Is college really necessary in this age?

Unlike Danny Quayle whose daddy was a millionaire and who had connections, such a class standing is of no value to people like me.


But if anyone wishes to be adventuresome, let them go ahead, spend years getting a college diploma, then spend their life savings on getting a law degree, and let them see just how good the market is for people like them. The schools will appreciate all the money you pay and the banks will love charging interest in the loans you take. But the outcome of all that effort may not be as rosy as you may want to believe.

 

Depends on your employer and your discipline. I've found that, for STEM, most people don't care about the specific of your degree, as long as you have one, even in the Liberal Arts. Practical knowledge, regardless of formal education, is becoming the standard.

 

I assume that some business-oriented studies are quite boring but it's worth paying tuition fees to explore subjects that you're actually interested in, such as human genetics in my case. You could also choose a state college in your area to save money, rather than out-of state colleges. The national average for out-of-state students attending a public four-year college is $22,958, which is out of reach for average working-class families.

 

Interestingly, we had a similar discussion on a liberal website and a lady wrote in as part of our discussion. She succumbed to the all media reports which said that women were especially needed to get STEM degrees and that it would open up doors for them. She got her degree but the only jobs she found thereafter only required a high school diploma so that all her efforts to get that education were wasted.

 

I did. My college degree paid for itself more than 10 times over.

 

It depends. There's a lot of people who are unable to make it even with a college.
Then there are some people who are able to make a decent or good living without college.

I think it really depends on the individual and their particular situation. I would say that for about half the number of people in society, college does not make sense. Because for the most part, college is just a credential to show employers that you are more capable than others who do not have a degree.

 

I'm glad for your sake.

As for me, it was the biggest mistake of my life. Never got back a cent of all the money I wasted in it. When kids in the ghetto see me every day it causes them to drop out of school - I have actually heard and seen kids say so.

 

I am basically the opposite of you.

 

so true

 

Highly-skilled "service" work, like being a jet engine mechanic, etc., offers a lot of opportunity, and there's relatively few who can do this work or are even willing to take the time and make the effort to learn. Whether you get a Ph.D or decide to be a bicycle mechanic -- LEARN TO DO WHAT OTHER PEOPLE CANNOT DO, AND TO DO IT BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE!

Going to "college" can be a tricky thing for a number of reasons.
1. You might major in something that is worthwhile today, but obsolete or virtually worthless in less than ten years.
2. You might major in something that is worthless today and will remain worthless ever after.
3. You might be tempted to think that "an associate's degree" is essentially the same thing as a Bachelor's Degree, done in half the time. It isn't.
4. You might get a genuine Bachelor's Degree from some dinky little backwater "college" that has no ranking or reputation in your major field, but then you'll almost always be passed over in favor of someone who went to a much better and more highly-regarded university, with a better reputation in your major field -- even if their GPA ended up being measurably lower than yours at graduation!

And look, let's be totally honest. There's a very real "snob" factor involved, too. Hint: Why did a responsibly conservative, capable Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, drop out of the Republican race for president so quickly, almost like the ground collapsed beneath him? It came out that the man was uneducated! Worse, it became more and more obvious to everyone, including other Republicans, that he lacked the kind of depth and breadth in thinking, correlation of information, analysis, and reasoning that is almost always a by-product of education, even at the Bachelor's Degree level. Buh-bye, Scott... it's amazing that he accomplished as much as he did... in Wisconsin.

Now, to the money, accumulation of wealth, and actually being able to do something and be in demand in a job that won't suddenly disappear overnight and be shipped-off to some third-world pisspot by the gigantic, international corporation that people had hoped they could work for securely.

HIGHLY SKILLED, TECHNICALLY INTENSE SERVICE JOBS! They can't be boxed up and sent to India or Indonesia overnight. And if it's a job that requires hands-on work, like being a jet engine mechanic, or being ah HVAC technician, those jobs are going to stay put, right here in this country, and very likely right in the city where you find them.

So, instead of going to "The University of ______________" (fill in the blank), you may do better by going to a really good technical trade school. Learn to fix things! So, people will buy stuff that's made in China, Indonesia, India, etc. When the damn thing breaks, and if it was expensive and complicated and necessary in the first place, they're going to need somebody to fix it! Who's going to do that work? Some yo-yo who never learned to do anything but play on his "smart"phone, share Facebook reveries with his stupid little friends, and all while majoring in Basketweaving at Hooptie-Hoo University?!

Hey, if you're born rich, you don't need to think about any of this stuff. You can major in Art History, Asian History Studies, and stick around to get a Ph.D if that amuses you. But if you need to channel your education so that you can make a decent living, you need to be proportional and logical in the distribution of your time and money. And never forget -- the hard, cold business world always tends to favor the young! They're more gullible, inexperienced, trusting, and they're willing to work cheap. Get your career interests and your education (whatever that may be) locked down before you're 25 years old or you are probably going to be totally (*)(*)(*)(*)ed by the time you're 40! I'm old now, but I mostly used common sense in making life's choices, and ended up doing pretty well. Beware, and be serious. Understand that neither Obama, Hilarity, or any other socialist con-artist is going to give you what you want, and that there's only so many cushy, easy money/ easy work government jobs to go around. Understand that, knowing that incorrect assumptions and bad decisions will destroy your entire life. Good luck to you as you make yours....