anyone have a degree but "not use it"

[jillian]

So I am currently almost done with my Marriage and Family Therapy MA but I always knew that if/when I had kids any degree I had would be more of a contingency degree in the event that dh loses his job, or passes away or something similar.

 

i am wondering how common it is for a homeschooling parent (mom mainly) to have a higher degree but not actual use it for work.....

[swimmermom3]

Yes, my MBA and my Real Estate license which I continue to keep current, make lovely wallpaper.

[AngieW in Texas]

I have a master's degree in physics. I quit work when my 2nd dd was born. I haven't worked outside the home since then.

 

I plan to teach high school math and physics classes starting in the next year or two. I have two in high school now and my youngest is finally able to work more independently.

[jillian]

lol, dh is like you should use your degree since you've spent all this time and money on it and i'm like eh...my duty is to be home and raise our child(ren)

[amydavis]

Well, I don't have a post-graduate degree...although I would love to go back and get my Master's at some point. But, I do have a B.S. in Public Relations. So far, I have not used it in any gainful way. My minor is in Journalism, and I am considering trying my hand at freelancing this coming year. But so far I haven't gotten out of the planning stages with that idea! I'm interested in what others have to say.

:lurk5:

[Sandy in Indy]

I have a Master's in Ele Ed/Jr High LA and haven't taught full-time in a regular school since before my oldest was born. (We moved when I was pregnant.)

[Peela]

Not a degree but a naturopathy diploma. I shut down my practice when I started homeschooling 6.5 years ago.

I am thinking about starting up again though.

[KidsHappen]

I have a B. A. that I don't use and I really hope that I won't ever have to go back to work but I can if I need to.

[Veritaserum]

Yep. I do work part-time and make good money at it, but it has pretty much nothing to do with my degree. :p

[FriedClams]

Yes. I have a BS in poli-sci and an MBA. I wouldn't trade my being a SAHM for anything.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I have a BS in Mechanical Engineering. It comes in handy for teaching Physics and Algebra, and I'm quite handy around the house, but I don't use it for pay.

 

What's sad is that I don't know that I could use it at this point. Everything I learned in engineering school has either become obsolete, or has slipped out of my Teflon brain. I remember very little of it. My dh, who got his MS in Aerospace Engineering after being out of school and working in the field for 10 years at the time, swears that if I went into it, all my vast knowledge would come flooding back. :) I don't know if that's true. Hopefully, I won't have to find out any time soon. I don't really want to be an engineer right now. :) I just want to do what I'm doing already, only better.

[J'etudie]

I have a BA in English, two teaching credentials, and an MA in Education. Now I teach at home for free. :D

[Laura Corin]

I have an MBA which I've never used, except to understand dinner table conversations with husband. I received it while pregnant with Calvin and never went back to work.

 

Laura

[m0mmaBuck]

I have a MS in Physical Therapy. I work about 200 hrs/year in my field, just enough to keep my license current.

[rowan25]

I taught for 7 years with my BA in Elementary Ed. I sat for my Master's final 3 weeks before my daughter was born. It's in Special Education. I've never looked back.

[WiseOwlKnits]

I have a BA and teaching certificate. I don't plan to use either of them again. :)

[Kate in Arabia]

I have an MA in Arabic, which I suppose I use in teaching my kids Arabic. Nothing for pay, however; I've been thinking about tutoring (Western kids/adults living here), but I'm not sure where I'd fit it in time-wise.

[Sugarfoot]

My Master's degree is in Marriage and Family Therapy. My DH likes to say that I use it everyday.:D

[jillian]

My Master's degree is in Marriage and Family Therapy. My DH likes to say that I use it everyday.:D

LOL that's hysterical i love that. i annoy dh because i always want him to take the assessments we are doing in my assessment class :lol: he's always looking at me like this:glare: and i'm like :tongue_smilie: and he just sighs and says hand it over.

[HSMom2One]

Yup, got my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree despite numerous people telling me not to because they said I couldn't do anything with it. Funny thing is, I've continued to use my degree over the years, even in the business world. I owned a small design firm for a time, and used my degree constantly. I even worked for a corporate bank for four years and they loved it that they had a creative person on board who could help them improve visual presentations. Now I'm working two part-time jobs (one in a school as an art teacher, the other as a private art instructor) and I am absolutely using my art degree.

 

Didn't mean to hijack here, but I do want to add that those of you with undergrad and advanced degrees did not waste your time. The schooling you received helped mould you into the person you have become, so nothing is wasted really. And....you never know what life may throw at you up ahead and you may be really glad you have it!

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

Edited December 29, 2009 by HSMom2One

[MamaSheep]

Depends on what you mean by "use it". I do not have employment outside the home in the field in which I hold a degree, but I do feel that I use the knowledge, skills, and experience that I obtained in getting that degree regularly in day to day life, and I do feel strongly that a college education is important even for girls who fully intend to stay home and run a household--maybe especially for them. I think that old saying is very true--educate a boy and you educate a man; educate a girl and you educate a family for generations to come.

[jillian]

Depends on what you mean by "use it". I do not have employment outside the home in the field in which I hold a degree, but I do feel that I use the knowledge, skills, and experience that I obtained in getting that degree regularly in day to day life, and I do feel strongly that a college education is important even for girls who fully intend to stay home and run a household--maybe especially for them. I think that old saying is very true--educate a boy and you educate a man; educate a girl and you educate a family for generations to come.

that's why i put "use it" in quotes because i think most of us use our degree in some way shape or form within the household but not for pay.

 

like i've got a BA in psychology and almost finished with a master's in mft. while i might not be counseling people actively and getting money from that i find i am communicating more effectively with dh and with dd (using a more love and logic pov with her), able to see family ties and situations from different perspectives, etc

[nd293]

I have a Masters in Development Studies, used it for 3yrs, then part-time for another 2yrs after dd9 was born, and not at all after that (when we went overseas as expats before emigrating). I think it was pretty much a waste of time for my current life. I will encourage my dd to think carefully about what she intends to study, with an aim to finding something that could be a) portable and b) work-from-home / part-time / flexi-time.

 

I will look at going back to work in some capacity once ds3 is a little older. I don't think I can stand the lack of stimulation much longer.

Edited December 29, 2009 by nd293
clarity

[Ali in OR]

I have a BS in Industrial Engineering, a MA in Education and an expired teaching credential in high school math and English. I used all of that except the English part before kids--4 years teaching high school math and about 3 in engineering. I don't expect to use them again--I have a severely disabled child and it's hard to imagine a situation where I would be working outside the home. I need to be available for her doctor appointments, etc. Of course I could if life circumstances forced me to, but it would be very difficult.

 

And of course I use my education and the skills I've developed in teaching my kids. I'm glad I am able to be a SAHM. I'm also glad to have in home schooling an opportunity for intellectual growth and pursuits. I enjoy teaching and will continue to do a little Co-Op teaching...maybe try teaching a math class for money someday.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I got my BA (in regular and special education) when I was young and single. I used it for 5 years. After I was married, I had my own tutoring agency and I suppose you could say I used it but didn't need it in order to tutor. At some point I could go back to tutoring and maybe even substitute teaching. But I would need to go back to school for 1 year if I wanted to go back to full-time teaching.

 

I also am a few credits short of my MDiv. I am very busy in ministry in my church, so you could say I use that but not for pay. But then my dh who has his MDiv pastors part-time for free too.

[Tap]

Not a degree, but a licence. I am a pharmacy technician and I still work 3 days a week. I like working and don't plan on stopping anytime soon. I admire people who can stay home, it just isn't in me....I go stir crazy. But, I am a go, go, go type person who typically sleeps 5-6 hours a night, homeschools, works and drives 3 hours a day (kids activities) :0)

 

I am not calm enough to be an at home mom. When I have tried in the past, I get a bit OCD about the house and fill my time with redecorating/painting/rearranging because nothing is right.

[EthiopianFood]

Licensed Social Worker. :)

[asta]

I operated like Tap until my brain blew up - only in social services, rather than pharmacy.

 

Most days it doesn't bother me, but periodically it really bugs me that I don't have enough "quarters" to fulfill my social security requirement due to having moved all over the world/stayed at home with DS/gotten deathly ill, etc. etc.

 

For the most part, though, yes, I *have* used my degree. I have worked in social services pretty much non-stop since college. Sometimes it was full time, some part time, a small amount paid, mostly unpaid, and currently completely voluntarily and through a website I help with.

 

I think it is hard (for women especially) to be treated as if our life's work is incidental or "doesn't count" because it doesn't qualify on a social security statement (that is the government's accounting document for retirement benefits in the US). There is so much more to "contributing to society" and to "using one's education" then simply garnering a paycheck.

 

(can you tell my field was social and behavioral economics? heh)

 

 

a

[tex-mex]

I have a Master's in Ele Ed/Jr High LA and haven't taught full-time in a regular school since before my oldest was born. (We moved when I was pregnant.)

 

Have a B.A. in Elem Ed and state credential which I let lapse since hsing... not sure if I want to return to the classroom? Love hsing, tho'! :)

[Cera]

I have a BS in Business Administration. I made it halfway through an MBA (to get to 150 credit hours) and was studying to sit for the CPA exam when I found out I was pregnant with our first. I didn't bother to take the exam since I knew I wouldn't fulfill the work requirement.

 

My husband is going back for a company sponsored MBA next fall and I will be going to school as well (for a masters but not in a business field). I may not use the degree but I will have fun getting it.

[Julie in Monterey]

M.A. in Communication Disorders. Although, I haven't worked full time for pay since my muchkins were born, I do feel I put the knowledge to good use each and every day with my kids. I think I'm a much better teacher because of my education and training. Also, I believe I'm a much more engaged citizen as well. When I do return to the workforce, I believe I'll be heading in another direction...my past career as a Speech-Language Pathologist is too heavy in the care taking category, I'm hoping for something along the lines of public policy.

 

Great thread!

 

Julie in Monterey

[amyable]

Hey, another speech-language pathologist here. :) I don't think I could go back to it. I got my B.A. in biology/psychology, then the M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology. I worked just long enough to pay back my school loans, then quit a few months before dd #1 was born (I worked with severely emotionally disturbed adolescents and the risk of getting tackled, etc, was just too great :001_huh:). I *do* use a lot of what I've learned, however, in teaching my oldest with learning disabilities and my#2 dd with a hearing loss!

 

I let my license lapse about 6 years ago. I'm pretty sure I would not want to go back in the same capacity, but I *love* working with severely disabled kids and communication devices, so maybe something like that if I needed to.

[DawnM]

I am not using it now, but I AM keeping up with all of my credentials and do plan to eventually work again.

 

I have an MA in TESOL and an MA in School Counseling. I also have a few teaching credentials.

 

I did work for 16 years though and just quit 4 years ago to stay home.

 

Dawn

[grace'smom]

I have a BA in Psychology and a Master's in Clinical Social Work, which I used for a couple years counseling the severely mentally ill. In some ways I'm very glad I got those degrees. I think they help me everyday with my family. I am not sure my husband and I would get along as well as we do without my education ;) I'm also fairly certain that my daughter would not be as happy as she is today if I had not learned all the things that I did in school. I have to make a conscious choice to parent differently than I was raised, and I do not know if I would have understood that without the education.

 

On some days I wish I hadn't done the extra schooling. We could have had no school debt. I knew I wanted to be a stay home mom from the beginning since I worked in a day care setting in high school, but I didn't know if that was even in the cards until later. I made the best decisions I could at the time.

 

And on days when I feel like I'm "nothing but a stay home mom" or someone asks me how I can "stand being at home b/c what do I do all day and don't I just feel like my brain is rotting, etc." those diplomas remind me that I am not as stupid as some may think... Just a little extra reassurance for my own insecurities. I wish I didn't need it but I am sad to say that sometimes I do look at those diplomas hanging on the wall just to remind myself that I am smart, or at least I was once.

[creekland]

My degree is in Physics with Math and Psychology (Industrial/Business) as minors. I suppose I use them some since I substitute teach math/science in our local public high school and have for the past 11 years. If ever needed, I've been guaranteed a full time job with them - though I'd have to get my teaching certificate (they say I can get that while teaching). However, the level of my math/physics knowledge has definitely decreased with not using the more advanced parts of it. I think my psychology knowledge has increased with needing to use it!

 

I don't really want to work full time - at least - not till my own boys are all in college. Maybe then.

[2cents]

BS in Business Admin. I used it for awhile until dd#1 was born.

[mazakaal]

I have a BA in public policy which I've never used. I may use it after kids are grown and out of the house. If I want to go to work in the field I will probably get a masters first, maybe work on that when the littles are in high school. I just found out that someone I knew as a kid, who's now in her late 40's, has just gone back to school to be a medical dr. It's made me think that in 10yrs, when youngest is in h.s., it wouldn't be too late for me to go back to school. I do regret never having used my degree, but at the time I got out of uni I wasn't focused enough to know what direction I wanted to go.

[Mary in VA]

Didn't mean to hijack here, but I do want to add that those of you with undergrad and advanced degrees did not waste your time. The schooling you received helped mould you into the person you have become, so nothing is wasted really. And....you never know what life may throw at you up ahead and you may be really glad you have it!

 

 

:iagree:

 

I have a B.S. in History and a law degree. I was on active duty in the Air Force for 5 1/2 years and used it, but got off active duty when oldest dd was born. But I used the law degree sporadically in the AF reserves until I retired from that in 2006. So not using it at all now. Now it's insurance should the need to work arise.

 

I was so worried my Mom would be upset when I quit work to stay home with my dd, but she said, "Education is NEVER wasted." And that is what I tell my dds now. It will help make them into the women and mothers they will one day be. They get so upset when they see girls who aren't challeged or given educational opportunities because they don't "need" it to be wives and mothers.

 

Mary

[Firefly]

Yep. I have a Masters in MFT as well. Recently, now that the kids are getting older, I've started thinking about doing some therapy sessions on a part time basis. I'd have to re-apply for certification though as I haven't kept it current.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[prim*rose]

BS in Marketing here. I used it for about 4 yrs before dd was born, then became f/t sahm. I do some consulting gigs when I can find them, and use my marketing skills for volunteer work. Honestly, I miss it. Marketing is what feeds my soul. I doubt I'll ever be able to get back into it full time because of the 18 yr "sabbatical" I'm taking, and that makes me sad. (Not that being a mom and homeschooling isn't rewarding or fulfilling)

[momof2boys]

I have a nursing degree. In the last 17 years I have worked a total of 2 years. It great to have just in case. Although right now where we live there are NO nursing jobs at all. The hospitals are getting ready to lay off.

Gloria

[Mandamom]

I have two degrees (B.S. Paralegal and Criminal Justice) and stayed at home for 8.5 years. When my dh became unemployed I couldn't find a job for the longest time but finally found a job tutoring/teaching which I was able to get because I did have degrees even though I wasn't in education.

 

So, now I work while he's staying at home (not by choice) because he can't find a job (he has no college) and hasn't been able to find a stable job for almost 2 years.

 

So, I'm very glad I had degrees to fall back on and the bonus is that I really like my jobs.

[Jen500]

I have an MS and I do work part time in my field. I enjoy the work, it pays well, and I try to keep up with current practices.

I can't imagine not working in my field after the kids have graduated. We'll probably need the income to pay for college. :tongue_smilie::lol:

[Punks in Ontario]

that I've never used since I got married and started having children right away. By now, I think it's shelf life has expired. Sighhhhh.:001_huh:

[Trixie]

n/t

Edited December 29, 2009 by Trixie

[Tree House Academy]

I have an BA in English with a focus in technical communications. I don't use it, unless you consider teaching writing to two kids a "use." LOL

[SusanAR]

BS in nursing with 1.5 years toward Master's degree. I finally put my license on the "Inactive" list because I got tired of keeping up with the CE hours.

[jelbe5]

I have a Master of Social Work. Before my oldest was born I worked with mentally ill adults and then at a therapeutic day school for behavior disordered and emotionally disturbed children.

 

I believe all this was in preparation for my son, my middle child, who has autism.

 

I still keep my SW license active. Perhaps I will return to work after I am done homeschooling. I did work part-time after my oldest was born, but I found mentally giving to others to be very draining and I needed to reserve my energies for my dh and children alone. I am not sure if I could return to SW until later in my life.

 

When I left the work force I felt bad . . . I thought perhaps I had wasted time/money in going to school. However, as my dear mother told me, education is never a waste. Now I am very glad I have the degrees I do have . . . they have helped me in so many ways. Especially where my special needs son is concerned.

 

Adrianne in IL

[JFSinIL]

My BA, MA, and PhD ABD (had twins, one with autism, before the dissertation got done) are less important to me than my MOM ;)

 

Still, I have great research skills - used them to research autism treatments, then homeschooling...now colleges for oldest ds.

 

AND - my kids know all about Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, etc. (my major was film - silents and nitrate restoration in particular. Very useful:D )