What Degrees Do You Think Is Most In Demand?

ladysolitary85 said:
Thats the problem, I don't know what I'd like to do :)

I know I want to make a decent living, happy, I want a stable work schedule that includes benefits. I'd like a degree that can take me anywhere are far as living in certain places.

My strongest point is customer service (Although I'm not sure if thats something I'd want to do now) My weakest point I think would be anything that is phone related (can't hear on the phone and I get nervous, and no I'm not trying to say my deafness is a weakness lol) I love kids but I don't think I can really work directly with them everyday.

When I was in high school my strongest points was English, Art, some History
And my weakest was Math, Science (although some science interested me)

I just have two fears, going into debt and getting a degree in something that I can't use. I know I don't want to spend 8 years at a school lol
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playsonfreeway said:
Wirelessly posted

You only said you were looking to get a degree you didn't say how much time you were willing to invest in it. But even nurse without degrees make money I think
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Yea I did lol.

Its worth looking into, I just don't want to go through debt with it.
 
ladysolitary85 said:
Thats the problem, I don't know what I'd like to do :)

I know I want to make a decent living, happy, I want a stable work schedule that includes benefits. I'd like a degree that can take me anywhere are far as living in certain places.

My strongest point is customer service (Although I'm not sure if thats something I'd want to do now) My weakest point I think would be anything that is phone related (can't hear on the phone and I get nervous, and no I'm not trying to say my deafness is a weakness lol) I love kids but I don't think I can really work directly with them everyday.

When I was in high school my strongest points was English, Art, some HistoryAnd my weakest was Math, Science (although some science interested me)

I just have two fears, going into debt and getting a degree in something that I can't use. I know I don't want to spend 8 years at a school lol
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You've got a better handle on what you want to do than you think! Look at all you've listed:

Strengths: Customer service, also English, Art, History.

Weaknesses: Heavy phone use, dealing with kids on an every-day basis. Math, Science.

Don't want extended time in school.

So that's a good start.

Nursing uses math and science. A dose of medicine that is 10 times stronger than it's supposed to be can kill a person! Plus it involves a lot of patience. You've already said dealing with kids full-time every day is not for you, so maybe that's a patience-related issue?

Strengths in English and Art and History - what about some sort of writing? Public relations for museums or similar non-profits, perhaps? Are you a good researcher? Detail-oriented, or more big-picture type? Do you have an entrepreneurial streak in you (does free-lancing appeal?), or do you want a steady income working for someone else?

What higher education do you have already, if anything?

If you haven't done so already, you could go to the library and scout around in the career development area. There are books with various self-tests and so forth that might help you narrow down some career fields.
 
You should try to get a degree in something only people can do. We're being replace by technology everyday.
 
Beowulf said:
I just googled and you're right, it does! :shock:
I guess things were different over 25 years ago.
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:lol: I know because my daughter is in a college at the moment getting a nursing degree.

She was an IT trainer for a big insurance company and when the eliminated her department, she used her settlement to go back to school. She researched it first.
 
Working in the medical field is pretty much a recession proof job. Pays well and good benifits... Depending on where you work. The baby boomer generation are hitting the age of needing more medical care.
 
Beach girl said:
You've got a better handle on what you want to do than you think! Look at all you've listed:

Strengths: Customer service, also English, Art, History.

Weaknesses: Heavy phone use, dealing with kids on an every-day basis. Math, Science.

Don't want extended time in school.

So that's a good start.

Nursing uses math and science. A dose of medicine that is 10 times stronger than it's supposed to be can kill a person! Plus it involves a lot of patience. You've already said dealing with kids full-time every day is not for you, so maybe that's a patience-related issue?

Strengths in English and Art and History - what about some sort of writing? Public relations for museums or similar non-profits, perhaps? Are you a good researcher? Detail-oriented, or more big-picture type? Do you have an entrepreneurial streak in you (does free-lancing appeal?), or do you want a steady income working for someone else?

What higher education do you have already, if anything?

If you haven't done so already, you could go to the library and scout around in the career development area. There are books with various self-tests and so forth that might help you narrow down some career fields.
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The highest level of education I have is a high school diploma :lol:

I do love kids, I have tons of patience for them but I'm afraid I wont hear them (I always had trouble understanding them because of children's soft-sqeaky like voice maybe?) and listening to their questions is important, and I'm afraid I'd set myself up for embarrassment with hearing kids, which makes me wonder if perusing a teaching career in special education specializing for deaf students would be a better idea if I was going to go about teaching. But again, thats something I'd really would need to think about.

Or maybe some kind of job that involves the deaf world :dunno2:

I am really good with researching things also.

Ohhh another thing, I would really like to avoid commission at all cost if I can. I've had bad experience with it lol.

I know I want a career that is beneficial to me and other people.
 
Have you ever thought about doing volunteering in some of these fields, so you can get a closer look and see if it's for you.

For example, perhaps you could volunteer at a deaf school and talk to teachers there and determine if you like the idea of teaching kids or not.

Also try and follow your heart/gut feeling.

Just my two cents.
 
Miss-Delectable said:
Have you ever thought about doing volunteering in some of these fields, so you can get a closer look and see if it's for you.

For example, perhaps you could volunteer at a deaf school and talk to teachers there and determine if you like the idea of teaching kids or not.

Also try and follow your heart/gut feeling.

Just my two cents.
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GREAT idea!

That's what I did when I was trying to figure out what to major in...worked at State Farm insurance to see if I liked the office job environment while voluteering at the deaf school. The deaf school won.
 
GO for you bachlors or masters.. in what you want to do because it will be about you
 
Grummer said:
solving people problems in workplaces
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So a Counselor maybe? Hmm... think I give good advice? lol

AandEMomma said:
GO for you bachlors or masters.. in what you want to do because it will be about you
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Thats pretty much my plan, I want to stick with at LEAST a bachelor, I'm seeing people who barely gets their foot in a door with a Associates now a days.
 
shel90 said:
GREAT idea!

That's what I did when I was trying to figure out what to major in...worked at State Farm insurance to see if I liked the office job environment while voluteering at the deaf school. The deaf school won.
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The closest deaf school in my area is Fremont CA which is an hr and 30 mins away. A little embarrassed to say this but, I can't drive legally. Not that I ever did anything wrong, but I never went through the driven test. I was always afraid I'd miss something important and fail the test.
 
it used to be nursing the past few years, now there's a problem with too many nurses and costs keeping them employed in some areas. Im guessing you arent into computersci, most females dont seem to be.

imo, go for sectors where the money is still at when the economy is down.

Engineering (mech, EE, chem, nuke etc) will all likely land you a high paying job 40-50K+ entry level. they are always high in demand and lots of people cant keep up with the learning curve.

agricultural and food sciences are another area. food supplies are dwindling and people get scared. you need food to survive. people will pay top dollar when supplies grow short. so you end up working at monsato if youre into genetics, otherwise theres organic and farm research related like they have in Upenn or Cornell (east areas)

mineral science is a growing one this year due to the shortage of oil supplies. they want you to either find new sources or more alternatives.

microbio, genetics or biochem is a good rounded area, but you have a lot to keep up with. it opens a lot of opportunities

dont do: bio, chem, ochem, english, liberal arts UNLESS you intend to get a phd and work institution level for some. the demand is low and not all have jobs open. lots of them cant get jobs at the bs/ms level depending on what you specialize in. this isnt the whole list, just whats off the top of my head at the moment.

remember to specialize at the grad/phd level, not the bachelor's.
 
oh yeah, one more piece of common sense advice. they always talk about this on businessweek and USnews related investing and education.

Don't go into debt for an education that doesn't at the least give you at least the confidence for a career in the future. Meaning, you have to see yourself being able to do this right before even taking the first exam for that class. In the past it was ok, but now in these hard times it is not worth it at all. You will end up paying more back and no decent job when you're out. The accumulated interest is built to kill, you could make more money without even needing an education and being debt free.
 
ladysolitary85 said:
I maybe starting school this year and I'm not sure about what degree I want to pursue, I'm curious what degrees people think are worth it, and what degrees aren't. Even speaking from experience, I would love opinions!
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You know, that is my exact predicament... so my solution for the meantime while i decide is to learn Auslan (being hearing) and work!

Nursing perhaps? that is definately going to be in demand..

will that be okay with your HOH status?

-P
 
There are HoH nurses. We have some here.

I'd recommend that the OP doesnt explore nursing if she intends to be in CA though. It's like a gamble at the moment. Several of my childhood friends and colleagues I met along the way in education went into nursing. All of them are either working weekends and gaveyard (only openings available) or further taking more education for certs to be in another division like EMTs or CNTs etc, they have to specialize to move up, its a ladder in there. The ones working graveyard are stuck - they often talk about not being able to be awake for classes in the day.

Not the same out of state in the USA though, theres demand here (VA/MD/WV) from what I've noticed. Pretty much a YMMV situation.
 
ladysolitary - based on your posts... what you need to work on first is your self-esteem and confidence. I see that it's holding you back from your true talent. Once you get over that barrier - the answer's right there. you'll find your calling in life and you'll know what you'll want to do. we cannot tell you what degree or job is "hot" out there. I believe just about all jobs are "hot" as long as you are damn good at it and you will get paid well. it's the truth. everybody is always willing to pay extra for that kind of service.

many people are in fields that they are not good at because they thought they can get rich quick... which is why economy is looking bad right now. It's full of incompetent people.... thus mass lay-off and high unemployment rate. I have no problem finding any job I want because job availability's always there.

Due to bad economy and budget limit - employers have gotten their acts together and started paying attention to who they're hiring so ya just gotta prove what you preach at job interview :)
 
naisho said:
oh yeah, one more piece of common sense advice. they always talk about this on businessweek and USnews related investing and education.

Don't go into debt for an education that doesn't at the least give you at least the confidence for a career in the future. Meaning, you have to see yourself being able to do this right before even taking the first exam for that class. In the past it was ok, but now in these hard times it is not worth it at all. You will end up paying more back and no decent job when you're out. The accumulated interest is built to kill, you could make more money without even needing an education and being debt free.
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Thats my number one concern lol

Jiro said:
ladysolitary - based on your posts... what you need to work on first is your self-esteem and confidence. I see that it's holding you back from your true talent. Once you get over that barrier - the answer's right there. you'll find your calling in life and you'll know what you'll want to do. we cannot tell you what degree or job is "hot" out there. I believe just about all jobs are "hot" as long as you are damn good at it and you will get paid well. it's the truth. everybody is always willing to pay extra for that kind of service.

many people are in fields that they are not good at because they thought they can get rich quick... which is why economy is looking bad right now. It's full of incompetent people.... thus mass lay-off and high unemployment rate. I have no problem finding any job I want because job availability's always there.

Due to bad economy and budget limit - employers have gotten their acts together and started paying attention to who they're hiring so ya just gotta prove what you preach at job interview :)
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Yea I definitely need to work on that.
 
naisho said:
it used to be nursing the past few years, now there's a problem with too many nurses and costs keeping them employed in some areas. Im guessing you arent into computersci, most females dont seem to be.
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Actually..... I'm great with computers. I'm not huge on hardware, but some software I can help with. Typing is great until I touched a normal keyboard for the first time in a few years (been used to a laptop).
 
Just go with what you enjoy the most. The money will come if you are very good and build a reputation on it. This is something you might have to do for the rest of your life, so don't pick a major/field of work that you don't enjoy. You will just make yourself miserable.

IMHO, don't worry about debt. If you pick something you enjoy and can become good at it, then the money used to pay for your education is a worthwhile investment. This is a "good" debt that you want to make many times over your lifetime. Besides, educational loans typically have very low interest rates compared to other things like cars, mortgages, etc etc. Don't sweat over the debt incurred by your education. Unless you go to medical school or something like that.
 
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