Hello people, I figured I'd make a thread where you can discuss and share your thoughts about college/university/higher education. If you like or dislike college, that's totally fine. Anyways, post away =D
I think people are kind of stupid to go straight into a uni course after school, with no financial security or experience in that field at all. to me, it maks more sense to get a job ( maybe an apprenticeship or something) for a few years, then once you have some money, maybe are on the way to paying of a mortgage, etc, then you do a uni course. after having worked in the more basic field, you will also have some extra experience, and you will also know if you legitimately enjoy it.
Agreed. By the way, if your job pays well, you enjoy it, and you don't want to do school anymore. I don't think people should have to bother with college at all.
College/ Uni is not the same as decades ago. Lots of made up degrees won't land you any jobs. That said for certain subjects it can be mandatory. But more options are coming out slowly that soon enough all that matters is experience, not a degree.
By the way @CaptainZoll, I read an article called "Stop saying college isn't for everyone" by America Magazine and it sucked big time. I'm not sure 100% on to link other articles on this thread yet, so if you could give me a proper tutorial on how to do that. I would be more then happy =)
you should just be able to copy and paste the web page's URL into your post. I looked up the article you mentioned, and my main problem with it s this, for example, doesn't necessarily mean that jobs are becoming more complex. all it means is that mcdonald's employers are raising the standard for their minimum-wage employees, because there are so many people who've gone to uni and got, say, a law degree, and haven't been able to get a job, but the managers see a mass of intelligent, well educated people who are willing to do anything for minimum wage, and so they go after that group. in the next paragraph, they say: but provide no evidence of this, simply using the "more education for the same wage" point to presume this. he then mentions the stuff about "globalisation and automation" wow, an actually valid point. but even then, if the standard is that everyone will need a uni level education to survive in society at all, shouldn't we just move this now essential information to high school curriculum, and leave uni for the serious, career-specific studies?
Hey @CaptainZoll, I have 3 questions for you. 1. Did you go to college yourself? 2. Do you have any more thoughts/information to share about college stuff? 3. What do you think of the post I quoted below?
By the way @CaptainZoll, you're awesome. If you feel like talking more about college. I would love to hear your thoughts.
In The Netherlands it is very common to go straight to uni after school. I think Americans have a different view on this, since going to uni there is in general a lot more expensive compared to Europe. If going to uni requires you to make a very serious financial decision, yes, maybe it would be a good choice to first get a job or apprenticeship to see what your interests and skills are to prevent making a wrong decision (which could end up in switching or even withdrawing from uni completely, leaving you with huge debts).
>be me (not really) >finish higschool >go take out a college loan >drop out of college because of extraneous issues i cannot control >be in 50k debt >no college degree >can't pay off debt welcome to the fucking jungle
I totally agree with that statement. Well, I've heard that university is more mandatory in Europe, but maybe I'm wrong. Anyways, college is great if you want to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc. However, it's not for everyone. Nobody should ever be forced to go to college, especially if their passion doesn't even require college. This is exactly why college should not be 100% mandatory for a good job, at least in the US. College is free in Europe from what I've heard.
Only true for a few countries, in The Netherlands the tuition fee is ~ €2000 for public universities (pretty much all the prestigious universities here are public).
No. Not everybody has the skills or dedication to study 30+ hours a week for years straight. There are plenty of 'lower' (or less theoretic/more practically oriented if you will) degrees you can get which will lead you to very decent jobs. Going to college or university is a good investment for the future though, so if you know you can manage it, just go for it.
College is good for doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. That said, there people that either dropped out or never even went to college that can make good money such as electricians, musicians, etc. I live in America and college is very expensive here. I'm a teenager and I need to figure out stuff in life. If I have to, I will go to college, but I would really like to avoid it because of the price and because the passion I have for job/money maker probably doesn't require university. I might go to college someday if I feel like it, but we will have to see. I just need to figure out stuff in my life.
Orientation my freshmen year included a lecture about how a lot of people with college degrees in the US end up with a job where they don't even need a college degree at all. Good times...
I suppose you can say that. I'm almost done with my undergraduate studies; I'm really enjoying my two minors and looking foward to getting a job in the field.