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I agree 100%. Don't get me wrong, majoring in engineering or accounting is great, I just believe that one has to have the drive and interest in those fields. Simply deciding that you want to become an engineer solely because the starting salaries are high, is not a wise decision, especially if one is not strong in math/engineering.
They are two fields that are transferable to many industries even if one has no interest in being a PE or a CPA. Much more practical in the real World than studying many other majors, such as African Studies as one example.
They are two fields that are transferable to many industries even if one has no interest in being a PE or a CPA. Much more practical in the real World than studying many other majors, such as African Studies as one example.
Carly Fiorina, who was the CEO of Hewlett Packard, for her undergraduate degree had a degree in Medieval European History.
Usually people from poor working class backgrounds fantasize about their kids being an engineer (they don't know much about many other professional jobs, opportunities, or businesses). People from wealthier backgrounds are more much likely to be supportive of their children majoring in humanities. Many of these people will go on to law school, MBA school, grad school and have excellent careers in business, law, all aspects of the media, non profit, investment banking, etc.
A friend of mine who had an undergraduate degree in Cornell in political science and African studies went on to get her phd in political science from UC Berkeley. She did research in South Africa and is now a professor.
Condoleeza Rice, former secretary of state had a phd in Eastern European studies. And look where her major took her.
Barack Obama's undergraduate degree was political science with a focus in international relations. And he is the President. Hillary Clinton majored in political science as well as Wellesley College. And she may become the President in 2008.
Engineers have apparent high starting salaries, but you will not get rich of engineering. It's true many humanities jobs have low starting salaries, but many people in Hollywood, the corporate sector, and government were humanities majors.
I'll take it one step further, Condi Rice, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Carly Fiorina, Oprah Winfrey, and a number of other highly successful people in politics and in media would not be where they are today if they had listened to bad advice that seems to think that everyone needs to go to college for engineering or math or science related jobs.
So Christine is right, if you do decide to go to college, you need to major in what you are TALENTED in and what you like to DO.
Carly Fiorina, who was the CEO of Hewlett Packard, for her undergraduate degree had a degree in Medieval European History.
Usually people from poor working class backgrounds fantasize about their kids being an engineer (they don't know much about many other professional jobs, opportunities, or businesses). People from wealthier backgrounds are more much likely to be supportive of their children majoring in humanities. Many of these people will go on to law school, MBA school, grad school and have excellent careers in business, law, all aspects of the media, non profit, investment banking, etc.
A friend of mine who had an undergraduate degree in Cornell in political science and African studies went on to get her phd in political science from UC Berkeley. She did research in South Africa and is now a professor.
Condoleeza Rice, former secretary of state had a phd in Eastern European studies. And look where her major took her.
Barack Obama's undergraduate degree was political science with a focus in international relations. And he is the President. Hillary Clinton majored in political science as well as Wellesley College. And she may become the President in 2008.
Engineers have apparent high starting salaries, but you will not get rich of engineering. It's true many humanities jobs have low starting salaries, but many people in Hollywood, the corporate sector, and government were humanities majors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NyWriterdude
I'll take it one step further, Condi Rice, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Carly Fiorina, Oprah Winfrey, and a number of other highly successful people in politics and in media would not be where they are today if they had listened to bad advice that seems to think that everyone needs to go to college for engineering or math or science related jobs.
So Christine is right, if you do decide to go to college, you need to major in what you are TALENTED in and what you like to DO.
We are talking about the masses. Not your super-dorky ivy league counterparts. I'm not worried about them, they should be able to take care of themselves perfectly fine. Who cares about becoming an egotistical ivy league robot. Developing/expanding the middle class is the goal. As a 1%'er you just don't get it.
I'll take it one step further, Condi Rice, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Carly Fiorina, Oprah Winfrey, and a number of other highly successful people in politics and in media would not be where they are today if they had listened to bad advice that seems to think that everyone needs to go to college for engineering or math or science related jobs.
So Christine is right, if you do decide to go to college, you need to major in what you are TALENTED in and what you like to DO.
These folks went and attended Ivy Leagues. One can drop out of an Ivy League and still make it to the top like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. I can study vomit and gradate with a D from an Ivy League and through connections still get a 6 figure job. Your average American whether white from the suburbs, or some stupid black kid from the projects in Central Brooklyn do not have the luxury or luck to get into an Ivy League school, study some crap and get an amazing job after graduation or link up with alumni who have amazing connections from Wall Street to DC. On the flipside if one goes to a generic college regardless if its private or public, a good chance they will not obtain a job or career they received their degree in besides fields in health, science and tech. They might obtain a job that is related to their degree, but not directly related or degree specific. I know a woman a Transplant who graduated from Duke, she majored in English and she works as a bank teller. If you majored in English, aren't you supposed to become a teacher in some way shape or form? The average 1% who roam around Bethesda, Bunker Hill, Cambridge, Long Island, the UES, UWS, or even in Riverdale to say the least will send their kids to Ivy leagues. Your average American is not a Wasp or a Jew or even lucky a token black! But overall I do agree with your last sentence. I would like to add its best to do what one is really strong in instead of being multiverse.
Last edited by Bronxguyanese; 08-25-2014 at 08:19 AM..
We are talking about the masses. Not your super-dorky ivy league counterparts. I'm not worried about them, they should be able to take care of themselves perfectly fine. Who cares about becoming an egotistical ivy league robot. Developing/expanding the middle class is the goal. As a 1%'er you just don't get it.
Bitter and jealous that you don't have any career expansion opportunities? My mother was a UNION worker (utilities). Hillary's came from a suburban middle class background. Michelle Obama had middle class parents. Oprah Winfrey came from a poor family and she isn't Ivy League. Bill Clinton came from a poor family. Condi never had an Ivy League affiliation, though she at a young age became a professor at Stanford, another top institution.
My friend, the professor who had an undergraduate major in African studies at Cornell, was raised by a single working class mother.
Barack Obama's mother was a professor who raised him after her husband/Barack's dad split. Bill Clinton grew up with his mother and his alcoholic step father. So many of them did not come from ideal backgrounds, either.
These people majored in what they were talented in, the humanities and they rose from middle class (or less) backgrounds to rule the country.
These folks went and attended Ivy Leagues. One can drop out of an Ivy League and still make it to the top like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. I can study vomit and gradate with a D from an Ivy League and through connections still get a 6 figure job. Your average American whether white from the suburbs, or some stupid black kid from the projects in Central Brooklyn do not have the luxury or luck to get into an Ivy League school, study some crap and get an amazing job after graduation or link up with alumni who have amazing connections from Wall Street to DC. On the flipside if one goes to a generic college regardless if its private or public, a good chance they will not obtain a job or career they received their degree in besides fields in health, science and tech. They might obtain a job that is related to their degree, but not directly related or degree specific. I know a woman a Transplant who graduated from Duke, she majored in English and she works as a bank teller. If you majored in English, aren't you supposed to become a teacher in some way shape or form? The average 1% who roam around Bethesda, Bunker Hill, Cambridge, Long Island, the UES, UWS, or even in Riverdale to say the least will send their kids to Ivy leagues. Your average American is not a Wasp or a Jew or even lucky a token black! But overall I do agree with your last sentence. I would like to add its best to do what one is really strong in instead of being multiverse.
That's where the attitude of poor working class people come in. Just because you have a degree in English does not mean you have to teach, regardless of whether you went to a private or public school undergraduate. There are people with English degrees working in publishing, theatre, film, television, investment banking, legal (as paralegals if they haven't gone to law school), etc.
And there are prestigious universities outside the Ivy League. Stanford, University of Chicago, Northwestern, MIT, the University of California (a public school system) ,etc.
Nobody graduates from an Ivy League with a D, you need to pass your major classes with at least a C!
And I had a friend who was a Puerto Rican kid from the Bronx at Cornell.
Basically, if in a subject you LIKE and are TALENTED in, you blow your competition away it does not matter whether you have wealthy or poor parents, or necessarily whether or not you attended an Ivy League.
Toni Morrison attended Howard University, a black college. While it's true later on she went to Cornell, this was in the 50s. She was a talented woman who became a well known writer and a professor.
And having attended an Ivy League campus, there were more than just "token" Blacks, Wasps, and Jews on campus. There are a good number of Asian and Hispanic students on campus, middle eastern students. Actually, there's a good number of international students. But even if you restrict things to Americans, there are decent numbers of Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics in the Ivy League. You have to demonstrate TALENT, good grades, and/or test scores.
Bitter and jealous that you don't have any career expansion opportunities? My mother was a UNION worker (utilities). Hillary's came from a suburban middle class background. Michelle Obama had middle class parents. Oprah Winfrey came from a poor family and she isn't Ivy League. Bill Clinton came from a poor family. Condi never had an Ivy League affiliation, though she at a young age became a professor at Stanford, another top institution.
My friend, the professor who had an undergraduate major in African studies at Cornell, was raised by a single working class mother.
Barack Obama's mother was a professor who raised him after her husband/Barack's dad split. Bill Clinton grew up with his mother and his alcoholic step father. So many of them did not come from ideal backgrounds, either.
These people majored in what they were talented in, the humanities and they rose from middle class (or less) backgrounds to rule the country.
Yeah...it pisses me off that I'm not President of the US or a famous disgustingly rich talk show host. Lets try to stay relevant because at the end of the day people are not Ivy league students. Nor should they be. You and them have trouble understanding the real World through the eyes of the average. This thread is about unemployed black people from the projects and about getting them sustainable jobs...not about Obama. I'm more bitter about your thought process more than anything and that you wasted an Ivy league seat that could have gone to someone in the PJs instead.
Last edited by ShirlMastic Beach; 08-25-2014 at 09:29 AM..
Yeah...it pisses me off that I'm not President of the US or a famous disgustingly rich talk show host. Lets try to stay relevant because at the end of the day people are not Ivy league students. Nor should they be. You and them have trouble understanding the real World through the eyes of the average. This thread is about unemployed black people from the projects and about getting them sustainable jobs...not about Obama.
Oh yes, it is very relevant to this topic, and there have been people from the projects who went Ivy League (Sonia Sotomajor, supreme court justice).
If the person is academically talented and doesn't have a criminal record, a major addiction problem, or children they can't support many things are possible, even from the projects.
For those that don't, then they will have to go out for working class jobs, plain and simple. You know, the retail, low level service, and construction jobs you despise so much for whatever bizarre reason. And for those people their best hope is unionization and better working conditions for working class people. They won't rise much in this system without all that, and even with that there's certainly a platform that they aren't likely to go above. This is true for the majority of people of ANY race.
Btw, a person from CUNY with a degree in whatever could rise to the top. That person would need to graduate top of the class and would also need to have had good internships in the field. That would go a long way in helping that person get employment, and if grad school because necessary graduating at the top of CUNY, plus their practical experience could get them in the best graduate programs in the country.
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