Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The big catch-22 with getting a master's is that one attains that degree in order to hopefully receive higher pay. The problem is that's it's an employer's market right now, so they want cheap labor, and with as many unemployed as there are out there, they know they can get VERY cheap labor since people are desperate. I've seen positions in more than one firld requiring an MS/MA that only pay about $14/hr. That's crazy, back in the 90's a HS graduates had no problems finding a job that paid that much. Also, some employers will hire someone with a BA/BS over a master's b/c they know they can pay them less. It's a race to the bottom that will end with the destruction of the middle class if things keep going this way.
I have a BS & no student loan debt so I don't plan on returning to school on my own. Now if I were independently wealthy, I'd probably shoot for a Ph.D since I enjoy learning. The older I get, the more I see degrees as just being expensive pieces of paper that indicate that you completed some classes in a satisfactory manner. Advanced degrees aren't going to magically boost your IQ by X amount of points. As was mentioned above, I also can't stand people who have elitist attitudes in regards to their level of education. It can be fun to put them in their place like the time I schooled this girl in Jeopardy that had a JD degree.
Well, I got my Bachelors in Fine Arts by the time I was 22. Now at the age of 31, I am considering on going back to school. The truth is I think many women reinvent themselves by the time they are 30. People change and they may find themselves wanting to be in different fields. Additionally, our economy may force some people to reconsider their occupation. Many women now are switching to health care field (like nurses, medical assistants, sonographers), because it's a more stable environment.
Nothing wrong with going back to school at the age of 31.
Never said there was. And in fact, I'd like to switch into the Health Care field, maybe. I'm pretty good at what I do...but I have contacts in Health Care too. I just don't know if I can work in a huge hospital and be on call all the time.
You got your degree and had a career or were a mom or whatever. My problem is with the Career Students. I have no beef with education, working, going back to school. In fact it's sexy.
Is it just me and where I live, or is every single, single woman under 32 still going to school?
What's wrong with just getting your BA, getting into your field and working hard? Everybody needs a doctorate now?
There is nothing wrong with getting a BA (or BS) and working in your chosen field. I also see nothing wrong with someone not going to college at all and working in one's chosen field. Finally, I see nothing wrong with getting a graduate degree and working in one's field. I think the key thing is that one is HAPPY working in one's chosen field, regardless of level of education obtained to get in there.
As for why so many women are in college now, I think many of the previous posters nailed it when they said that a lot of people are going back to school because they are changing their chosen field.
Yeah, there are a lot of snotty academics out there. I work with a few, and I avoid them like the plague because I can't tolerate the superiority complex. However, there are also a lot out there who are not snotty. They just like doing what they do and happen to have earned an advanced degree. I hesitate to make generalizations, but it seems like much of that (snottiness) is more prevalent in certain disciplines and less prevalent in others.
Here's a question before I go...if the government is putting everyone through school...doesn't school become worthless??
Great question!
I think that higher education is becoming watered down because 'they' want to make it do-able for everyone. THAT is basically turning it into a glorified high school. In the past, a lot of people did not go to college at all, and now it's pretty standard. It's not because our population suddenly became 'college ready', but because it's watered down to make it seem like everyone is college-ready.
A BA was not an option in my field at the time. MPH was the only way to go. 1-2 schools offer it now, but you essentially do my job while being supervised and paid less than folks with an MPH or higher
Here's a question before I go...if the government is putting everyone through school...doesn't school become worthless??
If by worthless, you mean it reduces the advantage that having a college education would give you in the job market, the answer is yes and no. More people are able to go to college, but a lot of people squander that opportunity by pursuing degrees that aren't marketable or that the market is already saturated with. Frankly, I'm glad the government makes college affordable. Education should not be reserved for the wealthy and I'd rather see my government spending money leveling the playing the field for its citizens than wasting it on unnecessary wars.
Well...for the profession I am going into you ABSOLUTELY have to have a University degree. Bash college all you want, but believe it or not there are still degrees out there that require 4 year University training.
Anyway...more women than ever are going to college nowadays (my University in particular is 60 percent female to 40 percent male), which is great...but I do get the sense that a lot of men are completely freaked out by that. Especially the stubborn, hillbillyish, conservative, "women belong in the kitchen cooking" types.
i seem to run across pretentious girls that are always getting or have their masters in stupid areas like communications. they act all high and mighty and talk down on people while they are working at their crappy waitress job at applebees.
degrees arent really impressive nowadays unless its in something science/math/medical/etc related. too many stupid majors out there that any idiot can get a masters in if they want to shell out the cash.
Hi Ep-,
I tend to agree. I am an MBA drop out. I ended up doing something more akin to a skill rather than rely on the speculative assessment that a higher degree will lead to productivity. Lets face it, most of it does not. Information is everywhere today and those who need it spoon fed are generally not big producers. MBAs are generally worthless and a dime a dozen. It used to be many years ago a University meant having access to information. A Library made a difference. Presentations were not available on DVD if passive spoon fed is the style.
Having real knowledge helps and a good 15 years ago I decided where I wanted to be with regard to my abilities and the nature of the market. I ended up heading in a direction that was out of style but I had identified it as strategically sound. What was popular was going to have a huge over supply. Its better to have only 3 open positions for what you can do when only you can fill it rather than 100 open positions with a 1000 people who can fill it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
