Is it normal that i hate and regret my bachelor's degree?

Can't blame you. If it helps at all, I have an honors bachelor of science in biology and I'm working in a fucking steel mill. And I don't mean a GOOD job either.

I thought university was about education, not blowing your money on a meaningless 'qualification' so you can graduate into an assload of debt and slave away at a minimum wage job and get sexually harassed for the rest of your life.

dude. i feel the exact same way. i majored in communication studies which is so broad i want to shoot myself. i can't find a job and have had to defer my student loans for now... i've been searching for a job for almost a year now. wtf. we're so screwed.
could you maybe teach art?

I wrote this IIN question almost two years ago, and every so often I get comments in my e-mail. They are usually encouraging, so thanks! I just have an update, incase any future regretters come along and see my Bachelor's Degree regret and wonder if they're totally sunk. I went back to community college, took a butt load of science courses, shadowed different careers, found my new passion, and am headed to Physician Assistant school next fall. I don't regret my art degree anymore, it really set me apart in the application process, and the skills and creative thinking I learned in art school really do mesh well with the medical field. Who knew. If anyone else has started again after their (perceived) education mistakes, right on. Use regret as motivation! And as pretty much everybody said, be proud of/enjoy your accomplishments/awesomeness thus far.

I had to register just to reply to you.

I did exactly the same fucking thing. Except my debt after my first degree was 15000€ and on top of that i had blown about 30 000€ on tuition from an inheritance.

The good part with studying art (photography) was pretty girls I got to sleep with, but other than that it was pretty useless. Okay so I chose to do it in Australia so it was pretty interesting to travel and see stuff. But I could have studied like business and still done those same things?

I couldnt get a job for shit after graduation, so I ended up as a towel boy at a spa. So fucking humiliating, and after investing three years and 45 000 €... I wanted/want to kill myself for that. It's like waking up from a really stupid night out after having done something really fucking stupid drunk. Except i was sober. sort of anyway.
So now I'm stuck in a shithole public university in a dump in europe studying what I should have done from the beginning, BUSINESS. i'm turning 25 in a month and i have two years til i get my masters in business.. After that I will have spent something like 65 000 € on education. and ill be twenty fucking seven.

Young dumb and full of cum is what I have to say.

On the flipside however, there is something worth considering. Looking at these assholes and dickwads at business school who are straight from high school or have worked some entry level position at an office or flipped burgers or something while figuring out what they want have missed out on something too.

Think about it this way, had you worked or studied something sane to begin with, where would it have led you? I think probably to the same outcome. I had friends in art school who had business degrees and found it very soul-destroying. The good thing is that through this process I have learned some facts about reality, I have learned what I want, and what I have to do, I have gotten to see the world, and screw hot people. I have gotten to experiment, and what better way of experimenting than with art!

I can't remember who said it but somebody said: "you need two educations; one that eaches you HOW to live, and one that makes you a living."

So far those years at art college have been my best years.. useless or not, i would not begin by trading those.

peace!

I think it's totally normal to have regrets. if I'd educated myself in a field I didn't want to work in and ruined my economy while doing it I would be pretty pissed off too. However, your life is far from over. I'm assuming you didn't ONLY take art classes, and that a year or two of community college would give you the credits to apply to grad school in a completely different field (business, law, or whatever else you might be interested it). idk, it's probably better to spend more money now (though I can understand why that doesn't seem appealing) that to forever be stuck in a field you're not interested in working in/don't think you'd earn any money by doing. assuming you do into a more lucrative line of business you'll be able to pay off your debts anyway.

I feel the same way that you do. My parents were on my case about finding college ASAP and rushing me so fast. I had lots of interests but I chose Media Arts & Animation. It was hard work, and when I graduated, it was nearly impossible to find jobs. It was competitive, and the jobs the school gave me were not what I expected (I expected nice studio jobs, they gave me receptionist jobs or graphic design jobs for scam companies). Lately I feel like I wasted my life, my career, and now thousands in debt just because I rushed to college and didn't take my time. But we made these decisions for a reason, and it wasn't all bad. I made cool friends. I networked & learned a lot from teachers and the classes. I got many MANY cool experiences I never would have otherwise found if I hadn't have gone. They weren't career paths, but they were experiences (for example- entertaining at birthday parties, making videos for a retired military guy, lots of amazing animation stuff) but now I think it's time for a new change. I'll always have the skills and a degree looks great but I've been thinking of lots of different paths to take. So yes it's very normal to feel this way. It's life, but you wouldn't be you, without that choice you made. :)

Hey,
I did EXACTLY what you did (only my Bachelors was in Theater--Acting). I was in even more debt than you are when i got out because my parents disowned me sophomore year. I graduated in 2002, NEVER had a job in theater after that, and now 9 years later, I'm 12 credits away from finishing my prerequisites for vet school! It sucks, I'm in wayyyyyy more debt now, but I am determined to keep going and one day I'll have a job that can allow me to pay back the nearly 200000 dollar debt i will have when i finish my DVM. So, take it from someone who's been where you are--you CAN get there from where you are. Sometimes the path meanders, it doesn't mean you are lost. Quit beating yourself up and move forward.
Good luck!

After high school I didn't know what the fuck I wanted to do with my life. All I did know was I wanted to get out of my hometown and go somewhere better and learn about the greater things in life.

I eventually wound up in a college town in California, by the beach and studied psychology. Psychology was intersting as it pertained to life and the human thought process. It was what I liked and at the time I couldn't see myself doing anything else. I also took up surfing and joined a fraternity.

Basically for 4 years I studied something I loved, went surfing when I could and partied with/ had sex with hot girls. This lifestyle was surreal, a fantasy, unsustainable and something out of a movie. I was young, dumb and loving every moment.

After I graduated the economy took a dump and then I found myself with a psych degree, little experience and in a truly fucked job market. I now work as a substitute teacher and make $12,000 a year. I now somewhat regret my 4 year vacation as it has lead to my impoverished state. I now take computer science classes at the local community college and I hope that will lead to degree or a job that will pay the bills.

I look at my fellow CS students and I am jealous because I know they will get a much better job out of college than I did. But at the same time I see their narrow mindedness in only studying a very specialized subject and I see a kind of person that lacks personal insight, thus making me feel fortunate for my educational background in psychology. Plus none of them are having epic parties by the beach, studying something really interesting, surfing and hooking up with amazing looking women as I did. I can hardly call these years a waste.

As the person that posted above said

I can't remember who said it but somebody said: "you need two educations; one that eaches you HOW to live, and one that makes you a living."

So far those years earning my psych degree have been my best years.. useless or not, i would not begin by trading those.

Spending money on school to get a degree when you don’t know what you want to do is pointless… Most places now will hire people with more experience in the job field they’re applying for than someone with a basic degree. You’re better off going to trade school to learn things that actually matter than to waste your time in college classes that you don’t care about and have nothing to do with jobs in the real world. I mean seriously if you want to go to school for English you have to take classes for math and science because they say you need to to have a degree? Why? College is stupid.

Oh honey! Look, at least you didn't go after the money. OMG, I was so lost as a teenager, my parents made me go to one of those "sort of colleges" and I just did what I was told and then graduated with a 3.9 and a degree in CIS. Once I got out, I got sucked into TONS of money, but I hated it! I burnt out from all the travel. I have so many regrets about that - its like the thing that I am damn sure gonna fix before I die. I finally took a sabbatical and am going to try to transfer my credits to a better school and re-graduate with a similar but different degree just so I can bury the past.

I think it's all part of learning. Yeah you made a bad choice... But you had to pick SOMETHING then so at least it was something you thought would be fun. Maybe you could use that degree for something good now while working for the degree you really want at a community college? Make money as an art teacher... Or find a job at an art museum? Anything to put that degree to use while discovering what you really want to do.

I think you should have more respect for your degree and for yourself. You did what seemed best at the time and that higher education is never a waste. Why dump on yourself and degree for not knowing what you didn't know at the time?

You can go pick up a science major without doing background coursework - (and still have a first degree in your pocket). What's stopping you if you are prepared to do the work?

Yeah dude if I got an art degree I'd feel the same way.

U can still join the military

You can always pursue another degree/trade school. And I bet you have more knowledge about what you DO want this time. Good luck , and be proud of what you accomplished.

Should have gone with where the money is at

Hey, I feel your pain, though my situation is quite opposite. I graduated with some fucked up business-related degree. What's worse, the only reason I even went for it because it was a cheap option abroad which would allow me to get away from my parents and, ugh, see the world.

Well, I haven't seen the fucking world at all because I couldn't find a part-time job in that horrible small town where my campus was so I had to live off my parents' money (so much for independence!) and only opt for paid internships, which weren't so easy to come by. So while my classmates were having the time of their life with internships in Spain and exchange semesters in USA I either got bored to death in that fucked up little place or worked my ass off in some other fucked-up little place, washing dishes and cleaning toilets as my "hospitality" internship.

Nowthat I've graduated I'm back in my hometown, living with my parents and absolutely hating the entry-level jobs I've had so far (even though I don't have problems getting hired, I usully quit very soon, so my CV is quite fucked up). I've also had some sort of a meltdown and now I take antidepressants, and when I don't, I turn into a nutcase.

I really wish I'd gone for some degree which really interested me. Since I can't seem to make decent money anyway I'd rather be poor but do something I like than be poor while doing something I despise.

So I stumbled upon this on the internet and joined just so I could comment.

I just finished my degree in meteorology and now I am working on my masters in the same field. I feel like all my drive and ambition in the major is burnt out! I never got to travel abroad in undergrad because the classes I needed weren't offered anywhere reasonable, and now I've got like 60K in loans that I have no idea what to do with, no internships under my belt because I had to work full time to sustain myself, and no job prospects at all. I feel so screwed. All I want to do is travel and learn languages and I wish I had become a linguist. But my family would flip if I threw away this degree and I don't think I could forgive myself either.

What the h*ll do I do?!?

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If you are really desperate for a high paying job, you can look into become a professional dominatrix. It pays very well. I was looking to become one but I was advised against it, since I am sexually inexperienced and not yet fully knowing of myself, if that makes sense.

Currently, I have considered becoming a horse jockey. It pays very well and requires no academics. One of the biggest requirements is that you must be thin.

I've heard the many people who majored in art are experiencing unemployment. The same goes for people who majored in philosophy, studies, architecture, etc. if you can, I would suggest going back to college and majoring in something else. For instance, I am planing to double major in Agriculture/Horticulture (Plant Sciences - another name for Botany) and Astronomy. I at one time wanted to be an artist, but I changed routes, which I am very thankful for, for a number of reasons. Good luck.

I didn't even get my diploma.

I have a BFA in THEATER DESIGN. What the He** was I thinking in High school??? I wanted to be a costume designer. The jobs are all freelance and pay very little but I didn't do the research in HS. My degree was 130 credits and most was designing productions. I had NO LIFE and was stressed all the time trying to balance my job, my insane class load and regret all the debt I had. I still owe $17,000ish and I graduated 10 years ago! I am trying to go back to school for something in environmental studies/earth science but I am afraid there will be no jobs when I graduate or the degree is unnecessary and I can rack up experience volunteering. I had to move back in with my parents after living on my own in California for 9 years because I couldn't make ends meet anymore. Uggggg I have regret everyday I picked that stupid major. I wish I had done Geology or something that actually pays out. I worked as a textile designer and capped out at 40k

Oh my God you took the words right out of my mouth!!
I regret my arts degree every day of my life.
I had considered going into business, but when I realised it had accounting and finance courses I was like HELL NO because I hated Math in high school. So I took a four year useless crap arts degree because I didn't know what else to do.
Well now I'm in college and my program included some finance courses...guess what? I aced them! If I had just given a business degee A TRY I would have realised I could have done it. But no, I wanted something "fun", I wanted arts. PFT.
Now even with my college school and BA its not enough to find work in the fields I want. I need that business degree. But instead I wasted 4 years of my life and $25,000 getting the most useless degree in the world! I could go back to school for another 4 years...but c'mon! I should have just done it right the first time!!!! UGH!!!!!

I want to commit suucide over my fucking college choices. I'm so screwed. Worse i went to community college and got a liberal arts associates and spent 2.5 years. Then i got into an CIS program at a school that turned out to be a diploma mill. Now i've switched to my state university and so little of my credits transfer its like i never went to college. Its worse cause now im going to go into insurmountable debt for a mis degree. A fucking mis degree! I have only personal experience in IT and only had a temp job once. I'm 22 and if dont fail out of school i will be lucky to be 27 or 28 when i graduate. I will have no health insurance, wiped savings, debt and little to no job prospects. I'm going to be stuck living at home. how does that not inspire suicide? My life is ruined!!

To the OP just get a teaching certificate and than you can teach art as a proffesor in collage. you can basicly teach in any field so get a teaching degree and become a proffesor in art. Who do you think was teaching you all the art in collage it was a art proffesor just become a proffesor this is not a lost cuase.

YAY :D! It's so great to see that I'm not the only one to feel this way!

i feel your pain and hey it happends to a lot of people. The education system is seriously flawed. its not all your fault so dont feel bad. The feeling of regret is not going to do anything to or for the situation but make you stress yourself out for no good reason so let it go. Now you have to focuss on what your going to do next. Good Luck

oh, and you don't have to pay off your debt from art school before you start working on your vet school requirements. As long as you're in school full time, they will defer your loans until you get out.
no excuses, get to work!

Go get your biology degree! I am in nursing school right now and love it. I waited till I was 25 to go back to school and will be almost 30 when I finish but it is sooo worth it.
10,000 is really not that much debt- especially since you will make great money as a vet. If you really don't feel like this us an option, have you considered a tech school that offers a vetrinarian assistant program?

You must have talent and consistency to get an art degree. I'm sure very difficult. Listening to your story, I'm glad that I advise younger people fresh out of HS to utilize a junior college, get their feet on the ground getting their basics then move on to the next level....a university where the can declare and change their major.