I think that a young guy should have a craft and then turn it into a degree.
Apprentice as a pipe fitter in the mechanical and HVAC trades. Learn about control systems as you do your apprenticeship. Work on construction jobs at good money and then get a mechanical engineering degree between projects and with night classes and web classes.
You can be a highly paid craft worker, a highly paid design engineer and the right combination to own and run your own business.
We are never going to not need new and repaired heating and cooling systems.
It depends on what you want to do. If you want to qualify for a recognized profession, and become an accountant, an optometrist, a programmer, a stockbroker, a math teacher, or something along those lines, then college is necessary. Those who have a definite career in mind, and ask where they can get the necessary skills and credentials to get started, usually do OK.
The author is a bit of a hypocrite for not crediting his college education with being able to think critically and write well.
This is not to argue his point that the experience today seems to be wasted on a lot of people since, I suspect, their college “education” was not a true learning experience. The American University survey is suggestive of that.
Oh, let me just say, in all seriousness, that "I studied History and it's helped me in other fields."
But many people study soft fields and derive little benefit from it -- English Lit, PoliSci, Gender studies, communication, etc. These do not always work out for people.
We need more on-the-job training. We need more apprenticeships. We need more respect for craftsmanship.
When I was young, I thought the prestigious, well-paying jobs were in offices, behind desks. I now believe that these are most often dead-ends. I have more respect for plumbers and electricians than I do for most people who work in cubicles.
Society needs to rethink labor. The game has changed and a lot of people just don't realize that it's not the 1980s anymore.
I think it comes down to application. If the instructor just regurgitates from a book or talks about pie in the sky, then no. If the instructor provides information and then shows the student how to apply that information in the world, then yes. Drama can be extremely worthwhile if properly taught. Teaching someone to be a mechanic by regurgitating shop manuals to them would be a waste of money.
Several thoughts here:
-IMHO, college/university *can* be worth it, but it’s also oversold in high school and by TPTB in government. I remember a guy on my floor my freshman year. He was never happy there and left after one year. He now works in a skilled trade (finish carpentry), makes a nice living, and most importantly, *likes* what he does. We ought to be encouraging kids to pursue what works for *them*, instead of a cookie-cutter (and expensive) college-only agenda that might not be their thing.
-I do believe that if you go to a college/university, you ought to pursue your passion. However, you also have to be a realist. If you’re going to pursue a degree that’s not conducive to a high-paying career, especially one that requires graduate school to get anywhere (many of the social sciences, etc), then you need to think hard about the fiscal realities involved - especially at a private school. There’s no shame in attending a local commuter college for a couple of years before transferring, or even the entire four years working while you go take classes.
-The blowoff courses mentioned in the story are a bit like budget earmarks - they are often a bit silly and sometimes of questionable merit, but they generally only represent a tiny portion of the big picture. Usually, these are pet project courses for tenured professors who get to do them in addition to teaching more traditional courses. They might be a waste of resources (depending on one’s view), but nobody is majoring in them. For instance, my last semester in college, I took a film class on the B-Western movie. It was a lot of fun, actually, and I learned quite a bit about the genre. But it was also only one class in one semester of my college years. Most of the time, I was busting my hump in business courses and the like.
Depending on what one "studies" while there it may not be a waste of time, but be selective.
Depending on what one "studies" while there it may not be a waste of time, but be selective.
Well, that's a rather significant concession on this author's part.
Depends on how you do it. I’d advise any young person to start at their local community college and get an Associate’s while still living at home, if possible. Then transfer to a modestly-priced university. For an undergraduate degree, prestige isn’t really necessary in my humble opinion. If you can finish with a debt load around $20,000, it’s worth it. But to do the whole four years living in the dorm on the most expensive campus you can find is foolish, and yes, a waste.
Some careers must have the degree (law, medicine, psych, etc). Fine, but don’t spend private school money on a lesser education. Go to a public school or one that is cost effective. Spending $24k or more per year on a private school is a complete waste of money.
The University system is pretty amazing. Can you name another business model that involves requiring years from the customer’s life and maybe 100’s of thousands of his dollars and the FIRST thing you tell him is:
“You are an imperialist, a potential rapist, and we advise you to kill your parents.”
Ever hear a car-rental agency tell that to folks walking through the door? How about a steak house? WalMart?
But it’s quite common not only for Universities to do that but in the process they consider themselves highly dignified for it.
OK well lessay your customer puts up with all that for 4 years and he defaults on his debt —he can screw you by going bankrupt, right?
NOPE!
Student debt is not dischargeable via bankrupty, and many since many colleges OWN the collection agency charged with hounding you FOREVER in fact they often HOPE you default.
They are granted levels of consideration far and above those accorded to the businesses they accuse of greed and exploitation of others.
The UK has a “gap year” program, when students take the year to work in the real world or volunteer, or generally to use their time as other than a student and to mature. We might think of having something like that here. Too many go to college because it’s expected and what their friends are doing.
Mike Rowe’s efforts to promote the skilled trades, where you learn a valuable skill in six months to two years, is admirable. It is also a better option for millions of young adults over trying and failing college level work.
Then sometime in the nineties it became a substitute for independent adulthood and the waning expectation of making one's own way. Now it is baby sitting, unless you choose a course of study which will prepare marketable skills.
The fact that 30% of adults still live with mommy and daddy is a compelling statement on the decline of the culture at large. Italy, here we come.
I imagine if one majors in one of those applied science majors, like engineering, obtaining a college degree is well worth the trouble.
Money racket. Living near one of the biggest colleges in the nation “Penn State” I see that most of those going to college there are in debt for years. Lots of them have degrees but are not working in that field. We need more reality in this system. This campus is under the microscope with what has happened with its liberal agenda. Under Spanier it went deep end with its advancement of promoting the agendas that have nothing to do with education. Being that of pushing the alternative life styles and we all know what happened with the Sandusky crap. It was all done while preaching how great it was to have sexual freedoms and rights to entertain them, Like Sex Fair, C*nt fest and promoting Homosexuality. Twisting the minds of the youths while true education took a back seat.