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I disagree. While some people may have the financial security to study for the love of studying, most people go to college in order to start or improve a career. I think its rather elitist to assume that most college students have the luxury to spend tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to simply learn for no other reason than interest.
That doesn't mean they can't plan a career around what interest's them. It also doesn't mean that students who attend vocational schools aren't loving what they're learning.
I think you are misinterpreting my comment, which is understandable.
When I say college is not vocational training I do not mean a person should not be employable. However, it is not a plumbing certificate. It does not train a person to do just one job.
A degree in liberal arts teaches a person many valuable skills that make a person employable. The biggest requirement for most jobs is a BA/BS in SOMETHING. The mistake many people make is thinking that a history degree only prepares one to be a historian. A field of study may not transfer to a job in a specific field but some of the most successful people in the US have liberal arts degrees. Only about a third of CEOs have degrees in business.
Michael Eisner (CEO of Disney) was an English/Theater major.
John Loose (Corning) was an East Asian History major.
Indra Nooyi (CEO Pepsico) was a Physics, Chemistry and Mathmatics major.
Anne Mulcahy (former CEO Xerox) was an English/Journalism major.
I could go on and on and on about highly successful business people with liberal arts degrees. What a person does with a college degree is entirely up to them. It is entirely possible to very very very successful without studying business (BTW-I have an MBA).
I think you are misinterpreting my comment, which is understandable.
When I say college is not vocational training I do not mean a person should not be employable. However, it is not a plumbing certificate. It does not train a person to do just one job.
A degree in liberal arts teaches a person many valuable skills that make a person employable. The biggest requirement for most jobs is a BA/BS in SOMETHING. The mistake many people make is thinking that a history degree only prepares one to be a historian. A field of study may not transfer to a job in a specific field but some of the most successful people in the US have liberal arts degrees. Only about a third of CEOs have degrees in business.
Michael Eisner (CEO of Disney) was an English/Theater major.
John Loose (Corning) was an East Asian History major.
Indra Nooyi (CEO Pepsico) was a Physics, Chemistry and Mathmatics major.
Anne Mulcahy (former CEO Xerox) was an English/Journalism major.
I could go on and on and on about highly successful business people with liberal arts degrees. What a person does with a college degree is entirely up to them. It is entirely possible to very very very successful without studying business (BTW-I have an MBA).
Great post. Totally agree. It's sad that some parents are pressuring their children into majors they don't like. To me that's a bigger waste of money. Nevermind the college student is an adult who should be allowed to make their own decisions about their future. Greater success will go to the people who are passionate and driven in their careers, not the people who settled.
I have a mix of things I am going after.
I am going for a major in criminal psychology with a minor in marketing. Plus I am going to get my EMT and then my paramedic licenses, then my post certification.
I have a mix of things I am going after.
I am going for a major in criminal psychology with a minor in marketing. Plus I am going to get my EMT and then my paramedic licenses, then my post certification.
WHEN?
I would get the EMT/Paramedic stuff first so you can get a decent job.
I would get the EMT/Paramedic stuff first so you can get a decent job.
I plan on going back to school this semester for my major or minor, whichever one I can work on online. Then I am going to look into EMT programs and see which ones I can work around my work schedule. For now I want to do online classes towards my psychology stuff.
Then post will come hopefully a year or two AFTER I have move out of my mom's house.
I don't like the idea of pushing kids away from what interests them, but I also think they need some facts to help them make decisions. Fact: a self-designed major called "The Social Psychology of International Relations" will get you a job in a bakery. Wish my parents has said a little something when I pulled that one outta my you-know-what.
I don't like the idea of pushing kids away from what interests them, but I also think they need some facts to help them make decisions. Fact: a self-designed major called "The Social Psychology of International Relations" will get you a job in a bakery. Wish my parents has said a little something when I pulled that one outta my you-know-what.
Lol (at your delivery)! Couldn't rep you again, but I totally agree that there's a lot of a room between pursuing what is practical and pursuing what is interesting - the thing that IMO is most useful for undergrads to be advised on is how to channel their interests into something marketable or how to create something marketable from their interests.
......the thing that IMO is most useful for undergrads to be advised on is how to channel their interests into something marketable or how to create something marketable from their interests.
If they do not like what they do, they will not do well. My kids are hopefully aware that there is a great deal more to enjoying life than how much money you can make.
I have been broke and wealthy at various times. I am no more happy when I am wealthy (maybe less stressed though, but not much. When you are broke you worry about not having enough money. When you have money, you worry about losing it, plus a lot of people hate you for being wealthy).
I tell my kids to do what makes them happy. They can live in my basement if they have to. So far they are doing just that. One is a music ed major - a five year program for a job that pays next to nothing and usually starts out part time. One is a psychology major (join the hordes), and intends to get a Phd and do clinical research (which pays little and costs a lot to obtain). IN the next lot, one may be a social worker, school counselr or masseusse. Another wants to be an automotive engineer.The last is considring being a lawyer. He is the only one that I am trying to influence to change his intentions, but we have lots of time for him to change his mind.
Not my kid since he is only 4, but I am going back to school soon (Was supposed to be this semester actually but due to State Authorization laws, had to find new school at last minute and unable to find one that meets requirements I need so next semester it is) to switch my career to become a Registered Dietitian. I am interested in the field and don't care about the pay. Working jobs solely for the pay and or benefits hasn't always been rewarding. Right now I am currently in a job that I love, but it doesn't pay the best I have ever received. Money isn't everything
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