Poll

What's your highest level of education?

High school diploma or GED
6 (1.4%)
Some college
30 (6.8%)
Associate degree
17 (3.9%)
Bachelor's degree
151 (34.2%)
Master's degree
140 (31.7%)
Doctorate/professional degree
93 (21.1%)
None
4 (0.9%)

Total Members Voted: 436

Author Topic: How much education do you have?  (Read 11281 times)

ender

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How much education do you have?
« on: May 08, 2018, 05:27:28 AM »
Reading another thread had me really curious what the education demographic of this board is compared to say the overall USA education rates.

I've always assumed most people here have higher levels of education than average... which may be a direct factor for why so many folks have good incomes compared to median/average household incomes.


slappy

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2018, 06:27:15 AM »
Bachelor's degree and just became a CFP. Not sure where that falls on your poll.

sparkytheop

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2018, 07:04:29 AM »
An associates and an apprenticeship.  Had wanted to be an opthamologist, but life happened.  So I'm blue collar instead, but still make great money for my area.

Spiffy

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2018, 07:11:22 AM »
I have a B.A. in English (go Liberal Arts!) but my husband has a PhD. Often when we have parties there will be about 20 people with Phds here and I have to remind our children that it isn't normal. My oldest looked up the statistics not long ago and was shocked to discover that less than 2% of people have a PhD. I think he was slightly more impressed with his Dad.

bluebelle

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #4 on: May 08, 2018, 07:24:41 AM »
I have a BSc in Computer Science, I'm really good at what I do and am paid reasonably well for it, but the degree just got me the job, not much of what I learned was really practical....I think it's a disservice to the trades to perpetuate the myth that everyone needs to go to college or university.  I think people need a skill, be it engineering or plumbing.   Unless you have a burning desire (and aptitude) to teach, many BA degrees are not going to get you a job.  They may have 20-30 years ago, but not so much anymore.  Kids need something after high school, but it doesn't have to be university.   A master electrician, with a little drive, can make a great living, and it lends itself to semi-retirement.  Just sayin'

Vegasgirl

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #5 on: May 08, 2018, 07:42:11 AM »
B.A. in Economics, DH M.S. in Computer Science - at least his work footed the bill for that.

MrsDinero

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2018, 07:51:53 AM »
Graduated HS somewhere around the lower-middle of the class.  Took some night classes in a continuing education program at the state university, before deciding it wasn't for me.  I'm a voracious reader and tinkerer who prefers to study subjects/topics that interest me, rather than what someone tells me will make me "well rounded".

ETA:  Mr. Dinero has 2 Bachelors and 1 Masters.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2018, 10:46:32 AM by MrsDinero »

OtherJen

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2018, 07:53:23 AM »
I have a PhD in a biomedical field. Husband has a BS in biomedical science. We’ve both since left the lab. He’s now a retail manager in a business related to his favorite hobby, and I am self-employed in science publishing. Our household income is above the median, but we haven’t broken the 6-figure mark (not sure we ever will). We live in a small house in a LCOL area and have neither kids nor commutes, so we’re able to keep spending low and live very comfortably.

spokey doke

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2018, 08:02:52 AM »
Often when we have parties there will be about 20 people with Phds here and I have to remind our children that it isn't normal.

Likely in more ways than one....

MrsDinero

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2018, 08:08:38 AM »
Often when we have parties there will be about 20 people with Phds here and I have to remind our children that it isn't normal.

It might not be the average, but it is your normal.  Nothing wrong with that.

dcheesi

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #10 on: May 08, 2018, 08:19:26 AM »
Often when we have parties there will be about 20 people with Phds here and I have to remind our children that it isn't normal.

Likely in more ways than one....
It's actually pretty WEIRD (as are most of us on this forum, apparently!)

expatartist

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #11 on: May 08, 2018, 08:37:14 AM »
I like hearing your stories of how education did and didn't get you to where you are. My family's full of PhDs and MA degrees, but I've only a BFA in Painting from a public university and a sculpture apprenticeship. Later I looked at MFAs and PhDs, but just never went for it. Couldn't see the ROI being any better than the abysmal ratio for a Bachelor's in Art ;)

18 years later, I'm still using the degree - not so much in the mercantile sense of selling art all the time (which wasn't so interesting to me), but in the skills I use in the artwork I make for a foundation and the personal work I make in studios around the world.


beattie228

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #12 on: May 08, 2018, 08:52:50 AM »
Interesting thread idea. I too am curious to see what the breakdown looks like for the average MMM forum poster/reader. I'm a Physician Assistant. I juggle two jobs in my attempt to reach FI as we don't currently have little ones but I'm not sold on RE at this stage in my life. I like what I do, but I may down-shift to working just 1-2 days a week once I've reached my financial goals.

birdman2003

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #13 on: May 08, 2018, 09:00:46 AM »
PTF

mizzourah2006

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #14 on: May 08, 2018, 09:03:35 AM »
Checkpoint: So far we are at just over 95% of the respondents having at least a bachelor's degree. A little different than the US breakdown :)

MommyCake

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #15 on: May 08, 2018, 09:16:22 AM »
I just finished up my masters in Public Administration last semester (paid for with my GI bill).  I should use it to get a better position, but right now my job is so convenient and I have no motivation to seek a better one.  Maybe when my children are a bit older I will start job searching.  For now I really enjoy getting out of work by 1:30pm. 

simonsez

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #16 on: May 08, 2018, 09:29:59 AM »
Knowing degrees is an okay proxy for education but I think a key nowadays is continuous learning/training and especially certifications.

PMP, CFP, NBCT, PE, the various actuarial exams, etc. can take years to attain and may involve significant pay bumps as well as respect by your peers but wouldn't be reflected by knowing which degree a person has.  They can also make higher degrees only marginally different or even unnecessary or simply an exercise in ego.

Zikoris

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #17 on: May 08, 2018, 09:46:48 AM »
Ooh, ooh, I get to be in the 1%! High school grad. Luckily, that's all you need to be a receptionist.

I'd be really interested to hear the story of anyone who answers "none" though - which currently has zero votes.

ketchup

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #18 on: May 08, 2018, 09:52:07 AM »
I'm part of the illustrious "some college" crowd, as is my GF.  I did three semesters and she did about three weeks.  I work in IT and she's a specialized pro photographer.  Household income should approach six figures this year for the first time.

use2betrix

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #19 on: May 08, 2018, 10:01:42 AM »
I wrapped up my associates degree after already being in the workforce full time at around 23/24. It’s in my field but I don’t know if it has made an actual impact in getting jobs in my field.

I’m 30 now and have already had a couple years over 200k income, and this year I’ve made about 115k so far.

While a bachelors degree could be helpful, I do take pride that I’m probably near the 1% for income earners in my age range.

Having a high income with just an associates degree is a bit different. A lot of people can openly be proud/impressed by those with higher education/degrees. Only a very small group of family and friends know of my actual financial success. It’s not something that’s polite to discuss, and we aren’t overly flashy with our money (we have a 4runner and 19 year old Camry, live full time in a 5th wheel typically). Most people would probably assume I make 1/2 to 1/3 what I do.

ender

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #20 on: May 08, 2018, 10:12:53 AM »
Ooh, ooh, I get to be in the 1%! High school grad. Luckily, that's all you need to be a receptionist.

I'd be really interested to hear the story of anyone who answers "none" though - which currently has zero votes.

This one is particularly interesting to me because if the forum is even close to the USA demographic nearly 10% will not have high school degrees (!).

I'm .... going to guess that most people without a high school degree are not making massive amounts of money. Before someone throws out an anecdote, "most." Not "all."

TheWifeHalf

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #21 on: May 08, 2018, 10:27:57 AM »
A year of college.
Then I was a vet tech back when they were just starting the degree program and could get the title if the vet you worked for verified you worked as a vet tech.

THeHusbandHalf had 2 years of college. However during his high school years, he worked various places learning woodworking, electric, plumbing, HVAC,  concrete work, running big equipment - destined for blue collar work.
When I met him (and married) he was an inspector on the turnpike, then a longshoreman  at the railroad's coal docks. Both things his experience were instrumental in him being hired. He also ran equipment for my Dad putting in drainage tile, mostly in farm fields.

He was laid off from the railroad, and one of the interim jobs (between the RR and his current), was driving a tanker truck. He had no official experience, but the guy doing the interview gave him the chance to try to get his CDL, and he did, first try. He loved that job, but when the oil refinery was hiring, he applied there, for the $, a better union, and the opportunities to advance.

3000 people applied for 20 positions, and at the time, 4 had to go to women, 4 to minorities, 4 to veterans (I THINK on that last one) Later, one of the interviewers told him he was their top pick. If you knew him, he just interviews so well. He reminds me of Robert Mueller, just knows his stuff.

It is a union position, and he dedicated himself to learning that whole refinery. About 15 years ago, he bid a control room job, and will retire from there in January.  It is a higher paying employer, for this area, and a respected company to work for.

When he applied, there were various interviews, and 'tests' to be taken, mostly to show the applicants' understanding of things they would have to get a deeper understanding, in the year long training program.

Now the applicants have to do the same except there is an additional requirement to apply. Used to be, college wasn't even mentioned, but about 7 years ago, a college degree started being required. Any degree, I guess it just shows the applicant's willingness to stay with something.

It is THH's legacy that they now require 'a college degree or military experience' to even apply.  He was instrumental in making them realize that time in the military was valuable. (It just lets them apply, they have to prove themselves in the rest of the interviewing process.) There are now several ex-Navy nuclear propulsion employees, our son was one.

I know all of that is so much more than you asked, but I wanted to show that a blue collar position does not have to restrict someone

Luck12

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #22 on: May 08, 2018, 10:28:19 AM »
Results don't surprise me in the least, it's obvious this forum is full of yuppie upper middle class type people (and sometimes the oblivious attitudes that come with that).   I am sure the median poster here is also well above the median income, median SAT score (would be a good poll question), etc. 

Slee_stack

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #23 on: May 08, 2018, 10:31:42 AM »
I dropped out of a Master's program.  Was way too boring and I thought enough's enough with this formal education crap!

mm1970

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #24 on: May 08, 2018, 10:46:11 AM »
Often when we have parties there will be about 20 people with Phds here and I have to remind our children that it isn't normal.

Likely in more ways than one....

Uh huh. I'm married to a PhD and a very large % of my coworkers/ bosses have PhDs. 

My husband is awesome but working with a bunch of PhDs is ... challenging.

acroy

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #25 on: May 08, 2018, 10:53:12 AM »
holy crap that's a lot of education

MrMoogle

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #26 on: May 08, 2018, 10:53:59 AM »
Knowing degrees is an okay proxy for education but I think a key nowadays is continuous learning/training and especially certifications.

PMP, CFP, NBCT, PE, the various actuarial exams, etc. can take years to attain and may involve significant pay bumps as well as respect by your peers but wouldn't be reflected by knowing which degree a person has.  They can also make higher degrees only marginally different or even unnecessary or simply an exercise in ego.
This is very industry dependent.  The only learning/training that will get me a pay bump would be getting a Masters, and even that would probably be slight. 

FI45RE

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #27 on: May 08, 2018, 10:57:19 AM »
Have a master's, but working on a doctoral degree currently.

Bateaux

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #28 on: May 08, 2018, 11:31:40 AM »
None.

Antonn Park

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #29 on: May 08, 2018, 11:54:20 AM »
I have a BS in economics and MS in crime and justice studies, if that helps.

GuitarStv

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #30 on: May 08, 2018, 11:55:35 AM »
Just enough to be dangerous.

afox

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #31 on: May 08, 2018, 11:59:01 AM »
The results of this poll are not surprising at all.

Ive always been surprised that this forum has not been "monetized", there is no advertising!  This seems unusual in this day and age.  It costs a lot of money to run this forum.  I know nothing about the inner workings but always assumed it was sort of a service project by the owner of the site and helps to send some traffic to the blog which is monetized.  Knowing the results of this poll makes the value of monetizing this forum even higher. 

In other words MMM is likely sitting on a goldmine here.

edit to add: just noticed an REI ad at the bottom of the page, not sure if that is new or if i just never noticed it before.  Well, the forum is less monetized than others.  Hope MMM can use this poll to get more advertising revenue than he's already getting.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2018, 12:20:06 PM by afox »

simonsez

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #32 on: May 08, 2018, 01:20:12 PM »
Knowing degrees is an okay proxy for education but I think a key nowadays is continuous learning/training and especially certifications.

PMP, CFP, NBCT, PE, the various actuarial exams, etc. can take years to attain and may involve significant pay bumps as well as respect by your peers but wouldn't be reflected by knowing which degree a person has.  They can also make higher degrees only marginally different or even unnecessary or simply an exercise in ego.
This is very industry dependent.  The only learning/training that will get me a pay bump would be getting a Masters, and even that would probably be slight.
No doubt, it 'can' or 'may' matter in terms of pay but I was more talking about the time aspect of getting these certs.  Some of them are no joke and take quite awhile to obtain, akin to a degree listed on the poll.  Still, tying education to income is a logical step.  I wonder what the difference is between median incomes of CPA accountants and non-CPA accountants?  I bet it is significant.  Where my wife works the highest step on the Master's ladder for a teacher is 85k while the highest step for a B.S. is 48k with the PhD/EdD up to 105k.  I'm sure there are plenty other examples where it's the opposite and your educational difference/experience doesn't mean squat.

In my position (federal statistics), a Bachelor's with two years of experience is equivalent pay-wise to a PhD starting out or a Master's with one year of experience (and a B.S. with 1 year = Master's with 0 exp).

Actually, any professional certificate OR degree earned after starting out do not earn you a single extra penny where I am at - but they can make you highly likely to land certain promotions (or even to lateral into the exact job you want).  IT certs (Cisco, Citrix, CISSP, etc.) and ones project/program management related (PMP, Scrum/agile, etc.) are very helpful right now where I work but will be a lot different or irrelevant elsewhere.

And sometimes it's not even about how much you make, it can be just to help you get in the door based on the supply/demand in the market at the time.  When I was hired you pretty much had to at least have a Master's if not a PhD to land a job with my agency.  That wasn't the case about 5 years later and our area hired some with Bachelor's.

wbranch

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #33 on: May 08, 2018, 01:41:48 PM »
I have a BS in Accounting and a MS in Accounting along with a CPA license. I needed 150 credits to be a CPA and decided to go the MS route to get it. I actually had 140 credits for my BS and could have easily double majored but decided to go the masters route. I also need 40 hrs of CPE a year. There are quite a few stats out there about CPAs vs. non CPAs, mainly put out the AICPA the

It is easy to feel underpaid depending when compared to some, but we are more than double the median income for a family in our town and were about the same in the prior towns we lived in. I have stayed in smaller towns and it took 3 years of work to match the salary of the job offer I had in a big metro.

ketchup

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #34 on: May 08, 2018, 02:01:23 PM »
The results of this poll are not surprising at all.

Ive always been surprised that this forum has not been "monetized", there is no advertising!  This seems unusual in this day and age.  It costs a lot of money to run this forum.  I know nothing about the inner workings but always assumed it was sort of a service project by the owner of the site and helps to send some traffic to the blog which is monetized.  Knowing the results of this poll makes the value of monetizing this forum even higher. 

In other words MMM is likely sitting on a goldmine here.

edit to add: just noticed an REI ad at the bottom of the page, not sure if that is new or if i just never noticed it before.  Well, the forum is less monetized than others.  Hope MMM can use this poll to get more advertising revenue than he's already getting.
He makes $400k/yr from the blog, FYI.

Schaefer Light

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #35 on: May 08, 2018, 02:05:08 PM »
I have a BS in electrical engineering, but a person could easily do my job without a college education.  One thing I sometimes feel bad about is how little of what I studied in college I've used in my career.  I'm so far removed from school (and have forgotten so much of what I learned) that I doubt I could get a job as an engineer.

OccamsPhaco

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #36 on: May 08, 2018, 02:08:10 PM »
An associates and an apprenticeship.  Had wanted to be an opthamologist, but life happened.  So I'm blue collar instead, but still make great money for my area.

I'm an ophthalmologist. It's alright, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Hell, I'm hoping to RE - there's way more stuff I'd rather be doing.

lemonlyman

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #37 on: May 08, 2018, 02:17:40 PM »
Bachelors in Accounting/CPA. I'm CFO for a growing mid-sized business (I fell into it. The quote about luck being the biggest factor in becoming a CFO is true in my experience.). My income is low on the scale, but it will grow a lot more over time than it would if I worked in public.

diapasoun

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #38 on: May 08, 2018, 02:19:59 PM »
Results don't surprise me in the least, it's obvious this forum is full of yuppie upper middle class type people (and sometimes the oblivious attitudes that come with that).   I am sure the median poster here is also well above the median income, median SAT score (would be a good poll question), etc.

I too want to know re: median income and SAT score. I think someone did a median income poll a while ago; I should dig it up. I think PF blogs generally attract a wealthy, well-educated crowd, for all sorts of reasons.

Also, PhD here. I originally intended to be a professor, and by the time I was dissertating decided that I did not, in fact, want to be a professor anymore; I wanted less stress and more freedom in my work. I now work in industry, using my degree to some extent, and am looking to jettison myself even farther afield from the actual work I did in grad school. The hard facts I learned are less useful now than they used to be, but the skills and experiences have been pretty useful.

MrMoogle

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #39 on: May 08, 2018, 02:29:40 PM »
Results don't surprise me in the least, it's obvious this forum is full of yuppie upper middle class type people (and sometimes the oblivious attitudes that come with that).   I am sure the median poster here is also well above the median income, median SAT score (would be a good poll question), etc.

I too want to know re: median income and SAT score. I think someone did a median income poll a while ago; I should dig it up. I think PF blogs generally attract a wealthy, well-educated crowd, for all sorts of reasons.

Also, PhD here. I originally intended to be a professor, and by the time I was dissertating decided that I did not, in fact, want to be a professor anymore; I wanted less stress and more freedom in my work. I now work in industry, using my degree to some extent, and am looking to jettison myself even farther afield from the actual work I did in grad school. The hard facts I learned are less useful now than they used to be, but the skills and experiences have been pretty useful.
The problem is I think SAT has changed at least twice in the last two decades.  It went from out of 1600 to out of 2400, then back to out of 1600, but the average score increased.  Something like that, I don't remember.  I just know when I graduated high school one kid in my city got a 1600, then the year I graduated college, 10 kids in my previous high school had 1600's (even more in the city). 

So it would be difficult comparing an SAT score from 2010 to one from 1980.

G-dog

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #40 on: May 08, 2018, 02:31:43 PM »
Master’s degree acquired late in life, and two professional certifications.  But most of my income was driven by my Bachelor’s degree and a specific professional certification. That certification initially almost doubled my salary, then at the end close to tripled it (with bonus).

sparkytheop

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #41 on: May 08, 2018, 02:32:22 PM »
An associates and an apprenticeship.  Had wanted to be an opthamologist, but life happened.  So I'm blue collar instead, but still make great money for my area.

I'm an ophthalmologist. It's alright, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Hell, I'm hoping to RE - there's way more stuff I'd rather be doing.

It used to bother me that I didn't get to do it, but now I have what is, for me, a dream job.  I get to work mostly "off" schedules, so I can go almost my full 12 hour shift without seeing or talking to anyone (I do enjoy talking to a few of the guys during shift change, but I'm mostly introverted).  I also get to work on hobbies (quilting, crochet, etc) and watch movies.  Kind of like a fireman job--you have your daily duties that take a few hours, but mostly there in case of emergency.  The way time off is arranged is pretty awesome for when I can eventually travel again as well.  I'm pretty happy with things at this point.  When I think about how people-oriented being an opthalmologist is, I'm happy with my choice (although still fascinated with eyes and how they work).

Kwill

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #42 on: May 08, 2018, 02:45:04 PM »
Ooh, ooh, I get to be in the 1%! High school grad. Luckily, that's all you need to be a receptionist.

I'd be really interested to hear the story of anyone who answers "none" though - which currently has zero votes.

This one is particularly interesting to me because if the forum is even close to the USA demographic nearly 10% will not have high school degrees (!).

I'm .... going to guess that most people without a high school degree are not making massive amounts of money. Before someone throws out an anecdote, "most." Not "all."

There might be a few readers who are still in high school and therefore still 'none' on this poll.

OccamsPhaco

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #43 on: May 08, 2018, 02:57:18 PM »
An associates and an apprenticeship.  Had wanted to be an opthamologist, but life happened.  So I'm blue collar instead, but still make great money for my area.

I'm an ophthalmologist. It's alright, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Hell, I'm hoping to RE - there's way more stuff I'd rather be doing.

It used to bother me that I didn't get to do it, but now I have what is, for me, a dream job.  I get to work mostly "off" schedules, so I can go almost my full 12 hour shift without seeing or talking to anyone (I do enjoy talking to a few of the guys during shift change, but I'm mostly introverted).  I also get to work on hobbies (quilting, crochet, etc) and watch movies.  Kind of like a fireman job--you have your daily duties that take a few hours, but mostly there in case of emergency.  The way time off is arranged is pretty awesome for when I can eventually travel again as well.  I'm pretty happy with things at this point.  When I think about how people-oriented being an opthalmologist is, I'm happy with my choice (although still fascinated with eyes and how they work).

I've got a few gripes, but mostly the same stuff as any other MD. Namely, the stress patients expecting perfect outcomes and the looming specter of litigation. Cataract surgery has a 0.5% complication rate nationally, and mine is a touch lower. Which sounds great, save for the fact that a busy cataract surgeon does north of 500 a year. So that means you're having 2 or 3 situations come up every year where a surgery did NOT go well, and it was probably your fault. Nearly as often as the seasons change, you're dealing with a a rightfully furious/upset patient who may never see as well as they expected to. And that's not even counting the tough cases and near misses that we manage to pull out of the fire without complications. That's the biggest issue I have with the job, and it's pretty draining. Getting sued is basically a fact of life as a surgeon in the US. Statistically, that's accurate and any older doc will agree that it's a matter of when, not if. Maybe after my first lawsuit they won't be so stressful in the future? Sad to think that...

Dealing with the very elderly is also challenging sometimes. We see the oldest patients outside of oncology (and geriatrics, obviously), and you really have to be comfortable with frailty and dementia as well as impending death. Trying to treat someone who can no longer drive to appointments is tough, and it is much tougher if they have no family to drive them either. I try to avoid aggressive treatment in patients who are mentally or physically so far gone that it won't feasibly improve their quality of life, but that's a difficult call to make, and sometimes family members make it for the patient.

All that said, it's a cool job. LASIK is awesome and cataract outcomes are amazing. Most patients are thrilled with their results, and we get better all the time. I bet it would be more fun in Canada though. I'd take a pay cut if I would never hear another patient complain about cost or decline an intervention because they can't afford it. I'd also take a pay cut to live in a less litigious society. But now I'm way off topic...

OtherJen

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #44 on: May 08, 2018, 03:18:22 PM »
Also, PhD here. I originally intended to be a professor, and by the time I was dissertating decided that I did not, in fact, want to be a professor anymore; I wanted less stress and more freedom in my work. I now work in industry, using my degree to some extent, and am looking to jettison myself even farther afield from the actual work I did in grad school. The hard facts I learned are less useful now than they used to be, but the skills and experiences have been pretty useful.

Yep. While I loved and am proud of my dissertation research, the academic/professional language and project management skills and confidence in my ability to self-manage have been much more useful and valuable.

cube.37

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #45 on: May 08, 2018, 04:11:40 PM »
Starting my MBA this fall. I don't think I've come across too many MBAs or MDs. I'm guessing it might have to do with the extravagant lifestyles that often accompany the degrees.

Cassie

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #46 on: May 08, 2018, 04:28:08 PM »
Obtained my BA in Psychology at age 31, Master's in Social Work at 36, second masters in Vocational Rehabilitation at 39 then took a long distance PhD while working full-time. Never used the PhD because I loved my job in Voc. Rehab so much. Highest salary was 62k.  My DH with a BA in civil engineering made 84k.   We retired 6 years ago.

mm1970

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #47 on: May 08, 2018, 04:30:45 PM »
Results don't surprise me in the least, it's obvious this forum is full of yuppie upper middle class type people (and sometimes the oblivious attitudes that come with that).   I am sure the median poster here is also well above the median income, median SAT score (would be a good poll question), etc.

I too want to know re: median income and SAT score. I think someone did a median income poll a while ago; I should dig it up. I think PF blogs generally attract a wealthy, well-educated crowd, for all sorts of reasons.

Also, PhD here. I originally intended to be a professor, and by the time I was dissertating decided that I did not, in fact, want to be a professor anymore; I wanted less stress and more freedom in my work. I now work in industry, using my degree to some extent, and am looking to jettison myself even farther afield from the actual work I did in grad school. The hard facts I learned are less useful now than they used to be, but the skills and experiences have been pretty useful.

SAT score: 1400

Out of 1600.  I hear they've changed it since the 80s

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #48 on: May 08, 2018, 04:37:07 PM »
I'm "none" in that I haven't finished high school yet. But that feels like a weird/uncomfortable/inaccurate label. I feel like I have lots of education; I just don't have any of the levels named there. So I'm imagining it means "none of the above."

ender

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Re: How much education do you have?
« Reply #49 on: May 08, 2018, 05:06:40 PM »
Results don't surprise me in the least, it's obvious this forum is full of yuppie upper middle class type people (and sometimes the oblivious attitudes that come with that).   I am sure the median poster here is also well above the median income, median SAT score (would be a good poll question), etc.

I too want to know re: median income and SAT score. I think someone did a median income poll a while ago; I should dig it up. I think PF blogs generally attract a wealthy, well-educated crowd, for all sorts of reasons.

Also, PhD here. I originally intended to be a professor, and by the time I was dissertating decided that I did not, in fact, want to be a professor anymore; I wanted less stress and more freedom in my work. I now work in industry, using my degree to some extent, and am looking to jettison myself even farther afield from the actual work I did in grad school. The hard facts I learned are less useful now than they used to be, but the skills and experiences have been pretty useful.

SAT score: 1400

Out of 1600.  I hear they've changed it since the 80s

They did for a few years (had a writing portion) but they changed it back in 2016 again to be out of 1600.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!