Specifics, no. However learning how to learn effectively has served me very well. Critical thinking, problem solving and sorting the wheat from the chaff of information that is helpful are all things I learned in college.

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Yup, I finished my master’s related to embedded systems and machine learning earlier this year, and I started working full-time as an embedded machine learning research engineer. It’s fun because I studied it because I find embedded ML fascinating, and now I get to do it as a career.

Yes, absolutely. I am in my second career (psychotherapist) that is directly a result of my undergrad degree in psychology and grad degree in social work. My first career was in finance, which was my other undergrad major.

So, my college and grad school experience were pretty damn valuable in terms of what it did for my life.

Yes. I returned and took my degree - Environmental Science - as an adult and changed career on the basis of that degree. There was a good deal that was directly relevant but, more significantly, I found it VERY clear certain others that I was working with did not have that academic background and were making some rather concerning decisions at times as a result. Overall more more noticeable through absence than presence really.

I have moved diagonally since then - after around 20 years - so it is less relevant now.

Yes! I had a passion for software engineering before university, honestly most of my applicable knowledge is extracurricular. However university gave me the accreditation I needed to actually get a good job and it taught me formal processes, diagrams, enterprise environments, project management.

I think most of all I benefited socially. High school was not good to me, I was bullied and unhappy. University really allowed me to come into my own and flourish, surrounded by nice, like-minded, open people. I learnt a lot for the better. I’m not sure I’d have very many friends today otherwise

Healthcare here, I’d be useless if I hadn’t bought them. Still use them from time to time (digitally though).

The most useful course I took in college was one on how to properly write documentation, although at the time I didn’t really appreciate it as much as I do now. As far as the IT knowledge I gained, most of it was pretty obsolete even at the time so it’s been less useful. I learned more in my first month working than I ever did in 4 years of college.

Kind of. I got a bachelor’s in criminal justice with the goal of getting into CSI kind of work. A mountain of rejection letters later, I said fuck it and joined the military, which made me a surgical tech… so, pretty far off from my original goal.

That said, I took several classes on writing and specifically technical writing, and those have come in incredibly handy. So much of pushing your own career forward is just writing - anytime something noteworthy at work happens, I jot it down: when it comes time for a promotion or something, I describe those events in a way that makes me sound like a super hero lol.

I also write up my coworkers for awards packages ALL THE TIME, which has a crazy good impact on morale. I’ve even gotten two of our nurses national level awards!

So, not the way I expected my education to contribute to my job, but outside of my normal job duties, I’ve been able to contribute a lot by way of the keyboard.

My undergrad was in Management Information Systems with a focus on Information Assurance. (So basically, Cybersecurity)

A general overview of network and systems architecture (particularly in an enterprise environment) was very helpful. Being given security projects and development projects in a simulated enterprise environment was also very helpful. These are things I definitely could’ve learned on my own, but finding projects to practice these skills on your own can be difficult, and finding an environment that simulates an enterprise environment to practice them in is even harder.

So then I worked in Cybersecurity at a fortune 50 company for a couple years and eventually worked on an analytics project and really enjoyed that. Then transitioned into analytics with the hope of picking up the skills necessary to transition into Cybersecurity Analytics eventually.

In Analytics, I worked on a few Data Science and Machine Learning projects. I REALLY enjoyed those. So I got a Professional Certification in Data Science and applied for my master’s.

My Master’s was in Data Science. This pushed me through practical projects that required me to learn more efficient ways to do the things I had been doing, more efficient ways to learn to products and tools, and to gain a deeper understanding of Statistics, Simulation, and Calculus.

I wouldn’t say I got as many useful skills out of my Master’s, but it got me used to working on large Data Science projects.

It probably is pretty dependant on the field of study, but I would wager STEM degrees would be the most useful in future jobs. My computer science degree has been very helpful.

Not really. I only went as far as an Associate’s Degree in Math/Science. Super general and barely worth the fancy paper it was printed on. Because I grew up around computers, I ended up in IT, for which I had zero formal training. A couple decades later, I’m a cybersecurity analyst and the only thing I really use from college are my writing skills.

Given the job landscape these days, I strongly encourage people to go to college while they are young. But, also realize that the main skill one gets out of it is learning to shovel a massive pile of bullshit. Learn that, learn to communicate well, and you’ve got about 90% of what you’re going to need.

I don’t have a career, but learning how to gather information and assess it critically has been immensely useful during the course of my life. Definitely worth the three years at university!

Yes, it has been invaluable.

That’s complicated. Yes and no. For my specific degree I did and then gave it up. For the college I was in, no.

The biggest lesson really is you really can’t learn how to run a business from a book or lecturers. Every MBA I’ve met has been a less than knowledgeable in the real work world. I’m sure there are good ones out of the gate but they’re few and far between. I learned FAR more by going through the motions, seasonality, putting into practice what others have taught me, and actually working on the ground floor. Schools greatly overcomplicate how to make money. The basic frameworks and treating people right are all you really need.