The real world is a harsh place and we don't learn that soon enough.
When we're younger we believe everything is possible and whatever it is we want to do for a living is going to be a success. So we head off to school to procure that dream and in school we learn all we can and the dream grows bigger.
Then a little while after graduation, many people realize the dream is a fantasy and the major they chose may be more problematic than bountiful.
Not many companies are looking for experts in socioeconomic post revolution Russian literature.
Redditor Mahimah asked:
"College grads who discovered too late that your major is useless in the real world, what do you do now?"
Hospitality Days
Working in a job I could've done with my high school degree and that I hate. 💔
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I feel that. I was doing restaurant work for a long time, then went to college, and then went back to restaurant work. I'm now back in college for another roll of the dice.
And given the state of the economy right now, I will probably go back to waiting tables once again.
Head Games
Not exactly realized it was useless, just realized I couldn't do it. I was in Psychology. I went back to work for a while then ended up taking Computer Engineering and I'm now a software developer. I went back to school. The went back to work thing means in between I wasn't in school and was just working
I should add that job is what made me realize I should take Comp Eng.
I did a site visit to a custom fabrication shop and they had a team of devs to program the machines for custom orders. I was fascinated, did some research, and here I am. I do make software for manufacturing even, just not doing that specific thing that got me interested.
The Writer
I write emails for the functionally illiterate. I'm actually a personal assistant which is all you need to know. The only reason they'd pay me is the college degree and its name. I literally do get paid minimum wage but it's in a place where I can make that work with roommates. I don't know what else to say except I'm in the same place as so many! So don't be impressed. :)
The Spotlight People....
Studied performing arts (film, tv and theatre) at a decent university.
Was working in theatre until Covid hit.
Now I make youtube videos about MMO games and twitch stream Runescape.
I actually manage to survive doing this.
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P & P
Degree in psychology with a minor in philosophy. Realized I hated research 4th year in but grinded through and finished it. Currently in management in manufacturing. Wouldn't say the degree was useless as it helps me in my interactions with my workers and building a good culture. Don't ever think a degree is useless just because you don't get a job in your field. You build learning habits and study methods which can be applied to anything in the future so just keep that in mind and be positive!
LIT....
English Lit Major.
I'm a gate attendant. Graveyard shift.
Have you considered writing content for websites? You know, the web pages that are really ads disguised as actual content that made the Internet a worse place. I hear the pay is OK, I would guess probably better than a gate attendants pay.
No Regrets....
I have a sociology degree! I don't think it's useless but many people do. I don't regret it. There's a decent amount of socially relevant marketable knowledge and skills.
I'm a healthcare worker and I love it.
I am also very good at it, and would not be if I didn't have my degree to inform my practice.
I plan on getting my masters or going to law school at some point because I'd like more prospects for upward mobility and I genuinely love school but I also do really love my job now.
Crap Start....
Psychology major, got jobs in my field right out of school, but pay was pretty crap and no real room to move up without more school.
Went back and got my RN, made six figures straight out the door.
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3rd shift in....
Got an English/Film Studies degree, now I work 3rd shift as a deli stocker at a local supermarket chain.
I have the same degree. I'm a buyer and customer assistant for an independent hardware store.
When I was at school I wrote about film quite frequently. My English teacher told me I should pursue it as a career.
I had zero interest in going to university but I was told it was the easiest way to make connections in the industry.
Throughout Uni I attended every networking event I could, took unpaid writing gigs, and showed my portfolio to as many people as possible. As I approached graduation I still had no job lined up despite submitting countless applications.
After graduating I took a full time job unrelated to my degree while working part time as an unpaid writer. I eventually burnt out.
There was no point in doing the work if I wasn't being paid, and none of the paid opportunities I had dangled in front of my face ever materialised. I didn't see the point in trying anymore if the only thing I got out of it was disappointment.
I stopped writing. I stopped poring over media job sites. I took down my online portfolio. I bristle whenever someone asks me what I have a degree in because it's not hard to tell they're thinking "oh, you got one of those useless degrees." Yeah, mate. I know that now.
Teachers deserve more....
I was originally majoring in earth and space science with a minor in education.
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The goal was to teach secondary school earth science. That degree only lets you teach those subjects from an education stand point as for other jobs it qualified me for a tour guide or a museum worker. Changed majors to education which set me back about 3 semesters of course work. Now i manage at the local big box retailer for almost 15k more than the starting wage of a teacher.
Trade
Get into a trade. Only high school education required and you can get in as someone who's only job is to sit on a bucket and make sure the welders don't catch crap of fire starting out at 18/hr. After that the next position can be anywhere from 18-20/hr as a helper and perdiem comes in. An extra 70-100 a day tax free for your hotel and stuff. I've been in construction for 4 years and I average 28/hr and 100 a day perdiem. Average weekly check of 1500+ and only a high school education baby.
PhD
Serious answer: I have a bachelor of science in psychology. It is truly useless as a lot of bachelor of science degrees are if you're not going for a Masters or PhD. I interned in a medical lab and got a technical degree, MLT, which I think nowadays technical degrees are 150% more valuable than a non-technical 4 year degree. I'm working on turning my MLS at the moment.
Next Year it is....
So not me, but my husband. His first bachelor's is in entertainment engineering and design and he worked for a minute in his industry.
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He was getting to the highest position he could with that degree before COVID and got furloughed and then laid off. He's going back to school now for electrical engineering and will graduate next year hopefully.
Find Friends
I have a BA in political science. I run a data science and analytics team. Didn't figure out what I liked until I was 28 and 6 years out of college. The library and community colleges are your friend.
It's all a mess...
I work in my dad's business and live with my parents. In my culture is not that unusual to live with your parents in your 20's but it still sucks. The money they pay me is not nearly enough to be independent either, but at least I'm not homeless and try to take care of them. The future is uncertain. I couldn't get a job in my former career before the pandemic, and now the job market and the economy are totally messed in my country.
educators...
Not me, but my brother has a history degree and couldn't get a job in his field. So he went back to school to become a teacher and now he's teaching history at the university he got his history degree at. He hates teaching.
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Best of Luck...
I did my major in mathematics, and without much of a plan going forward, other than one very specific idea that ended up falling through. I did temp work for a little while and ended up doing some self-taught programming to improve the efficiency of my work there. That led to me getting noticed and promoted by the IT team leader, and now (years later) I'm in a leading software developer position. So it all worked out in the end, mostly through sheer luck.
Choices
Work in a grocery store and languish in my poor choices.
But for real though, I wouldn't trade the experience I got in college for anything. I got a Bachelor of Arts in Interactive Media Design. I've been working on small projects off and on since graduation but the actual industry, if you don't want to try cutting your teeth as an indie dev, is a meat grinder. There's a lot of uncertainty in employment, exploitation, false expectations of advancement.
You're either a dynamo and get hired into a good position/get noticed or you slog through QA with a minuscule chance of getting promoted. Turns out the industry has a crappy life/work balance and I refuse to deal with that.
Research the Plan
If you're in a country with strong unions, do consider vocational roles like a plumber or electrician. Some of them do pay well.
If you're ok with it, joining the army is ok as well.
Alternatively, upskill through online courses.
Anthro...
Anthropology degree. I do IT Helpdesk at a University. Anthro helped give me a good understanding of different people and cultures. Made my customer service skills waaaaay better knowing that people can see things so differently.
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For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
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"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
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"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
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"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.
Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.
While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.
Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.
Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.
For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.
Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:
"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"
The Tiny Issue Of Water...
"Absolutely not."
"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649
Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...
"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."
"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."
"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."
"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep
The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...
"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."
"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3
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What Do You Mean Allow?
"I have no choice."
"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412
"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show
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Who Needs An Alarm Clock?
"I let my two cats sleep with me."
"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."
"And so do I."
"We've all developed a lil routine."
"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_
Whose Bed Is It Anyway?
"Yes."
"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."
"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor
"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."
"Would not come out."
"Got some food and some water in dishes."
"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."
"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."
"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."
"She was too busy eating."
"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."
"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."
"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."
"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."
"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."
"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."
"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."
"She would not go."
"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."
"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588
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Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...
"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."
"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."
"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle
Saying No Just Isn't An Option...
"'Let'."
"Lol."
"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren
Felines Only!
"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz
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Is That My Hair On That Pillow?
"My dog is perfect."
"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."
"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."
"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester
It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.
Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...
The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
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"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
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"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
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"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
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"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.