's pretty much true

but in an ecnomy which actually has jobs, you can do pretty much anything with a humanities degree so long as it's a decent degree from a good uni

>>1954109

What sort of society do you imagine where everyone just does whatever they most desire and survive just because? I for one am grateful to live in a society where I can live off of such things as being an expert on books, essentially. Sure, it doesn't work out for everyone, but some people manage to live as such absurdities as full-time artists. And then bread and water and the finest meats are right there for the taking.

>>1954149
>>1954149

I was contemplating this, yeah.

It's really just a study of thought so it's helpful anywhere; it just applies differently to lines in life.

>>1954100
>why the major in philosophy
Ties in to writing, supplements the English degree, I can pick which I want to pursue into graduate school, might consider teaching it instead of English, and I think as the other guy said about it being a basis for other studies, yeah, I'd agree. If you thoroughly understand logic and other basics of philosophic thought, you can apply it to any other area of study if you're diligent.

>STUDY PHILOSOPHY
>BECOME PHILOSOPHY LECTURER
>TEACH PHILOSOPHY
>RAISE PHILOSOPHY TEACHERS
>THEY TEACH PHILOSOPHY
>REPEAT AD NAUSEAM

Such is the way of the world.

>>1954166
Well as one of my philosophy profs said "I love my job because I can relate anything I do to it" and then he want on to explain how he got the university to pay for family vacations and shit.

>>1954151
i cant think of one

thats the point isnt it? it is a trillion dollar idea. closest i can think of is a world run mostly by robots, but there are obvious flaws there.

>>1954166

Someone has to teach it, unless you think philosophy is not worth while, or that there's no benefit from studying with experts and people should just be like the kids on /lit/ who decide one day to read Thus Spoke Zarathustra on their own. In my experience, people who take philosophy courses and often people who are full majors in are doing it as a side to something else, simply out of interest.

>>1954096
law, the Civil Service, management, industry, accountancy, social work, media,
publishing, teaching, librarianship, public relations, journalism, management consultancy and finance

IE

most graduate jobs in professional careers DO NOT CARE what your subject is, they just care that you have a degree from a good university.

I am talking about undergraduate here. Getting a MA is fine, again, if from a good university (I'm talking Ivy League / Golden Triangle here), but PhD is taking it too far.

Naturally you do work experience/internships over the summer holidays while studying. If you aren't a "I R AUTHOR, I HAVE BOOK TO WRITE!!!" moron about it it is fine to do English.

>>1954336

Silver-spooners have it made regardless of what they do, yes.

But the rest of us actually have to have qualifications to work in our field.

>>1954356
You don't have to be a silver-spooner to get into a good university; you just have to be clever.

>>1954366

Uh huh. Sure.

>>1954368
Sounds like somebody got rejected.

dumb thread full of kids

>>1954371

More like got accepted but couldn't afford it.

Hey guys taking a degree in commerce now.

Will this be of any use?

>>1953799
>Not getting summer internships
>Not getting any experience at all

College didn't hold you back. You held yourself back. College doesn't prove jack shit other than you can read, think and retain information.

>>1954393

How do you know he didn't do those things? He never said he didn't.

Hey OP

I'm 20 with no work experience and haven't started college yet

It could be worse for you, at least you'll always have that school braggin rights

>>1953804
>67% of grad students feel hopeless

I felt hopless while working towards my Masters
My friends who didn't go to colege feel hopeless that they've closed off career paths.
My parents felt hopeless when they gave birth to me less than 12 months after graduating
Kids in Africa feel hopeless, period.

100% of everyone feels hopeless at some point.

>>1954382
Ah. Don't know about how it is in the US; I always presume you have magical bursaries and scholarships and things so it's basically free? In the UK Oxford costs no more or less than any other university since by law public ones all have a fee cap.

yeah it's a hard and grueling road to get PHD, nobody said it'd be a cheap and easy cake walk you complaining faggots

that's why only the best make it to the end

and all that shit you posted? that life costs money and you want to turn back?

no shit faggot, even if you arent in college life costs big money and people dont want to do it

young people are depressed and dont want to work or go to school or pay bills, but over time you get used to it

I swear this whole fucking thread is full of idiot spoiled children I mean good god, you're going to fucking college, 80% of the world would kill for a chance like that, enjoy it

also if it's oh so hard for you dont go. nobody is forcing you to, its optional higher education, if you dont enjoy it, dont fucking go.

>>1954408

Sadly no. Often scholarships and financial aid and things will cover 1/5 or perhaps 2/5 of the cost. The rest has to be taken as loans, which can quickly amount to 6 figures of debt.

Assuming you can get the loans in the first place.

>>1954414
Ah. We have it pretty good here; every student is guaranteed an extremely generous government loan which is basically a sort of graduate tax. The answer is clearly to be born in the coolest islands in Europe!

>>1954414
they hand out student loans like hot cakes

i took out student loans to buy a cheap house on my block, and nobody said a god damn thing

>>1954418

And my sister got refused one to go to SCAD.

>>1954426
>art school

Probably because it's not a real school

am i fool for going into a professional & creative writing course next year? i'm australian. i'll switch to journalism as soon as i can, though.

>>1954452

Journalism is just as much of a craps shoot as creative writing.

>>1954462

so i'm fucked?

ITT: immaturity and insecurity

whether you are successful won't depend on whether you go to university, it'll depend on you, luck, and hard work.

>>1954469
This. I just finished a Master's in Lit and I've landed two part time instructor jobs at colleges. Sure, it's not a full time professorship just yet, but it's better than OPs' whinefest

sure is pissed off D student in here

>>1953814

There was an English teacher at my school called Mr. Brown. Everyone called him Brown Bear, any chance that's you?

Same here, OP.

Fuck this worthless degree.

>>1954414
>6 figures of debt

fuck that

education is what you make it.
you need to have a destination. once you find out where you want to go, tailor your educational experience to that. don't just take the required courses and then fill up the other ones with easy courses because they're easy--each course should either be going towards your major or minor, or to help you on your way to becoming what you want to do. this is easier to do later in your undergraduate than your beginning years, but if you try to do this, plus go out on the job hunt for where you want to work, you'll have a better chance to succeed than those who don't.

>>1954841

That's why I went to the shitty cheap school instead of the awesome expensive one.

Hooray for being too poor to pay for your own education! Which means i can follow a lot of the same pursuits as middle class families but not have to pay a cent back!

What about PUBLISHING, you fucking idiots?

>>1954878
don't you need a lot of experience to get into that? i have one semester left to try and get into the editing section of my uni newspaper, didn't make it for the fall :(

>>1954907
dude.
right now go to the place and say you want to edit under the current editor. ask if they will apprentice you.
seriously, grab this by the balls. i'm the editor of a school newspaper and this is what happened to me. i let them come on.

>>1954930
they do this huge hiring process that require exams then interviews. apparently i did well until it came to AP grammar which i hadn't heard of until i took that test. maybe i can get it once i learn AP grammar, it's my last chance though

>undergrad in History & English
>graduating in April
>putting off what I'm going to do after it all (i.e. graduate school or intern or go abroad and prolong the inevitable)
>see this thread

Ha ha! Time for crippling depression!

College has been inflated, too many have them. 60 years ago educated people where the ones who had finished High School. They became secretaries. Now you have to have studied law at college to have a chance of becoming one.

Too many people have college degrees, so it's useless.

>>1954907
Of course you need experience, but that experience can come in many forms. Everyone seems to think you need to work at a college publication, then intern at a publishing house, then get an editorial assistant job, then promote to assistant editor, then promote to associate editor. That might be the most direct path, but that's rarely how it works.

We have the same method of hiring at my campus publication. But it's for the people with responsibility who are getting paid.
you'd be doing it probono, to learn.
seriously. don't tap yourself out before giving it a shot.

>>1955048
Don't publishers make shit for cash, though?

I know everyone hates the pulpy shit that Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, and George R.R. Martin write, but they make a shitload of money from it.

Seriously, if you're out of cash and have a degree in English with no real chances of employment, why not just work on some piece of pulpy, mindless shit in your free time? It seems as easy as hell to do. Just pick a genre, blend in a few cliches, and throw in some sex and action while ensuring that the writing is simple enough for anyone to understand.

Plus, if you're really scared of having your name tarnished by shitty writing, just use a pseudonym.

Maybe you should have gone to a better university, nigger.

>>1955067
Actually, I think I can answer this myself.

English majors are pseudo-intellectual, lazy, hipster fucks that haven't worked a day in their lives. Fucking cunts they are!

>>1955067
See, I've seen people suggest this before, like when I asked a hypothetical question on here about being pigeonholed as a genre writer.

But people forget that this is the 21st century and people have access to the internet. Any author that becomes popular will be found out and it will wind up on wikipedia. Your pseudonym/alias will only work if you're not all that known.

>>1955074

>getting English/History degrees other than to teach/write
why

Going to college next year, going until I get a Masters in Physics, and then I'm going to teach hiighschool. Maybe at that point I'll get a PhD and teach uni, but I don't know yet

>>1955075
not if you send it anonymously to the publisher and get them to pay you with bitcoins

>>1955075
If you arrange it with your publisher, you can keep your identity a secret. I know King used a pseudonym and no one ever discovered that he was using it until he revealed it.

Plus, you could use your real name for the pulpy crap and use a pseudonym for some serious shit. "Real" literature doesn't sell nearly as much as sci-fi, romance, horror, or fantasy, so the pseudonymous author would face a lesser risk of being discovered.

>>1955095
However, this is all pointless tattle, unless the person actually writes a book of any kind.

>>1955100
Bringing us to one of my previous posts: >>1955074

>>1955100

Good point. Has anyone here actually completed anything worth publishing?

>>1955111
... Its too hard.

>>1955111
Yes, people have completed novels.

Are they worth reading? I've never read any that were posted, but I'll assume that they weren't.

>>1955117

Worth reading is not necessarily the same as worth publishing.

>>1955117

Worth "publishing" as in they are comfortable enough with them and think they are good enough to sell.

I ask because I never see anyone on /lit/ talk about completed projects, submissions or rejections from publishers, or ever having anything published other than in small school periodicals.

>>1955122
Good point.

I can assume that none of them were worth publishing, as they're caught in the middle ground between pulpy crap and literature.

I'm doing a PhD in Computer Science only to prolong my student life. Thankfully I was awarded a scholarship, but I have no idea what I'm going to do when it ends after three years.

>>1955166
How does it work? I'm afraid I still don't fully understand the education systems in anglosaxon countries.

While I'm in college for nothing to do with literature or English, I think I may as well chime in on the subject.

I originally came in with the idea that college was going to be fun, interesting, and intellectually stimulating. For a while (my freshmen year), it was. I took a lot of interesting classes, met some new people, got to renovate myself into a new person, etc. It was fun (albeit with tons of high school drama bullshit between people).

But come about two years later my opinion drastically changed. I'm entering my senior year and realize how ridiculous college as an institution is.

First is the insistence on sports and all the gimmikcy/quasi-legal bullshit schools do to hold on to a system that really shouldn't have ever been associate with academia in the first place. You know all those nice Division 1 schools? Do you know that the vast majority of those schools LOSE money on those sports? Most schools have to pump money into the schools to maintain that last vestigial remains of honor that the school has (since they aren't known for their academics).

Then you have to get into Title IX compliance where schools (such as mine) have to make up bullshit just to maintain the football programs. My school, upon getting called out by ESPN for their bullshittery responded that it is a good thing for students to be on teams they don't go to, as it makes the girls feel better (my school had been placing around 60+ track athletes on multiple sports, while they didn't go to a single practice or competition).

>>1955195
>continued...

Now factor in the "educator vs. researcher" issue with professors. Research is important to a lot of schools, as it brings in money. However, the issue with that is it causes the school to hire Researching Professors, people who can write a paper well but know fuckall about how to impart knowledge to a human being with less knowledge.

This leads to a system that produces many students who are burnt out on learning, (un)intentionally gimps some students to the point of making them have to change majors or do something else with their lives, and don't really take proactive measures with their free time in either assisting in their community or attempting to become more intelligent.

What you end up with is a class that is taught by a person who knows how to appeal to a wide variety of students with differing approaches to learning while keeping the whole thing interesting and effective. Instead, you pay for some jackass who spends his time hating every second of his job with these students, has no motivation to be interesting or effective, and merely gives the school the facade of serious education.

>>1955057
Entry-level you make below-average, and if you make it high enough you'll get a pretty decent salary. So it's not spectacular, but it's more money than teaching. And it's a kick-ass job.

>>1955245

Do you know of any publishing jobs that would offer work by correspondence? I'm interested in a job in it, but I don't live anywhere near any publishing offices and don't really have the money to relocate until I get a better job, and I can't get a better job because....

Trapped in that ole American catch-22.

how about usein your student loan to play the market? any body every strike it ricvh like that?

>>1955382

Sounds kind of risky, but possibly profitable...

Go for it and let me know what happens.

Hey guys taking a degree in commerce now.

Will this be of any use?

>mfw after medical school I will basically be guaranteed a job as a neurologist

Seriously, go to medical school. The world always needs doctors. The unemployment rate for doctors in the US is like 0.5%. In the UK it's 0.007%.

>Starting university in 2 months at the age of 23
>Studying Drama and Philosophy
>mfw I'm only going to get a job working for a charity abroad anyway

>>1954498
I notice that no one wants to acknowledge someone who's doing well with an English degree, but would rather continue crying and emo-ing. Never change /lit/

>>1955601

Well that's fine if you actually want to be a doctor.

>>1955670

He's an adjunct. That's not exactly 'doing well'. More like 'doing what most of them do'.

Word.

Graduated with a B.A. in English. I'm taking a year off before starting law school (really, an English bachelor's degree is wonderful if you're thinking about law school, just ask any law school counselor or representative). All of my friends in the English department though are all unemployed or working minimum wage shit. One girl is interning at some corporation doing human resource shit, but she's the only exception out of my class.

>mfw I got a MBA for free thanks to grants, and am making 80k starting doing simple annual finances

>>1955675
He's probably doing better than you, and I know he's doing better than me. But let's just keep being edgy by feeling bad about ourselves. That makes us the dark, mysterious cool guys of the Internet.

Really considering grad school.

Could someone who may have experience explain to me what the benefits of getting a Masters as opposed to just a normal Bachelors? For the field of sociology, in my case.

>>1955707
Georgetown, I think, recently released a comparison of earnings across a variety of majors as well as earnings if they had a graduate degree.

Having a graduate degree immediately puts you ahead of many other applicants. It also will earn you more money. You will also generally have more of an education and others will know that about you.

Research your particular master's/phd options. Browse and contact grad schools, discuss career options as a result of the master's+. etc. etc.

>>1955722
http://cew.georgetown.edu/whatsitworth/

^^I think this is what you're talking about, eh?

>>1953799
My dad earned a BLA in English from UAB. He's not the VP of a ad agency whose clients include Apple, Aflac, Club Med, among others.

My point, you can succeed

>>1955742
I meant 'now', not 'not'

>>1955601
The problem I've always thought of is that the world can't have to much of something. I have a lot of friends who are engineering majors. They look down upon liberal arts majors and sometimes think themselves better, smarter, etc. When they meet someone who is about to start college, they always tell them to be engineering majors. I always tell them that they should be happy people are liberal arts majors, so that they can be assured a job after graduation. Cause come on, you don't want everyone competing for your job.

>>1953927
>why do smart people always make bad life decisions?
They're not really that smart.
>>1954149
I'd prefer mathematics. No talent in that area, myself, however.

people who think you won't find jobs as an English teacher are probably misinformed. if you do ANY sort of research into adolescent literacy, you'll see (at least here in the U.S.) we're experiencing a literacy crisis. English is considered a "critical shortage" area for teachers second only to the maths and sciences. also, most secondary schools require English instruction all four years, which is unique to that discipline.

at the high school level an "English" teacher or "literacy instructor" is basically a general "this is how academia works and how not to be a dumbass" educator. if you're willing to look, you'll find SOMETHING.

>English Major
>Expect to make money and be respected.

>>1955742
But the counterargument is that your dad's success had nothing to do with his academic knowledge of English so much as natural personality traits and ambition. He would've worked his way up to VP four years sooner and without student loan debt if he'd never pursued the degree.

Undergrad is really just a networking resource these days, because no one can be arsed to actually teach anyone anything unless you'll make them more money. Colleges included. It's intellectual treason.