College - Is It Worth It??

emdeengee · #81 11/30/12, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistletoad

And which school was it? Did you graduate?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mistletoad

And which school was it? Did you graduate?

Must have been anthropology and of course the study of human sexual practices is part of that so Lesbian Techniques could have been a credit course.

Otherwise it could have been Playboy University lol!

KMA1 · #82 11/30/12, 09:07 AM

This is an interesting discussion. I am quite suprised to find so many people opposed to college education. I myself do not think a college degree or more is necessary for everything or everyone. I think it is a big mistake that so many public school systems no longer support techinical school options.

I also think expenses for college education are way out of control. Most colleges I have been on in the last 10 years seem a lot more interested in how much they can build than their students education and certainly their tuition costs. However, they are a mirror of the general population's greed. I still think all learning is profitable if the person applies it. There is more to life than money. Some fields pay more than others. Doesn't change the educational requirements for those fields. But my pragmatic side says some degrees are more for self fulfillment than self support.

I think a lot of the problem is that most families no longer focus on growing an adult. The result is that most kids going into college have absolutely no idea what they want to do for a living. They choose something that sounds interesting or different. And after 4 or 5 years of mon and dad paying the bills, they graduate and still have no idea what they are going to do. That is not the colleges' fault. It is todays parents' fault.

Not everyone with a degree will be successful due their personal traits. Again, not the colleges' fault. But in my field, without a degree you never get far, even if you do manage to get in as a tech. Doesn't matter how much you learn on your own. Even if you do learn more on your own. Most science, mathmatics and engineering jobs are just that way. I dare say most doctors are much better educated today than when 125 years ago when they bought a book or two and hung up a sign.

I also believe exposure to a broad range of ideas is beneficial for most most people. I know it was for me having grown up in a rural area on a homestead in the south. It did not change what I believed, but it did introduce me to other cultures, lifestyles and ideas. And overall, I benefited from the experience. I have worked for over 30 years in my field doing what I think is important.

emdeengee · #83 11/30/12, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KMA1

This is an interesting discussion. I am quite suprised to find so many people opposed to college education. I myself do not think a college degree or more is necessary for everything or everyone. I think it is a big mistake that so many public school systems no longer support techinical school options.

I also think expenses for college education are way out of control. Most colleges I have been on in the last 10 years seem a lot more interested in how much they can build than their students education and certainly their tuition costs. However, they are a mirror of the general population's greed. I still think all learning is profitable if the person applies it. There is more to life than money. Some fields pay more than others. Doesn't change the educational requirements for those fields. But my pragmatic side says some degrees are more for self fulfillment than self support.

I think a lot of the problem is that most families no longer focus on growing an adult. The result is that most kids going into college have absolutely no idea what they want to do for a living. They choose something that sounds interesting or different. And after 4 or 5 years of mon and dad paying the bills, they graduate and still have no idea what they are going to do. That is not the colleges' fault. It is todays parents' fault.

Not everyone with a degree will be successful due their personal traits. Again, not the colleges' fault. But in my field, without a degree you never get far, even if you do manage to get in as a tech. Doesn't matter how much you learn on your own. Even if you do learn more on your own. Most science, mathmatics and engineering jobs are just that way. I dare say most doctors are much better educated today than when 125 years ago when they bought a book or two and hung up a sign.

I also believe exposure to a broad range of ideas is beneficial for most most people. I know it was for me having grown up in a rural area on a homestead in the south. It did not change what I believed, but it did introduce me to other cultures, lifestyles and ideas. And overall, I benefited from the experience. I have worked for over 30 years in my field doing what I think is important.

One very important thing about education - and continuing education - whether it is in the same field or on a different path or through university or college or trade schools is that you really don't know what you don't know.

I agree with you that experience of the world and exposure to different ideas broadens the mind - and the soul. I am constantly surprised at the number of people who choose to live blinkered.

My family is made up of blue, white and green collar workers but one thing they all have in common is a continuing search for knowledge and information. For some this advances them in their work for others it just advances them.