s/o thread: does your spouse "use their degree?"

[Carrie12345]

I'm not sure how I want to vote. His job doesn't *require* a degree, but it helped him score a better starting salary, gave him an upper hand on promotions, and is required by some companies in the industry if he wants to climb even higher.

 

The degree he earned doesn't have anything to do with the actual work, but his non-major classes, particularly math and english, have certainly been useful.

[Pam Wilhelm]

My husband has an Associate of Science Degree in Diesel Technology....he has always worked as a mechanic, usually on diesel equipment. Currently he is working on John Deere Agricultural Equipment.

[ThelmaLou]

No, his degree was agricultural economics, but after graduation he played professional football for 5 years. Then he went back to school to get a certfication to teach secondary math. After teaching for two years, he started working at an Industrial Distribution company, then after two transfers, ended up in Upper Management (requiring a degree) at his current company, which contracts with the government for defense. Not one drop of AG ECON in that resume, but that piece of paper was indeed helpful.

[Lady Florida.]

Other.

 

Dh doesn't have a degree. He became a single dad at a young age, and had to drop out of college. He did have his parents in the area to help, but couldn't afford to continue his education. Plus he didn't want to be away from dss all day at work, then even longer to go to school. He always planned to go back, but then he met me and started the parenting thing all over (dss was 20 when ds was born).

 

The sad thing is, he is SO good at what he does. He has more experience and knowledge than many of the guys (very few women in the field) he works with. However, you can only go so far in his field without a degree. Nevermind that you can do the job. You need the piece of paper that says you can do it.

 

He's not resentful. He's such a great dad and wouldn't trade his time spent raising dss for a higher career position.

 

He still made more than me when we both worked, even though I'm the one with a degree. I was a teacher in Florida, where they don't respect teachers.

[bettyandbob]

I voted yes. Dh has a degree and works in his field.

 

I wanted to add that some degrees have no specific field, but that does not mean the person did not master excellent communication and reasoning skills, which are what some employers are looking for when they require a degree for a job applicant. I went to a small liberal arts school. I majored in chemistry and there were definitely opportunities for me to be employed right after graduation. However, my school worked very hard to get employers to our campus to interview English, History, and French majors. Most of my friends in nonscience fields got decent jobs, some doing exciting things (like the CIA).

 

I know a lot of people on this board say that college is only about the job skill and seem to insist persons should only study something that leads to a recognizable job, like nursing or accounting. However, I believe one should study what they really love, which may be nursing or accounting. I think if a person is devoted to their subject they will certainly develop skills they will use in the workforce. I had a classmate who majored in Art. He works in marketing today and uses to a lot of out of the box thinking that one who is drawn to art would. I think if you start of in a major that you are not interested in, but think will lead to a job you are more likely to have poor grades and not finish any degree. And that would be a true waste. If you love a subject like English or History there are opportunities to develop serious research and analysis skills when pursuing these degrees. These are skills you can use on the job, you don't have as a high school graduate.

[Meriwether]

Yes, my Dh has a degree in Agribusiness and works in that field. He says he could have been trained for the job, though, and I believe him. He is good at his job, but he was a very poor student. After we started dating when he was a Junior, his GPA went up a full point. I was such a fun date.:tongue_smilie:

[BarbecueMom]

DH has a BS in Business with an Information Systems focus. However, IT is such a huge field, the degree alone doesn't point you in the right direction. While the degree was necessary, he got into his specific field because he already had his clearance through the Army. So I voted "sort of", but I'm about to vote Nutella with my mouth. :D

[Cinder]

I voted no, but needed the degree. Dh has a BS in Physics courtesy the USAF. He went on to become a pilot. I suppose there is some physics involved in learning the fundamentals of flight, but the biggest benefit to his degree was learning how to study when the stuff seems overwhelming. Pilot training is a very intense program. Dh actually got a bad cold every month during training, but once training was over he went years before he had another bad cold. Anyway, dh is still a pilot, just no longer in the USAF.

 

It would be the same for me, I got my BS in Civil Engineering also courtesy the USAF. At the time they were clamoring for engineers and giving many scholarships for studying engineering. By the time I graduated they said they had too many engineers and I went into the Personnel field. I learned on the job. Supervising 30 people and dealing with angry commanders and frustrated retirees did not give me the skills I needed to stay home with my dc. That was a whole 'nother learning curve. :D

[Tigger]

DH is an MD, so yup, he uses his degree!

[butterflymommy]

Sort of-- DH's degree is in philosophy, and most of his work deals with copyright law. Many people he interacts with assume he has a law degree, and he occasionally is asked which law school he attended. His answer is always "the public library." :)

[FairyMom]

I voted "yes." He's an electrical engineer with a computer science specialty. He works from home now doing freelance work.

[OrdinaryTime]

Sort of - DH has a degree in Physchology and Theology. He went into politics. Semi-related.:tongue_smilie:

 

After working in the field for awhile, mainly on healthcare issues, he recieved his JD. Now he is a goverment healthcare consultant, who does not practice law, but would not have gotten the job without the JD. Actually, he never planned to actually practice law while he was studying for his JD. In his field, there is just a bit of a ceiling if you don't have one.

[Parrothead]

Dh attempted to get a degree in partying. He got tired of the lifestyle and went home. So he never finished. He is going fairly well without it. In his career field he was able to use his previous work experience in lieu of a degree.

[Puma Mom]

Yes, he does. He has undergrad degrees in Marketing and Psychology and and MBA in Marketing. He basically develops and maintains contacts with the high ups in the cable industry and presents his company's product to them.

[Jenny in Florida]

My husband doesn't have a degree and makes more money than I ever did "using" mine.

 

It irks me every single time I hear or read anything that suggests the point of going to college is to make more money.

[TravelingChris]

Yes, he does. He has a BA, MS, and PhD all in Physics (why a BA? Because at that time at the Univ. of Chicago, all they gave were BA if you were a physics major). He is an active duty Air Force Officer and he not only needs to be a physicist for the position, but a PhD physicist too (though that is probably a weeding tool). He has used his physics in all his jobs except the three years he was in Belgium. There they also wanted a PhD but all that was necessary was that the candidate was good in math. So a physicist was presumed to be good in math and he learned accounting on the job. They put that requirement in after they had a slacker officer who was rude and didn't do his job. I don't think the requirement helped with the courtesy part, though my husband is very polite, but it did help with the slacker part of it since you can't get a PhD without doing a lot of work.

[MissKNG]

My dh doesn't have a degree but likes Nutella, so I voted "Nutella"!

[Stacy in NJ]

and works in Banking/Finance - so yes.

[Wheres Toto]

Yes. Dh has a degree in Chemistry and he's an analytical chemist for generic pharmaceuticals.

[Scarlett]

I voted yes even though technically he doesn't start back for 2 weeks.

 

He has been working out of his field for a year. And yes I consider that wasting his degree....but it wasn't by choice....and he was very underemployed....doinig work he physically shouldn't be doing.

[littlebug42]

Dh has a degree in computer engineering and he does work with computers as a system administrator. He works for the university where he got the degree too.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Dh works in the field that his degree was for. While he may not use everything from his degree, it helped him get where he is now. He doesn't have a degree in management, but should write a book about it.

[jhschool]

DH has B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Masters and PhD in Mechanical

Engineering, and now is a Research Scientist in Mechanical Engineering.

 

So, yes for him.

 

BUT I don't think any degree is ever wasted. Whatever you learned

made you smarter and the smarter you are the better you will do

whatever it is you will do next.

 

I got a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering.

But for the past 8 years I have been teaching a child basic and intermediate

material in all subjects. I don't think my degrees were wasted.

Everything I learned there made me a lot smarter than if I hadn't studied

it, and it gave me a perspective that helps me all the time in homeschooling.

("Systems approach to engineering" is invaluable to manage, evaluate,

and make good decisions in my DS's education. Plus I can recognize

what classes are good and what classes are bad in Math/Science.)

 

Anyway, that is what I think.

[Amy in NH]

DH doesn't have any kind of degree at all. He "majored" in building trades in high school and received all sorts of on-the-job training as a young adult. He uses that knowledge every day in his current career, which is the one he wanted for himself when he was 14yo.

 

So, I voted Nutella. :drool:

[bcnlvr]

dh's degree = history, job = program manager, defense industry

mine = medicine, job = homeschool mom

[journeytolily]

Yes, Dh's degree is in mechanical engineering, and he's a mechanical design engineer!

[LaxMom]

No. He has an AA in Criminal Justice, BS in Sociology/Law Enforcement, MA in management. He's a firefighter/paramedic. Well, he's an officer, so he might use some of the management stuff, but not in a "working in his field" kind of way. And he does use his non-degree professional certifications.

[Tap]

Other..no degree.

[jenL]

Yes, Dh has a BS in Business Admin with a minor in finance/accounting. He also has an MBA. He's a treasury accountant for a major bank.

[Guest]

My dh did not finish his college. He was planning on majoring in computer science. He quit, took tests for plumbing, which he had been doing with his father, and now runs plumbing and general contracting companies. So, no - he did not go into the field he was studying in college for, however, he did learn the plumbing trade and take the tests to get his master license.

[whiskeywife]

My DH has a degree in english. He worked for four years as a correctional officer and he is now a medic in the army. So, no he does not use his degree. I have a degree in education so I guess I partially use my degree.

[Crissy]

No. He studied journalism but he is a photographer.

 

I voted that he needed some kind of degree, but it is only true that he was told to finish college. His line of work doesn't require a degree.

 

When he was a junior in college he approached the professional sports team that he has now been with for 33 years. He asked them for a job and they told him to come back after he finished school.

[Truscifi]

Dh doesn't have a degree, he didn't finish college. However, he was a duel music/computer science major and now he manages a restaurant so even if he had finished his degree he wouldn't b using it in this job.

 

I have a degree in political science with a minor in art and latin american studies. When I was in the workforce I worked in social services, so didn't really use my degree but did have to have a degree for the position. I definitely don't use it now.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Truscifi

[Karen in CO]

Other - no degree, but he works in the same field as I do. I work the field with the same name as my degree. :D So he works in his step-field.

[SunD]

I don't guess anyone will read this far since there are so many responses, but I wanted to clarify my answer since I chose Other. He "uses" one "degree" but not the other.

 

He has an AS in Applied Sciences and a Merchant Mariner Credential (i.e., a captain's license). He uses the MMC.

[tristangrace]

My husband has a BS in psychology but works as a business consultant in the insurance industry. He's upper management and I assume a college degree of some sort was necessary, but there is absolutely no relevance between his studies and his work.