I've interviewed at too many places to count that refuse to even look at a portfolio if it doesn't have a degree attached. Sad that a slip of paper is required when a portfolio of work and a resume should suffice but that is the age we live in.
Poll: Is higher education worth it?
- Thread starter alik44
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It's because I rushed and said 'isn't' when I meant to say 'wasn't'. I have a career until I am 50, and a pension on top of that... The only reason I will need a degree now is if I choose to come out of the military, and want a similar paid job... alsthough my proffessional training is also highly sought after, so a degree in that case would just be as a tool to make myself more competative...Dags90 said:
If I complete the courses and the military give me a degree it is just a bonus... but will not enable me to further my career at this point... professional training and my track record will do that from now on.
Isn't that kind of system terrible for taxpayers?Matthew94 said:
It's basically the same as letting someone buy a third car and buy a condo but if they can't finish paying for them and/or they lose their job so they can't make payments period then they get to keep them anyways.
As a future taxpayer don't you find this kind of system unfair for whosever money their taking in order to form these loans?
Um... I want a degree in performing arts... I have no idea whether to go to a uni after college or a specific school or what, literally no one who I have ever asked, even actors in theatre have ever given me good advice other than the same cheesy shite about "follow your dream". Yes I will but in order to do that I could do with a few fucking POINTERS!
Damn. Studying in the UK seems like a swell deal. I wish I could have gone to study abroad. It's cool, though; I was able to pay for my own tuition so I don't have any debts to worry about.Matthew94 said:
OT: So yeah, I definitely believe that it is worth pursuing a higher education.
Why? Put simply, it will put you head and shoulder above others who are applying for a job. Even if you are unable to find a career at first, you could at least get a decent salary in the meantime at another job due to having your degree.
That's the funny thing about economics...Wolverine18 said:
Anyway, the stuff they teach you in the first semester is the economic equivalent of "Bones go inside the skin" to biology.
Because a lot of it is not intuitive, much of what you learn early on is something you can act on.
OT: The value of a higher education depends heavily on the degree you get. Unfortunately, the US gov has been pushing this kind of education for everyone, and as a result, there is a serious lack of interest in vocational schooling (which can often land you a job with better pay than a uni degree).
I think it's worth it if you actually want to go and put in the time. If you're one of the thousands of students who's only reason for going is because their parents said they had to then I'd recommend taking a few years off, doing some hard manual labour work (construction, kitchen, dock work, etc.) It's good for three things, you learn that you're not made of glass and that you can get use to waking up at 5 or 6 A.M. and spend 8 to 10 hours on your feet, you get a unique sense of satisfaction that I've not felt with white collar desk jobs or customer service based retail, and most importantly you'll realize that this is what your life will probably be if you don't go to college. Higher education doesn't exalt you above manual labour work, but it means you don't have to do it till the day you get too old to do it anymore.
If/ when you decide to go to college or University I'd say do your first two years at a community college and then transfer. I mean why pay more for your math and English classes? The material is still the same. You never know, your time doing these manual labour jobs that will never become redundant may actually make you realize you like construction, and perhaps you want to become an architect, or maybe a chef, or even a mechanic. If not then at least you'll know that you're not above such labours when you get out and are in between jobs as you try to find the career job that suits your major.
If/ when you decide to go to college or University I'd say do your first two years at a community college and then transfer. I mean why pay more for your math and English classes? The material is still the same. You never know, your time doing these manual labour jobs that will never become redundant may actually make you realize you like construction, and perhaps you want to become an architect, or maybe a chef, or even a mechanic. If not then at least you'll know that you're not above such labours when you get out and are in between jobs as you try to find the career job that suits your major.
Mate, that system DOES exist in the US. After a while, you're loans are forgiven if you have not defaulted on them. So if you make regular payments for the 30 or whatever years it is, and you haven't payed them off, you're forgiven. Of course, that's a crap place to be as you'll end up paying MUCH more than 8k. You're better off just paying it off.piinyouri said:
OT: YES. It's worth it. If you get a degree in something meaningful, then you'll make the tonnes of monnes. If you do some random humanities or arts degree, you'll have less chance. But the education you gain is worth more money (if you go to a good school) than you'll ever make.
I did my BA in Political Science because I really enjoyed it, then my MS in Public Health and Epidemiology then did an MD, PHD (Differed my PhD till after my residency; I'm working on it now) in Peds Oncology and Biomedical Informatics. The only debt I got was in undergrad, and I went to a public school in-state so it wasn't all THAT expensive. No-one should EVER pay for grad school, you find funding; and if you do an MD/PHD they'll pay for both.
I will say that it is absolutely not worth it if you aren't going to use your skills in the real world, or aren't focused enough for school. If you don't like learning, then you won't like college or any other postsecondary education.
Education is ALWAYS worth it, just don't get too hung up on the idea that the only path is nothing but school. School is good, but school + practical experience, even its just life experience, is worth more.
"Law firms like that degree" is not a skill gained from taking a degree. Also, please when have I ever said that having a second degree does not earn you extra credits? I have said this in all of my posts as far as I know. Both of you keep referring to what you have said, but you don't seem to have grasped one single point from my posts.Abandon4093 said:
Now try to understand what I am asking here. Does history teach you any important skills than no other study teaches which can't be gained by studying philosophy or sociology? Does the history degree grant people jobs without being a supplement to a more important degree? A history degree might be extra credits, can you tell me one other thing than that and don't give me the bullshit about contextualizing information since that's a major component of almost any higher education.
I got my degree in forensic psychology, which is an area you absolutely need a degree in. Trouble is, right now it's extremely difficult to get a job. I get that, the world economy's in the take right now. But given that, and how much debt I managed to puck up earning that degree, I can honestly say I feel no satisfaction or reward picking that degree up.Wolverine18 said:
See, that would make sense. Where are you located? What I did was enroll in a four year school that allowed me to get my undergrad in forensic psych. The clinical stuff is the basis of an entire different branch and has literally nothing to do with the field I went into. It's pretty damn specialized, so expanding into counselling just isn't possible since I have absolutely no training in it. Forensic psychologists aren't approved by the same board as the clinicians, you see. The plan right now is to wait it out and hope something pans out.Wolverine18 said:
In the UK i would say definitely considering you repay next to nothing each month once your earning over 15k, and the majority of starting salary's for graduates (in my field at least) is 25-30k.
It is definitely that bad in the states.Spinozaad said:
I graduated almost two years ago with a B.S. in English: Rhetoric and Writing Emphasis. I still haven't found a job that I can apply what I learned, nor have I been able to get a job period because I have the black mark on my record that I haven't worked for six years since I started college.
Every job that I have looked at in my area and state(for family reasons I can't move far away) that deals with what I know and have learned, publishing companies, newspapers that are still doing okay, and the like, aren't hiring for entry level style positions. It is all manager type work that one has to have experience being a manager, and of course it has the typical line these days, must have 3 to 5 years of work experience.
Let me tell you what I think about that line. I think it is a load of bull-crap. Because I have found a few places that were hired for entry level style position, very simple starting work, and even those jobs had the tag line near the bottom, people that don't have 3 to 5 years of experience in this type of job need not apply.
Seriously, employers in the US truly don't care about education unless it is the last part of the hiring process and they are trying to decide who to hire out of equally work experienced people.
Somebody here also mentioned vocational type degrees are better. That really isn't entirely true. A friend of mine has an engineering degree, but has only been able to find one job, working at a factory tending to and repairing the machinery. He ended up getting laid off anyway because the factory couldn't procure a deal with another company that supplied them with the items needed to keep making the product being made. Every other place he has applied has told him that he doesn't have enough experience. He has mentioned to employers that he easily knows how to do things and they wouldn't have to train him because of his education, and several of the employers he said that to told him that his college education doesn't count as experience so his education doesn't matter.
So, he's actually been able to find a job working as a cashier at a grocery store for eight something an hour, which of course doesn't compare to his fourteen dollars an hour he made at that one factory. Though the thing is, he didn't get his job at the grocery store because of his past experience from working retail at other stores. He got it because a friend he knew that was leaving that job for another, recommended him to the boss, and that is what got him the job.
Really, the only way to get work these days in my area and state, is if you have already worked in your field for 3 to 5 years, have a friend that can recommend you, or you get incredibly lucky when an employer is so desperate to hire people that they throw all their stupid preconceived notions about hiring out the window.
Really, I say only go for higher education if you know you somehow have a job lined up, or that you already are working somewhere that is stable while you go to college. Otherwise wait and get miraculously hired by a retail store and save up money so you can pay your own way, and then go to college, while somehow keeping your job and wade through all the bull-crap to get the job you want.
So don't believe the crap that college representatives tell you, don't believe them when they say they've talked to employers in your area and those employers say that they want well rounded educated people in all fields. If you do, you will end up graduating and finding out that around 98% of employers don't give two shits about higher education. It is all a vicious circle, if don't have experience you can't get hired and you can't get experience because you can't get hired because you don't have experience.
In England going to university pretty much just amounts to moving away from your parents, going out on the swill every night, attending just enough lessons to make sure you get a decent pass and then getting a better job than your mates when it's all over. Worth it.