/lit/ - Literature

>>13634698
you can teach impressionable highschoolers to follow in your footsteps and perpetuate the cycle

>>13634698
You have talend or not. It's a very important distinction.

>>13634698
why dont you just do your research and look up jobs that require a degree in eng lit? like how fucking stupid are you?

I dropped out and went back as a mature student studying quantity surveying. Thank fuck I dropped out otherwise I wouldn’t have got the funding.

>>13634698
Weird. I went for a survival career and I'm miserable at job and I wish I had pursued my true passion.

>>13634698
>degree in English literature
Depends, are you from the anglosphere?

>>13634698
you think that sucks but imagine falling for the "get this degree because it's really useful and you're going to get a great job" meme

imagine doing something you don't even like for 4 years. 4 years of toil, and effort for something you couldn't care less about...and then you don't get any job related to this dumb degree you got and you spend the next 4 years under employed with no prospects

>>13634827
the grass is always greener on the other side, eh?

>>13634822
Strange. I did the same, but I studied land surveying.

>>13634698
I don't know how people can be stupid enough to go to post-secondary for the humanities. You go there for complex shit like math and physics. Anything under the umbrella of the humanities can easily be learned auto-didactically, though philosophy is a bit of a gray zone.

Tip: get a certificate in a hard skill.

>>13634874
I’m about to go into 4th year, QS is not bad and has excellent job prospects but I would have changed to building surveying if I could, I enjoy the technical/construction side more than the financial side. My university doesn’t offer BS anymore though, probably because it doesn’t attract as many lucrative I nternational students.

>>13634698
Depending on whether you actually earned a real English degree or have pink hair, you can sell yourself as a master of articulation, organization, communication, and presentation, which are all skills in demand. Look at white collar or selling insurance. Start as a secretary, ask around about the various functions others have that you can grow into, and work hard.

>>13634882
These same people go on to bemoan the state of modern literary theory/fiction/culture

Go to Saudi Arabia and make $60,000 tax free as a teacher starting

>>13634907
I actually got a job. They called me for an interview, gave me the address, I showed up, but they said they had no record of my application, and when the secretary attempted to contact HR for confirmation, all they got on the other line was the distorted laughter of children, so they sent me home.

>>13634939
I could earn £100 - £120k tax free if I fucked off to Dubai as a surveyor but:

>I hate the fucking heat
>Their laws are draconian
>They use modern slavery in their construction

>>13634947
Sometimes they already have the person ready for the job (relatives or friends or interns) and they do the interviews out of convention and to mask their nepotism within the legal boundaries. Some Anon from /tv/ told that story, and he was the one in HR who had to do this useless interviews to all those hopeless souls. It's hell out there.

>>13634698

No. You made a good decisions if you got a good education.

There aren't many jobs in english literature, but there are lot of jobs for people with college degrees. Study an industry you are interested in, find out what skills are needed, read job listings. Go learn about it and call people up.

By having a quality degree you are in the top 25% of adults in america.

>>13634968
I work for a local council, they’re particularly bad for this. You can tell when you go to the interview that it’s lined up for someone, I applied for an internal vacancy and the interviewer was so obnoxious and disinterested I knew someone was lined up for it. I looked on the internal website and sure enough someone already in the job as a temp got it.

>getting a degree in a field you don't like just to find a job you won't like just to earn money you won't spend to live a life you won't like

Please don't tell me you guys seriously do this. If you're going to uni, go for a degree you like. If not, then get a normal job, it covers every possible expense you may have.
>b-but muh debt
You can study abroad if you live in a country with high tuition costs

Studying something you don't like just because it's pressured on you or because you want to earn useless money is the most miserable path you can take

t. PhD student in literary criticism

>>13634698
The problem is that you weren't passionate about it, it was just the path of least resistance.

Should i study architecture? Im studying economics rn and i like and follow finance trends but the job market for finance wich i like is pretty tight.
Also i feel like i need something tangible in my work that excersizes creativity
Sorry for the blogpost but im really adrift

>>13635030
Tell me more PhDanon, I'm looking to go back to school.

>>13635030
Phd anon you don't actually take harold bloom's critique of david wallace seriously right?

Army officer

>>13636393
I studied biology for about 2 years before realizing that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life doing that kind of intellectual work. Most of the people at my faculty in other degrees were miserable but felt like they were forced into taking their degree or else, they were sure, they wouldn't find a job to provide for themselves. I don't understand modern man's desire to earn money at all.

>>13636408
In general I appreciate Bloom's work and I find he has some useful insights (and I own a couple of his collections) but when it comes to contemporary authors he often misses the mark.

>>13636588
So what is your advice for others then? I'm the same way though honestly. Looking to get back in to get people off of my back and also pursue my dreams.

humanities degree is essentially an advanced hs diploma. will open a few more doors if you have a good gpa though.

I agree with the other anons, work a few years, look into a hard skill certificate. Reminder that learning an "in demand" language like Turkish or Vietnamese will instantly open a door to a well paying job in a lot of fields.

>>13636610
It depends on where you live.
In my country uni is cheap (1k a year) so I could pursue my degrees without much issue
If you live in sigh a country, then go for it. If not, then you could study abroad if you fear being in debt for the rest of your life. I studied in the UK for a year and I liked the new experience

>>13636645
What country are you from/talking about?

>>13636610
Also, yes >>13636615 is right. Getting a degree is worthless if your grades are shit. You won't be able to get far in academia.

>>13636650
Portugal.

also DO NOT GO INTO DEBT. do not do it.

go to the best state school in your state, even the smallest us state schools have very decent reps. i got accepted to a top 15 us university, tuition was 71k a year. current tuition at a top 40 state school is 5k a semester with academic scholarships. huge difference and education is very similar.

>>13634698

go to law school if your grades aren't piss poor and if you're driven. if not, the world always needs baristas

>>13634952
>you'll get used to it
>you dont break the law by using VPN and using porn
>everyone does, especially the US, they just hide it better
If I was on my own, Id do something like that.

>>13634882
Philosophy is more than just a "grey zone" brother. Analytic philosophy is easily on a par with any core STEM subject in terms of social prestige with employers and avg. iq of students, at least where I'm from

>>13635436
Do what feels right, but you have to realise that in most cases "hard skills" are just going to get you into an office job, where you do very specialised work. You have to gave a plan of what you want to do, and then pursue that step by step. If you want to become an architect for private homes, do that, if you want to be part of a huge bridge that will probably only be finished by the end of your career, do that.

>>13636687
damn, I feel for you ameribros, youre not all bad.
Im german, and sure, not everything is great here but studying is virtually free, you just have to want it and be ready for a few years of frugality.

>>13635030
Nobody's looking to just "cover their expenses" while living in a shit neighbourhood driving a shit car that will inevitably get stolen by some doped up negroe. People go to university to study subjects they don't like so that they can get a good job. You can't get a good job with only a secondary education.

>>13634698
>tfw fell for the "get a degree which pays" meme, flunked college and am studying what im passionate about

Become an Editor and the like, script writer, critic, English teacher.

>>13637173
And don't forget that it's pretty hard to get to study in demand things like medice or psychology without good grades

How do you guys know what you're passion about? When I think about what I want to do in the future it's just blank. I don't want to do shit. Am I lazy or depressed?

>>13637223
You mean in Germany? Yeah, but thats literally because theres no capacity for so many people in those fields/studies.

>>13637348
Wahr, zum Glück hat keiner der Studienfächer für die ich mich interessiere einen NC.

>>13637281
Same here, I never understood questions like “what do you want to be when you grow up” as a kid. And, now I still don’t know what I want to do, I like philosophy and also music, but I don’t think that I’m passionate about them, in the strict sense of the word

>>13637477
That's what I mean. I do like film, literature, music, boxing and working out in general. But what does being 'passionate' mean? How does one know he is passionate about computer science or biology (for example) before getting a degree in them? Does it simply mean general interest?

A friend of mine is enjoying his life as an international high school teacher at private schools. He lived in Egypt, China and Singapore.

>>13637375
I gotta say, I prefer all the good grades nonces who dont have a clue about what to study, go into these fields, that means the actually good and interesting stuff is available for free lol. No pressure, just you and the love for learning. Its not all perfect but the german unis are still bretyy gud.

>>13637527
I think its detrimental to be a gigantic nerd in a certain field, and then study it, you'll be bored to death for the first years because youre just so many levels above the normal guys. I think you should follow your interests, be realistic about your strengths and weaknesses and then assess what you could see yourself as. Dont see it as a life goal, you dont have to do something forever, just because you studied it once for 3-5 years

>>13634698
Why the fuck did it never occur to you to go into academia?

>>13634698

That's why you get a comfy stem degree like biology and study the arts when you're finacially stable. Doing science teaches you how to approach and analyze information. Just don't somethig soulless like IT or programming.

/scilit/ is the way to go.

>>13637603
>study the arts when you're finacially stable
That's the best way to do things. In my experience though, most people who say they will do it this way, won't have time for both things later on and will never be able to be very adept in them.

>>13637603
How do you become financially stable from biology? It's the least financially rewarding STEM field

>>13634698
Write a book, learn another language and translate.

>>13634882
I’m a philosophy major and work at a think tank doing analysis on Africa.

Maybe just don’t be a retard in college that doesn’t get internships and fellowships because you sit around smoking pot all day.

>>13636692
Best advice thus far.

>>13634843
this

>>13634698
sociology fag here
I just sold my soul and went into marketing. actually making good money and enjoying my job now, even though I encourage rampant consumerism. but whatever nobody told me I should study something that has actual value in the market place so now I rip off senile boomers by selling them overpriced information products. fair is fair I guess.

>>13634698
teach ESL or get a master's or phd
don't do what most people with english degrees do these days and go into IT

it could be worse, you could have a performance based music degree and have quit the instrument you studied
t. works in customer service

>>13638174
t. delusional

Law school is useless unless you go t15. Have fun working 90 hour weeks

>>13637603
>Comfy
>STEM degree
I chuckled.

>>13635030

I'm also a PhD student but focusing on literary theory. It's very rewarding, especially since I had a monkey office job for two years that made me miserable. I don't regret my choices, but life in the humanities can be brutal.

>>13635030
>tfw the exception and actually need the money from a decent degree to pay for me and my family since they're all sick and or handicapped

>>13637167
I don't doubt it but if you take a university philosophy course you'll probably get a lot of continental garbage like postmodernism and existentialism.

>tfw no idea what to do.
>tfw almost finished with some dumb IT degree
>tfw everyone here shitting on IT
>tfw feel dead inside
>tfw probably should have done computer science or something engineering related instead. or maybe not

>>13639921
Just try to avoid call centers, anon, and do your best to be a small office IT guy. Literally the best paying job for someone who's lazy but decently smart. Do you really need a degree in IT, unless it's real advanced IT? Because you can go to a technical school, self study for the basic certifications, or do certification courses (like for CISCO) at a community college.

>>13637281
nah man. people like us are just fuc't

>>13634698
>>13634715
And then fuck their tight highschool pussies by luring them into your home with english poetry

I’m scared bois...

> 24, earned my bennies after doing a five year enlistment in the army
> got my associates in the Arabic language from credits the Army gave me to learn it, got interested in Perso-Arabic literature, Traditionalist shit, and historical linguistics as a result of studying the Quran in part
> got my online bachelors in international relations completely self-paid because I could use my foreign language credits to finish it faster, graduating this fall
> I’m applying to grad schools for spring semester, I want to use my gibillbux for a linguistics degree instead of compsci shit

How fucked am I? Anyone here know where this course takes you?

>>13641108

To add to this, I want to do what I just said, finish writing my trilogy, and be a serious singer. If I can achieve those things, I don’t mind wageslaving for a little bit until my dreams are realized

>>13641127
>>13641108
You had my attention until you said you suddenly want to write a trilogy... AND become a serious singer lol. I'd say you're probably well suited to go into studying IR and maybe also history. The trilogy could be your stretch goal and idk what to tell you about being a singer man.

>>13637173
I joined the military to get my uni paid for. It’s not all bad.

>>13641140

I don’t mean Coachella famous, I mean just getting a working band and doing some gigs, maybe a tour; I already have a few groups of boomer funk bands to get started since I didn’t have much of a chance as a soldier. I fucking love performing on stage, but I can’t avoid this trilogy. I’m setting my soft deadline for the first book at the end of the year, and my hard deadline at the 2020 election.

Get a computer science degree, guys.

>>13641205
That's still pretty ambitious. Good luck, I still like your academic prospects.

>>13636417
coward
t. grunt

I'm screwed, I have no passions, I thoroughly enjoy music but have never touched an instrument. If I could make music I would love it, dream about it everyday but the music industry is impossible. I have never had motivation to dedicate myself to anything other than art, but I haven't touched a canvas in 2 years. I like creative writing, but I'm not good enough and it's a useless talent. I don't like anything that gives me money.
I'm going to be applying for my university preferences this year, in all likelihood due to my poor performance at school I will not get picked up for options like Law or Engineering that would get me money, if I did I would fully dedicate myself to ensure my success. The University format appears easier than school.
What would you do?

>>13641231

Her bellybutton is ugly and she is grooming that puppy to fuck her.

>>13637532
How'd he do it? Only with a English lit Degree?

>>13634698
Join the Military. You can get a cushy officer position since you already have a "degree", and if you play your cards right and choose the right job you can come out in ten years with skill that are actually worth a damn in the job market.

get a STEM degree, and you will regret it; don't get a STEM degree, and you will also regret it; get a STEM degree or don't get a STEM degree you will regret it either way.
follow your passion, and you will regret it, don't follow your passion and you also regret that too, follow or don't follow, you will regret it either way.
Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yourself, and you will regret that too; hang yourself or don’t hang yourself, you’ll regret it either way; whether you hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret both. This, gentlemen, is the essence of all philosophy.

>>13641716
You don't really technically have to know how to play an instrument exceptionally well to do something in the music composing business. If you learn piano and become at least mediocre, you'll be able to create music just fine-- even if you don't particularly play it yourself.

Or you can do what Toby Fox did and use computer software to make vidya music.

>When you have a viable business idea not done before in a field you have been obsessed with since childhood that involves exactly what you do in your free time
Laughing at you losers talking about degrees and wagecucking

>>13634698
It's super easy. I have an English degree and I get paid more than any of my friends who did other degrees.

You can prob be an underpaid paralegal. Wasnt that what kafka was for a while?

>>13634715
This lmao
>imagine going to college because of a meme
>imagine not getting into a trade that’s in high demand

>>13640166
This is basically what I do and recommend it. I basically just update the pcs we have and sit in the it closet reading books. Its chill, and since the place isnt all that big im not called often. Worst part is the meh pay, but i dont really buy much shit anyway

>don't have passions, just want a job that doesn't require me to do a lot while letting me live comfy
>study tourism because thought it would be like a semi-permanent paid vacation
>turns out you actually have to do shit

>>13635030
>Studying something you don't like just because it's pressured on you or because you want to earn useless money is the most miserable path you can take

When you don't live with your parents and the options are, do a job you hate or starve, there's very little choice

>>13643049
That’s not an excuse. If the options are work or starve and you choose ‘go to school and be in debt with no lined up job’, that’s your fault. Should’ve saw the college trap before you played yourself. Fuck your studies. Fuck your debt. Fuck the scam. Go into an apprenticeship for carpentry, auto maintenance, electrician, landscaping, something. Your options are almost infinite but you’re too dense too see

>>13634827
This. Pick a career that you're passionate about and you will regret it. Pick a career for job stability and you will regret it. Either way pick a job that you're passionate about or pick a career that'll ensure job stability, you will regret it.

>>13634698
T. Stoner

>>13637527
>what is passion?
When you have the choice between getting 9 hours of sleep before getting ready for work the next morning or doing the thing you are passionate about for a few more hours, you would rather lose sleep following that passion than lose sleep being uncomfortable that you aren't doing it. Either way, you lose sleep and it's because that passion.

Pro-tip: never make your passion a career. If it's a passion of yours, you will automatically be head and shoulders above 90% of people in your field and you will burn out 10 times faster than working a job that means nothing to you because no one has the passion like you do and it only inhibits your work.
>t. ex-music producer

>>13643164
Kierkegaard was right.

>>13634698
Many industries are going to get buttfucked by automation. The economy will be broken. Might as well study what you want and live with the consequences.

>>13636645
My degree is literally 20€ per semester at one of the best universities in Europe

>>13643589
This

Get English degree and lose sleep over a prospectless future. Get engineering degree and mourn your broken dreams.

Get married and mourn your lost freedom. Stay single and drink yourself to sleep alone.

Move out of your parents' and spend 90% of your paycheck perpetuating your existence. Hide away in your childhood room and use imageboard as escapist coping mechanism.

>>13643164
Based kierkegaard poster

>>13634827
>>13641849
>>13643164
>>13643588
this the blackpill right here

>>13634698
I fell for the dentistry meme, life is okay but I certainly have no passion for it. Money is slightly above average but so is the stress.

What bothers me is that I think my true passion was economics and data science. If I had followed my passion I could have had a job I genuinely love and also made a killing. It’s pure speculation but it still stings knowing I settled for less when I could have had it all.

>>13643701
Get yourself some certs in compsci and programming frend... it can get you something entry level, or maybe even put your foot into some freelance work online. I’ve heard of a few dudes who freelanced their way to self-employment

>>13634843
what's her name?

>>13634698
I got a two year degree in electronics engineering technology and I love my job. I am about to sign on a house, am getting married and I get a lot of reading done at work. But also I have a passion for electronics and working with my hands.

share your knowledge

>>13634698

> yolo

My girl Nancy says otherwise

https://youtu.be/hs8uYxTJ530

Bump

i’m starting to lean into things that actually interest anc excite me. i would like to be aware if i’m doing things simply because other people want me to, or it’s something expected of me; which is hard to do so cause we’re raised to listen to what other people tell you to do, especially for a good 0-24 years of one’s life. it’s almost ingrained in our DNA, which i don’t doubt since as humans, we evolved relying on the opinion of others. it’s bullshit.

so far, the results are satisfying and i’m learning a lot more about myself and the world in general. not saying i have it figured out yet, but one step in any direction is good enough.

>>13644078
No one fucking cares, blogposter

>>13634698
i really feel bad for you follow your passion faggots.

>>13646292
Eat a dick, queer. Literally this entire thread is people sharing their experiences regarding school, employment, the paths they took thereof and how they feel about it.

>>13642110
So what you're saying is that you have nothing? I wish you luck, but a whole lotta people have "viable ideas" that go nowhere.

>>13637173
not suggesting the American system is without criticism. it is and debt is a huge problem.

but if euros pay even 5% more of your income in taxes your entire life. think about how much money that is? that's a fucking ton.

do some pretentious shit and start a patreon lmao

>>13643588
what book do i read for this anon

I'm thinking of teaching highschoolers. I'm not sure how I feel about it. All throughout school I hated the school and the teachers with few exceptions. My father is also a teacher too.

Honestly, it's a great family job and I think I'd do a decent job and maybe be able to break through to some kids that hate school.
Still not sure though anons.

I also think about becoming a therapist and helping young men but I think that life is requires much more of me and would cut into raising children (maybe I am wrong).

>>13643677
That's the biggest blackpill of all, Jimmy.

>>13643661
>tfw psychologist
>tfw my job will become even better after full automation kicks in and people want to hang themselves

>>13646685
Are you already a psychologist?
Any advice for >>13646538 anon?

>>13634698
Flip burgers

>>13642977
>imagine going into a trade and wasting your youth and health for money you're too busy to ever spend.

I always see this, and it's always from people who never worked in a trade. They're not a bad job at all,
but there's this naive notion that you can somehow take to them without putting in some serious effort to make it work.

The guys who make the most money out of trades are the guys who work twelve hour days, six days a week, with no vacation time. And the guys who make even more money than THAT work even more, because in order to make ridiculous amounts you need to open your own business, which is basically a 24 hour job.

There's nothing wrong with trades, but don't fall for the meme that they're gold mines. If you want to be a writer, get a degree in writing and accept that you may spend your life earning pennies to hone and use your craft. If you want to be a tradesmen, accept that you may spend your life completely dedicated to it to make more than minimum wage. But don't fool yourself into thinking that you can have it both ways, because you really can't unless you luck out.

>>13637754
>Takes liberal arts
>Winds up in Africa
>What are you, too retarded to get a degree that is so incredibly useless, you have to relocate to the poorest continent in the word, merely to be superior to your peers?

Hmm

>>13634698
Become a school teacher, or a call center operator, or a receptionist, or a store clerk. It doesn't really matter the job you get, Jonny, you'll get bored at one point and wonder "what's the point?" Which is when your parents will show up at your apartment with a girl they want you to marry, BUT YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO THEM FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME, YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED IN MARRIAGE.

>>13646525
either/or bro

>>13643661
>People retaining their jobs = red, left (bad)

What asshole made this

LOL at all the rat faced human calculator autists in this thread saying non-STEM degrees are worthless - I FUCK YOUR GIRLFRIEND EVERY NIGHT

>>13646461
Its an entirely different outset mate, in one situation youre literally a debt slave, and in the other the state actually gifts you money (250-400 dollar per month) for studying. In America you have to pay simply for wanting to start something like a career, and in Europe you get money for it.

>>13647588
Based

>>13646670
based oney poster

>>13647588
And redpilled

But seriously, what do you expect from the literal STEM-basedboys that actually think their degree is entirely their personality and self-esteem?
They will also shit on the social sciences despite the skills gained in these degrees are the most related to business majors (a literal utilitarian Liberal Arts degree, except the accounting courses).

>>13647494
Thanks anon

>Worked hard labor first two years out of high school
>Construction worker, carpenter, field worker etc
>It's hell
>Listen to my Gen X and boomer family members about about being perputually stuck in this cycle of being the only white kid, or getting up at three in the morning, etc eetc
>Fell for fear mongering
>Already committed for a four year history degree
At least I can rest for four years.

>>13643164
So any choice I make will hit me back with regret? Then what the fuck is the point of freedom if we are going to be tortured by ourselves from this freedom?

>>13634924
>you can sell yourself

Exactly this. It meas fuck all what you do or what degree you have, you are nothing but a dying whore

>>13648969
>freedom

Don't make me laugh. Your freedom is the freedom to die in the gutter, not civic freedom

>>13636687
Im going to a state school and still have to take 5k in loans every year

>>13634698
I hate this image. It's so fucking stupid.

>>13634698
Go to grad school, idiot.

>>13650139
What grad degree should he get?

>>13650139

You have to prep hard for gradschool though

As in work out professional relationships and (depending on the major) have participated in meaningful research or professional / published writing, etc etc

You can make money at anything if you're good at it and dedicated try harder

>>13643669
That last sentence...damn anons...are we gonna make it?

>>13643164
this makes me feel so much better. thanks anon.

>>13637281
It comes in time. You just have to try shit and figure it out. I also used to think I had no real passion in life and didn't care much about anything. Then, I was forced to do some incredibly awful things for a time, and it made other things seem super interesting by comparison.