[Dat ass]

(01-31-2015 04:45 PM)Dalaran1991 Wrote:  

Sociology major here, 4 years BA with best student in the department distinction, Honor thesis. Master in Sociology at La Sorbonne.

In the middle of a search for internships, and I gotta tell you, it's pretty useless. Even here in France, where Sociology is born.

I've been applying to both quantitative and qualitative positions in Marketing and Market Research, in big private corporations. Didn't get anywhere even when I can easily answer all questions during my interview and impress the interviewers. In the end they always get an intern who studied exactly that field and who comes from a top private school.

That's pretty interesting, i saw marketing as other posible prospect. I have a friend from Toulouse and she told me that there are no jobs for that anyway, that is the predilect career of a big amount of french girls. I have seen it is like that here in Argentina.

I did a short but pretty solid certification course in marketing, when i tried to get a entry-level jobs and even interships, i saw that i was competing with a horde of girls. Without an expertise to set me apart from the other certified/full degree candidates i wasn't going anywhere. I honestly took the place of my employers and tought, who would i rather to have around the office: a random foreign guy or an argentinean hot girl?. I had to say fuck it and learned web development to subsist.

I feel the same that you, it seems pointless to me to study something like finance. I'm pretty confident i could land a teacher job in a university here in Latin America if i have a reputable european university degree, even if it is from humanities. The problem is that i would actually like to live in any other place but here. I guess i would need to be a very good enterpreneur if i want to do it withouth an enginering degree.

(01-31-2015 05:10 PM)bojangles Wrote:  

I have a BSc in Economics and I can tell you right now that most of the information that I learnt during my degree was in no way applicable to any job I held. I believe the economics taught at university level is futile and bullshit. (My university at the time was also ranked number 1 for the subject)

But did the degree ended being useful to land a job? i found economic history interesting anyway.

[Alpharius]

Depends on the a)where you study, b)how much you take it upon yourself to learn, c) and how utilize the skills you develop.

A degree from an online, for profit university won't get you very far. The school you go to doesn't have to be Harvard or Yale. A locally renown school can get you into a local industry or business just as easily, if not easier, than a degree from a top tier institution.

If all you do is attend class, get a passing grade and get a diploma, your degree probably won't matter too much regardless of what you major in. A good humanities or social science student is going to have spent time interning and volunteering in the field they want to get into. Most degree seekers in this field that are successful live and breathe their area of concentration.

What skills are you going to get while working towards your degree? A good social science program should leave you with both quantitative and qualitative research skills that go well beyond reading the first few links from Google. You should be able to discern what is good research and what isn't, what is useful knowledge you can apply and what is not.

It's one thing to study something on your own. It's another thing entirely to study something under the direction of someone else more knowledgeable in the subject matter who is able to guide you, challenge your thought process, and let you know if you're making progress.

[Americas]

(01-31-2015 08:16 PM)Osiris Wrote:  

It's one thing to study something on your own. It's another thing entirely to study something under the direction of someone else more knowledgeable in the subject matter who is able to guide you, challenge your thought process, and let you know if you're making progress.

I can't stress this enough for the people who say that formal education isn't that important. One of the best things about university is that you can learn from some of the most knowledgeable people in the field. Of course, it's up to you to tap this resource because profs won't give a crap about you unless you make an effort to get involved.

During my undergrad I did an honours thesis, did an independent reading and research course (just me and a prof discussing readings every week or two), and worked as a research assistant under three different brilliant professors in my field. I learned so much about research and my field from these classes it was ridiculous. I also regularly attended numerous professors' office hours.

[Deluge]

(01-31-2015 05:10 PM)bojangles Wrote:  

I have a BSc in Economics and I can tell you right now that most of the information that I learnt during my degree was in no way applicable to any job I held. I believe the economics taught at university level is futile and bullshit. (My university at the time was also ranked number 1 for the subject)

Agree with this. I did first year Economics (at a top tier school too) before I realized it was going to be useless. If you actually want to be an Economist professionally or as an academic then obviously do Economics, but don't do what a lot of people do and study it to go into financial services. It's a better route than a Humanities degree sure, but that's not saying much.

[Dalaran1991]

(01-31-2015 05:57 PM)Dat ass Wrote:  

I honestly took the place of my employers and tought, who would i rather to have around the office: a random foreign guy or an argentinean hot girl?. I had to say fuck it and learned web development to subsist.

Lol. Except that here in Paris your boss would be a woman. And all the HR department are also all women maybe if you game the interviewers you would be in? I couldn't do it even if you promise me the job with double salary. One of my two intervewiers was as a scrawny post wall, the other an office whale.

Yeah, considering that I feel better not getting the internship