Life of a post-graduate

[Doivid]

Jster said
The one problem with STEM is how conceited we all are about how good STEM is.

I agree. I'm sort of in between that whole divide/rivalry, since my major isn't really humanities but has somewhat of an overlap with it (linguistics and comp sci). But it gets a little old how STEM majors push that whole view. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for practical degrees and having a major like English or Sociology or Art History or something does make it tougher to get a job in a related field (unless you teach), but they're not useless for the most part.

[Dervish]

Sherlock Holmes said
Out of all the people I know who have degrees, there are only two of them who are working in the fields they went to college for. The rest of them (20+ people) are working in some form of a retail job.#Trufax

The sad truth, isn't it? The worst part is, even if you go into college for a field that's in high demand, there's no telling if it's going to be a different market by the time you graduate.

Doivid said
Really? That's awesome, didn't know that. In my lab science class this semester we talked quite a bit about water treatment and wastewater management, etc. Here in calif we use like 84% or something just for agriculture. It's nuts.But yeah, gr8 major. I didn't realize you'd gotten that.

Oh yeah, the statistics for what's used is pretty mind boggling. Also, solid waste management's really interesting and it makes you REALLY conscious about what you throw into the trash. XD But yeah, my field's really good and in huge demand; Alberta's something like 3000 operators short of what's required. I can imagine everywhere else is also facing a similar shortage of skilled workers.

Oh, and for everyone reading this: If it isn't coming from your own body or toilet paper, don't flush it. All your condoms, tampons, paper towels, left over food, dead pets, bullet casings, articles of clothing, beer cans, cell phones, grease, your ex's personal belongings, pictures of your ex, and so on do not go down the pipes easy and don't treat. Also, they clog up your service connection and like your colon after taco bell night, it will back up on you one day and every drain in your house will quickly remind you of what you've had to eat and your poor life choices from the past several years suddenly come back to haunt you and fill your house with a stench so foul you'll look like you opened up the Arc of the Covenant during a Nazi blind bag party on some uncharted island.

[Goldmarble]

Dervish said
The sad truth, isn't it? The worst part is, even if you go into college for a field that's in high demand, there's no telling if it's going to be a different market by the time you graduate. Oh yeah, the statistics for what's used is pretty mind boggling. Also, solid waste management's really interesting and it makes you REALLY conscious about what you throw into the trash. XD But yeah, my field's really good and in huge demand; Alberta's something like 3000 operators short of what's required. I can imagine everywhere else is also facing a similar shortage of skilled workers. Oh, and for everyone reading this: If it isn't coming from your own body or toilet paper, don't flush it. All your condoms, tampons, paper towels, left over food, dead pets, bullet casings, articles of clothing, beer cans, cell phones, grease, your ex's personal belongings, pictures of your ex, and so on do not go down the pipes easy and don't treat. Also, they clog up your service connection and like your colon after taco bell night, it will back up on you one day and every drain in your house will quickly remind you of what you've had to eat and your poor life choices from the past several years suddenly come back to haunt you and fill your house with a stench so foul you'll look like you opened up the Arc of the Covenant during a Nazi blind bag party on some uncharted island.

Eugh....that stench.

Ours was worse: Septic tank. Septic tank that leaked, at the bottom of a mountain, roughly 16m above the ocean.
When the rain came down hard for a long time, we could have a geyser of foulness 4' high in the basement shower. Fucking hydraulic pressure.

[KnightShade]

I'm trying to get the best of both worlds right now on my course. History and archaeology are closely intertwined departments, hopefully I can get some of the appeal of the general skills on my history course while getting more specific skills from archaeology modules and volunteering. Archaeology is ideally where I'd want to end up, but studying history will hopefully provide a good fallback.

Dervish said
I took an environmental technology major, which was in the engineering department in my school. Going into water and wastewater treatment basically ensures I'm in high demand pretty much everywhere.

This also sounds like a highly transferable skill, whatever job you take you're going to have to deal with people's shit.