@bethcollege I understand feeling that way; the first time I was put on antidepressants I didn’t like feeling dependent on meds, and so I stopped taking them cold turkey (which you’re not supposed to do because there are serious side effects). But if you need medicine for high blood pressure or diabetes, you need it; and depression can be an actual biological problem (low activity of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine). What does it mean if you are “dependent” on meds to adjust your brain chemistry? That you’re weak, or that you did something wrong? Not at all! Also, I have been told that unless you have severe or chronically reoccuring depression, you’ll be able to taper down and eventually stop the meds after a few months to a year.
However, I do agree with rhandco that your sadness might just be situational, and meds really won’t help in that case. I guess the best way to tell is by looking at how the other areas of your life are going, and how you feel when you’re not in school. Depression has many components to it, but the way it comes on a lot of the time is that people may have a “biological vulnerability” to being depressed, but it takes a stressful event or transition to trigger a depressive episode.
As for the degree, I hear it’s not really the degree that helps you get the job; it’s who you know and can build connections with, as well as the experiences you’ve had outside of class. Obviously, some degrees are required for certain careers (like engineering and nursing), and a degree may certainly influence the decision of a person who is just choosing people based on credentials. But, for example, if you have a Liberal Arts degree and, let’s say, you spent two years editing the school’s newspaper, run a popular blog, and are involved in theater, those skills may make you a more desirable candidate for journalism than someone who only has a degree in Communications.