By: Editing Working Girl
I am one of the lucky few to actually be using my college degree. But it wasn't always this way. I majored in Communications and minored in Literature/Writing and my first job out of college was as...a Medical Transcriptionist.
There were so many times that I was frustrated because I got that position not because I knew medical terminology, but because I could type fast (thanks Mavis Beacon!). Every month while I was paying off my ridiculously high University of California system student loans, I would find myself angry that my degree wasn't being utilized, that I wasn't prepared for the 'real world' and that my four years in college were a waste.
It looks like many women feel that way. In the U.K., Dailymail.com is reporting that many women are seeing university as a waste of time, because the time spent working toward a degree outweighs the actual benefits. "Tuition fees and little chance of landing a good job make higher education an unattractive prospect for them, a study shows."
Luckily, the time spent at the job I hated motivated me to really try to find something that I loved. Not only have I put my experience as an Editorial Intern to use in my freelance writing, but I now do marketing for a software company, utilizing many things I studied in college such as skills I learned in my Writing for Digital Media course.
At the same time, I am actually thinking of enrolling into my alma mater's Extension Program to earn a certificate in copy editing since we didn't have Journalism classes and I feel I can use it to help further my freelance career. So though I am using my degree, I always feel continuing education is a viable option to not only brush up on my skills, but help learn specific skills that may not have been included in my degree program.
What about you Working Girls? Was your degree worth it? Would you ever go back to school?
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