Were the student loans and college worth it?

[mdovell]

I wouldn't say minimum wage but it does become harder to find employment without a degree or experience.

Most that I see without degrees ultimately have a much harder time in their 30's and 40's finding better work. Even with no employment gaps. Experience on the other hand you can make up with some probono work and volunteering as that is verifiable. Degrees are harder to make up in the long run.

[work324]

Originally Posted by harrisce4

Hmm... that's really odd that you say "no degree is actually required for anything" considering that the job postings for Account Management positions specifically say 4-Year Degree required.

As for a doctor or an engineer, my friend just graduated from LECOM with her PharmD and guess what? She's in debt over $200K and her student loans are $2,000 per month? So please explain how one is better than the other? I can afford my student payments (and not just the minimum payments)

I really hate to break it to you but marketing is everywhere and it's not going away. On the websites you visit, do you see little banner ads? Yup, marketing. When you're on Hulu/Netflix or just watching Cable TV, you see those ads that you have to watch in between shows? Yup, advertising. You ever hear any products on the radio being featured in between your tunes? Yup, advertising.

Please name a single product/service in the world that doesn't advertise, and I guarantee you I will prove you wrong and am actually looking forward to it.

So, yes to answer your silly question, I spent 'tens of thousands in loans to have a marketing degree.' I worked at one of the 'Big 4' ad agencies here in Manhattan and worked on 2 multi-million dollar pharma accounts. So yes, I've said it once and I will say it again- 'no regrets'.

I mean you could still competently do the job without a degree.

You could put a job opening up for a fast food cashier with "4-year college degree required" but we all know you don't need a college degree to run a cash register.

And I just mean marketing is either a broad-brush approach where a big company spends lots of money on everything (and thus doesn't actually need you) or a super targeted approach where the only "marketing" the company does is to the people the employees actually know.

[work324]

Originally Posted by bgNCATL

The problem is your assessments are based on the exception and not the rule. 99.9 % of people with only a high school diploma are not making no where near what you are quoting. Most high school graduates make minimum wage straight out of school. Some make ok(30k+), but it takes years, to make it to 50k if they ever make it there. You are simply looking at the top earners with no degree and comparing them to the lower level earners with a degree.

Because the top earners with no degree are the best comparison to use.

If you are a low earned with no degree, it means you wouldn't have completed college anyway.

What we want to know is people who are capable of completing college, but chose not to go.

[harrisce4]

Originally Posted by work324

I mean you could still competently do the job without a degree.

You could put a job opening up for a fast food cashier with "4-year college degree required" but we all know you don't need a college degree to run a cash register.

And I just mean marketing is either a broad-brush approach where a big company spends lots of money on everything (and thus doesn't actually need you) or a super targeted approach where the only "marketing" the company does is to the people the employees actually know.

I agree that I could do this job without my degree, however, MY point is that no company is going to hire you for an Account Mgmt position without a 4-year degree period. Whether or not you could do the job without it is irrelevant. The receptionists/admin assistants all have 4-year degrees as well. It is a requirement. So, in order to make the amount of money I am making now (just hit ~$51k) it would take me YEARS. When the 4-year degree gave me the entry level option I needed. Now, I can pay the loans back, no sweat. That is all I'm saying.

I do agree with you that if you receive the training for just about any position, you will be competent at that position, but you will not receive the job offer without the required criterion unfortunately. Just the world we live in now. I'm too impatient to wait 15+ years to have a job paying over $50k. I'd rather have that now at 24, then climb the ladder every few years and make even more money. If that means being in debt to do so I'm okay with that.