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College degree = worthless (1 Viewer)

Robert_Z

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Your entire post was pretty accurate.

Long story short, comm was not my 1st choice. But my GPA was not strong enough to get me into one of the competitive medical fields I was striving for, so comm was plan b. It was either comm or finance, and apparently I made the wrong decision.

As I said in earlier posts, I grew up pretty poor. So talk of salaries was not very meaningful to me as an 18-21 year old. A salary of $30,000 may as well have been $1 million. Both were more than I could comprehend.

When I graduated, my first meaningful job paid $2k a month, and I thought I had it made. That was more money than I had ever seen.

Now that I am older, I see things more clearly. If my 18-year-old self could make decisions based on my 30-something mind, I would be in a much better place right now...but wouldn't we all?

There are so many other things I want to do...I better get to it. First things first, though, time to go drink.
 

Citizen87645

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For what it's worth I do see a shift in how opportunities are presented to high school students today. Trade schools and community colleges are presented as equally viable options to universities. At least that's my impression working with a school-to-work/career coordinator.

After college I worked with a guy straight out of high school who seemed really insecure about the fact he was not in college. I found it highly annoying at the time, mainly because he was making assumptions about me - like I really cared whether he went to school. But in hindsight I see it as a result of 1) his general immaturity and 2) the pressure he probably got from family and teachers on the subject.

As my nephew looks to graduate from high school next year, my main hope for him is that he pursues something he enjoys - if that means a trade school over a university then that's just dandy. When I was growing up a college education was presented as the most important thing and fortunately it suited me. And even though I got a lot out of my college experience I admit I had some mixed feelings about it and suppose still do.
 

Claudia P

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My sister did not complete high school let alone attend university, yet earns $140 per hour as an IT recruiter in a city of approximately one million people. In her case she networked with people inside and outside the organisations she worked for (on low salary) until she 'spotted' someone prepared to take a punt on her. The rest is history.

Robert, what are you doing to improve your situation? Why not move to another city where there is more opportunity for growth in your field (and/or where the remuneration is higher)? You talk of wasted years going back to school (I'm assuming you will be doing extramural or long-distance study, or night classes) but what will you be doing instead of studying? How do you plan to spend the next three years of your leisure hours?

I would encourage you to think of the bigger picture. Like Bruce said, you have at least 20 -30 years of productive work life ahead of you. Are you going to passively accept what you believe is your 'lot' at the tender age of '30-something? It's time to start believing and striving for something better. Ditch that bitterness & resentment you feel toward your ex and her 'success' - that's not helping you now, nor will it help in the future!

I agree that education does not stop when we leave school . We should all be continually upskilling to enable us to grow in our jobs, make ourselves more valuable to our employers and to attain a measure of personal growth & satisfaction.

I know of a woman in Hawaii who at age 60 and already retired decided to start a new degree. Her friends were 'dream stealers' - they tried to dissuade her. They said that by the time she completed her five year study program she would be 65 and what was the point. The woman replied "In five years time I will be 65 anyway".

Life is a journey. I, for one, want to learn as much as I can along the way.
 

MarkHastings

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I knew a hooker that made $200 an hour.

I'll never make that kind of money, even with a degree - so what does that say? ;)
 

drobbins

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Robert, TIGHTEN UP!! ;)

When I was 30:
  • I had just got my Journey-man's certificate.
  • My second child was 2 weeks old.
  • My company closed.
  • My wife was not working either.
  • I had a house payment and a car payment.
You are in far better shape than I was. After I received my certificate, I was never a machinist again, but it did open doors & helped my get a related job in automation. Degrees & Technical certificates look good on resumes and can open doors for you. Once the door is open, it is up to you to take advantage of the opportunity.
 

BrianW

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Robert, I know that, at 30 years old, three years sounds like a long time to devote to something. Trust me, it isn't, especially when compared to the rest of your life. Would you rather "lose" the next three years of your life getting a technical degree/certification/whatever to improve your employability, or would you rather spend the rest of your life exactly where you are right now? It sounds like a very easy choice to me.

You need a change. You seem to think that your choice was "Now or Never" some years ago, and you didn't make the right choice. But the choice is really "Sooner or Later", and you can start as soon as you wish. Waiting will only increase the number of years of regret that fill your life.

Enjoy the green beer tonight, and do what you must to find comfort and solace in your present funk. But tomorrow, you need to clear your head, pick a direction, and start moving.

At this point, the only thing stopping you is you.
 

Dome Vongvises

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I'm not sure if anybody has that kind of free time. But if I was a billionaire.....I'd be a lifetime college student.
 

Andrew Pratt

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A good friend of mine with a communication's degree just decided to enter the military and be a PR rep for the Navy. He's got to go though basic and officers training but after that he'll be making significantly more then he was before and the Navy's paying him the whole time. That's a drastic change I know but the point is there may be opportunities to expand your options even if you don't completely change your line of work...just look outside the 'norm' and you might surprise yourself at what you see.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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P.S. Speaking of college having benefits that you don't see on the piece of paper, my year at RIT is still paying dividends. I do a lot of freelance GeekSquad stuff on the side in Albany, and at Emerson, I'm always troubleshooting problems with software and hardware for my teachers and fellow students. New media topics we're being exposed to I'm already intimately familiar with. Any extra skills you get can pay off.
 

Malcolm R

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This is probably the best advice I've seen in this thread. The only time it's ever "too late" for anything is when you're DEAD.

At only 30, you have most of your working life ahead of you. You have plenty of time to make one, or more, changes.

My 62-year-old uncle just went back to work in the parts department of an auto dealer, which involves extensive interaction with computers to look up all the parts. He'd never touched a computer in his life until his first day on this job, yet he's having a blast learning all about how to operate the computer. It's a major change for him, but he's doing it.

Just be sure that when you do take the leap, choose a reputable, accredited institution. There are many places that offer "easy, quick" degrees, but some of them won't hold up to any sort of close scrutiny or be transferrable to other schools should you want to pursue additional education in the future.

Remember, too, that if you decide to return to school to study a new field rather than moving on for a Masters in your current field, that many of the General Ed credits (math, science, english) you earned for your BA will likely be transferrable so you will not be starting at "square one" like a first-time freshman (I work in the Registrar's Office of a college). This will cut down on the time and expense needed to obtain a degree in a new field. With sufficient transfer credit, I'd think you could have a new Associates degree in a year, or a new Bachelor's in two years or less (depending, of course, on the chosen program, transfer credit policies at your chosen institution, and whether you can pursue your studies full-time or part-time).
 

Scott L

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Adam, so do you have a Comm degree/are a current Comm student or are you a Journalism major? Not sure if that was sarcasm or what. Didn't mean to stir you up if so. FWIW I know two other Comm grads and both are in a situation similar to Robert's here (though probably not at his level yet ;)).

And echoing Carlo's thoughts, even if I knew I'd be getting twice as much as I am now if I didn't go to college, I'd definitely still go. The friendships, the girls, all the different subjects I learned (switched majors 5x), the girls, finding out about different cultures (#2 wohoo), the girls, random road trips with people I barely knew, the girls, the girls, the girls, the girls, the girls, girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls girls.
And more stuff I'm forgetting.
 

Eric_L

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I can relate - I have a degree in journalism and a second in psychology. At the end of my junior year I discovered how much I really hated both fields. It was too late to change at that point and I had no idea what I would change to anyway - so I bit the bullet and finished. (Oddly enough I reluctantly got the scoop on the most widely read cover story the school ever had to this day - it was national news - riots of 1990).

My thoughts were to go into advertising copywriting. (Psy + journ guru). When I graduated I found out that degrees were not a ticket into the industry or success. IT would take hard work, risk taking and creativity. I got into advertising sales and hated it, but found out I liked consultative sales. I went into finance, then banking and now financial planning. All with a degree in journ and psyc. Weird - eh?

The point is - a degree is a piece of paper that says you went to college. It means nothing more than that you are able to complete a complex task, effectively find and analyze information, manage your money and time, and drink beer. Any success you enjoy later is the result of your work ethic, risk taking and creativity. College is only barely part of that formula. Just like any other endeavor it carries risks. Your results are about how well you manage those - not that you can check the 'yes' box next to college on a job application...
 

Ray Chuang

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I'm surprised more people haven't seriously considered learning to be a professional plumber, carpenter or automotive repair technician. A good plumber can make the equivalent of US$50+ per hour--and plumbers are always in demand given the near-universal installation of indoor plumbing just about everywhere. In fact, the plumbing company who worked on my house about a year ago (and did a GREAT job on reworking the plumbing under the kitchen/laundry room/bathroom area of my house) are composed of a mix of legal permanent-resident Mexicans and Filipinos that make US$55 per hour; they make money hand over fist catering to the large Hispanic community in our city. (I can tell they make good money because the repair bill was US$4,500. :eek: )
 

Chris

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That she's probably shady. Good escorts make a almost double that or more per hour.

(of course, I wouldn't know for sure, just saying, there are sites that do keep track of this..)
 

DaveF

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This thread is certainly interesting: first because the original poster's real issue is not college degrees, but jealousy over his Ex's success and generally life being unfair.

But for college: I've got the doctorate, can't imagine having not gone to college, etc.

I agree fully with Andrew, yet also know that his position is overly strong: College is the modern Trade school requirement. It's no longer a matter of pure love of learning, since a BA or BS is becoming basic requirements for even entry level jobs. And I've seen the professors who sniff at "professional" work, hold grad students in disdain for pursuing "corporate" work rather than a post-doc and university research, and such. But that's part of life. The business world has its own cliches, hypocrisies and disconnect from "practical" life.

What boggles me, though, are the students who major in Ancient Egyptian Basket Weaving at a private university, graduating with $60k - $100k in debt and little practical hope of getting a job that will let them pay back college expenses in the next decade.

This is a problem, I think: a real imbalance between the cost of college and the value of college for many young people.
 

Dome Vongvises

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Kinesiology? :P

Man, those guys complained the most when it came to "real" biology courses (I'm talking biology for bio/chem majors, not the ones everybody else takes).
 

Chris Lockwood

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> I could do that, but I am in my mid 30s. Way too old to make any kind of career change.

Wow, you're in your 30s and still able to post on the forum? Or does your live-in nurse type your posts? I'm just amazed that anyone so elderly is still breathing, let alone able to post on a forum.


> Growing up, all we were ever told in school is how much more money people with degrees make than people without degrees.

That's because they do, on average. How much would all the tradespeople like plumbers make without their specialized training?


> I have a Masters in Library Science degree.

I always wondered why it took a masters degree to do that- it really takes more than 4 years to cover it?



> Again, why this obsession with salary being the justification for getting a degree?

Uh, why else would someone spend thousands of dollars and all that time getting a degree, if it wasn't going to lead to better opportunity or higher pay?


> A silly question, I suppose, but did anybody here take a degree because they actually had a love of learning?

Now you are out of touch with reality. College is not about learning. It is about passing a lot of classes (many of which are irrelevant to what you're supposedly learning) so you can get a degree and get out of there. It is also about partying, avoiding entering the real world, and politics, for some people.

For learning, there are books and other things. Sitting in a classroom never taught me much other than what boredom is & how finite time is.

I have a computer science degree, but my programming skills were not learned in a classroom, but in the lab doing the work. Most of the instructors barely spoke English, so how could I learn much from them?
 

Carl Miller

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So let me get this straight....You have an employer which has recognized your 4 years of good work enough to offer you a promotional opportunity. And, they want you to further your education as a condition of retaining that promotion?

The bastards!

Clearly, the thing to do in your case is to run...run like the wind away from these devils because they have no idea that you do a good job and no interest whatsoever in your future as an employee of their company.
 

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