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I have a college degree question - desperate to get out of MTing

Posted: Aug 23, 2012

I can't stand doing MT anymore. I applied and have received Pell grants, yay! Now, I need to decide on my major. I want to be in a career where I can help people. I'm thinking social work or psychology. But I keep seeing jobs where they say "BA in Human Services needed." Wouldn't this just be social work?

Social work - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
A BA in psychology is not enough, as a rule, to get a job out of college. You usually need a masters or higher.

Much of the social work degree is actually working in the field (at least at the university I went to).

However, you should research the outlook as lots of government cutbacks will affect job growth. Also, it is HARD and heartbreaking sometimes.

I would do extensive research before embarking on any 4 year degree.

My spouse got a degree in Anthropology and had to go back for a masters in something entirely different to find a job.

Social sciences can be tricky.

Career counseling - might help

[ In Reply To ..]
You might want to look into career counseling before deciding on a major. If you are enrolling in college, most colleges have a career office where they will help you decide on a career and what you need to get there. There are also good books to read on the subject, like "What color is my parachute?" You might also consider job shadowing, volunteer work, or some type of internship to get a feel for a career before you decide. If you take the time now to decide on a clear path of where you are going and what it will take to get there, it will makes things much easier in the long run.

It is not impossible to get a job with a bachelor's degree in psychology (I have one), but most jobs you can get will not have very high salaries. I used to work at a group home for kids with developmental disabilities and loved it but resigned so I could stay home and raise my kids and then got into MT.

You will need advanced degrees - For both of those

[ In Reply To ..]
Pretty much, you will need advanced degrees in both of those if you want a job that is worth something.

There is an associate's degree social work program at the college near me, but I don't know what the graduates can do. I don't know what a bachelor's degree would do. Without an MSW, I do not know any facility that will hire them. Someone I know thought she would be an MSW when she finished it and was astonished to find that she would not, that none of the coursework would help one bit with a master's degree, and that the few jobs were very low-paying "aide" type jobs with public agencies.

You pretty much need a doctorate in psychology, too. There are "psych tech" positions at the bachelor's level, but their services are not billable, so the attraction for hiring them is decreasing. What jobs exist are, again, low-paying "aide" type positions.

Before you jump into something and waste your Pell Grant eligibility, make sure you determine the job market for it, the requirements, and salaries IN YOUR AREA. Do you need licensure? Certification? Find people who are DOING those jobs and ask to visit them to see what they do and how much they make. It might be far different from what you thought.

People go to college and graduate with majors they enjoyed, but which are utterly useless in the workplace. Many, many graduates now are not working in their fields. The most common job for them seems to be barista.

One of the best choices for college now is health informatics. Even just health information is good. There is a very good, totally online program at Western Governor's University. There is actually a SHORTAGE of qualified workers in these fields, both of which offer excellent salaries. The RHIA salary is better than the RHIT, but you could do an RHIA program at WGU in less time than elsewhere and probably the same time as or just a little more than an AA program.

I realize that everyone wants to pick a job that they feel they will love, but if you don't know what a BA in Human Services is, or what social work is, you do not know enough about the fields to choose a major.

It sounds like you chose the college first and are now trying to fit one of their majors into your life. You should be doing this the other way around. Choose the CAREER first, determine what majors will get you there, then find a college that does a good job of it.

College - BS holder

[ In Reply To ..]
Firstly, good for you!! Learning is a beautiful thing and receiving a PELL grant makes it much easier!! LOL

I agree with the other posters about obtaining degrees that might not "fit" jobs, but honestly, most of my friends, myself included, have obtained jobs that are no where closely related to our degrees. What the degree does convey, though, is a person with motivation to move forward, self-discipline and many other character traits.

No-one says you have to have a major chosen in the first couple years anyway (I assume you are going for a bachelor's degree?). You will be busy with general education classes. Or, even the first year. That leaves you plenty of time to chat with your counselor, check out different departments and jobs they may lead to, just investigate! It's fun to choose a major and have a "plan," but when you attend class and get to know your professors and some classmates, you will learn about jobs you may never have known existed!!

Enjoy it! I did. :)

excellent advice and to reiterate - sue

[ In Reply To ..]
if you do physically want to attend a local university, you can't take for granted it offers the program, especially social work. And it is a masters/doctorate degree field.

Research your question properly - and that means - not here.

[ In Reply To ..]
The people to talk to are people who run social work departments, faculty who teach in SW programs, etc. You can also find many forums where social work professionals hang out.

degree - mt1347

[ In Reply To ..]
Neither of the fields you are interested will pay a lot, but if you are more concerned about helping people and you have grants, and won't get drowned in student loan debt, go for it. You first 2 years will be taking general required courses, and you can discover what you're good at and enjoy. I would say if you like psychology, think about industrial psych, which is basically human resources - you are hired by corporations, hospitals, large businesses, to help design and implement training program, continuing ed, employee reward programs, etc. My nephew does that, loves it, and makes good money. He got a masters, but it's not necessary, you can do well with a Bachelor's. Also, consider what group of people you want to work with - kids, adults, teens, older folks? You want to work one and one in counseling? The Baby Boomer generation is aging - that will open up a whole spectrum of new jobs that will require psychology or psychology based training.

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