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Studied the wrong degree, not sure what to do next

  • Last Updated:
  • Nov 10th, 2019 2:29 pm
Newbie
Mar 3, 2018
4 posts
4 upvotes

Studied the wrong degree, not sure what to do next

I initially had intentions of going to law school when i picked my political science degree but decided its not for me. I'm stuck with this degree now. It seems there isn't much i can do with this degree alone, and i'm not passionate about it to the extent of going to pursue a masters.

I'm thinking my only bet now is to go back to school to study something else, possibly IT & security related as i like the idea of cyber security.

But i dread the idea of going back another 4 years for an undergrad, i could really use some advice. My Uni advisors were pretty useless and never really have much to say, its as if they are there to only make people feel worse about their situation.

Worst part is i get to hear all my family & friends badger me about how i messed up :(
50 replies
Deal Addict
Sep 22, 2013
2341 posts
1489 upvotes
Well, what do you actually want to do in life?

Everyone had a degree these days, especially a social science degree (got one over here too). It doesn’t mean your life is over because you don’t want to work in academia.

Figure out what you want to do in life, come back here and people will tell you how they got there. Going back to school likely is just going to put you in more debt and you’lose be missing out on years of experience that can get you into the position you really want to be in.
Newbie
Jul 23, 2008
48 posts
26 upvotes
You made a mistake. There's not much advice to give here.

Retail jobs. Hospitality jobs. Bartending jobs. Bus drivers jobs. Construction jobs. These are relatively good careers with a low barrier to entry without needing a degree.

I would pursue those instead unless you are absolutely 1000% sure that IT is for you. (It isn't for everyone)
Deal Addict
Oct 18, 2014
2050 posts
925 upvotes
HK
While you did mess up (we all do), at least you recognize it and it's not too late to go on the right track, if cyber security is truly an area of interest/passion. You will have to put in the time however, no shortcuts to be had.
Member
Aug 16, 2006
212 posts
61 upvotes
I wouldn't go back to uni for another degree. I would head to college and see if I could use any of my uni credit towards a fast track college diploma. I went to school for accounting and finance and now I'm in IT and I don't have an IT degree.
Deal Addict
Aug 13, 2008
3401 posts
426 upvotes
Mississauga
have you actually tried exploring what opportunities are out there with your degree?

when you search for jobs, do you search "political science"? (wrong way to search)
cuz i can gaurantee you you will have better luck if you expand your horizons.
check this: http://www.mun.ca/posc/undergraduate/temp.php

not saying it will be easy, not saying that jobs are plenty, just make sure you've explored ALL your options before moving on to something else.....
Newbie
Mar 3, 2018
4 posts
4 upvotes
dimsum69 wrote: I wouldn't go back to uni for another degree. I would head to college and see if I could use any of my uni credit towards a fast track college diploma. I went to school for accounting and finance and now I'm in IT and I don't have an IT degree.
I'm considering either accounting or IT at a college.

A friend recommended me to look in to studying accounting at a college, do the pre-req courses then move on to getting a CPA designation. I was also thinking that if i plan on doing IT, i would rather do a diploma program at a college but is a diploma enough to compete against individuals who have a degree?

I would appreciate if you give me some insight on your journey into IT, and why you left accounting.
Newbie
Feb 14, 2018
30 posts
22 upvotes
I got in to IT without a degree in IT. Graduated with a BA in new media studies, planning on being a project manager/product manager in the general digital media space. I had no specific career goals. I couldn't get any jobs. I knew basic HTML/CSS and got a job editing website templates for a real estate company. It was really basic drag/drop stuff, but since I knew how to write some custom code in templates, I looked like a genius to them. Eventually kept working on bigger/better stuff. Anyways, long story short, 6 years later I am a senior web developer and make good money doing it. It's possible to transition, don't lose hope.
Newbie
Mar 3, 2018
4 posts
4 upvotes
I have for the most part, which was what led to me having an anxiety attack and meltdown.

After searching various job databases for postings, the options were looking grim. Most of them required much higher levels of education and experience for a consultant or analyst position, which i'm not very passionate about to begin with. I picked this on the basis of thinking it was the general recommended route for becoming a lawyer but after switching gears i didn't realize how limited my options were. Wish i would have picked a better option to fall back on.

Now i get to hear "I told you so" by almost everyone.

But i'm taking responsibility for it. I just wanna move on to another chapter in my life, but want to make sure its something i'm passionate about and make ends meet.

I was just wondering if anyone else was having a hard time getting a job with their degree, or switched to an entirely different field.
Newbie
Mar 3, 2018
4 posts
4 upvotes
thrillho1234 wrote: I got in to IT without a degree in IT. Graduated with a BA in new media studies, planning on being a project manager/product manager in the general digital media space. I had no specific career goals. I couldn't get any jobs. I knew basic HTML/CSS and got a job editing website templates for a real estate company. It was really basic drag/drop stuff, but since I knew how to write some custom code in templates, I looked like a genius to them. Eventually kept working on bigger/better stuff. Anyways, long story short, 6 years later I am a senior web developer and make good money doing it. It's possible to transition, don't lose hope.
Thats great, glad to hear there's some hope.

I am considering pursuing a similar route, but not sure if i should go to college for a diploma program or possibly a coding boot camp.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Dec 8, 2007
5550 posts
2221 upvotes
Stop beating yourself up, bud. Yeah, it sucks (does it really?), but to bad so sad here you are what’s next? Some internet nobodies and joker acquaintances from high school are telling you “I told you so” as a way of affirming their own world views? Cool story, bros. Thanks for that super tight advice. Hope you all feel better with all that knowledge - hey, what’s next weeks lotto numbers?

What should you do? Probably stop asking for advice. People are full of garbage advice. Try having conversations. Have you talked with your parents - not the “tell me what to do talk”, the “this is what’s happening and how I am thinking about it what do you think talk”. Ditto for friends you trust and appreciate - not the “told you so” crew - and mentors, if you have one (not that need one btw).

And find some comfort in knowing that your situation is not unique in the slightest degree, that many of your peers are going through the exact same realization and struggle for next steps as you are, and that many people of these forums started in the exact same spot and made their way through it. And if they found their way through it so can you.
Deal Addict
Aug 16, 2008
1057 posts
403 upvotes
Markham
How do you know you won't dislike IT or accounting after doing those courses? Odd 180 you're doing with initial motivations in polisci going over to a technical discipline. If its only for the sake of money, then IT pay really isn't that good. All things considered, you may as well stay or get back on the law track if possible.

Does anyone else get the feeling that this generation's graduates are being hit with an extreme sense of indifference. With housing out of the reach of of millennials, workforce automation, and social media pushing the idea to "follow your dreams", I feel fortunate to have graduated a decade ago, I honestly don't know how I could succeed today.
Last edited by unowned on Mar 5th, 2018 2:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Member
Dec 13, 2017
267 posts
204 upvotes
Do an Masters in something practical that can get your a position that is still related to your field. MBA is usually a very good general direction.

They have co-op MBAs which can help you to break into the industry
Newbie
Feb 14, 2018
30 posts
22 upvotes
JcvD10 wrote: Thats great, glad to hear there's some hope.

I am considering pursuing a similar route, but not sure if i should go to college for a diploma program or possibly a coding boot camp.
In web development specifically, experience and a portfolio matters more than a degree or certificate, so I can see how both options could work for someone.

If you are completely new to coding, a boot camp is probably information overload. Nobody can absorb enough information in that time to do something professionally. But I have never been to one, so I don't actually know what its like. Maybe try finding some people who went to a coding boot camp, and find out how easy/difficult it was for them to find a job afterwards.
Member
Aug 16, 2006
212 posts
61 upvotes
JcvD10 wrote: I'm considering either accounting or IT at a college.

A friend recommended me to look in to studying accounting at a college, do the pre-req courses then move on to getting a CPA designation. I was also thinking that if i plan on doing IT, i would rather do a diploma program at a college but is a diploma enough to compete against individuals who have a degree?

I would appreciate if you give me some insight on your journey into IT, and why you left accounting.
My plan out of high school was to pursuit a career in accounting with a CGA designation. Went to Seneca for accounting and finance, then Ryerson for Bcomm (I think any post secondary degree is okay for CGA). Started working as an Accounting Clerk. Company was upgrading their system to SAP. Was the accounting liaison and this is when I decided I enjoy implementation work better than accounting. Picked up some basic SQL and VBA skills while doing implementation. Applied to work at a ERP software company doing system implementation. After picking up additional skills while working at the software company, transition into a software analysis/developer role.
Deal Addict
Sep 4, 2007
1693 posts
1946 upvotes
vancouver
I don't think you're as screwed as you think you are. Tell us how long you've been looking for work and exactly how you've been looking. Do you have any experience? Skills?
Deal Expert
Oct 7, 2010
15536 posts
5790 upvotes
Go to Seneca or Humber to take something you can get a job with.
Sr. Member
Feb 24, 2018
967 posts
687 upvotes
First of all, you don't need to do a coding camp if you want to get into IT, that's more computer science & program though it obviously never hurts to know. Although maybe you do want to do programming in which case it could help. I would enroll in a college program nearby (not the private ones) and see how it goes while checking if that program has a co-op option. One semester of college is only a few months, not as expensive as university depending on the program, and you'll get a better sense of what you want to do. If you don't want to repeat a 4 year undergrad then college is shorter anyways (again depending on the program).

Asides from that, I'd probably go to an Employment Canada office if I were you (they're everywhere run by various groups) and get career counseling from them, they have access to some helpful resources.
Jr. Member
Feb 7, 2018
155 posts
54 upvotes
Toronto ON
I also got into IT without an IT degree. I actually have a BA degree. Since you already have a degree, this is what they ask for. Nobody in IT is interested what is the degree about. If it is an IT degree - great. Otherwise - okay. Show skills - all they care in IT are skills and of course some reference, so look for volunteering opportunities first.

And before that - decide where in IT you wanna go, plan what you need to study, sit at home, spend few months studying and most importantly - practicing - IT is all about practical skills, something you could show. Since you start from the beginning , build a portfolio of 2-3 projects (AT LEAST) and then go for interviews.

Directions you could go to START, sorted from fastest track to best salary (VERY relatively) and what they require to learn (relatively):

All of them require: SDLC (what is a software development, methodologies - waterfall or agile mostly)

- QA/Automation QA: Testing practices, SQL, RDBMS (What is a database and how to use it), simple programming usually with Python
- System administration: Linux (Ubuntu, Redhat) or Windows Server (this requires a lot of fees for exams, but pays way more imho), security, also some fun stuff - know what a cable is, how to build a network, how internet works
- Web development - HTML5, Javascript, Angular.js. Advanced: Java or .Net (but .Net will require fees for exam) - these two pay more. some Photoshop - for webdev some image editing is essential
- Database Administration/Development: SQL on advanced level, database security, not sure what else
- Backend development - lots of options, best go for Java or .Net. This however might take more time to learn, could involve anything

As I said, this is very rough sketch on what an IT career path could be.

Portfolio: For a webdev, build like 5-10 websites, could be small ones, but make them eye-candy, upload somewhere (could be on a free server, but better buy yourself a host), be ready to show. For a developer, put 3-5 projects on GitHub for people to see. For QA, no need of portfolio I think

Forgot - for learning in IT we have a saying "if you need to ask somebody, first ask Google" - nowadays everything could be found with Google/Wikipedia and lots of things have tutorials on Youtube too. That's why I said - sit at home and spend time learning
Deal Addict
Nov 14, 2010
1087 posts
195 upvotes
JcvD10 wrote: I have for the most part, which was what led to me having an anxiety attack and meltdown.

After searching various job databases for postings, the options were looking grim. Most of them required much higher levels of education and experience for a consultant or analyst position, which i'm not very passionate about to begin with. I picked this on the basis of thinking it was the general recommended route for becoming a lawyer but after switching gears i didn't realize how limited my options were. Wish i would have picked a better option to fall back on.

Now i get to hear "I told you so" by almost everyone.

But i'm taking responsibility for it. I just wanna move on to another chapter in my life, but want to make sure its something i'm passionate about and make ends meet.

I was just wondering if anyone else was having a hard time getting a job with their degree, or switched to an entirely different field.
Your post is all over the place. What do you want out of life? Do you want to follow your passions or do you want a tolerable office job that pays good money and affords you a relatively normal lifestyle?

I have some quick questions: Are you sociable? Can you shoot the s**t with other people so to speak? Do you groom yourself? Can you speak to a woman in a professional manner without freezing up and becoming tense? If the answer to all of these questions is a resounding yes then there is hope. You are suddenly much more employable than a lot of the STEM dweebs and BBAs wagging their finger at you and reveling in the schadenfreude.

What are your classmates doing? I'm sure some are working in many different industries. Banks, government, non-profits, etc. Forget the online job boards. Work your network. It's all about networking.

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