Survey: Did you go to Uni? If yes, are you using that education in your line of work today?

Forums › Off topic › Survey: Did you go to Uni? If yes, are you using that education in your line of work today?

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KrazyKid

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#1774817 3-May-2017 10:48

A BSc(Hons) in Chemistry - worked in a lab for 1 year before travelling on an OS and never using that qualification again directly.

10 years later did Grad Dip in Software Engineering (just as the IT bubble burst early 2000's - so never used that directly either :) )

Done a little bit of systems support in one role, but now have ended up as a Retail Business Analyst.

Overall can't say I've used the bits of paper for much other than using the scientific process to problem solving and making my CV look better...

cddt

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#1774864 3-May-2017 11:45

I went to uni straight out of high school for lack of anything better to do. Found it pretty easy and got a BSc with majors in maths and stats.

Was encouraged by the uni to stay and do postgraduate study/research, but decided I had had enough of living like a student (i.e. on the bones of my arse). So went out and got an entry level data analyst role. Incredibly boring for a few years but paid the bills and allowed me to travel, socialise, etc.

Things picked up a few years ago when "data" became more of a buzzword and I started focusing on my career a bit more. While I've never studied programming seriously, I have picked up more than enough to work in "data scientist" type roles.

To answer the question, I don't use much of what I studied in my degree directly, but indirectly my degree taught me a lot about logic, problem solving, and optimal solutions. These days a lot of what I do involves interpreting business requirements and technical specifications, and seeing if the two can meet somewhere in the middle, within a reasonable time frame, at a reasonable cost. Every day I see non-technical people making decisions about projects, investment, etc without even a basic understanding of the solutions they're choosing between. On the other side, technical people will often come with a solution which is hugely overblown, because they do not understand the objective the business is trying to achieve.

BTR

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#1774935 3-May-2017 13:23

No Uni or Polytech for me and I'm now an IT manager with multiple staff and manage a network of 50+ switches and about 900 client devices.

sonyxperiageek

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#1775024 3-May-2017 15:56

BTR:

No Uni or Polytech for me and I'm now an IT manager with multiple staff and manage a network of 50+ switches and about 900 client devices.

Self-taught?

Sony

sonyxperiageek

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#1775025 3-May-2017 15:59

Thanks for all the replies guys! It seems like from a very broad perspective, the answer to using your degree in your line of work is around 50/50.

And there are a few lucky people who didn't go to uni, but still have a pretty good job. Maybe that isn't more luck and there's more to it than that? Maybe it was the dedication to writing up a good cover letter about yourself, spending a lot of time searching for jobs, instead of just sitting on your bumside doing nothing? Hmmm

Sony

octopoly

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#1775412 4-May-2017 10:34

I am originally a translator by trade (English, German, Spanish, French) but never practised it. After my exams I needed money and accepted a job as tech support agent in a call center of a large IT company. They were expanding and needed someone who spoke multiple languages, which allowed me to join sales and later biz dev. After 8 years working in different roles for various companies within the industry, I was able to learn a lot about IT - and I learn new stuff every day. I guess it helped that I always had an interest in IT.

I have a couple of friends who also made their way into the IT world, even though they have originally studied something completely different. IT rocks ! :)

Domain Guy at octopoly.com - We bring offline businesses online

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afe66

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#1775448 4-May-2017 11:06

sonyxperiageek:

Thanks for all the replies guys! It seems like from a very broad perspective, the answer to using your degree in your line of work is around 50/50.

And there are a few lucky people who didn't go to uni, but still have a pretty good job. Maybe that isn't more luck and there's more to it than that? Maybe it was the dedication to writing up a good cover letter about yourself, spending a lot of time searching for jobs, instead of just sitting on your bumside doing nothing? Hmmm

Be aware of reporting bias though....

Lizard1977

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#1776411 5-May-2017 16:09

Not an IT tech (professionally), but I did go to uni (graduated MA in History) and use the skills I acquired in gaining that qualification (research, analysis, critical thinking and logical thought) everyday in my role as a policy analyst.

wasabi2k

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#1776431 5-May-2017 16:45

sonyxperiageek:

Thanks for all the replies guys! It seems like from a very broad perspective, the answer to using your degree in your line of work is around 50/50.

And there are a few lucky people who didn't go to uni, but still have a pretty good job. Maybe that isn't more luck and there's more to it than that? Maybe it was the dedication to writing up a good cover letter about yourself, spending a lot of time searching for jobs, instead of just sitting on your bumside doing nothing? Hmmm

My degree did not impact getting and keeping my previous job - I ended up as a contract infra engineer/architect @ ~$100 an hour. Was 100% based on work experience and connections. First job was at an education based integrator that grew massively. Went from unpacking desktops to senior engineer quickly.

I wouldn't have got my current job without a degree.

sonyxperiageek

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#1776435 5-May-2017 16:56

wasabi2k:

sonyxperiageek:

Thanks for all the replies guys! It seems like from a very broad perspective, the answer to using your degree in your line of work is around 50/50.

And there are a few lucky people who didn't go to uni, but still have a pretty good job. Maybe that isn't more luck and there's more to it than that? Maybe it was the dedication to writing up a good cover letter about yourself, spending a lot of time searching for jobs, instead of just sitting on your bumside doing nothing? Hmmm

My degree did not impact getting and keeping my previous job - I ended up as a contract infra engineer/architect @ ~$100 an hour. Was 100% based on work experience and connections. First job was at an education based integrator that grew massively. Went from unpacking desktops to senior engineer quickly.

I wouldn't have got my current job without a degree.

Wow $100 an hour sounds good! What was the rate at when you were starting out unpacking desktops?

Sony

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