Bobbi

You might be better off staying where you are, despite your current cynical views on it. It is the cold, dark winter after all, and every major starts to really get crappy after the first couple years. I majored in statistics as an undergrad. I had a lot of graduate students in my upper level classes. The only course I enjoyed was Theory of Probability. The rest of it- multivariate statistical analysis, regression techniques, etc (see, i can't even remember the names of my courses. it was that bad) - left something to be desired. This is a very, very dry course of study. However, if you really do like programming, statistics involves analyzing massive data sets using things like SAS and R code. So if you like that, maybe you would be better off switching. Everything goes smoother when you like what you're doing.

THANK YOU! I read your first two responses and they're excellent. I will write it down for future reference when the going gets rough. Thanks a lot TeaGirl.

Yes, I read that NY Times article.

I like the way you think, TeaGirl. Except for one thing - don't you think my chance has passed by? The money has been spent, and I believe that I got very little out of college in terms of career preparation and personal growth. If I continue working and going to school at the same time (maybe just 2 classes per semester), I will be sitting practically all day, every day. Twice a week for classes and the rest of the time studying. That seems like torture to me. Maybe I sit a lot already by going on the PC after work. Have you ever worked at a desk job and taken classes simultaneously? Not to leave out that I suspect that I have attention problems. One minute I will be absorbed in reading material, the next my mind will wander and off I will go to brush my teeth, make a cup of tea, or make a snack. Yeah, that's how bad it is. Then it's really, really hard to get fully back into what I was reading to begin with, if not impossible.

Can't you ask a professor in your department to recommend to you some graduate courses you can take which might help you better understand these techniques you speak of?

You really should visit the schools that you are interested in, and if you aren't comfortable there, don't go!

The thing is, JoeyBoy718, sometimes calling attention to one's unhappiness just leads to more unhappiness. IF you focus on improving things, like taking up a new hobby or smiling at more people over the course of a day, that can help. Not just taking a pill and seeing a therapist. That just feeds the apparent mental illness, prolongs the idea that you need crutches just to get through the day. I think this is why Arcadian focused his post on finding one's passion.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to answer my post. I'm sure you have way more important things on your plate. I guess I will try to figure out what I'm passionate about. I am sad, more sad at night, but idk if I'm depressed. (I know someone who has clinical depression, but unlike her I leave my house and socialize sometimes.)

I will be 25 in December, and I still live with my parents after graduating from college two years ago. Got a degree but with a very low gpa. Found a job finally, but I hate it and make very little money. I am paid hourly at a desk job, and I want to leave in a year or two but have no idea what I would move on to. Should I try to take classes to go for a master's degree in accounting? The only thing is, I find accounting very boring. All I am really interested in is getting married. I feel like I don't remember the last time I worked hard for anything, even friendship. Maybe I don't work very hard at anything at all, and that's why I screwed up college the first time. How can I get a better job? I don't even know what I want to do, what I have a passion for, if anything. I want to be self-reliant (1) because marriage is not something to depend on anymore, and (2) I want to most of the time look forward to work. Please help. Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.

No, of course not. That statement is a polite brush off.

I think your sister should not try to over-extend herself if she's struggling in HS. If that's the case, she might not fare well living away from home for a year without getting some work experience while living at home first. Reason being is that working at a job makes you thick-skinned enough to be able fend for yourself enough to handle living elsewhere. Just tell her to get a part-time tutoring job. If she's super brilliant, she can figure out how to start her own SAT tutoring business. Just post a flyer in your local supermarkets. Then with her other time, she can volunteer and waitress. The whole point of this year off is to make her grow up, right? Well an hourly job will be a huge wake-up call, especially if she has to work at it longer than the three months in summer.

Yuban coffee (ground) from the supermarket. I make it in my coffee percolator at home with filtered water. When it's done, I add Bailey's creamer in french vanilla flavor. Not comparable to Starbucks, but it sure beats the price and does the job.

Wow, that sounds very interesting. It's wonderful that you can branch off to so many different fields given that one degree.

Thank you. That's very logical and kind of you. I do not put my GPA on my resume. One of the interviews was for a statistics-related position, but it was way over my head and I didn't want an MS in statistics, so I didn't get the job. Nursing. Well, I always had a deep respect for healthcare jobs because I'm super into physics & chemistry and love learning about the body. However, I met with a couple nurses, and the idea of inserting catheters into people and changing colostomy bags definitely turns me off. Perhaps pharmacy would have been a good idea 4 years ago. The thing is, I am kicking myself now for not working hard enough in college to try to make myself stand out from the crowd. Now, it's even tougher because the class of 2011 is now looking for work, too. There is a silver lining around every stormy cloud though. Despite all that is stacked against me, including the geniuses that tend to pursue actuarial science and on-the-job competition, I have decided to take actuarial exam p this coming December.

Thanks, Teelee. I did get the impression that the real demand for nurses might not live up to the hype. Apparently, nursing schools are short staffed, so they can't even admit that many students and therefore it's very competitive to get into the program even. It might depend on where you live though.

Thanks, I looked up the EMT course offered in my area, and I will have to start in Jan 2012. The epidemiology I have not considered, but I will look it up now. Thank you for your advice.

Well, I don't know where else to put this inquiry, so I'm putting it in the Lobby. Ok, so here it goes. I graduated from college in 2010 with a very low GPA in Statistics. I have been on about 5 or 6 in-person interviews including second interviews, and about the same number or more of phone interviews. Nothing has come together. In addition, I spent about 6 months in a retail position that I was not happy with because I'm not really a people person, so I left. My hope for a "real" job is starting to dwindle though. What would you do in my situation? I wish I could completely re-do college, but that is not fiscally realistic. I would like to go to grad school, but I'm not sure how much I am interested in Accounting (I was told if I got a 700 on the GMAT, a certain program would accept me). At this point though, I am so desperate that I will take anything almost. I'm starting to consider Nursing, but I was told I would be put on a waiting list, which would mean that I would have to wait another year at least before starting that program. Which would mean at least a year more of retail Hell. I'm at my wit's end. Any advice now would seem like a jewel in my pocket. P.S. I am so desperate for a job that I am considering sending a letter with my CV attached (and a graduation picture of myself) via snail mail. Yes, this is the level of desperation to which I have sunk.

Ok, thanks.

Have you ever considered becoming an art teacher? Or a photographer, perhaps. Maybe you could use your artistic eye to take fabulous photographs for magazines.

Ok, that helps. I think I missed out by not completing an engineering major because a bunch of the classes are structured around group work. Thoughts? Bioengineering sounds really interesting; however, I am not up to date on the prevalence of outsourcing/offshoring for each engr concentration. Regardless, since it's such a good education, I could imagine it easily segueing into another career path.

Ha ha. Thanks, perfect timing as a matter of fact. Just yesterday I applied for a couple med receptionist positions in my area. *fingers crossed*. :-)

Does anyone get lonely when they're in grad school/ going for their phD?

Good thinking!

OK. thanks a lot. that helps!

No, I was not trying to be condescending to those who are nurse's aides. I wanted to get a true idea of what it's like, no euphemisms. A nurse suggested that I should try being a nurse's aide I guess to get used to looking at naked people and dealing with bodily functions. I think I would rather do that than work in retail!