Young adults fear college degrees don’t guarantee success
20 posts across 9 communities in the last 60 days; 30% from r/careerguidance.
“People pay for college because they literally dont know any better lol. Sometimes, sure. But so do people who take time to research the best course of action post-high school. All of these studies prove my point lmao. They do not. You can't just say what you want to be true and…”
“My first degree is Political Science. I have previous jobs, but they're not in line with my field. I am not happy with my career path. I always have thoughts every night, overthinking what if I pursued nursing in the first place (I wasn't able to enroll in that course due to…”
“My advisor told me that as a 32 year old mom, not to get a “useless” bachelors degree in case I change my mind or med school doesn’t pan out. The school I am going to offers programs in medical imaging, dental hygiene, nursing, and respiratory therapy. I know I love medicine and…”
Multiple users question the traditional belief that a college degree automatically leads to career success. They are re-evaluating this assumption and seeking advice on navigating the workforce with evolving expectations and potential myths about higher education.
SOURCES (35)
“My first degree is Political Science. I have previous jobs, but they're not in line with my field. I am not happy with my career path. I always have thoughts every night, overthinking what if I pursued nursing in the first place (I wasn't able…”
“My advisor told me that as a 32 year old mom, not to get a “useless” bachelors degree in case I change my mind or med school doesn’t pan out. The school I am going to offers programs in medical imaging, dental hygiene, nursing, and respiratory therapy. I know I love medicine and have been on the premed journey for 2 years as I completed most prereqs at the local CC and got my associates of science degree. Besides the dental hygiene, I know the other 3 programs are valuable experiences and career”
“When you're starting out, a lot of career advice sounds like common sense. You hear things from family, teachers, older colleagues, and even people online, and you naturally assume they must be true. For example: “If you work hard, you'll automatically get promoted.” “You need to stay with one company for years to build a successful career.” “The more qualifications you have, the better your career will be.” “Your degree determines what you can do for the rest of your life.” “Once you ge”
“I get told by a lot of ppl that this degree is a useless one and I’m afraid of committing to something that won’t help me in the future… especially if I’m gonna leave with debt. I want to become an advertiser for name brands or small businesses… for instance a cafe, fashion, makeup, or perfume. You get the gist. Has anyone ever gotten an actual career out of this field or were you just stuck with settling for a random office job…? submitted by /u/Impressive_Sort_7232 [link] [co”
“Just so yall know, just cause you graduated college w a degree In whatever does not mean you gotta build your career about that subject I got a Bachelor of Arts in political science cause idk what I wanted to do after college and just wanted to party. so far iv worked as an operations lead, finance lead, settling in RN as an IT lead and I intend to take a role as a banking in a year. If anything your internships play more of a role In shaping your career progression but only cause they provide a”
“Hello! Recently I decided I want to beginning the journey of becoming a lawyer. I'm currently a junior at a R1 university and majoring in health communications. I'm also a first generation college and feeling overwhelmed because no one in my close circle can act as a mentor or guidance. To anyone who can relate to my life and is a practicing lawyer, what is some advice you could give me on how to start this journey? PS: Please share any resources( on the affordable side) that you found h”
“Upon graduating with my Bachelor's Degree in History in 2011 I was only able to get retail work. I then tried to improve my career prospects and got a paralegal cert in 2014. But after several years I was never able to get a legal field position despite hundreds of apps. During that time "tolerable," as I put it, full time jobs that had benefits (indoor low paying office work) were my lifeline. Then I became a teacher in 2019 and taught until 2023, my breaking point where I couldn&”
“Looking back, what's one piece of career advice that sounded great at the time but turned out not to be true in your experience? For me, I often hear people say "just work hard and opportunities will come." Curious to hear what others would add. submitted by /u/Careerwithayomide [link] [comments]”
“It was the way it used to be. A degree did indeed usually end up leading to a good job.”
“I went to university to study law, thinking I had it all figured out. Turns out I didn't. By my final year, I realized I wasn't going to do it. I've since changed careers a few times. And I don't want that for my kid. Has your teen chosen a path yet? Do you think it'll actually stick, or is it just a first guess like mine was? Was it hard for them to decide? submitted by /u/Charming_Rooster_385 [link] [comments]”
“Hi. I'm 21 years old in my senior year of college at the moment and am extremely worried about the direction of my degree. Originally I chose to complete my bachelor's in biology because I am passionate about the environment, aquatic resources, fisheries, and animal husbandry, and wanted a career where I could frequently work outdoors. I always imagined that I would be able to get some internships which would help me build the direction of my career a little but for the past two years I”
“I never went to college and I want to go back but my biggest fear is getting a useless degree, especially these days. If anyone has advice on what worked for them please drop a comment! I’m 26 and feel so lost on what I should even be doing at this point and it’s depressing asf😅 submitted by /u/Unique_Dog8426 [link] [comments]”
“Genuine question😭…all I see here is that your degree doesn’t matter so why go through the hustle of doing something hard(unless u love it), when u can just do something easier? Edit: I agree that degrees do matter, but what I meant by the question was, why don’t people major in something easier instead of like engineering or finance??? I’ve seen people with the most random degrees work in completely different industries and it’s rlly making me question submitted by /u/Ambitious_Jell”
“A friend and I were talking recently about her wanting to study something new. Her current degree isn’t helping her land a job, but she’s terrified of what starting from scratch actually means. That conversation hit me hard because it made me realize just how brutal it is to pursue a simple degree nowadays. It starts as early as high school. If you weren’t a model student or were dealing with tough personal circumstances back then, those couple of years can alter the entire trajectory of your fu”
“In the past having a good degree meant something and signaled knowledge and reliability to employers. Nowadays it just signals "I have a piece of paper, do with that information what you like". it is increasingly hard for young university graduates without extensive job experience to land entry-level roles in the areas of expertise matching their degrees (and in general as well). Despite that, degrees are still often required, even if places where they shouldn't be. It's import”
“25F. for the last 8 years i have been on the pre-physician assistant track. got a degree in bio, did research, worked in administrative healthcare, completing all of the requirements to apply, etc. I currently work as a medical assistant in dermatology and have worked there for 3 years. ive applied to PA school twice now with no luck. ive always told myself this is what i wanted and never gave myself a chance to consider other careers. im realizing being a PA may not be my dream after all, and s”
“I'd like to share where I am in life right now with you all. Maybe some of you have been through something similar, or know someone who has. I finished my first degree, in Law, in 2011, and worked as a lawyer for nine years. Technically I'm still a lawyer, but I no longer practice. In 2020 I started a new degree, Systems Engineering, because I wanted to work with semiconductors (even though, back then, I didn't really understand how any of that worked, hahaha). But in my first year,”
“25F. for the last 8 years i have been on the pre-physician assistant track. got a degree in bio, did research, worked in administrative healthcare, completing all of the requirements to apply, etc. I currently work as a medical assistant in dermatology and have worked there for 3 years. ive applied to PA school twice now with no luck. ive always told myself this is what i wanted and never gave myself a chance to consider other careers. im realizing being a PA may not be my dream after all, and s”
“People pay for college because they literally dont know any better lol. Sometimes, sure. But so do people who take time to research the best course of action post-high school. All of these studies prove my point lmao. They do not. You can't just say what you want to be true and make it true. If I'm missing something, please explain. Happy to see any sources to the contrary too.”
“Why is this subreddit so anti-college? If you have a specialized skill that lets you make a living without college that’s fantastic, but it’s just not the case for most people. There’s too many people majoring in a generic degree like psychology without any real plan of how to use it and they unsurprisingly end up unemployed”
“Did you go to a high achieving school? Do you have a graduate degree? Do you see how maybe your peer group has already been self selected? "People that you know" is not a random sample.”
“I’m stuck in this mindset that whatever I major in determines what I’ll be doing forever. For those who ended up in a completely different field from their degree, what did you major in and what do you do now? How did you make the jump? submitted by /u/DragonfruitBubbly214 [link] [comments]”
“All my life my family has told me I would be nothing without a college degree. Over all I disagree with them because I see people happy with where their at with no college degree, now I as far as my end goal I want to live on a ranch and farm (I know it’s silly) and I want to have my own business, instead of wasting 9000 for one semester of college I think I would like to not do it? I make 20/hour now and I’m 21 now my dad has school money in savings and so if I say hey I’m not going to college”
“80% likely going to law school and 20% going to do marketing, brand strategy, media etc. help me choose! i go to duke if that helps submitted by /u/Old-Pudding-5248 [link] [comments]”
“Hi! Current premed/rising junior here. I know the common sentiment is that "major doesn't matter," but I wanted some more definitive advice based on what would be more strategic or beneficial from a med school application standpoint -- English vs Biology - If I'm only factoring in passion, I would pick English. I find the classes more enjoyable, and it ties more into my overall med school "narrative" - Of the 2 English classes I've taken, both of them have been pr”
“The US over the past couple generations put heavy emphasis on post-secondary education. So much so that many people will get college degrees in completely impractical fields. going into many tens of thousands of dollars of debt, just to come out with little more than the value of the paper the degree is printed on. It makes sense that people brought up in this type of culture would personally value it enough that they need to include it as part of their introductions hoping it lends them some le”
“i wouldn’t say that people think they’re “too good.” if you spent time and money on a degree, you would want to use it in the field you studied.”
“When trying to figure out a career path that would be manageable, I was told that my career itself is going to be fairly simple, it's only college that is going to be difficult. How accurate is this? Like anesthesiologists, lawyers, financers, etc I was told have it pretty easy, it was just their college work that was challenging because they needed to learn everything. submitted by /u/No_Source7190 [link] [comments]”
“A lot of us grow up hearing things like "a college degree guarantees success" or "job hopping looks bad on your resume." Has your experience changed your perspective? What advice would you give to someone entering the workforce today? submitted by /u/West_Complaint4046 [link] [comments]”
“Hello, everyone. Seeking genuine advice. Please be kind. I know I may not know all the ins and outs; please educate me. I've always been torn between law and medicine since I was in middle school. I've genuinely have always been able to see myself in both fields. Now I'm about to enter my senior year of college. Was pre med up until my first semester of junior year. I was going through a tough time personally, my schoolwork was becoming harder and harder, and so, I stopped being pre”