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Worst-Paying College Degrees
Yahoo ^ | 10 May, 2010 | Charles Purdy

Posted on 05/10/2010 2:55:41 PM PDT by throwback

click here to read article


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To: RJR_fan

still one of my all time favorite tag lines.


141 posted on 05/11/2010 5:53:21 AM PDT by Mom MD (Jesus is the Light of the world!)
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To: throwback

Of course, the article is deceptive on what you do with the degree as well. My undergrad degree in biology - practically worthless. As a stepping stone to the MD degree - provides a nice living.

Sometimes it isn’t what the degree itself brings, it the other doors it opens for you. Even a bachelors in social work or communication or whatever will allow one to apply to graduate school.


142 posted on 05/11/2010 5:55:34 AM PDT by Mom MD (Jesus is the Light of the world!)
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To: TheRightGuy

I guess there are several angles to it. I’ve been in the position where I had to train a replacement, and the threats from management to train or lose severance packages, etc. was just enough to keep me in line. Strong documentation skills, on the other hand, make other departments notice when someone is potentially out the door due to departmental budget cuts, and I was snatched up by Education and Training before IT could kick me out the door.

Soft skills mean the difference between unemployment and new employment, in some cases.


143 posted on 05/11/2010 6:02:25 AM PDT by rarestia (It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)
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To: rarestia
That's a fact. I have BSCS and been doing this shtick for 20 years. It's easier to write something in a computer language than it is in English. Invariably you'll see some of the most elegant code that has absolutely no accompanying comments. They say if the code is written properly, it requires no comments. I think that reasoning is just an excuse because it's too difficult to abstract the logic into English, so no one does it. Well written documentation is the road map to figure out where we've been and how to make changes to get where we want to go. The stuff is gold.
144 posted on 05/11/2010 6:13:20 AM PDT by throwback ( The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid)
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To: rarestia
I’m sure that’s often true. I don’t know if it fits with your argument, but the best software engineers I’ve met (better than me) were always Math, Philosphy or other type majors. Actually I was a physics major and dumped into CS because I found I liked programming when I started taking it as a tool for Physics. I think many people jumped into CS for the money, and didn't really like it.
145 posted on 05/11/2010 6:21:50 AM PDT by throwback ( The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid)
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To: throwback

I couldn’t put together code to save my life; that was my biggest issue in college programming courses. If, however, you put a load of code in front of me, I could figure out what it does. My brain works well in reverse, and I’ve actually commented the hell out of some PHP, XHTML, XML, and C# in my day. All in all, the programmers look at me like some sort of usurper, but once they see I can speak their language, they accept me into the circle.

And yes, I’ve learned through several courses in my Master’s program how abstract and nonsensical the English language is and can be. Part of me enjoys it for that reason alone!


146 posted on 05/11/2010 6:22:45 AM PDT by rarestia (It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)
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To: throwback

I learn programming at a much slower rate than what they expected from me in college. After all-nighters trying to write something ridiculously simple, I gave up. Nowadays, I can program a website in PHP and edit canned-code from SourceForge without an issue. I actually enjoy debugging. It’s getting the code down on a blank slate that I struggle with. If someone gets it started for me, I can fill in the blanks.


147 posted on 05/11/2010 6:24:48 AM PDT by rarestia (It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)
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To: rarestia
Yeah, getting your arms around the big picture is difficult. It's stone age, but I still have to flowchart. I'm visual, and a flow chart lays it out in front of me so my brain can follow the paths. IBM assembler was a nightmare in school, but I still flow charted the whole thing. I had a flowchart that ran back and forth through the hallways of my townhouse. People thought I was nuts, but heck the code was close to functional on the first run because the underlying logic was sound. Unfortunately, my skill set is obsolete now, and I've run myself into a cul-de-sac.
148 posted on 05/11/2010 6:37:54 AM PDT by throwback ( The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid)
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To: throwback

I’m a visual learner as well, but I tend to get lost in my head while I’m writing something. Object Oriented Programming was my downfall, but seeing how functional it is now, esp. in PHP, makes me wonder what I didn’t understand back then. Probably too much socializing and pot!

I have a lot of respect for folks like you. You have that resolve to stick to something. I suppose I’m much the same way with writing. I can start writing a short story or an essay and wind up with 50 pages of prose. I’m sure you could do the same with coding.


149 posted on 05/11/2010 6:40:24 AM PDT by rarestia (It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)
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To: Clemenza
"Median salary for a teacher in New Jersey is 75,000, not including benefits. The pension is quite generous too."

And, there's something that Chris Christie has highlighted recently when looking to make some state budge cuts in NJ - MOST NY teachers pay NOTHING for their health care benefits as the negotiated teacher contracts stipulate that teachers NOT bear the burden of employee contributions.

Can you imagine that in the non-government world? GM's benefits to the UAW weren't even that good.

150 posted on 05/11/2010 3:31:47 PM PDT by OldDeckHand
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To: throwback

The worst paying degrees start in the mid thirties now? Wow. Have we had THAT much inflation?


151 posted on 05/11/2010 3:34:57 PM PDT by ichabod1 (Can around 25-30% moonbat base really steal the country from us and hold it?)
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To: secret garden

It’s not a PhD. It’s an Ed.D. There is apparently a real difference. Like, Doctor of Nursing, Dr of Public Health, Dr of Social Work, they’re doctorates, I guess, but you can get PhDs in most of those fields and they take more hours and more research. Kinda sucks for them.

And, while I’m wound up, PhDs get the shaft all over the place. I think they take more classes, do more research, and have a longer apprenticeship than medical doctors, but people don’t even think of them as being real doctors.


152 posted on 05/11/2010 3:40:16 PM PDT by ichabod1 (Can around 25-30% moonbat base really steal the country from us and hold it?)
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To: Wooly

Retired Shift Manager in Power Generation, as close as I ever came to stealing money. Education helps to a small degree but it was the most interesting 40 years I ever spent.


153 posted on 05/11/2010 4:01:10 PM PDT by Little Bill (Harry Browne is a poofter)
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To: Chode
Lt. from California right?

No doubt!

154 posted on 05/12/2010 3:53:26 AM PDT by Huebolt (Government bureaucracies: DE-UNIONIZE, DOWNSIZE, DECENTRALIZE)
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