# Education.



## Kaellpae (Jul 8, 2011)

What sort of education did you seek after graduating high school?
Might be kind of personal, but I wanted to find out how many writers pursue a degree and what for usually.


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## Meg the Healer (Jul 8, 2011)

I got a B.A in English Literature and a minor in Religion. A couple years later I got a license in Massage Therapy.


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## Dante Sawyer (Jul 9, 2011)

Hah!
I'm still in high school!  But I plan on going to college (my old man wants me to go to an Ivy League...). I feel like I want to major in psychology, with a minor in philosophy.


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## Kaellpae (Jul 9, 2011)

I've been out of high school for a few years now. I want to go to college. I was thinking Creative Writing and History.
Although the company I work for pays for school if it has anything to do with the company. Basically a lot of technical careers.


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## Kelise (Jul 9, 2011)

I did an apprenticeship with the local Government and still work there seven years later. Too many authors have said that if you're going to study something, study _anything_ other than writing, and use what you study in your books (history, philosophy, so forth). I think they said it was because if you learn too much, it constricts you. 

I go to writing conventions instead  They're inspirational and you're talking directly to people who've succeeded. 

I'm not necessarily against actually studying writing though - I probably would have done it if there had been any worthy courses within reach, just so I could study something I enjoy so much.


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## Helbrecht (Jul 9, 2011)

History. Definitely history. Possibly alongside a minor of English or Philosophy. History's pretty much my main thing.  Don't think about what's a good "writer's degree" and what isn't. Choose to study what interests you, and, as starconstant said, write about it. 

Studying any of the humanities or social sciences tends to better educate you in how people live and think, and just about any theme you can insert from any of those fields can have enormous resonance with a reader.  You may think studying writing or English might help you become a better writer, but (to paraphrase about a dozen famous authors) good writing is about self-discovery and finding excellence in your own work, not emulating the greats. 

On a somewhat related note, a good chunk of "hard" science fiction fandom seem to award extra credit to SF authors with degrees in hard science.


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## TWErvin2 (Jul 9, 2011)

I earned a B.S. Degree while majoring in Biology and minoring in English.
I earned a Master's Degree in Education.

The degrees I earned enabled me to be certified as a teacher (English 7-12, Life Science 7-12, Reading k-12) in the state of Ohio. Teaching is my career/the way I earn a living (and what I really enjoy doing) and I've been at it for a little over 20 years.


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## Black Dragon (Jul 9, 2011)

I majored in philosophy and religious studies.  I loved college so much that I never left, and ended up with a Ph.D.  I now earn a living as a professor.


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## Amanita (Jul 9, 2011)

> Choose to study what interests you, and, as starconstant said, write about it.


That sounds good.  
I'm not quite sure about the correct translation of the terminology but I'll try to explain. I'm studying History of Science and Technology for Bachelor of Arts and chemistry in addition to it but not the full number of courses someone aiming for a Bachelor of Science degree would do. It's only the more basic things and no research of my own or anything like that. It's similar to the things future teachers are learning but they're still doing more.
I would have liked to do chemistry completely, but I'm too clumsy, not quite good enough at math and wouldn't have time to write anything anymore in the future if I did. And the history of science and technology stuff is extremely interesting for world-building among other things.


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## Ophiucha (Jul 9, 2011)

I did history for a couple of years, but I found it to be mindnumbingly useless and a drain of money, so I dropped out. I do freelance editing work and catering nowadays, babysitting if I really need the money, but for the most part I just write, cook, and clean at home. I'm fine with that. I might go to culinary school proper (I've done courses, but never did a full program) and become a chef if I want a career, but I'm happy for now.


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## Donny Bruso (Jul 9, 2011)

After certain events in my life made college impossible directly out of high school I ended up joining the army, where I've been trained as a mechanic. I now work full time for the National Guard repairing their tactical vehicles. I'm trying to get back to college, but time and money constraints are making it difficult, in cahoots with my own inborn and well-honed talent for procrastination.


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## Kaellpae (Jul 9, 2011)

Well History and Writing are about the only things I've seen in course lists that interest me. The local colleges don't offer History majors, so I was wanting Creative Writing or English major, to help me find my voice and develop techniques, also the English classes to get a refresher on grammar. A lot of the lesser grammar rules and punctuation marks have been lost to me for a while. I thought one of those majors would help drill them in, with Creative Writing as a major giving me a chance to do what I love as an assignment.
As for History, it's always interested me. All of it up to the 70s anyway.


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## Joe the Gnarled (Jul 10, 2011)

I am about to start school back up.  I have decided to go with a Bachelor of Arts in English.  I have discovered it is hard to find creative writing degrees online.


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## Kate (Jul 10, 2011)

I'm another one with history and English Lit majors.  I also did a Masters in media, cultural studies and communication and just as I started my phd down that road I decided I didn't want to spend so much time and energy doing something because it was just 'the next step'. Haven't looked back!


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## Garren Jacobsen (Jul 12, 2011)

I'm working on a BA in Political Science looking to go and get my law degree.


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## Ravana (Jul 17, 2011)

BA in Philosophy (concentration in logic and philosophy of language), minors in English (poetry) and Linguistics (syntax/semantics); MA in Linguistics (ditto).

Some day, when I'm really rich, I'll go back and take all the Humanities courses I didn't earlier… just for fun.


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## Fnord (Jul 19, 2011)

Applied economics and mathematics.  Someday I might do a PhD in finance, but I have no interest in working in academia and I'm a professional capitalist now already, so there's not too much incentive to bother so far.


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## Eliazar (Jul 20, 2011)

Currently, I'm doing my BSc in economics, afterwards I want to do a master in african studies (or perhaps development economics) and then see where it goes from there.


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## Lavender (Jul 20, 2011)

I went to college after secondary school (for the American/Canadian forum users, college in the UK is different to university) I studied Media as at that time I was considering going into journalism and then Art and Design. I did not go to uni. I then went on to attend an adult learning creative writing course.


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## Argentum (Jul 30, 2011)

During High school I was in post secondary school, which I continued as college when I graduated. I got an AA degree and pretty darn close to a Bachelor's in english writing, but I've done this all long distance and over the internet. Truth be told, it's been hard. I'm taking a break from college currently so I can relearn to love learning. But I do intend to go back and finish the degree. Right now, though, I'm working on a small certificate that will help teach me to better teach english as a second language. With this TESOL certificate, I'll be able to get a better job, though I'm still aiming to make writing my career.


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## Motley (Aug 1, 2011)

I planned to become an English high school teacher after college, but I only got through 1.5 years of college before dropping out due to personal issues. Now I realize I would have made a lousy teacher, so it was a blessing in disguise I guess. I've taken some online college courses since then, to further my business and writing careers, but wouldn't consider going back to full-time college. Too old, and not enough drive or interest.


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