English BA/MBA works for $9.25 at Goodwill and on food stamps (apply, 401k)
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Dude, I have never seen you do anything BUT crack on state schools. How about, for those of us who did go to one:
1. Do as well in high school as you can.
2. Go to the best college you can both get into and afford.
3. Find a major you are enthusiastic about, has reasonable job prospects, and study hard.
4. Do fun extracurriculars that help your resume, and internships if at all possible.
5. TRY to help your professors out. Don't get upset if it doesn't happen.
6. Network.
Ivy League is great. Good for you that you went. But it really, really warped your idea of what college, for that majority of us, is about. You come across pretty snotty every time you try to spout 'wisdom' that involves state schools.
'Study under the best professors?' How about study under the professor that has a spot left in his class that you need to graduate without slipping another year that you can't afford? That's the reality that most of us that went to state schools, even good ones, lived.
'Research, publishings'? Ha, you TRULY have no idea of what state schools, even good state schools are about. Absolutely none.
A reasonably solid state school isn't what your ideal of a college is about. However, you can certainly do fine out of one, and you're not doomed to join the plebeian class because that's where you went.
Amen!
I currently attend a state school. It wasn't my top choice, but it is still very well-known and has a great Nursing program. I am a junior (but technically year 5 due to extenuating circumstances). However, I don't have any student loans and already have enough money to pay out of pocket for next semester and a study abroad trip from my two part-time jobs and staying at home.
I applied to George Washington and was accepted. I was shocked to discover that tuition alone was 50k/yr. I'm so glad I was financially sound and had parents who steered me toward the state school, else I would have been in a world a hurt.
When I started my college experience, I wanted to pursue journalism and learn some foreign languages. But then, I looked at the job prospects, and journalism (along with English) does not offer decent salaries.
It really is up to the student to excel. I think work experience and choice in major are more important than where you went to school. The student makes the degree useful, not the other way around.
That being said, I can't feel sorry for this woman. She clearly didn't put much thought into her choice of major, let alone her future.
I applied to George Washington and was accepted. I was shocked to discover that tuition alone was 50k/yr. I'm so glad I was financially sound and had parents who steered me toward the state school, else I would have been in a world a hurt.
It is not suppose to be exciting, it is suppose to teach skills.
Top MBAs certainly teach something.
Bottom of the barrel MBAs are just a waste of time and money.
I guess they're ok if your employer pays for them.
There are amazingly bad degrees and programs out there.
I remember looking around a bachelor of finance program's website once and noticing that
they stretched into 3 courses the material that my school taught in 1 finance course.
And my school wasn't that hot.
I don't think recruiting is that big of a deal. I know a lot of people that I graduated with (with STEM majors) who got jobs with Microsoft, GM, and other big name companies without having been recruited at campus recruiting events.
Recruiting is not that big a deal? Really?
Giving a few examples is not a good argument. I made a general statement based on law of averages. If one attends Columbia or Princeton, there are far better chances of being placed in top tier corporations. Does not mean non-top-tier or community school students cannot get jobs at top tier corporation, it just becomes a lot harder for them to get in. I went to an average State school and have been working at Fortune 50 companies for last 10 years. But had I gone to a top-tier school, I would have been where I am today, at least 5-7 years ago.
The only thing I would however add is that every student must do internships, paid or unpaid, every year. It is a MUST if you dream of the possibility of having a job on graduation.
I found a decent job within a couple of months of graduating and I had no internships.
If we post an article about an MBA holder who makes a lot of money, does that negate your article?
Right?
OP, I understand your frustration as a Millennial. But I know plenty of MBAs and English majors who are doing alright. You just have to figure out how to market yourself better and that may involve learning new skills an working your way up from a less than stellar admin job. It's completely possible though.
I'm not going to slam MBA's but I'd say that there's been so many programs established since the mid 1980's that you have to really say where you got the MBA from. It doesn't have to be HBS but if it turns out to be one of those places that advertises on talk shows of "nine months part time, no gmat required etc" then there's a problem.
As for the "best college you can get into" well frankly what *really* matters is who you had for a professor.
Professors usually are not chained to a individual institution anymore. Yes there is tenure but I've had professors in public universities that teach at MIT and private schools. As long as they aren't doing the minimum then the terms are ok with tenure. It's not that hard for an employer to ask for a transcript to find out what professors someone had. In my state the textbooks are even released so you can get a greater sense of everything. Just because someone went to school xyz does not mean they really had the toughest professors or the brighest. Sabatticals do happen and there are summer/winter classes. I also say this because of some of the misconceptions that can happen by looking at just the degree in itself. MIT when mentioned might picture Noam Chomasky and the large amounts of political books that are critical of US policy. When in fact he has never taught political science at MIT. His experitise is languages (linquistics).
"If one attends Columbia or Princeton, there are far better chances of being placed in top tier corporations"
Perhaps but post 2008 I don't think anyone can realistically advocate for top tier corporations. Like it not but after the bailouts business isn't nearly as attractive as what it once was. I've seen more volume going to the public sector and non profits in the past five years.
I wouldn't exactly put down the women in the article because who is to say that the article itself might create interest in hiring her? Companies are hiring like moneyball hired ballplayers. We are in an era where budgets matter more than ever so if they can get someone in cheaper than they will. Why bother hiring a MBA that wants 100k if you can get someone to do the same work at 50k? If you think that lower wages aren't a factor go talk to factory workers out of plants that have closed in the past 20 years.
Recruiting is not that big a deal? Really?
...But had I gone to a top-tier school, I would have been where I am today, at least 5-7 years ago.
That's it. To a certain extent you can work your way up even if you come from a non-elite school but it's soo much easier when you graduate from the right places. There are so fewer hoops to jump through.
It is not suppose to be exciting, it is suppose to teach skills.
I realize that, but what's the point in pursing something that doesn't interest you? That was the point being made.
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