Most hireable undergrad program?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey everyone.</p>

<p>I want to know what is the most "hireable" undergraduate degree program out there?</p>

<p>To be more specific......which degree program is the most likely you'll be able to find a job in the field within 3 - 6 months of graduation? (The university doesnt matter, just the program)</p>

<p>I am considering doing a second degree. I graduated with a four year undergraduate science degree in biology, and its been a year and a half and I still cant find absolutely anything in the field (not even anything remotely close). To be honest I've sent out over 3000 resumes all over the country......and nothing! I've literally tried everything, and seeing how biology isnt a "hireable" degree I want to know which degree program would be more likely to land a job out of graduation.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>D</p>

2

<p>That's a good question. My guess would be a degree in either actuarial sciences or accounting/management (since actuaries and accountants don't need to go to grad school, and they make decent $$$).</p>

3

<p>If your biggest concern is immediate employment, I'd go for something very practical, like engineering, computer science, or one of the business-related fields (finance, management, accounting, etc).</p>

4

<p>Accounting, Teaching, Nursing. Any of those three and you'll get a job pretty easily.</p>

5

<p>Oh right, nursing is actually in huge demand right now, and it would be a field in which your biology degree would likely help.</p>

<p>Have you considered looking for a job outside your field though? Getting a degree in biology doesn't mean to have to work in a job that's directly-related.</p>

6

<p>You can always get your teaching certification and become a HS bio teacher. The pay isn't spectacular, but, it can tide you over for a little while...and, you can work toward earning another degree during the summer...</p>

7

<p>I do like the sciences. Nursing ......ehhh (I dont know about that, I'm a guy so I dont think I'd like that job too much).</p>

<p>What are others thoughts about things such as chemistry, physics.....and the like? Computing, engineering are ones I'm also thinking about.</p>

<p>I'd like to work in a research/development/lab environment (Its one of the reasons I decided to do Bio, but seeing the jobs out there, 90% want someone with a Ph.D., even for just simple laboratory work).</p>

8

<p>Just an fyi: male nurses are very much in demand and they seem to rise to the higher levels of the field.</p>

<p>with a bio degree you might look into being a drug rep. It pays pretty well but it can be hard to land your first job.</p>

<p>It's sales though, not lab work. For that you must have a PhD, no question.</p>

9

<p>Drug Reps make insane amounts of money too...and they pay you to look sharp and market drugs
also, biomedical engineering is becoming huge because people want to live longer,better, and mroe advanced lives...</p>

10

<p>Econ and finance are pretty big.</p>

11

<p>Have you looked into research assistant jobs? Generally research assistants at research universities will be people with just a bachelor's degree in biology.</p>

12

<p>If you are planning on going for a second degree, why not make it a graduate degree? As it seems you have discovered in many fields a graduate degree (or some sort of professional school) is the base degree for employment.
What are you passionate about? What do you see yourself doing in life for a career? If you identify those things it will be easier to determine what your next educational step should be. </p>

<p>Good luck!!</p>

13

<p>Good advice from everyone. What KatMT just said makes sense. You might want to explore a masters degree. I have you thought about getting one in physical, occupational, or speech therapy? These are also very good fields when looking for employment, and I assume that your science backround will help in these areas.</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
Drug Reps make insane amounts of money too...and they pay you to look sharp and market drugs

[/quote]
</p>

<p>They pay you well...but only if you're good, and specifically, only if you're making your sales quota. Sales is one of those high-risk, high-reward jobs in which you either do well and make a lot of money, or you tend to get fired quickly. Even if you don't get fired quickly, much, often times most of the compensation in a sales job comes from the commissions, so that if you're not selling a lot, then you're not making much money.</p>

15

<p>Yes I've applied to many research/lab assistant positions, but the problem is that they mostly go to Ph.D.'s that are desperately looking for a job.</p>

<p>I had several employers say that they were overwhelmed with the amount of people that applied for the job, and that they took the most educated people. (I know because I always ask the employer why I did not get the position I applied for).</p>

<p>So it seems that there is a huge influx of people with Ph.D.'s that are out of work and looking for a job and are willing to settle for assistant jobs. (I guess its the way it is out there in todays economy)</p>

<p>Yeah, I've also thought of grad school, but it is so expensive, and I would not be able to afford it (and wouldnt be able to get funding for that much money), but I would be able get enough just to finish another undergrad degree.</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
Yeah, I've also thought of grad school, but it is so expensive, and I would not be able to afford it (and wouldnt be able to get funding for that much money), but I would be able get enough just to finish another undergrad degree.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, if you enter a PhD program, you generally don't pay. Instead, they pay you. Usually, you will be forced to take TA or RA positions to get that pay. But hey, you're still getting paid. Most reputable PhD programs fund their students, at least for the first few years. </p>

<p>You also sometimes end up with the interesting situation where sometimes a Phd student's funding is actually * higher * than what he could get in a job. So you have some people who are actually making more money by studying than by actually working.</p>

17

<p>Yes, many schools will pay you to teach or do research while you are attending graduate school... also, depending where you live, you may be able to qualify for in-state tuition, even at an out of state school... I know that New England has a tuition assistance program where students can qualify for in-state tuition if they attend an out-of-state degree program that is is not offered in their home state.</p>

<p>You may find with a second Bachelor's degree that you are in the same boat that you are currently in with more debt, and still end up having to get a graduate degree in order to be hired into a career in which you are interested.</p>

<p>I have heard from many college grads that they now realize that they will need to 1) go to graduate school... 2) participate in a low paying internship program (or a training program where a company hires a bunch of new college grads, but knows they will only keep a few of them on after a two - three year period)... 3) go to professional school in order to get ahead in their field.</p>

<p>This can be frustrating considering how expensive undergraduate education has become! The lack of well paying career opportunities for college grads is one of those "things I wish I knew when I started college" facts.</p>

<p>Not to be discouraging... I just think it is important to realize that the job market has changed significantly over the past 20 years, and that it is now considered common to have to attend graduate school, do an internship, or attend a training program in your early to mid 20s.</p>

<p>I think that someone suggested looking into teaching... if this is something that you think you would like, maybe pursue the teacher certification option. Many schools offer a 1 year MA or MED (Master's of education) program that includes teacher certification, and HS teachers in the sciences are very much in demand. Also, many private schools hire teachers without certification. Again, there is a need for science teachers. Carney Sandoe is an agency that helps place potential teachers at private schools - many schools have the philosophy that if you have the knowledge base they will mentor you as a teacher. If you think that graduate school is something you would like to pursue in the future, many private schools will pay for you to go to graduate school as a employee benefit. Regardless, teaching experience could help you get an TA position if you do later decide go to graduate school down the line. </p>

<p>Good luck!!</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
This can be frustrating considering how expensive undergraduate education has become! The lack of well paying career opportunities for college grads is one of those "things I wish I knew when I started college" facts.</p>

<p>Not to be discouraging... I just think it is important to realize that the job market has changed significantly over the past 20 years, and that it is now considered common to have to attend graduate school, do an internship, or attend a training program in your early to mid 20s.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I agree with this, which is why I stress the importance of getting a practical bachelor's degree so that, if nothing else, at least you have a backup career in your back pocket. For example, getting a bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, accounting, nursing, and other such professional fields gives you job security that other majors don't. </p>

<p>Now, before somebody leaps in here and talks about the problems that these careers have, i.e. the problems that engineers and computer people have, I am certainly not saying that these career paths are problem-free. In fact, I have written many posts attesting to the problems of these jobs. But my point is that it's all relative. These jobs are far from perfect, but they are still better than most other jobs out there that you can get with just a bachelor's degree. Furthermore, you can still go to graduate school even after getting one of these degrees. Plenty of people do just that. But having one of these highly marketable degrees means that you don't need to go to graduate school because you will have a relatively decent career right out of undergrad waiting for you. </p>

<p>
[quote]
I think that someone suggested looking into teaching... if this is something that you think you would like, maybe pursue the teacher certification option. Many schools offer a 1 year MA or MED (Master's of education) program that includes teacher certification, and HS teachers in the sciences are very much in demand. Also, many private schools hire teachers without certification. Again, there is a need for science teachers. Carney Sandoe is an agency that helps place potential teachers at private schools - many schools have the philosophy that if you have the knowledge base they will mentor you as a teacher. If you think that graduate school is something you would like to pursue in the future, many private schools will pay for you to go to graduate school as a employee benefit. Regardless, teaching experience could help you get an TA position if you do later decide go to graduate school down the line.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Personally, I think teaching is a great career, so good that I wonder why public universities don't push it more. For example, why can't public schools integrate a teaching certification program into the majors of all fields in which we have a teaching shortage, i.e. in science, math, foreign languages, and so forth? The OP said that he can't get a job with a biology degree, and I have heard other people who studied bio complain about that also - but at the same time, we have a shortage of biology teachers. There ought to be an easier way to integrate the certification process necessary to become a biology teacher with the biology major. That's not to say that every bio grad is going to become a high school teacher. But hey, at least it's a decent backup plan.</p>

19

<p>That's interesting.
I've heard that here (Germany) you can get a job easily with a Bachelor's or a Master's degree in any science-related field except for biology, where you basically need to have a PhD to find employment... I've always wondered why.</p>

20

<p>Teaching is not a bad idea, at times the profession is in really high demand, and other times it’s difficult to find work as well. I have a friend that finished a B.S. Psych degree then finished her teaching certification……….then after all that she completed a Masters in Education.</p>

<p>She was so excited to be a teacher, then when she started her job search it lead no where! She had to move to a rural area to land a job, and the job she landed was not good (and it took her 3 years to finally get a teaching job). She ended up teaching “learning disabled” and “troubled” out of control kids. She noticed that the people that are currently teachers do not want to retire, so they are basically hanging on to there jobs as long as possible…..and thus leaving grads with no job openings that normally would be there.</p>

<p>She was really disappointed that it took her that long to find something, and that it ended up being a position she didn’t really want because the class she taught was extremely out of control, to the point that students threatened her life. (She is still actively looking elsewhere for a teaching position with no luck).</p>

<p>It must be the way the economy is, I think! People that would have retired (in any position) many years ago are staying in their jobs because they need the money badly, and this is hurting new grads because they have to turn to low-income, go-no where, jobs (even though they have a mountain of debt from school). No wonder many new grads end up moving back in with their parents, because they simply cant afford anything else. </p>

<p>Yeah I agree b@r!um...... You definitely need a Ph.D. to do something in Bio. But its funny when I was applying to university several years ago everywhere I looked they claimed that an undergrad in bio was good enough to get a job in the field very soon after graduation.</p>

<p>I just hope that people just applying to university/college now realize these factors that once you graduate from your undergrad degree program, unless its a field that is hireable with just an undergrad, you will DEFINITELY need at least a Masters, and most likely a Ph.D.!</p>