I did the same thing, till I started working from home for google! now I am rolling in $$$, to spend on teeth whiteners and acai berries, to promote greater faster rippedness.
This is true and false to a certain extent. Some liberal arts colleges offer other degrees. I went to Morehouse (liberal arts school in GA) and got a degree in accounting. Now with that being said, Morehouse costs $33K a year now. I don't think I could justify paying/borrowing that much now if I didn't have a boatload of scholarships, not when UT is right in my backyard.....or if I were a GA resident and could go to any state school for free (tuition) via the Hope Scholarship. But isn't UT around $20K a yr or so now, when considering room and board?
Don’t really need to comment on this, as it has already been sufficiently mocked. Oh, yeah. Let's give our 18-year old $50,000 cash and send him on his way. What could possibly go wrong? Except for possibly losing your entire life savings and/or being 100K in debt and totally broke. Good idea! Why didn't I think of that? I just graduated high school and I have no money or job. Maybe I can become an investor. Is there a wiki article I can refer to?
It's a shame the vocational schools get such short shrift in this country. The majority of people going to college are only there to secure better employment and usually lack the sort of intellectual curiosity that would enable them to really benefit from the other courses they're required to take. Really, most business degrees and CIS degrees should be taught at vocational schools. I think old-school administrators and politicians have this erroneous belief that a college education somehow makes a person a more responsible citizen, or something ... and it doesn't. If the only reason a student is at a university is to get a bigger paycheck after graduation, then that student is highly unlikely to have any intellectual interest in history/english/government required classes. We really need to somehow remove the stigma from vocational schools (how many "ITT Tech" jibes have you heard?) - because right now, we're steadily transforming our universities into glorified VoTechs.
Yeah apparently everyone graduating from highschool is a genius waiting to happen...collage are fer loosers brah!
I can agree with that. Personally, I just think it's about cost. For example, a poor kid can go to Hravard for free now if he can just get accepted. I think the benefit/loss is cost related. If the cost is the same I think the private school is better.
I agree! We are about to face a severe shortage of electricians, plumbers and other similar workers. It's too bad as they are steady and pay rather well. I meet too many people who struggle to get college degrees in fields that they don't even like because they believe it is the only way to make a decent living. But the truth is that there is a lot more prestige in a college degree and parents are proud of their kids going to college. So we try to pack everyone into that model even if they would thrive in another field. Perhaps four year universities should offer less expensive "BA" degrees in hydro engineering that work in the apprenticeship so that students can pursue a plumbing career under the umbrella of having gotten socially required college degree.
Determining whether going to college is "worth it" is a pretty easy exercise. Pick up some stats on what people make with a degree and without. Calculate the marginal benefit per year and the project costs and do an NPV analysis, discounting future cash flows for inflation and the interest on the loans you've taken to attend. You can also do this to compare Ivy League education to state school education. Without doing the math, I'm guessing college can get considerably more expensive before the NPV is negative. Something people haven't talked about much (besides my wife, which I'm sure is no accident) is class. I think networking is overblown. If you're bad at networking, college won't help; if you're good at it, college may marginally contribute. Instead, I think college has two strong class-identification effects. One, people use school affiliation to help form a shortcut opinion of a person. If someone says he went to Harvard, he'll be given more credit for being smart and/or powerful than if he says he went to University of Iowa. This works professionally and socially. People will subconsciously raise the well-educated to a higher social class and find that person more attractive to employ, do business with, befriend, marry, etc. Two, I think the well-educated do the same with themselves. As they find entrance into the higher esteems of their peers, and gain acceptance by those they would have considered their betters, they raise their expectations of what they can accomplish and what they will accept. And, by aiming higher, they will accomplish more than they would otherwise. Whoah, so that's what you did with your morning?
Exaggerate much? I worked and paid my way through college for 8 years and graduated with no debt. I'm just saying that there are reasons people do not graduate in 4 years. Of course, I went to UofH so I could actually afford to pay my own way (with the help of some grants and scholarships). My degree, even though it was an arts degree, has definitely helped me make a living. The article is really out there, and everyone is enjoying completely trashing it, but it did make one valid point. Big name, expensive universities are not for everyone. The other benefits notwithstanding (social, class, well-rounded education, etc), not everyone is meant to be a lawyer, engineer, CEO... so, lower cost schools and vocational schools are still very important. There is a middle ground between massive debt from an Ivy League education and nothing. I'll admit... I am not a highly ambitious person. I knew that about myself. I was accepted into Rice, but passed because I didn't want the debt. I went to UofH and couldn't be happier.
Same here, got lucky out of High School, friends dad was running an ISP and I was the resident computer geek in high school, started working there, did helpdesk for 7 years with Comcast, SBC, Compaq, now im a sys admin, ive taken a couple classes 13 credit hours i think, and ive taken 2 IT week long classes, but have no certs and no degree and am doing better than most in my high school class that graduated college. But i think thats the thing, have 10 years experiance, who knows what will happen in 5 years when they have the degree and 10 years under them.
different strokes for different folks. Im finishing a History and Anthropology degree at a "fancy private school" and I wouldnt trade my experience for anything. Networking, academic nurturing that allowed me to be the confident person I am today, studying with the top people in their fields, learning how to interpret the world... It was SO worth it.
It is easy as hell to graduate in 4 years and extending their stay due to not meeting class requirements usually does increase cost by quite a bit. FOr any out of state school that is an extra 20k plus per year. That is great that you could pay for 8 years, but most people cannot. It is now the norm to not graduate in 4 years anymore. Myself and 1 other friend are the only people I know who plan on graduating at the end of 4 years, if not earlier.
The article didnt outline or support the theme well at all. Though it can still be asked - at what cost does it become too high a cost? They can raise the universal college cost another 15-20% and to most itd still be "so worth it" over someone's lifetime, since the person over time will generally make more in wages than what they spent on college. Should it take an additional 5 years, 10-15 years post grad to pay off all the school expenses? I'm not too trained up on the subject. What is the appropriate standard for clearing out school debt?
I've worked in the careers industry for over 10 years and written over 5,000 resumes in that timespan. And I can tell you right now that individuals who have a degree have a 70+% greater chance of getting called in for an interview and 50+% greater chance of getting hired. Even in fields that don't require a degree at the onset, like sales- if you have any ambitions of reaching the top level in that area, like VP of Sales, it is almost imperative that you have a degree. Does it make you smarter? yes and no. Does it make you a more valuable employee? yes and no. Does it make you look better in the eyes of a potential employer? Absolutely. Does it make you a more valuable candidate to them? In many instances, Yes. Take it how you want- it's just one of those things that can be beneficial, but at the least it's a necessary evil. There are many widespread ramifications about having a degree. I wish it were different, but it's not for many. "Find some way to get/complete your degree." I've used that phrase so many times now with clients in certain fields that I have it in a file ready to copy-and-paste. Sometimes we have to operate in the world the way it is, not the way we want it to be. And sometimes, we can create things as we wish and not have to "conform." But when it comes to job search, it is very, very beneficial for many candidates to have a degree.
College is definitely not a 'bad investment' if approached the right way. Continuing your education can help you a great deal later in life: however I do think there is something to be said for the fact that not all 18-year olds are adequately prepared for college right out of the gate (ie high school). When you approach college with set goals, and a plan in place - that's when it gives you the biggest payoff. Not everyone will get that right off the bat, sure, but I really think a lot of kids are thrown (or jump) right into it without the proper guidance. And then, of course, with the rising costs and general weeding out schools intentionally or unintenionally do to the freshman classes coming in, by the time you are 'ready' for it you might be in a hell of a hole.
1. Do what you love and be prepared to live a lifestyle commensurate with what the field pays; or 2. Do what you're good at whether you like it or not, and do the things you love as "active" hobbies; or 3. Do what you're good at as long as there's not too much hate involved- a little or even a medium amount of hate is OK. And maintain active participation in your favorite hobbies (I can just imagine some of the potential responses to this).
