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College develops many skills, however, the primary purpose of a degree is to be employable in a chosen profession. Taking on $60,000 in student debt to obtain a degree that very few employers want or value may result in selling coffee or jeans and being in debt forever.
My experience is there are more than just a few college graduates who are working $10 an hour, dead end jobs because their chosen major was not marketable.
College develops many skills, however, the primary purpose of a degree is to be employable in a chosen profession. Taking on $60,000 in student debt to obtain a degree that very few employers want or value may result in selling coffee or jeans and being in debt forever.
My experience is there are more than just a few college graduates who are working $10 an hour, dead end jobs because their chosen major was not marketable.
There is no such thing as an unmarketable degree.
However professional development for quite some time has long meant a candidate needs a lot more than a BA/BS. Internships, licenses, certificates, advanced degrees, portfolios of work, etc. It's up to the individual candidate to do the research into what they want to do so they can set things in motion to have a worthwhile career. Colleges have never marketed themselves as places where you get a degree and instantly you're hired upon graduation.
Of course not everyone who has a BA/BS is a good candidate and there are mediocre candidates or people who are just lazy. My issue with you is you take anecdotal evidence of people who are failures and you apply that towards everyone who has a degree just to justify the fact that you don't have a degree.
Yes I am sure there are college graduates who have gotten permanently on welfare even, and wealthy high school drop outs like Paris Hilton (who is only able to get buy because she's a wealthy heiress). But that does not change the fact that people with higher educations GENERALLY earn more and in many cases considerably more.
However professional development for quite some time has long meant a candidate needs a lot more than a BA/BS. Internships, licenses, certificates, advanced degrees, portfolios of work, etc. It's up to the individual candidate to do the research into what they want to do so they can set things in motion to have a worthwhile career. Colleges have never marketed themselves as places where you get a degree and instantly you're hired upon graduation.
Of course not everyone who has a BA/BS is a good candidate and there are mediocre candidates or people who are just lazy. My issue with you is you take anecdotal evidence of people who are failures and you apply that towards everyone who has a degree just to justify the fact that you don't have a degree.
Yes I am sure there are college graduates who have gotten permanently on welfare even, and wealthy high school drop outs like Paris Hilton (who is only able to get buy because she's a wealthy heiress). But that does not change the fact that people with higher educations GENERALLY earn more and in many cases considerably more.
You are wrong.
My post wasn't addressed to you, but the original poster, NYdude.
You are actually calling biology a useless degree?
Biology majors can become
Science teachers, professors, can go to medical school, dentristy school, veterinary school, etc.
Quite clearly there's a contingent of poorly educated and most likely poorly employed people on this forum.
The other people with liberal arts degrees can get basic office jobs. Or if they wish to continue their education and do grad school they can become academics. Or they can do law school, business, school, etc.
Many of those people at a non profit organization will have moved on, and the college grads that want to stay in the non profit sector typically go to grad school in a field relevant to what they want to stay in. The ignorance of some people on this forum astounds me.
I get some of you hate school because you could not hack it out in school, but with posts like the above you have no idea how foolish you look!
That's what I think. These people are failed students. My other suspicion is that they are paid bloggers.
Actually even this is not true. Assuming the liberal arts grad had summer internships or actually worked while he/she was a student (yes there are many students who find relevant experience in the school year while studying) find a basic office job is easy.
After one had graduated, it's still pretty easy to get the relevant internships to launch one's career in a variety of office jobs.
I had a history degree and I easily got office jobs. Didn't particularly like the fields I worked in so I eventually LEFT. I got certified as an adult ESL teacher after taking an ESL class, started teaching ESL and now I'm a grad student.
I also am from NYC which has a well developed economy. In any decent sized city liberal arts grads will be able to find a variety of jobs. When I did office jobs I worked in publishing, film, banking. It was pretty easy to get admin and other assistant type jobs. Actually had I stayed in either of those fields there were other jobs above admin available to me. But I like academia.
You may not realize it but you are floundering. You bounced among a few jobs looking for something you liked and now you are back in school to see if you can find another career path. That is fine. You may think you are an expert in school but this is really about transitioning to the working world and you haven't really done that. Maybe staying in academia is for you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sheena12
...These people are failed students. My other suspicion is that they are paid bloggers.
None of what they post makes any sense.
What is a failed student? One that failed a class or one that didn't do anything useful with their education? You are likely attempting an insult but I don't think it will be effective as those that are successful know their accomplishments and can't be insulted by such comments.
You may not realize it but you are floundering. You bounced among a few jobs looking for something you liked and now you are back in school to see if you can find another career path. That is fine. You may think you are an expert in school but this is really about transitioning to the working world and you haven't really done that. Maybe staying in academia is for you.
What is a failed student? One that failed a class or one that didn't do anything useful with their education? You are likely attempting an insult but I don't think it will be effective as those that are successful know their accomplishments and can't be insulted by such comments.
I certainly did transition to the working world. I never, ever made the minimum wage. ALWAYS reasonably above it.
I live in very expensive NYC and I on a longer term basis needed to make MORE money than what I could have gotten on a bachelors degree. Of course it's my choice to live here, and it was my choice to go to grad school.
I know a lot more about school and how degrees can be applied than obvious failures/trolls/paid bloggers here. Not that one makes much money blogging.
We also seem to forget that college is not a vocational training center, but a institution of higher academic study. It has never been the case that a degree automatically equals a job.
If any college degree does not lead to a better job, then that degree should come free of cost and time commitment. Otherwise, it is a scam.
If any college degree does not lead to a better job, then that degree should come free of cost and time commitment. Otherwise, it is a scam.
University should not be marketed as some kind of trade school. For hundreds of years people went to universities for the sake of higher learning.
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