Masters in Mathematics or second Bachelors in Engineering

Hi. Just looking for your thoughts on this topic. Having trouble making a decision.

I earned a BA in Mathematical Economics. My gpa was 3.7. I’m bilingual and love programming. I’ve been out of school now for about a year and a half and can’t find full time work that pays above $8 an hour. I’m part time right now at two different jobs. Everywhere I look is either extreme shift work or gig based. What a joke. I’m willing to do any kind of work as long as I can make a decent living and not be let go when the stock market sneezes.

I applied to a masters program in math. I’m supposed to start in the fall. But I am uncertain if I’ll find work with a masters. Employers like square pegs for square holes… I was thinking about going back to my old university and getting a second bachelors in Electrical Engineering. I like building things and would like to work on large scale power storage.

I’m going to do one of these things. Neither choice seems terrible to me, but maybe I’m missing something. Why would a masters in math be better than a degree in electrical engineering (or vice versa)?

Your thoughts are appreciated. Be as nice or brutal as you must

One question would be how many semesters would it take to get the masters in engineering? Also, it you are interested in employment opportunities than a masters in something involving big data or econometrics would be more employable than a masters in math.

I find it interesting that someone with a BA in mathematical economics, who is also bilingual and knows how to program, can’t find full-time work above minimum wage. That’s so…odd to me. I mean, STEM degrees are by no means a golden ticket to high-paying work, but quantitative skills are typically in high demand. (Then again, my veteran husband with an Ivy League statistics degree took 7 months to find employment in a booming market.)

I wouldn’t go back and get ANY degree unless you had a clear plan for what you wanted to do with that degree and how it was going to help your career prospects. That’s particularly true with the MA in math, which isn’t a professional degree and doesn’t lead directly to any kind of specific work, like an electrical engineering degree (theoretically) does.

I think people find my personality grating. I can’t carry a conversation. I’m very honest in interviews too which I’ve learned is bad. Originally I didn’t plan to go to college. Out of high school I tried starting a photography business, doing weddings. I was usually up front with the bride and groom, example: “I’ll give you three copies of the photo album. One for you and two for your lawyers after the divorce.”

In grade school they tried to say that I was autistic but I don’t think that’s true. Still I’m convinced my miserable employment is from my personality. I get so depressed. I’ve been prescribed antidepressants over and over again but refuse to take them. In an interview you’re supposed to be upbeat, the most optimistic person in the world but I’m just anhedonic half the time. I think it’s kind of wrong to pathologizes my way of thinking. I need a job where my personality isn’t on trial.

Why’s that?

@ChilBot - Welcome to the Forum. If your inability to find a job is, as you say, because of your personality, then I am not sure that an advanced degree or a second Bachelors will help much. You are likely just kicking the issue down the road a couple of years. That being said, the degree you go for should be the one you see more beneficial to your desired career.

@bodangles - I know people who take them. Doesn’t seem like a good idea.
@xraymancs - Some jobs have more leeway for people who are different. Should I just become a janitor and give up on thinking deeply?

Whether the results you see in others who are taking antidepresants are the results you would see in yourself would depend on your own brain biochemistry and the specific drug and dosage.

You attribute your career difficulties to your personality. Have you consulted with the career center at your old college, or with a counselor at your state job service office about this? Surely they should have some screening tools that would help you identify better career matches for you.

As someone with a mathematics background (that presumably includes some statistics), one would think you would have an appreciation of the concept of representative sampling and sample size.

It is a long way between being a janitor and having a satisfying career with a Mathematics degree. In any case, my point is that you shouldn’t count on the job after a second degree solving the issues you have mentioned. You should probably see what you can do to make yourself more compatible with a wider variety of jobs. None of this addresses the issue of getting another degree, of course. You should definitely go for the one which interests you most.