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Amazing how every single reply is based on the assumption that everyone is going to get a degree.
Did any of you ever consider the possibility of not going to college at all? It seems that the brain washing of modern grade schooling is quite strong these days.
And do what? Work at McDonalds? Walmart? Without a two or four year college degree or a certificate from a trade school, community college or apprenticeship program, there are limited career opportunities now and especially going forward into the future. Automation and off-shoring have done away with most low skill manufacturing jobs.
I bet you can't name 10 well-paying careers that don't require college, trade school/vocational program, or apprenticeship.
[quote=NJBest;35055548]I think I mentioned this before. How can you have a month about something that doesn't absolutely exist? A more accurate celebration would be "inadequate degree month". Degree holders who didn't go to a top school in their field (MIT for engineering, for example) would get to celebrate.[/quote]
You should tell the engineers I know who didn't graduate from MIT how worthless their engineering degree is.
I agree. If everyone was an accountant, engineer or doctor there would way too many graduates and not enough jobs. Also not everyone is cut out to be those things. My math skills are pretty bad. Math has always been hard for me. Accounting sounds awful. Spending my whole life crunching numbers sounds so boring. I don't care how much money these professions make.
Engineering is a very hard field and an engineering degree is not obtainable by the vast majority of people out there. Basic requirements to get into any engineering program require that the applicant pass about three semester's worth of tough calculus classes. Than there are the physics classes, inorganic and organic chemistry classes, and other core classes.
Anyone who believes this is a realistic goal for an average math and science student really doesn't have a clue. Its a realistic choice for a very small percentage of students who have always performed at the top of their class in math and science.
I tested in the top 7% of applicants on Math on the ACT. I felt even so, that my math skills were not even close to what would be needed to have majored in engineering.
Frankly, I question whether all these classes are really needed by an engineer, buts its beside the point, I don't make the rules. The engineering department at the university makes the rules and they have no particular desire to "water down" their program or make it any easier. "Weed out" courses keep the number of students down that professors have to teach and this makes their job easier. I suspect the lack of graduates helps keep the job market decent for engineers as well.
The intensity of the program(s) is the major reason why the USA has a limited number of STEM graduates.
Engineering is a difficult field as well as is the degree, no question about that. But it isn't the only difficult field. A lot of people simply don't have the interest or aptitude for it. And even if they did do well in math and science many still don't want to be engineers. It doesn't take a genius to be an engineer although I have met a few that were. But OTOH, I've met very bright people in other fields as well.
To say or imply that degrees are worthless if they aren't STEM oriented is truly preposterous.
Starting out, engineers do quite well salary wise. But as time passes that advantage erodes for many if not the majority of those in engineering. A lot of people (if not most) get out of the very technical fields particularly if they wish to remain employed. And that is a fact. Lots of tales of woe on various sites re 50 year old jobless engineers.
To say or imply that degrees are worthless if they aren't STEM oriented is truly preposterous.
Yes - this ^
It's also preposterous to say or imply that those who have a degree other than STEM would have been better off not going to college and/going the trade school route.
Even a basket weaving degree is useful if someone needs a basket.
Perhaps that would be something better suited for you to do if that is how you feel.
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