Is My Degree Worthless?

I watched this video a while back and had a really good laugh because I could identify with what was happening here:

I especially felt for Suan-Li, when her dad said that frankly if she didn’t do well in a few more years, she should just forget about it.

This video felt particularly close to home because at the time I watched it, I was venturing into a field that was completely new to me, i.e. the polar opposite of my $200,000 Biology major, liberal arts education. As you can imagine, my parents (who I live with) were freaking out and encouraging me (in that way that is so infuriatingly unique to parents) to find a job related to my major.

I’m sure they felt that I was throwing away my education, my potential, my life even. The question ‘so what was all that money we spent for?’ may have crossed their minds once or twice. Naturally, that caused some serious guilt on my part and I asked myself similar questions: ‘is my degree worthless now? Did I go through those 4 years for nothing?’

You’re Not Alone

First, let me assure you that if you are in a position unrelated to your college major, you’re not alone. No, I couldn’t find any statistics that directly support that statement; but with 91% of us millennials expecting to stay in a job for 3 years or less, and more and more of us looking for meaningful work instead of climbing the corporate ladder, I think it’s fair to say that a good percentage of us will be switching career fields once or more throughout our lifetime. Furthermore, the number of articles that have been written about switching career paths, transferable skills and the like, is proof that it has been done by our parents’ generation and it isn’t a new phenomenon.

So, to answer those questions and doubts in your mind, no, your degree is not worthless.

Here are 3 reasons why:

1. Your college experience provided you with transferable skills and life skills in general.

In case you’ve never heard the term transferable skills, they are those abilities that you’ve learned and developed during your pursuits that are easily applicable to a position in a new field or even a variety of positions. Great examples of transferable skills include the ability to write clearly and compellingly, or knowing how to analyze and present data in a visual format that’s easily understandable and accessible.

And life skills? Friends, let’s not underestimate the ability to work on a team and deliver strong results despite conflict, or how to budget and manage money. Those seemingly simple experiences – resolving college dorm squabbles like a pro or managing our minimum-wage campus job paycheck – do have relevance and can make a big difference in any position no matter the field.

2. Your degree taught you how to get it done.

Let’s be real here. When the Netflix gods held you hostage for a couple weeks (*ahem* procrastination!!!!) and that paper, assigned two weeks ago, was due the next morning, you got down to business, got caffeinated and got it done.

Or in my case, when I was in the final year of my Biology major, one quarter away from graduating, but thinking about dropping out and not wanting to think about anything remotely Biology related, I had to reprioritize, realize how close I was, stop moaning, and finish the maddening degree.

Simple. No BS. You didn’t like it. You might have hated every second of it. But you did it.

In life, whether we’re in seasons we love or hate, we have to face things we don’t want to do. Those moments in college (whether they were of our own making or not) taught us to pull ourselves off our rear ends, stop whining and just do it. And that friends, is worth its weight in gold.

3. The relationships you made then, have gotten you where you are now.

Life is all about relationships. The community around you can either make or break you. For many of us, college life was that make-you community. Your friends, your professors, the Career center folks, your roommates, teammates, friends and even your nemeses have played a huge part in shaping you into the person you are today. Yes, it’s cheesy. It’s also real truth.

I’m willing to bet that those relationships, those people, have sat with you in dark places, pulled you out of those same dark places, played silly with you, poured into you some serious life advice, and overall loved you into who and where you are today.

Would you be where you are and who you are without them? Maybe…but would you want to be without them given the choice?
Many of our education costs are ridiculously exorbitant. It’s understandable when we feel guilt for investing all that time and money into a particular path, and then choosing to go down another. It’s even more understandable if that new path doesn’t immediately yield any financial return that might justify our initial college investment.

Yet, our degrees mean so much more than what we studied. They are reminders that we spent years getting ready for whatever life would throw at us. And maybe we could’ve been better prepared through another major, through different friends, through less student loans, but the fact is we took the path we took for four years. That preparation, that experience, carries more meaning than what we immediately see.

So if you’re tempted to think your degree is worthless because you’re not working in your major or that you threw your (or your parents’, guardians or supporters’) hard-earned cash down the drain, try thinking again.