STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

bex · Chanel

RE: Is college a load of crap? - a spinoff rant

kenzie · Chanel

Wow. When I started reading this thread, I didn't realize that it was a year and a half old. Until I found my post. What a difference a year and a half makes.

I absolutely do not think that college is crap. I do think that equating a college degree with more money is complete and total crap. That's not reality. One of my ex boyfriends worked as a union electrician and made almost six figures. Of course, his working conditions were hideous and the hours were awful. Generally speaking, labor intensive jobs like construction pay decently well. Most likely to make up for the working conditions.

Now that I have a job in my field, I can no longer say that my degree is useless. I never would have gotten this job without my degree. And many of my classes have actually helped me with this job, although, my internship experience is really what I draw on the most, if necessary.

I am also one of those people who would continue going to school forever if they could. I just love to learn and there are so many things to learn about. Right now I'm exploring possibilities of pre-grad school work (either for an MFA or an MBA). I'd like to get both, but I need to decide which route to take first. And after that, I'd like to get a PhD in creative writing. My reasons for wanting more education are not so that I'll make more money. It's for personal growth, knowledge and enrichment. And that's really what the whole idea behind college is; it's a shame that the whole college equals more money myth has infiltrated so many young minds and created false hopes.

jacL · Coach

Everyone has already said so much, so I only have a few comments. My BF's degree did him nothing (BA in Political Science) except teach him how to sweet-talk and bullsh!t (which he is very good at, in the business sense) and he did absolutely no work for it and still did okay at a very good state university...in his defense, his original career plans to be an Air Force pilot were squashed due to a health problem. The job he is in now does not require his degree, though it is one of those jobs that generally only hires someone with a college degree--any college degree.

I have a BS, but could have gone to tech school to get an Associates instead and still have the same job...but the four-year degree allows me to make more money right off the bat and allows room for advancement.

My brother is a railroad engineer. He gets paid over twice what I do because he is outside all day working on trains.

My stepdad is a Mechanical Engineer with two master's degrees and only two credits from a PhD, but says if he could do it all over again, he would be an electrician.

I think it really depends on what you want to do. High school students need more input into what they can do after high school. Some should start gaining that valuable work experience, while others should go to tech school, and others should go to college. I think, too often, kids have no idea what they want to be/do because high schools don't really talk about it much. I remember my high school had a careers class where they explored the different options but this was a class geared toward the students who got bad grades--IMO, this should have been a required class for all students! So the kids who can, just go to college and figure they will find something to do there. Not always true.

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

haha - I didn't realize a bunch of people would post again. (And I forgot that it wouldn't be obvious it was old, too, sorry about that). This is really interesting though, and I hadn't seen it the first time...

Maddie · Coach

kenzie wrote:

Wow. When I started reading this thread, I didn't realize that it was a year and a half old. Until I found my post. What a difference a year and a half makes.

Haha, I was just thinking the same thing. That was back when I thought I wanted to be a biologist!

Other than that, I stand by what I said in my first post and have even more thoughts. As I'm now a Political Science/Religion major, college has OBVIOUSLY helped me fine tune my interests. If I had waited until I knew what I wanted to do it could've taken me a lot longer to figure it out or I could've gone through the same process, but a few years down the road. Overall my college experience has been invaluable in a way that life experiences like travel couldn't even compare to.

travelgirl · Kate Spade

For me, my main complaint about college is that the price you pay for the experience is ridiculous these days. I graduated from college 10 years ago and I am STILL paying back loans. In fact, my husband and I pay over $400 a month for school loans and have been for the past 10 years. The school we went to was a private, liberal arts collgege and although we loved it, I can honestly say it wasn't worth the price. And on top of that, the price we paid THEN was a fraction of what the price is to attend today.

I think many colleges do NOT prepare people for real-world careers. For example, I took NO computer skills classes in college. This is something that really would have helped me. I went through all 4 years without there being any requirement for any kind of computer training (and I didn't elect to take any because there weren't many even offerred).

I wish there were more affordable options for people who come from middle-class families who don't qualify for financial aid (like my husband and I). I mean, just the books and parking added up to thousands of dollars per year. It kills me to think of the debt that is being built due to college costs. I can't imagine getting out of school and having to look at paying back $150,000 to cover the cost of a Bachelor's Degree.

My husband and I have one more year until our loans are paid off. At that point, we will be just 6 years away from our oldest son starting college so basically, our plan is just to keep socking that money away until he starts and try to help me out. I would never discourage my son from attending college, but I will discourage him from going into severe debt at such a young age.

Maddie · Coach

I totally agree about the cost of college. It's ridiculous that some people are essentially unable to have the same opportunities. However, as expensive as my college is ($42,000 a year) the sticker price is not even the full cost of educating a student there. I think it's about $8,000 more which is paid for through the endowment.

ILoveChoo · Hermes

Maddie wrote:

I totally agree about the cost of college. It's ridiculous that some people are essentially unable to have the same opportunities. However, as expensive as my college is ($42,000 a year) the sticker price is not even the full cost of educating a student there. I think it's about $8,000 more which is paid for through the endowment.

this is true. And it sucks. I work in a fundraising office for a University and tuition only covers about half (I really should know this- I want to say it's 47%) of our operating costs every year (and we have one of the highest tuitions in the country!) It's insane!

ico · Dooney & Bourke

DC Shopper wrote:

I feel you, halleybird. I am going to have a master's and I'm prob. going to start out at 40,000/yr if I'm lucky!

gotta laugh here.

I have a master. And a PhD.

and you know how much I make - I am really ashamed to admit this

33000$ a year, before taxes and working like a dog. I mean, is 8 pm here, and I am at work since this moirning at 6:30, with breaks for lunch and dinner of about 30 min.

Then you wonder, why am I so depressed right now that I am seriously considering going back to work in a bakery? At least I had bread for free!

I am really thinking the whole education thing IS a load of crap

NCshopper · Hermes

I'm obviously kinda late to this discussion, but I don't think college is a load of crap. I can see why some people think it is, especially considering the cost, but I don't think it is.

I think, more than anything, that college buys you options. Because of my college degree, I can be in the career that I'm in and I can continue to move up and continue making more money and doing more interesting things. Or I could go paint houses for a living if that's what I wanted to do. If I didn't have a college degree, I would think that my options would be somewhat more limited. And if it means having to spend the money to get a degree to get a job that keeps me interested, challenged, and rewarded, then so be it. I'll take it.

blink · Coach

n/m

-- Edited by lorelei at 14:22, 2006-06-14