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Whose career actually follows their degree stream?

RatFink

RatFink

Carnivore
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So I'm graduating in the next few weeks with an accounting degree and over the last month or so, I've really come to realize that I made the wrong decision to go through the commerce stream instead of engineering. I chose business over engineering because I was afraid of the math and calculus when I did my applications and acceptances in grade 12.

I have a good job locked down for September, but I really don't love what I'm learning or love what I've done in my summer jobs. I more enjoy the people than the actual act of auditing or whatever.

I don't wander around downtown wondering how the financials of companies work or how they could be improved... I wander around looking at cars or machines wondering how they work and how they were designed because mechanical things have always been more interesting to me.

Do I regret my degree? At this point, yes... because I'm short sighted and I don't see the opportunities for what it could possibly do for me - especially when I get my professional designation, but still.

Did anyone else feel like me? And if so, what did you do to actually pursue happiness? Was it through side projects/hobbies, or did you just go back and do what you should have done in the first place (I have considered working for a bit to save money and just do an engineering degree straight up).

Any words for a confused soul will be greatly appreciated!
 
Not mine. Poli Sci degree. Work as a sales engineer with heat transfer equipment.
 
As of now, not mine. I have a criminal justice degree, and am in sales. I am still however looking to go part time with a PD or FD, so we'll see.

Dan

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
 
I was always in love with architecture and community planning while growing up. Why communities are laid out the way they are, how types of architecture are integrated between old and new, etc.

Came out of high school, jumped in Commerce with a major in accounting. My uncle works at a firm, guaranteed me a well paying job. During my program, I did a 8 month co-op work term. Hated it. The schooling and the work.

Took a semester of planning courses to see if I enjoyed them more and lone behold, I ended up switching. It sucks right now because my Commerce class is graduating in two weeks, a lot of them with full-time jobs fully set-up and I still have 2 years of schooling left. I enjoy going to class now, I enjoy the discussion with Profs. My pay will probably never be as good as what it would have been as a CA, but I'm positive I will enjoy going to work on a day-to-day basis more as a Planner, than as an accountant.

I took the chance of change and hope it pays off in the long-run, short-term thoughts though; I'm glad I made the switch and don't regret that I'm going to be in school longer.
 
Mine has so far, working on Bachelors degree in Microbiology, and a minor in Biochemistry, will be heading off to graduate school next fall for a Ph.D. in Microbiology for medical research, so far my path has stayed pretty similar
 
First, congrats on finishing the Accounting degree. That is an accomplishment.


As for the career thoughts, I think it is completely natural to question your career path at some point. I have certainly done it with my career, both in school and while working. You will hear people say that the secret of life is to do what you love for work. While that may be true (the founders of THP can likely attest to that), I'm not sure it is a realistic path for everyone. I do not think that it is for me.

Instead of focusing on doing what you "love" for work, I suggest focusing on doing what keeps you interested. There can be many motivations for a job (e.g., money, fringe benefits, extra time), but I think that a career won't be sustainable unless it at least somewhat interests you. If your career bores you, I suspect you will ultimately change careers. (With that said, I have a few friends that do not enjoy their jobs, but they put limited time in solely for money, and they spend a lot of time on hobbies and other interests.)

It's all about finding a right fit. In my opinion, you won't know until you start doing it. Unless you just have zero interest in Accounting, I would see how you like the work before deciding on something else. You can always fit hobbies and other activities into your interests to keep you motivated and fulfilled.
 
I went to school to become a civil engineer and now I am one :D, so yes I did follow my degree. Here is a little tidbit about engineering that alot of people don't realize and is par for kind of what you are looking for. When you first graduate, you are basically a "design engineer" doing calculations, and time consuming tasks for you project manager. After 4-5 years once you become a project manager, you spend more time in meetings/contacting clients than you do doing "calculations". In a sense I would say project managers spend less than 10% of their time doing actual engineering and 90% interacting with clients and contractors. You get that people interaction you want but you have to work your way to that point.
 
ATLGolfer said:
First, congrats on finishing the Accounting degree. That is an accomplishment.


As for the career thoughts, I think it is completely natural to question your career path at some point. I have certainly done it with my career, both in school and while working. You will hear people say that the secret of life is to do what you love for work. While that may be true (the founders of THP can likely attest to that), I'm not sure it is a realistic path for everyone. I do not think that it is for me.

Instead of focusing on doing what you "love" for work, I suggest focusing on doing what keeps you interested. There can be many motivations for a job (e.g., money, fringe benefits, extra time), but I think that a career won't be sustainable unless it at least somewhat interests you. If your career bores you, I suspect you will ultimately change careers. (With that said, I have a few friends that do not enjoy their jobs, but they put limited time in solely for money, and they spend a lot of time on hobbies and other interests.)

It's all about finding a right fit. In my opinion, you won't know until you start doing it. Unless you just have zero interest in Accounting, I would see how you like the work before deciding on something else. You can always fit hobbies and other activities into your interests to keep you motivated and fulfilled.
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And, my undergraduate degree was in Finance (which was mainly a gateway to a JD, but I wanted some business/investment background).
 
Mine does, education degree, so I teach.

I do regret my choice though looking back and knowing now the BS involved in education.
 
I think many people feel exactly the same as you. Focus on your skills, not the degree. You can apply them to a career that interests you. You probably won't be designing bridges without another degree, but maybe you can get into an industry that interests you and see what opportunities are out there.
 
Bachelors in Marketing, Masters in Project Management, almost finished with Masters in Applied Communications and I am a Director for a subsidiary of a Fortune 1000 company. My degree path has been necessary for my position and my successes so far.
 
ATLGolfer said:
First, congrats on finishing the Accounting degree. That is an accomplishment.


As for the career thoughts, I think it is completely natural to question your career path at some point. I have certainly done it with my career, both in school and while working. You will hear people say that the secret of life is to do what you love for work. While that may be true (the founders of THP can likely attest to that), I'm not sure it is a realistic path for everyone. I do not think that it is for me.

Instead of focusing on doing what you "love" for work, I suggest focusing on doing what keeps you interested. There can be many motivations for a job (e.g., money, fringe benefits, extra time), but I think that a career won't be sustainable unless it at least somewhat interests you. If your career bores you, I suspect you will ultimately change careers. (With that said, I have a few friends that do not enjoy their jobs, but they put limited time in solely for money, and they spend a lot of time on hobbies and other interests.)

It's all about finding a right fit. In my opinion, you won't know until you start doing it. Unless you just have zero interest in Accounting, I would see how you like the work before deciding on something else. You can always fit hobbies and other activities into your interests to keep you motivated and fulfilled.
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This is always true. The best form of loving a job, is having motivation to stay good at it. The grass will always be greener on the other side and because we live in a world of instant satisfaction, people want to leave their job quickly. The days of resumes showing long tenures for much of the talent pool might be over due to this.

I dont believe in the adage of "love what you do". I believe in the adage of work hard at what you do, and that creativity spawns motivation.
 
As of right now I am a process engineer in the carbon fiber industry and I got my BS in Chemical Engineering in 2011. While this particular job isn't something I want to do forever, I am happy with my career path.
 
Mine did for 21 years, until 2003. I got a printing degree from Pitt State (KS) and worked in the business until 2003. I was in Safety for an ammonia refrigeration company until 2009 and have been selling insurance since.

Wish I had started the insurance biz sooner! Had the opportunity in 1992 or so but passed it up.
 
You're right, I don't have the experience to make a call on whether I love the work or not, but I know my friends who are at the firm I'll be working at constantly tell us new-hires to bail and go do something else because the lifestyle sucks, the money sucks, and everything sucks haha.

I chose accounting and the CA/CPA route because of the different challenges that come up every day. I did a year in oil & gas and got bored out of my mind because it was the same thing day after day. At least with audit, each client is different and they offer a new problem that needs to be solved. I don't plan on auditing for longer than 5 years since the lifestyle does not really support a healthy family environment - though exceptions do happen.

My brother is a mechanical engineer with a super major and has rotated into his second division and even his worst work seems interesting (but that could be the grass is greener perspective). He's now up in Fort McMurray working at the oil sands (NOT the evil tar sands... there's no such thing as a tar sand) so he gets to see tons of really cool things, but leads a hard(er) life up there with great pay.

As it stands, I consider myself lucky that I have a 'good' job locked down because it's getting hard to be employed downtown so I will give it my best for as long as I can and then decide.

ATLGolfer said:
First, congrats on finishing the Accounting degree. That is an accomplishment.


As for the career thoughts, I think it is completely natural to question your career path at some point. I have certainly done it with my career, both in school and while working. You will hear people say that the secret of life is to do what you love for work. While that may be true (the founders of THP can likely attest to that), I'm not sure it is a realistic path for everyone. I do not think that it is for me.

Instead of focusing on doing what you "love" for work, I suggest focusing on doing what keeps you interested. There can be many motivations for a job (e.g., money, fringe benefits, extra time), but I think that a career won't be sustainable unless it at least somewhat interests you. If your career bores you, I suspect you will ultimately change careers. (With that said, I have a few friends that do not enjoy their jobs, but they put limited time in solely for money, and they spend a lot of time on hobbies and other interests.)

It's all about finding a right fit. In my opinion, you won't know until you start doing it. Unless you just have zero interest in Accounting, I would see how you like the work before deciding on something else. You can always fit hobbies and other activities into your interests to keep you motivated and fulfilled.
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I have a degree in aerospace engineering from Virginia Tech, and right now I am in a rotational program with a company who makes raw materials and parts for the aerospace industry (Hexcel), so I followed my degree stream in that regard. However, I am currently in a finance rotation, so not so much at this particular moment. I start an engineering rotation in 3 months though!
 
Close, but not really. I actually started college as a chemical engineering major and now I work in Marketing and Advertising, not even close to each other!
 
Jman said:
Mine does, education degree, so I teach.

I do regret my choice though looking back and knowing now the BS involved in education.
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This.

I am a math teacher, and at times wish I'd have gone into some sort of engineering, and still might. I know I've got enough math knowledge/education, so I may pursue it in the future. I sure do love helping kids though.
 
RatFink said:
You're right, I don't have the experience to make a call on whether I love the work or not, but I know my friends who are at the firm I'll be working at constantly tell us new-hires to bail and go do something else because the lifestyle sucks, the money sucks, and everything sucks haha.

I chose accounting and the CA/CPA route because of the different challenges that come up every day. I did a year in oil & gas and got bored out of my mind because it was the same thing day after day. At least with audit, each client is different and they offer a new problem that needs to be solved. I don't plan on auditing for longer than 5 years since the lifestyle does not really support a healthy family environment - though exceptions do happen.

My brother is a mechanical engineer with a super major and has rotated into his second division and even his worst work seems interesting (but that could be the grass is greener perspective). He's now up in Fort McMurray working at the oil sands (NOT the evil tar sands... there's no such thing as a tar sand) so he gets to see tons of really cool things, but leads a hard(er) life up there with great pay.

As it stands, I consider myself lucky that I have a 'good' job locked down because it's getting hard to be employed downtown so I will give it my best for as long as I can and then decide.
Click to expand...

Do anything long enough and it is going to get into that same old, same old rut. But to answer your question, I have a BA in history and have worked in IT for the last 20+ years.
 
Kind of...Finance degree and MBA. Currently a hospital accountant.
 
I have followed mine I went to X-ray school then I decided that I wanted to do management so I have my BA in healthcare management as a Radiology Supervisor. I have now decided that I want to be in hospital administration, and I am working on my Masters in Healthcare Administration now.
 
JConn said:
This.

I am a math teacher, and at times wish I'd have gone into some sort of engineering, and still might. I know I've got enough math knowledge/education, so I may pursue it in the future. I sure do love helping kids though.
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Hah, my physics teacher in high school was a mechanical engineer who hated engineering, then went to teaching, and then tried to get into med school, but she had kids instead.
 
Mine does at the moment, but I'm hoping that's coming to an end soon. I have a Bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems and I've been working in IT for the past 9 or 10 years. There's a couple of reasons for wanting out, though. One is the fact that I just don't enjoy it anymore. I really enjoyed it when I started, but I think the environment that I work in has caused me to lose the enjoyment of it. Another is the fact that our budget has been cut severely over the past year and we've already laid one person off. I have a strong feeling we are about to get cut again real soon, and I have a feeling I may be next to go. So I'd rather be the one that decides my fate instead of waiting on the inevitable to come force me out.
 
IceyShanks said:
Close, but not really. I actually started college as a chemical engineering major and now I work in Marketing and Advertising, not even close to each other!
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Wow, this is eerily similar to me. Once I realized what ChemE's actually do on the job, I totally lost interest.
 
Mine has for the past 10 years.
 
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