<p>Political Science in the early to mid 70s at small LAC with intent to go to law school. Loved politics and especially political advertising. Capstone project on political advertising. Went to work in an ad agency involved with political campaigns. Began work on MBA a couple years later with a concentration in communications instead of JD. Continued working in advertising but drifted away from political advertising. Volunteered with local campaigns when motivated. Transitioned to corporate communications. Still in communications - 30 years later. I'm a working mom with no breaks in career. No regrets and I wouldn't change a thing about my life.</p>
<p>My fiirst major was Physics. Second (20 years later) - Information science. Three kids, some computer modeling and math education in between. Wouldn't change a thing. Strong physics and math background defined my thinking; I still find it helpful in any intellectual pursuit (or pastime) I engage in.</p>
<p>I started off where oregonianmom ended up! I received a BS in Medical Technology, which at that time was 3 years of university classes and a 12-month hospital laboratory internship. Then I worked for ~17 years in a hospital laboratory, full-time at first and later part-time once I had children. Now, I work 3 days/week for a contract research organization, using my medical background in the management of data from clinical drug trials. It has been a worthwhile journey for me.</p>
<p>I started off as a math major at college. After my first day of Calculus 1A, I changed my major. I instead majored in microbiology and upon graduation, I entered a 12 month hospital lab internship in Southern California (my dream was to live in California).</p>
<p>I worked as a med tech in hospital labs for 6 years. When H decided he needed to attend grad school to get his Ph.D, it was the chance for me to make a jump also. I attended Stanford Law School, graduated and went on to practice corporate law at a large, LA based law firm.</p>
<p>I left to become a stay at home mom after 5 years of practice. Been at home for the last 18 years. In my spare time, I tutor high end math to local kids who need a little help and help parents and kids with the college application process.</p>
<p>You really never know where life will take you. I remember thinking as I sat at my law school graduation: if someone had passed me a note at my college graduation that said that in 10 years I would be graduating from Stanford Law School, I'd have thought they were nuts! </p>
<p>If I could see what my life would have been like had I made different choices, I'd like to see what would have happened if:</p>
<p>I had gone away to college instead of living at home and going to the local university;</p>
<p>I had majored in math and become a high school math teacher;</p>
<p>I had practiced in an area of law better suited to my temperment than corporate law at a high powered firm.</p>
<p>Things I would NOT change for anything in the world--who I married and the kids I have!!</p>
<p>I graduated with a B.S. in Child Development with an emphasis in Family Studies. Always loved kids. First job was as a preschool teacher. Loved the work but not much money. Lucky for me husband's career (electrical engineer) is much more lucrative. When kids arrived I stayed home but was very involved as a volunteer with PEP (postpartum education for parent's) When kids started school I was the volunteer parent in the classroom which led to part time work as a classroom assistant. Allowed me to be Girl Scout leader for 7 years. Both kids are now out of the house, One graduated in May from UMD, one is a senior at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I now work in Special Education for the local elementary school district. I love it but still not much $$$. :)</p>
<p>You never know where life will take you...</p>
<p>I tell my kids this often and I tell them that the journey is half the fun and I do believe this. My path was fairly linear, but my H ended up in a career that he enjoyed but had aboslutely nothing to do with his studies. He had to put himself through college and his career actually began primarily based on the work he had done to put himself through college. He was a studio arts major but his career was with local municipalities directing public works - zoning, building, planning type stuff. He often says if he had known he could have majored in urban planning, but the thought never occured to him.</p>
<p>I started in Journalism switched and ended up with a major in Child Development and Psychology. Have worked in many jobs mostly family- parenting focused. Am now director of a large literacy program for families so I guess I kind of combined all the interests (writing, books, kids, families) into one.</p>
<p>Majored in Political Science/Econ with an emphasis on liberation theology, and did a lot of print journalism while in college. Post-graduation I was a tour guide, a secretary, and did policy work for a state government agency. That last job convinced me to go to law school, but the journalism work was probably the best preparation for law school. Worked at a big firm, then started teaching. I've liked my career, but bearing and raising children made me think I'd be equally happy if I'd become a physician, or studied linguistics or neuroscience.</p>
<p>I started out as a math major but decided I didn't like deltas and epsilons. After toying with history, I ended up in biology, but not really a pre-med. My senior year, Stanford Graduate School of Business started a joint MS program with the Med School in Health Services Administration. So, for an extra six-months in school (paid for by the US and the State of California, thank you very much!), I ended up with a second masters. Went to work for a Big 8 firm specializing in Hospital Audits; got a CPA; went to a big consulting firm to do healthcare financial consulting, then ended up at Levi Strauss in finance when I decided I didn't like health care anymore. The accounting has proved particularly portable since my husband has been transferred a lot. After my daughter was born, I stayed home (Hong Kong as an expat, then back to California) and went back to work part time when she was in kindergarten. I do accounting for a 401(k) administration firm. Given that I started out as a math major, I really haven't strayed all that far; the part-time work is a real benefit.</p>
<p>Started as a Lit major which I loved, changed to Soiology...which is a bit of an embarassment.... because it fascinated me not because it was practical and dabbled in a self-made major related to American
Arts in the 30's ended up with the BA in socilogy and History minor as well. I knew I wanted to be a social studies teacher and that's what I do.</p>
<p>I remember my friends with the business and econ degrees walking into reasonably high paying jobs upon graduation and being a bit surprised when I seemed to have fewer options. My choices didn't lead directily to a lucrative career but I wouldn't change it because I love my work and my very well read jock husband and I make a great team at Trivial Pursuit ;-)</p>
<p>Majored in nursing mostly for the usefulness factor. Finding a good paying job out of college was easy and it allowed my H and I to save up a down payment for a house quickly. After a couple of years I had kids and quit nursing. Stayed at home with the kids for 15 years doing all the "Mom" stuff and lots of the "Dad "stuff too as H spent long hours at his job.</p>
<p>I was never that crazy about nursing and so when I decided to go back to work I ended up teaching at a preschool that is housed in the same building as a fulltime childrens daycare center. So now I'm sort of the "nurse on call" for the daycare. </p>
<p>Would have chosen something different (but still useful) if I could have known how my life would turn out but nursing was a good decision at the time.</p>
<p>Majored in Economics because it was the most practical career-oriented career at my LAC. I wish I had majored in American Studies, which is what I was interested in. Maybe I'd have gotten a job at a museum - a lot more interesting to me than the banking career that never thrilled me. </p>
<p>Hubby was an International Affairs major, and is now in finance. I think he'd still major in IA, as it was a strong interest of his, but he'd take more business-oriented electives. He ended up having to take accounting and economics courses in a self-study program to get a certification at work.</p>
<p>I majored in elementary education because my father told me that being an English major was nonsensical, and he was paying the "big" state university bill. So I student taught while completing a concentration (similar to a minor) in English. I suprised myself by loving student teaching and have been teaching since. I have third graders that I taught in the early 80's that still keep in touch with me.</p>
<p>And yes, summers and vacations off with your kids is a big perk. My husband wishes he had thought of being a teacher too, back in the day.</p>
<p>I majored in accounting and minored in Physics, if you can believe it. I then went to law school and focused on tax law. Interestingly, I neither practice law nor accounting. I am a writer of tax books. I never thought I would ever write books. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that you never know where life will take you. Just enjoy the trip. You will do much better if you like what you do.</p>
<p>Very focused as undergraduate: parents are librarians (yup both of them)
English major, some graduate work in Publishing. Right out of that went to work at Yale University Press as Marketing Assistant, then Direct Mail Marketing Manager. Left that dream job to move to CA with DH. Worked in a variety of fields: Advertising Copywriter, Marketing for International Student Exchange Program, Hotel Group Sales, then Assistant to Hotel General Manager.
Left all that to go handle financials, business matters for DH's highly specialized construction business. Now I am one of the guys, working in office, project management, and even sometimes going to construction sites.<br>
So, same as everyone else, degree isn't everything and life twists and turns.</p>
<p>In HS, I wanted to teach -- but I could never decide if I wanted to sponsor Model UN or the yearbook, so I was going to triple major in English, history and political science. My teachers jumped all over me, telling me I had much better options than to teach. Went to college, majored in journalism and political science. Hated interviewing people for the campus paper, loved the editing. Loved my int'l relations classes.</p>
<p>Started out temping after I finished school, where I had an assignment at a major mutual fund company. They hired liberal arts types, and I found my way in to 401(k) administration and then to employee benefits communications at a big benefits concsulting firm. Stayed home for three years with back-to-back babies, went back FT to a smaller 401(k) firm doing combining both communications and plan accounting, switched to PT, and then left due to health reasons three years ago. Now I run a (very) small business doing Judaic needle art.</p>
<p>If I had to do it again...I'd teach English and social studies in a specialized GT program. Or be an adolescent psychologist. Or get formal training in the fabric arts -- I've been sewing and creating things since I was in elementary school and I am totally self-taught -- but I never believed I could make a living doing it (and if you saw what I charged, that would have a large reason to do with it. ;)) Biggest Life Lessons: Believe in yourself. Don't quit when you're on the verge of success.</p>
<p>My gosh; how boring am I???</p>
<p>I majored in Accounting and I am now an accountant.</p>
<p>D finds my career path particularly helpful in demonstrating what she does NOT want to do!! :-)</p>
<p><strong>sigh</strong></p>
<p>I majored in Comparative Literature (wha . . . ?) because it was more interesting than English. (It included literature of Many Cultures. All Western.) I chose that major instead of what i was really interested in, Biology, because Bio was Too Hard. I was a schmuck. With Comp Lit, I just had to read a lot of novels. It was pretty easy.</p>
<p>Then I became an editor, which is relatively related -- at least it has to do with words and so forth.</p>
<p>After 10 years, I went to business school, and now I'm a Benefits Director.</p>
<p>If I had it to do all over again, I'd have majored in Bio, sucked up the hard stuff, and gone to medical school.</p>
<p>"Combined Major" (not as many hours as double major) in Art History and Studio Art. The Italian Renaissance was my favorite period (hold that thought...). </p>
<p>Worked one year in a museum for peanuts, tried to exhibit, starved, then decided to find a profession where Art could be applied somehow. Chose Landscape Planning, got a Masters, worked in Land Use consulting and government for a decade.</p>
<p>THEN, I met H, whose work demands moves every 7 years or so (clergy). Started raising kids and taught Art History adjunct in community colleges and a prison (yes, art history in prison) just to keep my hand in. When youngest was ready for Kindergarten, I returned to gradschool with 20-somethings to retrain in Elementary Education as a grade school teacher. WHat happened in-between was my realization that being with kids and their learning process was far more interesting to me than writing analytical reports or running meetings. I began to lead with my heart more than my head. People told me I was too educated to work with young kids, but I said nuts to them. Now I'm stuck with a physical disability, but continue teaching courses to teens and adults as a physical accommodation.</p>
<p>But through it all, the Art History degree, and the Renaissance spirit of seeking out connections among subjects, has given me boundless pleasure, even though I worked in it the fewest years (three, really) so it was the least practical. It required me to approach all learning through a lens of "how to express an idea" and kept my mind open and flexible. It helped me weather all the moving around with family to realize there is art, poetry, and music and not just money to consider.</p>
<p>Undergrad at UT-Austin with a Bachelor of Journalism with emphasis in PR. Did very little with that before I had my kids, then anything I did was volunteer related (after a while I omitted telling people that I had a degree in journalism because I was asked by so many volunteer groups to handle their PR). Spent oodles of time volunteering at the schools, church, La Leche League, kids' activities, etc. Interestingly, D1 will graduate from Syracuse University in May with a degree in public relations. Looking back, I chose journalism because I always got the most positive feedback from teachers whose classes involved writing, so I figured it would work to my advantage. However, I loved my psych classes - the only academic area where I made all A's, which should have been a sign to me then. But grad school was not a consideration for me, so getting a job that sustained me would have been tough. </p>
<p>Almost ten years ago, I was accepted to seminary, and got my master's degree. The most significant variable for my success was my undergrad degree in journalism. Throughout my master's program, I think I had a total of four exams. Everything else was a paper, from which my training in writing was invaluable. I'd hear my classmates moan and groan about writing another paper, and I'd think silently, "Thank God for another paper." It was suggested several times by several professors/advisors that I should consider writing for our church-wide organization, which happens to be headquartered about 45 minutes from home. That could still happen, but for now, I work part-time for a hospice agency as a chaplain.</p>
<p>AnudduhMom: How great that you are using your skills in such needed areas. Just to let you know, our hospice also employees an art therapist (as well as pet therapy, music therapy and massage therapy), so there is great need for artists in many areas other than formal educational settings.</p>