Why do people bother getting worthless degrees? (bachelor, PhD, Associates degree)
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True... but not every comes out with debt, yet alone a lifetime of debt.
Exactly.
I went to a high sticker price private school (where virtually NObody plays sticker price, or remotely close to it), and came out owing less than I would have on a midrange vehicle. Well worth it.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pitt Chick
True... but not every comes out with debt, yet alone a lifetime of debt.
Exactly. No reason to go into a large amount of debt, I had some, but paid it off within a couple of years of graduating both undegrad and grad degrees. It can be done.
I'm talking about degrees like arts, music, sociology, psychology, gender studies, and general studies. If people aren't going to get engineering degrees or go to medical school, why even bother?
The bottom line is because higher education is a MASSIVE industry in the United States.
It is all about a few people profiting handsomely off of millions of people's hopes and dreams. That's how you run a well-oiled machine. Live and learn, as they say.
Of course, education is not the only industry that laughs all the way to the bank every year like this.
Not all of those degrees are useless. In fact there are some degrees with a specialized field that takes specialized education and they may either be few and far between or hard to find. Also, there are ways of finding one's way into a field that is different from what one would normally do to find a job. But many people feel pressure to go to college partially because many jobs expect it nowadays and also because their helicopter parents can't stand to let them go and get to work and admit that college isn't for everybody.
The bottom line is because higher education is a MASSIVE industry in the United States.
It is all about a few people profiting handsomely off of millions of people's hopes and dreams. That's how you run a well-oiled machine. Live and learn, as they say.
Of course, education is not the only industry that laughs all the way to the bank every year like this.
It's possible to value higher education while understanding that the system has deep flaws that need to be corrected. I think the media hype over "College graduates working at Starbucks!" is what has fueled the new conventional wisdom that all higher education is inherently bad and only designed to rip you off. The truth is that many paths to success in this country are only attainable through higher education. Of course you can be VERY successful without a college education, as many entrepeneurs are. It's also true that you can make a very good living through trades and other vocations. But writing higher education off as some scam industry is really silly and has gone entirely too far.
I'm still failing to see how a degree helped these people start their careers. It sounds like they, including yourself, could have just as easily started their careers without those degrees.
Most jobs require a degree of some kind to start out today so that degree did in fact help them start. As far as psych, sociology, arts, and general studies all these degrees can be useful, even at the Bachelor level. Some will go on to graduate studies but I know people who only have Bachelors and were required by their jobs for probation officers, counselors, managers, etc. In today's market you are still more marketable if you have some kind of degree vs. no degree at all.
Not only that but some point have no interest in engineering or whatever. I know it might be hard to believe but not everyone gets a "in demand" degree just because its in demand or pays well.
It's possible to value higher education while understanding that the system has deep flaws that need to be corrected. I think the media hype over "College graduates working at Starbucks!" is what has fueled the new conventional wisdom that all higher education is inherently bad and only designed to rip you off. The truth is that many paths to success in this country are only attainable through higher education. Of course you can be VERY successful without a college education, as many entrepeneurs are. It's also true that you can make a very good living through trades and other vocations. But writing higher education off as some scam industry is really silly and has gone entirely too far.
Seriously. My younger sister WAS one of the OMG, COLLEGE GRADUATES WORKING AT STARBUCKS!!!!
She had the misfortune of graduating right at the same time the economy took a nosedive, and many of her classmates weren't working AT ALL, because they deemed Starbucks, etc. beneath them...after all, they had degrees! She signed on as a barista to help her make her half of rent in an apartment she shared with a friend, whose college degree had her working overnights stocking shelves at Costco, a job that she'd had since she was a teen. Her thought was to continue to apply for jobs in her field while earning enough to keep her afloat. Starbucks was also unique for offering health benefits to even its part-time employees, which was a godsend for her, as a person with several congenital health issues with which to contend. She nearly immediately went from barista to store manager, and was moved around to several different stores throughout the city in a managerial position...the money wasn't awful, for a non-permanent job being used as a placeholder until openings in her field picked up again....which they did. She worked for Starbucks for, I believe, three years, and eventually, a position in her field opened up and she got it, has been there ever since. Working at Starbucks, while not what she wanted as a career track, served its purpose well, and made it possible for her to live independently during a tough time for grads to find career track employment. Had my sister NOT had her degree, she might still be slinging coffee, instead of doing the type of work she went to school to do. It's hard for people coming of age currently to understand things like "delayed gratification," but that's just how it is, sometimes.
It sucks to find meaningful work in a poor economy, no matter your background or area of expertise. But one would think that working an honest job and doing what you have to in lean times is the worst thing in the world that could befall a person. Not so. In poor economic times, you could do worse than being the dreaded "college grad working at Starbucks." And, ultimately, having a post-secondary degree gives you one more valued tool in your toolbox that people without one can't really approximate, in many cases. If you can swing it, you're more likely to be better off with a degree in the end than without one. It's not a golden ticket, as there are lots of factors in finding work. But it's a tool that's better to have than not.
Seriously. My younger sister WAS one of the OMG, COLLEGE GRADUATES WORKING AT STARBUCKS!!!!
She had the misfortune of graduating right at the same time the economy took a nosedive, and many of her classmates weren't working AT ALL, because they deemed Starbucks, etc. beneath them...after all, they had degrees! She signed on as a barista to help her make her half of rent in an apartment she shared with a friend, whose college degree had her working overnights stocking shelves at Costco, a job that she'd had since she was a teen. Her thought was to continue to apply for jobs in her field while earning enough to keep her afloat. Starbucks was also unique for offering health benefits to even its part-time employees, which was a godsend for her, as a person with several congenital health issues with which to contend. She nearly immediately went from barista to store manager, and was moved around to several different stores throughout the city in a managerial position...the money wasn't awful, for a non-permanent job being used as a placeholder until openings in her field picked up again....which they did. She worked for Starbucks for, I believe, three years, and eventually, a position in her field opened up and she got it, has been there ever since. Working at Starbucks, while not what she wanted as a career track, served its purpose well, and made it possible for her to live independently during a tough time for grads to find career track employment. Had my sister NOT had her degree, she might still be slinging coffee, instead of doing the type of work she went to school to do. It's hard for people coming of age currently to understand things like "delayed gratification," but that's just how it is, sometimes.
It sucks to find meaningful work in a poor economy, no matter your background or area of expertise. But one would think that working an honest job and doing what you have to in lean times is the worst thing in the world that could befall a person. Not so. In poor economic times, you could do worse than being the dreaded "college grad working at Starbucks." And, ultimately, having a post-secondary degree gives you one more valued tool in your toolbox that people without one can't really approximate, in many cases. If you can swing it, you're more likely to be better off with a degree in the end than without one. It's not a golden ticket, as there are lots of factors in finding work. But it's a tool that's better to have than not.
So you're saying that maybe...just maybe....the economy had something to do with all of these college grads working at Starbucks? Shocking, I know. And a much more boring story than "STUPID OVEREDUCATED MILLENIALS WORK RETAIL!!!!"
Good for your sister. A far more interesting and inspiring story about perservance than what we're typically fed these days.
I'm talking about degrees like arts, music, sociology, psychology, gender studies, and general studies. If people aren't going to get engineering degrees or go to medical school, why even bother? It just seems like a big wast of time when you'll just end up working at Starbucks anyway.
I didn't realize that all of those degrees were worthless. I guess you learn something new everyday.
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Why do people bother getting worthless degrees?
