Posted on 02/24/2005 9:12:40 AM PST by Willie Green
A waitress at one of my favorite Strip District restaurants last week used one of the industry's oldest cliches. She delivered a meal and reminded me that she "really didn't do this" for a living.
Waiting tables, she explained, was simply something she was doing until a well-paying job opened up in the field she studied during six years in college.
While this is rote conversation for wait staff in places like New York and Los Angeles, where everyone with a tray of linguini in their hands is waiting for a slot on NBC's "Fear Factor," it's unusual for Pittsburgh.
Or is it?
The waitress, it turns out, spent all that time and nearly $150,000 of her family's money studying social sciences, but after graduating she became disappointed with the entry-level salary of her chosen field.
"I can make, like, twice what I'd make as a social worker waiting tables," she confided, "so I'm probably going to just stay here."
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
You must have been really good at pinball, to be on your original quarter the whole way through.
Network marketing?
A pox on you!!!
Lower than lawyers....
I was just giving examples of the schools this program applies to.
As for my kid, he's living at home and commuting to class (about 35 minute commute).
We've already been through the "indoctrination" courses, LOL. The Humanities, Ethics, etc. It was nice having him home while going to those classes because we could discuss what was being taught in class.
His Am Govt teacher was a staunch Republican, that was a rare find.
From here on in, course wise, it's math, science and technology, so I'm not too worried about liberal agendas in those classes.
I like it.
Good one!
You are not far from the truth though. Whadaya do when the break is over, it's time for class, and you have 8 games up on the machine from your original quarter? You can't just throw them away.
Answer: You skip class - day after day after day. Pretty pathetic. And yes, I was paying out of my own pocket.
Your advice about the military is good for younger folks, I had way too much revulsion towards the military back when I was in high school to have considered it. It's one of my regrets in life that I listened to a bunch of McGovernites who just simply hated this country and everything it stood for, rather than look out after my own future, and my country's freedom.
Don't forget Bill Gates.
Heh, it does depend heavily on what a person's major was.
Any sort of biology, chemistry, physics or engineering degree can land a job, and a masters or a Ph.D. means more responsibility and pay.
Now, history, social science, english, and etc are SOL unless they are very skilled and can get a job in academia.
That couldn't have been very expensive. If you were so good at pinball, it would only cost a couple bucks a day.
Nah, those diplomas might as well be a target,
and the bullseye reads "outsource me" in bold, capital letters.
"If she'd spent her time studying real science instead of 'social science,' she could have had a good job."
Oh, I don't know. Economics is a "social science," yet one can get a decent enough job in the financial sector with an econ degree.
Only if you do a relatively whimpy job like coding computer programs, or some other routine, repetitive "chore"-type job.
We can never have enough of the heavy duty degrees, for example, physics Ph.Ds. Unemployment of physics Ph.Ds is usually below 2%, according to the American Physical Society.
If someone has the mettle to earn a Ph.D. in a hard science, then they'll be able to get a job, by Jimny!
Pacino in that movie was a piker compared to some of the NYC big law firm partners I've known and worked for. Even satan couldn't have held a candle to the evil of some of those guys.
A lot of that is subsidized by academia's voracious appetite for junk science.
Almost all BA undergrads are useless by themselves. I got my BA in Poli Sci but I knew I was going to go to grad school after college. I lived with five guys in college- three of us went to law school, one went to med school, one went to Business School. Only one guy ended up working in his BA field (Journalism).
$150,000? maybe if paying list price. By studying hard and acing entrance/standards exams (SAT, GMAT, etc.), being flexible about choosing schools, playing off personal advantages (gender, race, origin, disabilities, etc.), bargaining with schools, etc. one can bring the price way down.
A co-worker got 25% off his MBA school by being willing to fill in a last-minute entry-class vacancy. Someone dropped out of the program 2 days before it started, the school asked Ed if he wanted to fill the spot, and he said yes ... and recognizing that the school would rather charge less than have a vacancy (like airline seats), he demanded a 25% discount - and got it.
A friend has MS and wants to attend law school. Being unable to afford it, he studied like crazy, practically aced the entrance exams, applied to 30+ top schools, and made it clear he is disabled. Seeking "diversity", some schools will likely accept him at next to no cost.
My wife wants her MBA. Studying like crazy, she nailed a 4.0 in her last undergrad year, and scored moderately high on the GMAT. Being a foriegn national, female, high-scoring, requesting an assistantship, and applying to a big-name well-endowed school which finds itself lacking in students with the first two factors, there's a good chance tuition will be $50. Another school offered 75% off.
Most of my MSCE was paid by employers with a tuition reimbursment program. During a period of unemployment, NY state offered to pay my way (in a fit of ethics, I declined).
Yes, the list price for university degrees is high. Paying it makes entrance easy. Doing some work ahead of time, plus being flexible, can drop that price substantially. Work hard, play your strengths, get creative. Don't pay list price.
The modern equivelent of apprenticeship is an internship, most people in the applied science and technology department get them over the summer, and then are offered jobs upon graduation.
Glad you're on our side.
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