Hey there, it sounds like you’re feeling stuck and looking for some guidance after obtaining a degree that didn’t quite work out for you. Don’t worry, you’re not alone, and there are definitely options and opportunities out there for you! Let’s explore some potential paths you can consider to chart a new course. 💪💼
1️⃣ “Redo” your undergrad with a career-related goal: While going back to college might require some time and financial investment, it could be a great opportunity to gain a fresh perspective and specialize in a field that interests you. Research career options and find a degree program that aligns with your passion and desired earnings. Learn from your mistakes and use this as a chance to make the most out of your college experience. 🎓
2️⃣ Get an associate’s degree and aim for a decent salary: Pursuing an associate’s degree can be a quicker and more cost-effective way to gain skills that lead to higher-paying jobs. Explore fields like IT, healthcare, or skilled trades, which often offer salaries closer to your desired range. Remember, it’s all about finding a balance between financial stability and job satisfaction. 💵
3️⃣ Consider getting a CDL and saving for the future: If you have an interest in driving and entrepreneurship, obtaining a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) could open doors to different opportunities. By working in the trucking industry, you can earn a decent income while saving up to start your own business. It may require patience and disciplined financial planning, but it’s a viable option for some. 🚚📈
Ultimately, the choice is yours! Take the time to reflect on your interests, skills, and goals. Start exploring various career paths that align with your values and aspirations. 🌟
Remember, this isn’t a fantasy! It might take some time and effort, but you have a chance to hit the reset button and carve out a more fulfilling career. Embrace this opportunity to learn from past mistakes and make informed decisions moving forward. Surround yourself with supportive individuals, seek mentorship from professionals in your desired field, and never underestimate the power of networking. 🤝
While accepting that your first degree was a sunk cost is important, try not to dwell on it too much. Take it as a lesson and use it to motivate yourself towards future success. 🌱 Keep a positive mindset, stay determined, and take small steps every day to work towards your goals.
You’ve got this, and success is within your reach! 🌟🚀
You are still young, go back to school and get engineering degree. High paying career for next 30-40 years.
First off, I have a com degree from a good university with a really good GPA, but no internships or relevant experience. Let me tell you, I am no better off than you are. But you can’t just equate an associates to automatic 50k and a new bachelors to automatic 80k. I think you know that’s not how that works. I would get a new bachelors, which I’ve considered doing. Instead I am going to go to graduate school and pursue being a professor, which may not be for you, but that is always an option for us in (useless) fields too. But remember if you go back to get a new bachelors, you are basically already half done. You don’t need to re-take all of those gen-eds, and you start basically where a regular college Junior starts. Go get a high paying degree and GET AN INTERNSHIP mane
Save up some money and go back to school
Does your current company offer tuition reimbursement?
I always offer the same advice for this question – go back for your mba – once you have that, it “covers up” that useless degree. This is based on my experience and having a useless degree
My company offered tuition reimbursement and I already had one of the liberal arts degree
Took 3 years of night school (usually 2 classes per week). Sounds horrible but once you get started, it just becomes part of your routine and is even another avenue to socialize
Best decision I ever made
You are still young. Heck, people get degrees in their 30s and 40s. Pick another degree, put another 2 years in, network with people and you should be able to be on the right path. Or you can get education online for pennies. Depends on what you are interested in.
Go back in time and get a computer engineering degree. Other than that just live within your means and don’t have kids
i always knew college is a scam but what makes you guys think generic degrees will do anything good? college is to specialize in something eg a doctor or lawyer or something similar, why go and get communications or business or journalism when most of the jobs you can get are possible without going 100k into debt? i got an offer for $30 an hour and i have yet to start college. i’m going back for radiation therapy
I would go to a masters program if I were you, gets you a second shot at recruiters
I personally don’t know a single job that has ever asked me about my GPA, I wouldn’t say most jobs give a damn about what you got for GPA just that you finished your degree. That being said, I have two unrelated degrees and work in tech… if you don’t know for certain what you want to do, don’t waste another $50k+ going back to college for another degree.
Join military as an officer.. ask to be officer or they will try to tell you be enlisted great pay and benefits
Find a trainee sales position and work your way up?
If you’re able also consider doing a post baccalaureate or second BS program in computer science. Oregon State University and Western Governor’s University offer 2 year computer science bachelor’s degrees but of course tuition costs money. Good luck OP.
I graduated in 2008 with a 2.03 GPA with a BA in Liberal Arts (i was home schooled through HS and had no idea how to study). I was 24. The only job I could find out of college was at a car dealership making straight commission. I ended up getting a job as a teller making $12/hour and took advantage of the bank’s tuition reimbursement program to start my MBA. I took a few classes through an online school that accepts anyone and made sure to get As in all of those. I then studied my butt off for the GMAT and got an OK score. Between those two things I was able to get into a decent MBA program (not the best, but ok). I worked my way into a niche field in the banking industry (Commercial Healthcare Equipment Financing) and now make around $180k at 39.
A few things I found out as my career progressed:
-once you get some experience the school you went to, your GPA, and your major don’t really mean a thing.
-Find a niche. Become an expert in something. I did this by taking on extra projects at work that helped me build experience
-Network in the industry you want to be in. There are so many times in my career that I found out I knew someone at a company I was applying at. They can help you get your foot in the door.
A degree is communications is generally not a high income producing job for most people.
I would get a job with government in the business area (contracting is a good choice) since they often don’t care what your degree is in. Work there and develop your skills over a few years and then move to industry for a higher paying job.
Go for a sales job. My friend graduated with a generic comms degree and does sales and client management.
Apply to every Communications Assistant job you find. Doesn’t matter the organization or field (obviously except things like opposing political party or some such). Take the first offer you get. Start working your way up.
Everyone is saying get another degree of the same tier…that’s bad advice.
Either get a Masters in business or don’t bother going back. A bachelor’s is an HR checkbox more than anything. Getting a second one is diminishing returns.
Have you looked into local government comms internships? I work for a reasonably large city and we just hired a wave of them. If you’re willing to try skipping the internship, the entry level comms folks start in the mid to high 60s here.
You’re making more out of news and probably working better hours than people in news. Use this as a second chance to start fresh and rebuild yourself up. Lots of better jobs out there that’ll still give you a much better life balance than sports broadcasting
I’d echo the comments suggesting you go back to school, but if you don’t want to do that you could try working for Costco. I’ve been there 10years and have gone through a degree change during that time, and they are flexible with working around school. The starting wage is 18.50 now and I make $31.50. The downside is that it’s retail and insanely busy but it’s an excellent wage for not utilizing a degree.
Depending on where you live there’s definitely options that are better.
I work with people at a transportation company who have no degrees and make $50k to $90k depending on position, tenure, etc…
I have a European history degree and have worked 5 different roles at the same company and none of its about Napoleon.
An internship at a small organization will get you farther than taking on additional debt and postponing your career development. Contact small business and offer to do their PR/Social/marketing and then you’ll have legitimate internship experience on your resume. You’ll be in the same spot 4 years from now with another degree.
Apply to your local tegna station company minimum is $20
Avoid jumping into school debt (more school debt?). Avoid using school as a safety valve to get you out of a situation you don’t love.
Unless you are 110% certain of a path, avoid school at this point.
Take free/low cost courses online through Coursera or udemy (or whatever) to fill in knowledge gaps from not paying attention in school. Use this so you can speak confidently in an interview or networking with people. Join Toastmasters, join a men’s group, join whatever you can with professionals – network non stop.
Find any job in your field (even if it pays less than you make now), and look for companies with tuition assistance and perks. It will be a grind, but in 2 years, you can be in a much better position by having 2 years of entry-level work plus your existing degree.
I would rather be 27 with a degree and 2 years of entry level work instead of 29 with 2 degrees, no work experience and a mountain of debt.
As a recruiter (with no degree) I advise against more schooling if you didn’t enjoy the first time around. A degree does not equal more pay unless it’s Data Science, Engineering, or UX research. You can attain any salary with the right hustle. Pick an area of focus, learn all you can, job hop for salary increases, you will get there.
Degrees are not money trees. I hear more about useless degrees than ever before.
Also, I had many people doubt my ambition along the way. I now make 6 figures. And I have none of the characteristics of a typical recruiter. (Introverted, quiet, empathetic)
So don’t believe the hype.
Like many others on this page. You went and got a degree, and never used your university resources to help you when you left or while attending.
You never took an internship? If you were into sports broadcasting, you should have shadowed someone that did that and saw what it took. Took it seriously. Not trying to rip you, but you have to put in the work, it doesn’t fall in your lap. Never did
Tale as old as time. Sorry to hear. Let’s all teach our kids better. I also got a useless degree. Started a few businesses and a couple have worked out, but I spent awhile in your shoes.
Grind. Work your ass off, try to schmooze with your plant’s leadership, ask to take on additional responsibilities. I think the US STEEL ceo started off working as like a low-level engineer or something at one of their factories, there’s always an angle if you’re ambitious enough.
Military.
IF you have the personality to work in Sports Broadcasting, get a job in sales and you will likely do well.
Youre only 25. Get into construction and work your way up the ladder to superintendent. You will be in the trenches to start off but in 10 years if you are competent and hardworking you will rise. There is a serious lack of skilled field workers today. This is coming from someone who works at a GC who does a lot of self perform work.
Do what every underachiever does when they have no options but want to make big money in the future – join the trades
Your problem is your own lack of initiative, not your degree. There are lots of jobs you can get with a communications degree. I would suggest you learn MS Excel and MS Word really well, then getting an office job. Maybe take accounting I and II at a community college. This will boost your prospects. Good Luck.
A 2.8 gpa with a communications is worse than no degree at all. Sounds like you didn’t care in school, would you really care more a second time around? CDL sounds like a great option.
You’re degree is NOT worthless. You graduated be proud of that. You need to do some soul searching and try a few different things before you find something you like. I have a degree but didn’t need it for my profession. But the promotion I just got requires a bachelor degree. You’re being short sighted. Do not go further into debt to figure out what you want to do.
I have a similar story to yours. It took me 10 years total to get my bachelors because I wasted my first two years and got like a 1.9, started from scratch at Community College, then worked back up to my State University, dropped out for 2 years to try and become a DJ, came back and finished with a 3.25.
You probably feel like sht because you look back at how you underperformed and probably believe that precludes you to failing at other opportunities, at least that’s how I viewed myself.
This all changed when I realized two things:
1. My girlfriend, through disability career services, was able to find decent a job in a field she has no experience in despite a 4 year employment gap. This led to me doing some research and realizing I am criminally underpaid in my field and could double my salary at entry level positions by job hopping. You’d be surprised how much a clear path to success can make you go from sleeping 12 hours a day feeling like a bum to wishing the day wouldn’t end and not able to sleep because of pure excitement and adrenaline.
2. It’s ALL in how you spin your past. Get with a resume specialist or career coach. They will help you see yourself in the best light. Heck I sent my resume to my dad and he sent back an edited version that made me look like a rockstar, and it was all true information that I just never bothered to spin in such a positive light. You are your harshest critic, so NEVER write your resume alone.
These two changes have given me the resolve to be on the offensive in life. Confidence and hope permeates everything you do, but so does lack of it. I hope you can see your value and discover opportunities you can leverage your experience in, because most people have no idea what they can attain and sometimes that’s the only thing keeping them down.
In your case, all we know is that you have a communications degree and work in a warehouse. Ok cool. I would suggest googling “communications major jobs” and see what type of career paths you can leverage your degree in, find entry level jobs for those career paths on linkedin, and just see what’s out there.
Look at the skills, certs, software etc commonly listed in the job descriptions, and go from there. Or maybe you want a career change? Who knows. It’s your life. But your past experiences might be worth more than you think, and you may as well make use of them.
Communications isn’t a worthless degree, I’ve seen a lot of people succeed with that field. Of course, they did it right- they looked for sales, HR or even analyst internships and got hired after college. But, the degree isn’t at fault here.
Best you can do without a whole another degree is pop off on LinkedIn, get valuable certifications, and try applying for relevant jobs. Bad job market rn but it’s worth a try
Two year Nursing degree