Apparently studies have shown that 50% of college graduates surveyed ten years after they completed college were pursuing a career different from the degree they majored in.
Speaking from personal experience I can’t say that I disagree with the study.
I’m an IT manager, which is a little bizarre because I can barely work out how to turn on a computer and don’t even ask me what 80% of the buttons on the forest of remote controls sitting on my coffee table are for. I didn’t mean to be an IT manager. It was an accident, I swear.
When I graduated from high school my family migrated from England to Australia and I joined the office brigade as a mail clerk. Fifteen years in various accounting type roles (plus a stint managing the accounts for a small family business) and I thought I should get some formal qualifications so that I didn’t have to keep ‘proving’ myself every time I moved to a new job. By then I was a single Mum and full-time university wasn’t really an option. So I studied for my business degree (majoring in accounting) part-time over six years. You’d think that after going to that much effort I’d be really sure of what I wanted to do.
Not so. Within eighteen months of graduating I had an opportunity to join a major telecommunications company as a quality manager (don’t ask!!) in their Information Technology Group. I’ve been there eleven years and had a number of very different roles – none of them coming close to relating to my accounting degree.
I can’t work out what I’m doing there, because after eleven years I still don’t understand IT!!
But it’s been a great ride. Maybe I should apply for a grant to do a study.
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Oh, this is hilarious writing!! The yellow brick road – love it. I guess sometimes it doesn’t matter what piece of paper you get from uni, so long as you get one…
I reckon that’s the truth, Heather.
I enjoyed your post. Sounds like you have had an incredible journey down the yellow brick road! Isn’t life grand!
I’ve found that IT is notorious for having people that don’t necessarily have a computer degree. I think it’s because the field changes so much and so quickly that real-life experience is more valuable. A degree for many of them is just a way to prove they are dedicated to a goal. My husband doesn’t even have a degree and he’ll likely be a manager within a year. Go figure.
Bravo. You may not be sure you have the job you wanted but it sounds like it has been an interesting time getting there.
Yeah but it beats cleaning windscreens!