Additionally, the privates colleges and Ivy league type places don’t have a monopoly on the information they impart. It’s available for free at most any decent public library. Just gotta have that sheepskin to impress prospective employers.
I have always wondered where those who majored in such esoteric areas as — Gender Studies, Gay and Lesbian Studies, Africa-American Studies evantually end up after graduation.
Is there a study that tracks the career of such graduates ?
“Market forces, in the form of declining enrollments in the face of increasingly unaffordable tuition costs, will compel colleges to undergo major changes, just as other businesses have been forced to change.”
No they won’t because colleges are not subject to market forces. They are protected by government subsidies and student loans.
It would be a sad day to see today's universities succumb to market pressures and eschew the well-rounded universal education that is their legacy in favor of a vocational approach. But since nobody seems willing to pay for well-educated generalists, that move seems inevitable.
A degree in anything can make you a lot of money...it just depends on the person who got the degree. I know of a lot of English majors that are doing quite well right now.
one thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of conservatives don’t like the idea of government schools, but they don’t have as much of a problem with government colleges. Get the government out of ALL education!
“What do you call an English major after he graduates?”
“Waiter.”
I think the future is in having a trade. No matter how much other stuff is “outsourced” or manufactured elsewhere, there is still a need for those who can install, service or repsir things, especially in the home. The problem for those of us in that kind of business today is the kind of nonsense homeowners are told by the $9 an hour “sales associates” at places like Home Depot and Lowe’s. Provide quality, service and conscientious work and don’t let people beat you down on price.
I have a Master’s and my wife is a Doctor, but its my opinion that too many jobs require and too many people get four year degrees.
A good IQ test (made illegal by the Supreme Court) would suffice for 90% of “college required” jobs.
By and large a BA/BS is simply a way to narrow the field for an employer and the knowledge gained in getting the degree is not important. Mathmatical and scientific fields obviously stand out as the exception, but I think most people with a BS are not working in the field of their degree.
Something will happen like the move away from classical education by Harvard a hundred years ago.
My gray-haired mother considered going back to school to acquire a degree in English Literature. I told her she would just be disappointed. She knows the classics better than the English faculty at her local university. Of course, she knows nothing about Marxist and feminist hermeneutics, which is probably just as well.
The most worthless ones are typically requirements like diversity classes or women’s studies.
You would be better served spending the the money for a liberal arts degree on a MacDonald's franchise..
But, but, but, but, but, but, but.... there should be more government grants and bigger loan limits for kids to get their worthless English, Art History, Black Studies, French, Communication Studies, Women’s Studies, and Political Science degrees!!!!!! waaaaaa waaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!! (/sarc)
Much of the anger directed at big oil and big drug companies originates at our colleges and universities and yet the average family spends far less on energy and health care than on education. Maybe big academia is ripping off parents of students far more than the scapegoats created by the employees of big academia.
I got my BA at one of these colleges, many years ago. Cost then was $5K a year.
Nearly everyone who went was highly successful. Pre-med was big, econ was big, and poly sci was big, and a lot of the majors went on to become doctors, lawyers, and MBAs. Those who majored in the purer subjects, like English, Classics, and History also did fairly well. Of course, a law school or an MBA program will take plenty of guys from these majors if they have high LSATs/GREs.
Put the money in the bank and tell the kid to go to work.When he retires he will be able to live quite well and the money wont be going to some screwball moonbat professor.My private little war.
In my line of work, at least until very, very recently, a bachelor's degree was worth very litter compared to actual real-world work experience. Now, my younger co-workers tend to have engineering degrees. Which is a waste, since the job, though technical in nature, does not fit the training that engineers gain in school. It's amazing how so many "smart" graduates know so little due to lack of experience in the real world.