I hate my degrees I majored in, now what?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>I recently graduated from Fairfield University with a BS in Biology and a BA in Music with a 3.4 GPA overall (sciences bringing everything down). It was my VERY last choice of schools, and the only reason I attended was because of the very generous financial aid. Factoring in the lackluster faculty and the most condescending/spoiled students this side of the east coast, I found it very hard to instill any sense of pride or belonging in this school. It was more or less make the best of it, and really try my hardest to deal with the school day to day and pretend I fit in. As a result, it was pretty difficult to focus on academia and really find a "calling" or passion in this school in the meantime.</p>

<p>I originally enrolled in this school as a pre-med, but because that wasn't a major, I chose Biology because most of the AP sciences in high school really interested me. Fast forward a few semesters, and I ended up hating Biology after my first year. I ignored my disdain, thinking it was the initial "weeding out" phase for students, seeing how a large percentage of original biology majors switched out to psychology, a related science, or a business school major. I stuck out with it thinking I'll find my groove and really enjoy it.</p>

<p>I took my MCATs the end of junior year but didn't do as well as I wanted. At the same time, I was not approved by Fairfield's "Health Professions Program" to get a recommendation letter from them in order to apply to medical school. </p>

<p>It's a long story, but through a lot of thought, I realized I absolutely LOATHE biology. The theory itself is interesting to learn, but I cannot stand labs or field work. ELISAs, PCR, ANOVA, field documentation, rough sketches from microscopes, etc were all boring tasks I would relegate to my lab partner if possible. It doesn't interest me, and I never really clicked with the other bio majors who were essentially suck-ups and made it a drama case when their tests dipped below an A-. I'm also not fond of the 7 more years of work for pre-med I'm going to have to do until I start making a cent.</p>

<p>While pursuing a BS in Biology, I found out getting a BA in Music isn't difficult in my school as they require you to take any 8 music classes. So as it stands, I have knowledge in music history, little theory, and not much else. It feels more like a recognition or side-honor to my BS, rather than a full-fledged discipline I have authority on.</p>

<p>So now what?
I was thinking about law school. The next LSAT is in October, and I'd figure how would I know what I like until I give it a try? But given the time until law school applications open up, my scores are in, and everything's ready, I have nothing on my plate for the next couple of months.</p>

<p><strong><em>MY MAIN QUESTION</em></strong>: </p>

<p>What possible jobs can I look for NOT IN THE FIELD OF BIOLOGY that my BS in Biology would be a benefit? As I've mentioned, I really can't stand lab work or field work, and my grades in some of those classes are average. And I'm done with pre-med for the time being, so I am tired of hospitals. Besides, I really don't want to be interrogated about those fields come interview time for a job I don't want.</p>

<p>I keep hearing there's people who work in the federal government or insurance companies (as an example) who graduated with a BS in Biology, and find that little what they do has to do with biology.</p>

<p>I really want to rid myself of my history with this school and not let this degree tunnel me into the field of biology, because a large number of factors left a bad taste in my mouth.</p>

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<p>high school teacher or lower?
full time tutor?
consulting?
sales rep for pharma/lab supplier?
Why don’t you contact the career office at Fairfield?</p>

<p>Maybe you could get a paralegal type job to see if you like law before committing the time and money to the LSAT so this doesn’t just become the same story in a different field?</p>

<p>P.S. your post makes it sound like you would have fit in well at Fairfield</p>

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<p>The administration at Fairfield is so inept, I’m trying to disassociate from them as best I can, including the career office. I’ve had problems with the housing department, dean of students, the registrar consistently screwing up my semester billing, etc all because of mistakes they make on a consistent basis.</p>

<p>ps: That’s a joke right? I can’t tell sarcasm too well over the internet.</p>

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<p>Dunno. Last guy I knew who was pre-med, majored in biology at UCSD with a great GPA ended up at Starbucks working as a barista. Don’t jump into law school 'cause you don’t know what you want to do with your life…chances are you could end up hating that too but this time in huge debt.</p>

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<p>How am I supposed to know if I don’t like law if I don’t try it? Or really how can I try anything nowadays? You’re making me feel like I should approach this with tunnel-vision: that I am deemed to work in biology fields I hate. </p>

<p>I really don’t understand how this world works. Immediately upon declaring a Biology major in Fairfield, I was placed in the College of Arts and Sciences. So anything outside of that discipline would be in a different subset of schooling. Something like accounting or marketing, majors that somewhat interest me, would just make it that much harder to graduate in time with fairfield’s demanding “core” program. It’s a business, they don’t want you to explore academic interests so much as they take your money, they work you through their system, and out you go into the world with essentially a ticket to nowhere.</p>

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<p>[Welcome</a> to LawSchoolNumbers.com | Law School Numbers](<a href=“Recently Updated J.D. Profiles | Law School Numbers”>http://lawschoolnumbers.com/) can give you an idea of what law schools may admit you.</p>

<p>But be careful with law school; it is commonly written that good law jobs are mainly found by those who attended top 14 law schools, or regionally by those at slightly lower ranked law schools with a good regional reputation, while many law graduates finish with huge debt and no law job.</p>

<p>As far as ideas on types jobs go, think like many humanities and social studies majors who graduated with degrees that a non-specific to most jobs.</p>

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<p>OP,</p>

<p>my PS was a slight at you but upon re-reading your post it was uncalled for and I apologize.</p>

<p>If you can’t get the help from fairfield you’ll have to get help from somewhere but most jobs don’t really require any specific knowledge from UG so you should be able to find something somewhere.</p>

<p>You can try law without going to law school by working in a law firm in some non legal capacity and seeing what people do and asking them to expose you to stuff. For example, if you had volunteered in a lab earlier on you would have seen that it bored you instead of thinking that biology was what you wanted to do. Did you ever shadow a physician? Were you even sure that’s what you wanted to do?</p>

<p>Most people do the unpaid internship/volunteer thing in college. You may have to do that now to get a feel for what you want as well as establish some experience in a field so that you can eventually apply for something.</p>

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<p>

Your degree in biology isn’t going to be too helpful for jobs unrelated to biology. Mostly you’re looking at lab tech, research assistant, etc. jobs which you apparently hate.</p>

<p>Check out technical writing. Pharma sales has struggled recently but that still might be worth trying.</p>

<p>There are links to a number of career surveys here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/15975553-post63.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/15975553-post63.html&lt;/a&gt;
You can look through these and maybe get some ideas.</p>

<p>Be aware that the law market is oversaturated with graduates. You can apply for law school but think long and hard before you pay to attend.</p>

<p>If you want to blame Fairfield that’s your call. Maybe it helps to vent.</p>

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<p>noimagination,</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/120831-im-graduating-biology-degree-i-hate-what-do-i-do-now.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/120831-im-graduating-biology-degree-i-hate-what-do-i-do-now.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If that’s your stance, then why am I hearing how many employers just look for applicants with a degree in anything? -Just to show that I can focus and work hard on a 4 year degree. After all, lots of liberal arts majors look into career paths drastically different than their degree. Why can’t I be grouped in with them, except having the distinction of dealing with a more difficult courseload? So why are you acting like I’m excluded from other jobs?</p>

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<p>A JD is a professional degree that is intended for those who have a specific use/need for it. There are plenty of ways to learn more about the law (paralegal work, etc.) Don’t go to law school to “explore” things. The debt and job situations are high-risk.</p>

<p>If you were one of my own advisees I would say this to you: I think you need to take a long look in the mirror, as it were. Have you considered a couple of sessions with a counselor or other professional that will allow you to vent your frustration and perhaps receive some suggestions for dealing with it productively? If you are projecting the same sort of mien in person that you are projecting in your OP then you are not doing yourself any favors. You project an air of condescension and bitterness that is incredibly off-putting. </p>

<p>This is extremely problematic in your situation because, quite frankly, virtually all of the students I know who have gone on to use their liberal arts BA in a flexible way did so through the use of networking and connections. I know Bio BAs from our own institution who are doing finance overseas, who are sports announcers, who work in journalism, who started their own businesses with friends they made at school, etc. What do they all have in common? They have personalities and intellectual temperaments that make people want to work with them and motivate employers to look beyond the fact that they may not possess “concrete skill X.” You may have that intellectual temperament, but I get the sense that you’re so angry about your current situation that it may not be shining through like it needs to be if you want to create original and interesting opportunities for yourself.</p>

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<p>I didn’t say you are excluded from other jobs. I said that a BS in biology isn’t likely to benefit you when applying for positions completely unrelated to biology.</p>

<p>If you talk about what you like, not just what you hate, we might be able to give you some recommendations.</p>

12

<p>I really don’t know what I like. If it were up to me, I wish I can do something with music but that market seems over-saturated with no financial prospects. Or just the simple hedonistic response of saying I’d like to be rich. Money does not buy happiness but it certainly makes misery more comfortable.</p>

<p>It’s very difficult to find a passion that coincides with practicality in today’s society.</p>

<p>Do you recommend I take an occupational comprehensive exam? I liked statistics when I took it in college, but it seems like it could get boring quickly. Other than that, I’m a blank canvas. I feel I’m charismatic, but every job thus far is coming up as grunt work/bottom of the chain vibe.</p>

<p>In today’s competitive job market, maybe it is beneficial to “suck it up” and utilize any advantages I have in my science background to my benefit? However, my apprehension lies in the fact that my science grades were either hit or miss. If all I can get is ***** work in labs or hospitals, I am not comfortable with my grades in certain courses (eg Genetics) to be able to speak confidently during the interview or any process during the job.</p>

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<p>SLACFac,</p>

<p>Your opinions about my temperament are baseless subjection. You don’t understand my unique family situation that has led me through a succession of decisions out of my hands leading me to where I am today. I have never caught a break, because life does not hand them out. You call me condescending, essentially saying that no one at my school is of that attitude. You have never even attended, or probably ever heard of my mediocre school, but you still choose to believe everything contrary to what I just said.</p>

<p>"What do they all have in common? They have personalities and intellectual temperaments that make people want to work with them and motivate employers to look beyond the fact that they may not possess “concrete skill X.” "</p>

<p>Having applied to multiple pharmaceutical sale divisions, I can tell you life is just a numbers game. After having positive interviews, exchanging contacts, and maintaining a network, I’ve gotten nowhere. We are all statistics and cogs in the job market. A GPA and scores are essentially a tattoo of what you can and can’t do. And that’s what sickens me. But according to you, a personality is all that matters…right</p>

14

<p>Sorry, again with the bitterness. But long story short: I was accepted into multiple schools leagues above Fairfield, but who gave me almost no financial aid. When my dreams were crushed, my mom said to me, “If you go to any of these schools, I can’t pay for them” I knew I wouldn’t be able to work a job and balance out grades. </p>

<p>So I sucked it up and went to a school I hated just to save money. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except I hit every bump along the way on that road…whether it’s the rich, ****** students, the administration, or lackluster faculty. My advisor tells me the first day, “I’m new to this, so it’s good that you’re one step ahead of me,” referring to how unprepared she was and how I had to schedule my own classes.</p>

<p>Like I said, no one helped me out and life just made it more difficult.</p>

<p>So yes, I’m bitter knowing I worked my ass off in high school sacrificing any social life to excel and excel thinking I’d get into a dream school…to have that rug swept under me to go to an obscure school. I cannot tell you how many times people asked me where I went to school, for them to respond with a confused look and I had to always give a followup statement.</p>

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<p>Maybe consider biostatistics. You can read about some research in that field here:
[Technical</a> Reports - Research - Department of Biostatistics - College of Public Health - The University of Iowa](<a href=“http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/biostat/research/reports.html]Technical”>http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/biostat/research/reports.html)</p>

<p>Most people would like to be rich. Understand that “rich” is relative.</p>

<p>Look for career fairs, either through your school or in the local community.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.fairfield.edu/documents/student/cpc_postgrad_sum12.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fairfield.edu/documents/student/cpc_postgrad_sum12.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.fairfield.edu/documents/student/cpc_postgrad12.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fairfield.edu/documents/student/cpc_postgrad12.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>You have a college degree and, I’m assuming, minimal debt. There are plenty of people in this country who would do a lot for your ‘luckless’ life. I understand the need to vent, but if you are coming off at all like this in your dealings with people as you seek employment, then you’re not helping yourself.</p>

<p>Furthermore, I certainly know of your institution and I would dare say that more people have heard of your institution than have heard of the one that employs me. In fact, I know two of the faculty in my field at your school personally; I certainly wouldn’t call them, to use the term from your OP, lackluster. Additionally, I also went to a school I didn’t want to go to because my family couldn’t afford to send me to the elite schools I was admitted to (this was before they had their more generous financial aid policies). I remember lying on the floor crying over my dashed dreams and feeling as though life had not treated me fairly since I had worked so hard and done so well and deserved that elite school! Fortunately, I only spent a year thinking that everything and everyone at my college was somehow unworthy of my greatness. Funny enough, during that year no one wanted to be my friend (hell, I had a single 2nd semester because they couldn’t find someone who would agree to live with me) or seemed to have much time for me. I came back with a much different attitude as a sophomore, and, in what I’m sure was just a coincidence, friends, roommates, potential faculty mentors, etc. flowed like water for the rest of my time at the college. </p>

<p>I’ve been helping my advisees (and my field has a reputation of being a hell of a lot more useless and irrelevant that Biology) navigate employment waters for years. In the last four years I have watched numerous students with sub-3.0 GPAs gain admittance to law schools well above their predicted success level, receive grants for start-ups, be hired by non-profits, earn competitive fellowships, etc. These students were well-networked (with alumni and with their classmates) and collaborated well: in other words, there were plenty of people who knew about their capabilities, their ingenuity, and their creativity–and those people were happy to tell prospective employers about the best qualities of these students.</p>

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<p>Let me be more specific: the biology department deserves the term lackluster. I actually have nothing bad say about any other faculty due to my limited exposure in other disciplines, and the music department was filled with the nicest professors. But that is not the focus of me being here.</p>

<p>What I’m getting at is I want a fresh start. I’m done associating myself with Fairfield. Factoring in all those aforementioned issues, they even bothered to screw up my diploma…twice, wasting my time on graduation to get it fixed, to again have it sent to me incorrectly. My adviser was useless, I had to “improvise” one by asking a music professor during her office hours, the head of the pre-med department has his head up his ass (just ask anyone about Dr. Church), and office hours didn’t help to understand the material, so much as learning how the professor is going to test you. I don’t have anything positive to say about the institution except that it’s mowed nicely.</p>

<p>With that being said, I want to move forward with nothing referencing my biology/science background. My persistence has gotten the best of me. How can I invest myself and create a network on a field and a school I have no more interest in? It’s like picking at a sore wound. I take no pride in this institution and want to start all over. </p>

<p>I’m learning to accept that I can’t change the past and what’s done is done. But why should my past follow me around?</p>

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<p>Please, please, please don’t form an impression of me as a bitter person. I DEFINITELY do not talk to potential employers like this, and only close friends who probe me about my experiences here get this full “treatment”. I’m only just giving a background and justification as to why I don’t like my major and thus, why I wasn’t able to form a direction career-wise thanks to this school. Why would I possibly play down any potential strengths I bring to the table?</p>