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I got my degree because I had specific career goals in mind. I didn't go to college straight out of high school because I didn't know what I wanted to do at the time. It took me a few years to figure it out.
The purpose of a degree is to prove formal education relating to certain subjects. Most people need it as a stepping stone into their career.
So why would someone go to school when they don't even have a career in mind, and then try to match up jobs with their degree after they graduate? That makes about as much sense as going out and buying a tool for which you have no use for. And then wandering aimlessly around the house trying to find something to fix that requires that tool. It's just non-sense.
Don't tell me it's because they just want to get "educated" or "enlightened". It doesn't take tens of thousands of dollars and years of your life to audit courses or go to the library.
And don't tell me it's because employers are looking for just any degree. The kinds of jobs requiring an arbitrary degree are just more of the same crappy ones you already have access to without a degree.
I think going to a community college to get some gen ed classes done first isn't necessarily a bad move. You can start looking into careers. That is better than having no plan at all. I will agree with you that going to college to get enlightened or educated, and especially going and getting a worthless degree are poor ideas.
I went to college without knowing what I wanted to do, and I didn't magically figure it out during college. I I went to college without knowing what I wanted to do, and I didn't magically figure it out during college. I think college was a waste of time for me.
My younger brother is in the same boat I was in. He's halfway through college in the same major (Mathematics) and not sure what he wants to do. I've told him to drop out of college and return after he figures it out, because right now, while he's in college, he has lots of opportunities if he knows what he wants to do (internships, connections, career counseling, etc.), and those opportunities will be cut off once he graduates. My parents are of course advising him to "just finish your undergraduate degree and then you can get a job or go to grad school." Bad advice. As I know from experience, as soon as you graduate with a generalist degree like Mathematics (as opposed to a vocational-specific degree like Electrical Engineering or Nursing) and no internship experience or marketable skills, you become one of the many overeducated, underskilled, hapless young adults who has to spend time desperately looking for a job and then years of "catchup" to try and get back on track with his peers who knew what they wanted to do and started good careers at age 22.
because part of the college process is figuring out what you want to do...80%+ of all college students change their major at least once during their schooling....
The stat is actually 80% of entering college freshman are unsure of their potential major, the number that CHANGE majors is closer to 50%.....still high obviously
The stat is actually 80% of entering college freshman are unsure of their potential major, the number that CHANGE majors is closer to 50%.....still high obviously
This is just another go round of one the recurring themes on the college forum....
MOST students go to college unsure of their major, up to 80% and THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT...
The same tired refrain goes on and on, go to community college, figure out what you want to do with your life before you go to college....all sounds good, but not realistic.....
Its been stated over and over, but the majority of intelligent, high achieving, hard working high school seniors will NOT be better served by going to community college first. The students that colleges really want will get into college and likely receive quite a bit of scholarship money if needed and they will be exposed to a wide array of courses that will help them choose how they want to START their careers as many/most will end up changing careers at some point...
As for "figuring out what you want to do" I have yet to see how working in the dead end entry level jobs open to the typical high school graduate helps them figure out what they want to do. I can see how saying "Do you want fries with that?" 200 times a day would motivate someone to go to college so they might have other career options that don't include standing over a Fryolator but I don't see how one decides to become a psychologist, engineer, lawyer, social worker or whatever by working in a fast food restaurant....
80 percent of freshmen — even those who have declared a major — say they are uncertain about their major, and half will change their minds after they declare http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/ed...-hundreds.html
Research has shown that up to 80 percent of entering college students admit that they are not certain what they want to major in, even if they have declared a major. Before graduation over 50 percent of college students change their major at least once. https://www.cco.purdue.edu/student/major.shtml
I went in with a general idea of the sorts of things I was interested in doing, and found a major that applied to all of them. I never changed my major, but have changed my field several times, following various interests.
I got my degree because I had specific career goals in mind. I didn't go to college straight out of high school because I didn't know what I wanted to do at the time. It took me a few years to figure it out.
The purpose of a degree is to prove formal education relating to certain subjects. Most people need it as a stepping stone into their career.
So why would someone go to school when they don't even have a career in mind, and then try to match up jobs with their degree after they graduate? That makes about as much sense as going out and buying a tool for which you have no use for. And then wandering aimlessly around the house trying to find something to fix that requires that tool. It's just non-sense.
Don't tell me it's because they just want to get "educated" or "enlightened". It doesn't take tens of thousands of dollars and years of your life to audit courses or go to the library.
And don't tell me it's because employers are looking for just any degree. The kinds of jobs requiring an arbitrary degree are just more of the same crappy ones you already have access to without a degree.
A significant part of college is exploration. I advised my children to explore the first 2-3 semesters before they settled on a major. They each still changed their majors. Even older students can benefit greatly from exploring different majors. College is about so much more than just getting a job.
5 year, 10 years after you graduate and take that first job, whether you took 4 or 5 years to graduate isn't likely going matter much.
80 percent of freshmen — even those who have declared a major — say they are uncertain about their major, and half will change their minds after they declare http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/ed...-hundreds.html
Research has shown that up to 80 percent of entering college students admit that they are not certain what they want to major in, even if they have declared a major. Before graduation over 50 percent of college students change their major at least once. https://www.cco.purdue.edu/student/major.shtml
The first two years of college is mostly for "general ed" courses anyways. What difference does it make?
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