We’ve all heard it a hundred times. 

“What are you going to do with an English degree?” 

“What are you going to do with a history degree?” 

Or “What are you going to do with an art degree?”

Frankly, regardless of what degree you get, you’ll get asked this a dozen times. It often feels like people want to pigeon-hole you based on your major before you even get out the door. 

This new series is designed to highlight what you can do with your degree–especially outside the box jobs and sectors that may not be the “obvious answer” for what you can do with your degree. 

In this article, we’re featuring five STEM majors–none of whom are pursuing medical school at this time.  Stay tuned for more features in the series. You can read our previous pieces on English majors and Political Science majors.  If you would like to be featured in an upcoming piece of the series (especially if you have majored in history, humanities, or computer science), please fill out this form. 

Jillian, Engineering

I am currently finishing up my degree in Industrial and Management Systems Engineering and have accepted a job as a transportation engineer starting in June! The great thing about engineering is that while you choose a discipline to specialize in, you gain a special skill set that can translate to many different fields. I know engineers that go on to law and medical school or go straight into management with or without an MBA. For me, I am jumping a bit outside of my discipline’s realm because transportation engineering is my true love and I have internship experience in the field. My college requires every student to have an internship or co-op before graduating, so you aren’t leaving college without real-world experience. My degree taught me how to attack problems with a certain mindset and to abide by a set of high expectations.

Blair, Anthropology

I majored in anthropology and I am now working as a policy analyst in the Illinois State Association of Counties. Anthropology is one of my many passions, but most people who study it end up going the academic route and earn their PhD and become a professor. I wanted to be able to apply what I learned in a profession that allowed me to help people. This is what made me pursue political science as well. My hope is one day I will find myself in a career that combines both political science and anthropology, but I enjoy working in government and politics and I can’t wait to see where it will take me in the future.

Susannah, Economics

I’m an economics major and now I work in policy communications! Although I’m never going to derive an isoquant again, my Econ degree allows me to understand the crazy econometric models I come across and better communicate them to reporters and the general public. My background also has made me more analytical which allows the analytics side of my job to come naturally where a lot of people find it incredibly difficult. 

Nychelle, Natural Sciences

I am currently a homemaker and mother while looking at options for my masters in environmental education. While I am currently not utilizing my degree in a career it provided me a firm foundation for multitasking and creativity for our home and son. The amount of writing and research I did for assignments has strengthened my writing skills as well as understanding how to properly invest and ingest new information or talents. 

Briana, Psychology

Of my many side jobs, I work in the youth ministry office at my local church. My major in psychology helps me to be aware of the people around me and cater better to their individual needs. As I continue toward my degree, I hope to use psychology to help young people to better understand themselves as well as God’s plans for them.

Aryssa D
FFL Cabinet Member