Bachelor's Degree, no job

I graduated college in 2007 with a bachelor's of science degree in marketing. My original plan was to go to dental school after college so I completed all the required science classes and chose marketing because a specific major wasn't required for dental school and marketing was easy. Now that the dental school plan failed, I have to realized how big of a mistake picking a useless major was. I am not a "people person" and starting a career in the marketing field, which is mostly sales to begin with, doesn't interest me. I have always like computers, not the coding part, but the building, fixing, and installing programs part. When I majored in computer science in high school, it completely turned me off because it was mostly useless boring coding classes like C++ and visual basic. I am now at a loss of what I can do with my life. I would like some advice about what I can do that can somehow make useless of my college degree so it doesn't seem like a complete waste. I am not saying I want to make a use of the marketing degree, but I want to do something that requires a degree in general. I am also considering going back to school but I have yet to decide what I want to learn. In general I want to go study a field that required a degree, but is there something like that for computers? I don't know, I will appreciate any sort of advice even if it's just a little bit. Maybe I will be able to put all the piece of advice together and set a path for myself in life. Thank You in advance.

You said you took a lot of science classes to prepare for dental school. Do you have enough science classes to prepare you to be a science teacher in high school? How about a physician assistant?

Go to the Department of Education for New Jersey. Click of the area for certification. Find science. See what the requirements are. You already have a Bachelor's Degree. You may qualify right now to be a teacher.

i do not want to be a teacher or physicians assistant....i want to start a career that has a decent path of advancement

Boy, are you in for a surprise. In today's world, there are no jobs with a decent path of advancement - unless you are self employed and can write your own ticket. There are a lot of people in their fifties who are unemployed, and some of them had been in the same job for many many years.

Mary is right, self employment is usually the only way to ensure advancement. Grad, have you considered anything relating to the computer game field?

i would have but i do not want to do any sort of code...i am now considering retaking the DAT and reapplying for dental school and at the same time taking the few additional classes i need to apply to pharmacy school...i have looked at a few computer professions and even went to a meeting at lincolTech (16k tuition for 13months to make 33k starting off) and it seems that computer professions make barely enough to survive by today's standards and slave all day...it just seems logical for me to try again so that all my hard work taking classes and getting good grades didn't go to waste...

so what exactly are u getting at, why do you want me to check out your company....which by the way didn't come up in google search

Grad, go for the pharmacy school.

Still you may use your science degree in marketing. Till know you were not very specific to your career plan. Forget the past. Start posting your resume and advt. on free sites posing your self as online sales property. There are many sites, that provide latest tips to do online marketing.

mary how did u come up with that conclusion that i should go to pharmacy school....is it because it's easier to get into?

Oh boy are you in for a big surprise. Pharmacy is a very difficult course of study. It does not sound like you like the difficult route. I am very surprised that you actually thought you could get into any dental school worth it's salt with a marketing major. They look at the total package & any health care profession (even Vet school) is highly competitive.
Pharmacy school? Easier to get into? Hmmm....maybe, but the couses are extremely difficult. I am talking actual pharmacy school, not to become a pharmacy assistant. Once you are a licensed pharmacist, the employment opportunities are fairly good. That is probably why Mary suggested pharmacy.
There is NO easy way out. You have to work & work hard to make it.

Concerned Mom in Woodinville, Washington said: Oh boy are you in for a big surprise. Pharmacy is a very difficult course of study. It does not sound like you like the difficult route. I am very surprised that you actually thought you could get into any dental school worth it's salt with a marketing major. They look at the total package & any health care profession (even Vet school) is highly competitive.
Pharmacy school? Easier to get into? Hmmm....maybe, but the couses are extremely difficult. I am talking actual pharmacy school, not to become a pharmacy assistant. Once you are a licensed pharmacist, the employment opportunities are fairly good. That is probably why Mary suggested pharmacy.
There is NO easy way out. You have to work & work hard to make it.

PS I certainly did not mean to imply that Vet school is any easier than any other health care field. It is actually very hard. Took my relative 3 years to get into one of the top programs & his first choice, but he then graduated with top honors (the site would not allow the exact wording because of the Latin word c*m) It takes guts and determination to do anything worth doing.

@ Grad: I completely agree with Concerned mom. There is no easy way out. You have to choose something and stick through it. I have a friend you graduated from pharmacy school and pharmacy school is damn hard. I don't think any major or profession is easy. To be successful you have to work hard. I am a Recruiter and definitely we love to see people with diverse background, but most importantly with positive attitude. If you go for an interview and say that you did marketing because you thought it was easy and your dental school plan failed. You will definitely raise lots of questions in the interviewers mind. So look at things in a positive manner. Sit down and think whats your next step. Computer, Dental, or pharmacy. Once you decide which one is the best for you, focus on how you can excel in that field. Be prepared to work hard!! Good luck!

I am very confused what to do. I have a Bachelor Degree from DeVry and my intent was to use it to get into the Human Resources Field, which I majored in college. My work experience is all five years of retail customer service, and eight months of doing security. I am looking to get my foot in the door then work my way up into a human resource position. Does anyone have any idea what position I might want to apply for that could get me into human resources? I feel my degree is a waste. I want to apply my skills and use my degree.

How do you get a Human Resources job when you have no experience? I have three years of training experience but that seems it isn't enough for employers.

Grad, have you looked into getting an A+ certificate? It's right up your alley with what you want to do with computers. Also, I don't know if there's one in your area but look into new horizon computer learning centers. I know you weren't able to get into dental school, but what about a dental hygienist? I know its hard figuring out what you want to do, I'm about to graduate this summer, and I still have no idea what I want to do. You just have to find your nitch and go for it.

Concerning "mostly useless boring coding classes like C++ and visual basic"

DON'T get into computers if you don't have a passion for them but just think of it as a hobby and kind of ok to do. I can promise you that to keep current you must read so much that you would be disgusted by the field. You have to really like it to stay adept. There are new security breaches daily, languages change and some become outdated. I'm currently learning 3 languages and reviewing math for 3d applications. I already have nearing 20 languages on my resume and still I see jobs asking for things I don't have. The amount of what you have to learn is incredible, I just wanted to alert you that if you don't have a STRONG interest in computers, don't go that route please and make yourself unhappy just because someone makes it sound appealing that has a passion I don't see in the way you talked about those languages. If you don't put a wet spot on the chair when you make a program - computers are just not your thing lol

It's true that you can do things that don't involve programming but those also require constant upkeep, OS change, networks change and security changes along with evaluating software.

How do you get a job PERIOD when you don't have the experience, but have the degrees!
BA Applied Science and Tech w/ minor in social welfare
Certificates in Basic Quality Management, Advanced Quality Implementation, and Health Systems Administration.