Self-Studying for a Dream Job?

[Debater Slayer]

Recently, I found out that I failed a couple of subjects in my engineering course. That means that I will have to retake them.

While it's not the end of the world and it's something that happens to a lot of students, it points to a deeper issue: I really can't stand the stuff I'm studying. I don't like engineering school, period. I wanted and still want to study English literature and become a translator or an English teacher. My dream job is not to be an engineer; it is to be an international translator. Even if I graduate from engineering school, I may take language courses and try to find a job as a translator. I love translation. Getting a good job at something I love is a dream for me.

My question is whether anyone here has self-studied or knows someone who has self-studied for a job in a field other than what their degree is in. I have been thinking about switching majors and starting over to pursue a degree in English literature. That would put me two years behind (since I'm in my second year of engineering school), and it would also put me at risk of not finding a good job after graduation because there are a lot of graduates with a degree in English literature who don't have a good job or even a job at all. That's why I'm thinking about taking courses and studying on my own on top of that to prepare myself to work in the field I'm actually interested in while having an engineering degree to fall back on if my plan doesn't work out. I'm just wondering if this kind of thing may actually work out so well as to allow me to land a job as a high-level translator.

Your input is appreciated.

 

[Mycroft]

There's a lot of resources out there for those looking to self-study. MIT and CalTech (and more) post free online seminars and lectures all the time.

There's also https://www.udacity.com

 

[Revoltingest]

You complete idiot!
Don't do something you hate.
Do something you want to do.
Don't ever give me the opportunity to say I told you so.
You don't want to hear that from me.

 

[Debater Slayer]

You complete idiot!
Don't do something you hate.
Do something you want to do.
Don't ever give me the opportunity to say I told you so.

The problem is that the field I have a passion for is full of people who are competing for the few jobs that are available to them. When there is a huge amount of something, it becomes cheaper. There are a whole lot of English literature degrees out there compared to engineering degrees. That's why pursuing the former is riskier in terms of career opportunities.

 

[Revoltingest]

The problem is that the field I have a passion for is full of people who are competing for the few jobs that are available to them. When there is a huge amount of something, it becomes cheaper. There are a whole lot of English literature degrees out there compared to engineering degrees. That's why pursuing the former is riskier in terms of career opportunities.

My advice stands.
If you aren't interested in engineering, you won't be any good at it.
And you'll be unhappy.

 

[Debater Slayer]

My advice stands.
If you aren't interested in engineering, you won't be any good at it.
And you'll be unhappy.

I can't say I disagree with that. Starting over after two years sounds so difficult and risky, though. I hate that idea...

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Recently, I found out that I failed a couple of subjects in my engineering course. That means that I will have to retake them.

While it's not the end of the world and it's something that happens to a lot of students, it points to a deeper issue: I really can't stand the stuff I'm studying. I don't like engineering school, period. I wanted and still want to study English literature and become a translator or an English teacher. My dream job is not to be an engineer; it is to be an international translator. Even if I graduate from engineering school, I may take language courses and try to find a job as a translator. I love translation. Getting a good job at something I love is a dream for me.

My question is whether anyone here has self-studied or knows someone who has self-studied for a job in a field other than what their degree is in. I have been thinking about switching majors and starting over to pursue a degree in English literature. That would put me two years behind (since I'm in my second year of engineering school), and it would also put me at risk of not finding a good job after graduation because there are a lot of graduates with a degree in English literature who don't have a good job or even a job at all. That's why I'm thinking about taking courses and studying on my own on top of that to prepare myself to work in the field I'm actually interested in while having an engineering degree to fall back on if my plan doesn't work out. I'm just wondering if this kind of thing may actually work out so well as to allow me to land a job as a high-level translator.

Your input is appreciated.

Why does it have to be English Literature? Doesn't your school have a Language Studies program or something similar? They are designed to teach people to be translators.

 

[Wirey]

Recently, I found out that I failed a couple of subjects in my engineering course. That means that I will have to retake them.

While it's not the end of the world and it's something that happens to a lot of students, it points to a deeper issue: I really can't stand the stuff I'm studying. I don't like engineering school, period. I wanted and still want to study English literature and become a translator or an English teacher. My dream job is not to be an engineer; it is to be an international translator. Even if I graduate from engineering school, I may take language courses and try to find a job as a translator. I love translation. Getting a good job at something I love is a dream for me.

My question is whether anyone here has self-studied or knows someone who has self-studied for a job in a field other than what their degree is in. I have been thinking about switching majors and starting over to pursue a degree in English literature. That would put me two years behind (since I'm in my second year of engineering school), and it would also put me at risk of not finding a good job after graduation because there are a lot of graduates with a degree in English literature who don't have a good job or even a job at all. That's why I'm thinking about taking courses and studying on my own on top of that to prepare myself to work in the field I'm actually interested in while having an engineering degree to fall back on if my plan doesn't work out. I'm just wondering if this kind of thing may actually work out so well as to allow me to land a job as a high-level translator.

Your input is appreciated.

Don't get trapped in a job you hate. I started as an electrician and worked my way up to running an engineering company. Everything is possible, but you have to work, and continually educate yourself. That said, my oldest girl is an English major with an IQ well above 180, and I support her. That's who you'll be competing with.

 

[Debater Slayer]

Why does it have to be English Literature? Doesn't your school have a Language Studies program or something similar? They are designed to teach people to be translators.

My school doesn't, no. Also, long story short, I'm not qualified to apply for linguistics school.

It's not like I would have any problem with studying English literature. I love the language, and the school I will apply for in case of changing my major teaches translation throughout the entire four-year course.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Don't get trapped in a job you hate. I started as an electrician and worked my way up to running an engineering company. Everything is possible, but you have to work, and continually educate yourself. That said, my oldest girl is an English major with an IQ well above 180, and I support her. That's who you'll be competing with.

And my son was an English major with an IQ well above 100, and is now a mortgage loan underwriter for a major bank here in the US. And my nephew, who is much smarter than my son, major in German and a couple of other things and is till trying to get a job as a translator...Sorry, I guess that doesn't help much, does it?

 

[Wirey]

And my son was an English major with an IQ well above 100, and is now a mortgage loan underwriter for a major bank here in the US. And my nephew, who is much smarter than my son, major in German and a couple of other things and is till trying to get a job as a translator...Sorry, I guess that doesn't help much, does it?

English as a profession is done for love, not money was my point. Engineering is done for money. Plus, I'm fantastic with Tinkertoys now.

 

[Debater Slayer]

And my son was an English major with an IQ well above 100, and is now a mortgage loan underwriter for a major bank here in the US. And my nephew, who is much smarter than my son, major in German and a couple of other things and is till trying to get a job as a translator...Sorry, I guess that doesn't help much, does it?

Still trying? Are translation jobs scarce where you live too?

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Still trying? Are translation jobs scarce where you live too?

Apparently in central Wisconsin of the USA, yes. I'm not sure why he's having trouble finding work, unless it's linked to wanting to stay in Madison, his home town.

 

[Debater Slayer]

Don't get trapped in a job you hate. I started as an electrician and worked my way up to running an engineering company. Everything is possible, but you have to work, and continually educate yourself. That said, my oldest girl is an English major with an IQ well above 180, and I support her. That's who you'll be competing with.

There have been a lot of people with reported IQs above that of Einstein's, but they have never achieved anything remotely close to what he did.

IQ is not everything, and I don't care much who I will be competing with. As corny as this might sound, I will be competing with my weak links and the obstacles on my way to achieving my dream, not with IQs.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

English as a profession is done for love, not money was my point. Engineering is done for money. Plus, I'm fantastic with Tinkertoys now.

Agreed. I'm still trying to figure out lego blocks...

 

[lewisnotmiller]

My question is whether anyone here has self-studied or knows someone who has self-studied for a job in a field other than what their degree is in. I have been thinking about switching majors and starting over to pursue a degree in English literature. That would put me two years behind (since I'm in my second year of engineering school), and it would also put me at risk of not finding a good job after graduation because there are a lot of graduates with a degree in English literature who don't have a good job or even a job at all. That's why I'm thinking about taking courses and studying on my own on top of that to prepare myself to work in the field I'm actually interested in while having an engineering degree to fall back on if my plan doesn't work out. I'm just wondering if this kind of thing may actually work out so well as to allow me to land a job as a high-level translator.

Your input is appreciated.

Well...yeah...I did.
I have 2 degrees in teaching and education, and I was a psychology major. But I work in big business software implementations and management.

Not sure what you want to know so fire away as many questions here or via PM as you want to.

In my case I completed the teaching course with honours, then did postgrad studies in education. Four years of study (it's 5 now...I'm old...lol), then I worked in the industry for 4 years before moving to a completely disassociated field. Having a degree helped (people like paper) and more practically the communication skills I developed gave me a point of difference when I moved into computing. To be clear, I'm not a technical dude, although you pick up a lot regardless. I am more a solution architect.

 

[Wirey]

There have been a lot of people with reported IQs above that of Einstein's, but they have never achieved anything remotely close to what he did.

IQ is not everything, and I don't care much who I will be competing with. As corny as this might sound, I will be competing with my weak links and the obstacles on my way to achieving my dream, not with IQs.

My point was that being smart and an English major won't make you money. And believe me, money is nice.

 

[Buttercup]

I can't say I disagree with that. Starting over after two years sounds so difficult and risky, though. I hate that idea...

You shouldn't have to start completely over. I imagine you have some of the standard arts and letters courses finished and probably all the math. It's very common for students to change majors. My youngest son got two separate AA degrees before he settled on mechanical engineering and is now in his junior year. My daughter changed majors twice and my oldest son did as well. It's much better to take a year or two longer to graduate than be stuck in a profession you hate.

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

This may be completely lame/idiotic, I don't know - I work in market research and there are plenty of companies we deal with who translate survey content from one language to another - usually English into a foreign language. Depending on your area of engineering study (I don't know if you're studying computer sciences or civil engineering or what) there could even be cross-over jobs, as many of the companies we work with have pretty out-dated methods of operating. And the opportunities are only increasing for international research being done are only increasing...

 

[Revoltingest]

Don't get trapped in a job you hate. I started as an electrician and worked my way up to running an engineering company. Everything is possible, but you have to work, and continually educate yourself. That said, my oldest girl is an English major with an IQ well above 180, and I support her. That's who you'll be competing with.

Hey, what a coincidence!
I too have an IQ well above 18.

Btw, did you like engineering?