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The gate to legit STEM careers is very narrow these days. 20 years ago you could have a 2.5 GPA in a non-technical STEM program (ex. Physics) and easily find meaningful employment. These days there are so many people going to college, that STEM employers can be choosy and pride themselves in only hiring the best and brightest. So the idea that only smart people are capable of being productive STEM workers is somewhat of an illusion because the gatekeepers get to decide who is the best and brightest based largely on the size of the applicant pool from which they select for the limited number of jobs available.
The gate to legit STEM careers is very narrow these days. 20 years ago you could have a 2.5 GPA in a non-technical STEM program (ex. Physics) and easily find meaningful employment. These days there are so many people going to college, that STEM employers can be choosy and pride themselves in only hiring the best and brightest. So the idea that only smart people are capable of being productive STEM workers is somewhat of an illusion because the gatekeepers get to decide who is the best and brightest based largely on the size of the applicant pool from which they select for the limited number of jobs available.
I never graduated college and I had a 2.0 GPA in high school. I made C's and D's in most of my high school courses.
I was hired for SQL reporting and analytics in another city 300 miles away, sight unseen.
Most people assume that I have a degree and ask about my college. I have to correct them.
How many times do other people assume high school grads have a degree, because they are in a STEM field? You would be surprised, once you talk to them. I have met others through family and friends, who made it with a degree in the liberal arts or no college degree at all. They came from the school of hard knocks.
It all comes down to one thing, everyone has the right to study any course for any degree that they want to.
BUT:
If you take a degree that is not in demand and little potential in the field, you should not:
1: Complain that anyone that wants to hire you, is low balling you for a potential salary.
All jobs for college graduates, do not pay the same high wages. What you are being offered, is the going rate for such a position, with your education. Many degrees, will pay as little as 20% of what they will pay for in demand degrees.
2: Complain that there are no jobs in your field of study.
There may be in some degrees, one job for every 50 graduates. It is not the employer that chose the degree you are went for. It was you chose it without even considering there may be no jobs available for that degree.
3: Complain that your degree cannot get you jobs in other fields.
Just because you have some sort of degree, does not mean it is transferable to other fields. Reason: There are graduates that have a degree in the field you are trying for, and those graduates will be hired before they will even consider you. You will be rejected by the computer run, with most companies.
4: Complain that when you try to get into other fields, no one wants to train you.
Why would someone want to train someone with no education or experience in the field the job is for, when there are people out there with degrees and experience that need no training applying for the job.
Remember you chose the degree you followed, and if it is impossible to get a job in that field, and if you do get a job, the pay is very, very low from what you thought you would be earning, it is your fault not someone else's. You chose the degree path, so be prepared to live with it.
The main reason why people get useless degrees is because the curriculum is easy and basically a joke.
In other words they're lazy and unmotivated. K
Quote:
Originally Posted by VictoryIsMine1
The fact of the matter is that not everyone has the intellectual capability and commitment to get a degree in engineering, accounting, or computer science.
This is BS. More likely, they don't have the desire to learn that stuff - which is fine. But I don't buy the argument that someone can go through college, any college, yet can't master basics of finance, technology, or engineering which are a matter of reading subject matter and doing what the subject matter says to do. Guess what? People do it every day: you buy a new smartphone, it comes with a lengthy, tedious book telling you how to master all of these hundreds of features of your phone, you're forced to read it to learn how to set up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VictoryIsMine1
If you have a useless degree and don't want to do sales, what are your options at a good paying white collar job?
"Good paying" and "white collar job" are not compatible.
Fortunately, you've got options.
Get a white collar job that pays "Meh" and be happy with the fact that you're paid for the low value, low stress, low commitment labor. OR
Push yourself to learn a trade that is high paying, and understand and accept that it will challenge you to do more, and take pride that you really did earn your paycheck.
This is BS. More likely, they don't have the desire to learn that stuff - which is fine. But I don't buy the argument that someone can go through college, any college, yet can't master basics of finance, technology, or engineering which are a matter of reading subject matter and doing what the subject matter says to do. Guess what? People do it every day: you buy a new smartphone, it comes with a lengthy, tedious book telling you how to master all of these hundreds of features of your phone, you're forced to read it to learn how to set up.
Holy Strawman arguments Batman! I can debunk this fairly easily. I've had several smart phones (I had to get the Droid 2 replaced two or three times as it was a fairly defective phone) and I NEVER read the tedious book to master things, mainly because my brother gave me a crash-course demonstration on my first Droid 2 after having the Droid 1 for a year at that point. The phones are fairly user friendly from Android to Android or now Fire (Fire Phone runs off an earlier Android OS.) Granted if you go from Android to say iOS or Windows 8, you may need a change but it's not as hard as mastering the basics of finance, tech or engineering. My father learned how to use a smart phone now and does pretty well with it for someone that barely used a personal computer or never uses self-service kiosks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by revelated
"Good paying" and "white collar job" are not compatible.
Fortunately, you've got options.
Get a white collar job that pays "Meh" and be happy with the fact that you're paid for the low value, low stress, low commitment labor. OR
Push yourself to learn a trade that is high paying, and understand and accept that it will challenge you to do more, and take pride that you really did earn your paycheck.
Ah yet another entry into the blue collar > white collar argument club. I agree, that you can make good money in the trades but that don't mean that white collar work can't be just as good paying. I am not ragging on the trades by saying that but there's success and failure in BOTH white and blue collar. We need more blue collar, I can agree with that so there maybe a bigger likelihood to get money but it's not like you can't make money in white collar jobs. But hey, if you want to buy in the war between the collars then stay classy my friend.
The main reason why people get useless degrees is because the curriculum is easy and basically a joke. The fact of the matter is that not everyone has the intellectual capability and commitment to get a degree in engineering, accounting, or computer science.
Common graduate programs that people with useless degrees tend to purse is JD, PsyD, MBA, Master in useless subject.
If you have a useless degree and don't want to do sales, what are your options at a good paying white collar job?
I have an MBA, an undergraduate liberal arts degree, and I've done fine.
However, here is one page from the MBA-level finance course:
You might want to think about that "smart" remark.
Here the the top public-owned businesses in the USA and their CEOs:
- JP Morgan Chase: Jamie Dimon, CEO - BA Psychology and Economics, MBA
- Berkshire Hathaway: Warren Buffett, CEO - BA Business Administration, MS Economics
- Exxon: Rex Tillerson, CEO - BA Civil Engineering
- General Electric: Jeffrey Immelt, CEO - BA Applied Mathematics, MBA
- Wells Fargo: John Stumpf, CEO - BA finance, MBA
- Bank of America: Brian Moynihan, CEO - BA History, J.D.
- Apple: Tim Cook, CEO - BA Industrial Engineering, MBA
- Citigroup: Michael Corbat, CEO - BA Economics
- Chevron: John Watson, CEO - BA Agricultural Economics, MBA
- Walmart: Doug McMillon, CEO - BA Business Administration, MBA
Collectively, these men have earned 11 Bachelor's degrees (one had a double major) and 8 advanced degrees. Of the 11 bachelor's degrees, only three of the degrees are STEM degrees (Civil Engineering, Applied Math, Industrial Engineering). Four of the degrees are social science degrees (psychology, economics [2 men], and history), three of the degrees are business degrees (finance, and business administration [2 men]), and one degree is in the agricultural sciences.
Of the 8 advanced degrees, 6 of them are MBAs, and two are social sciences (J.D. and Economics).
Before you go touting the superiority of STEM fields, maybe you should realize that even holders of "useless" degrees can be successful. You see, it is not about the degree; it's about the person who holds the degree.
The main reason why people get useless degrees is because the curriculum is easy and basically a joke. The fact of the matter is that not everyone has the intellectual capability and commitment to get a degree in engineering, accounting, or computer science.
Common graduate programs that people with useless degrees tend to purse is JD, PsyD, MBA, Master in useless subject.
If you have a useless degree and don't want to do sales, what are your options at a good paying white collar job?
What you should be asking yourself is why the schools are in the business of selling phony degrees. And why the government is in the business of loan sharking phony degrees. I'm telling you, it is utterly mind-blowing how messed up this country has gotten since I was a kid. And everyone is clueless... like Stepford Wives.
The main reason why people get useless degrees is because the curriculum is easy and basically a joke. The fact of the matter is that not everyone has the intellectual capability and commitment to get a degree in engineering, accounting, or computer science.
Common graduate programs that people with useless degrees tend to purse is JD, PsyD, MBA, Master in useless subject.
If you have a useless degree and don't want to do sales, what are your options at a good paying white collar job?
The main reason why people get useless degrees is because the curriculum is easy and basically a joke. The fact of the matter is that not everyone has the intellectual capability and commitment to get a degree in engineering, accounting, or computer science.
Common graduate programs that people with useless degrees tend to purse is JD, PsyD, MBA, Master in useless subject.
If you have a useless degree and don't want to do sales, what are your options at a good paying white collar job?
The world needs ditchdiggers !!
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I agree, that you can make good money in the trades but that don't mean that white collar work can't be just as good paying. I am not ragging on the trades by saying that but there's success and failure in BOTH white and blue collar. We need more blue collar, I can agree with that so there maybe a bigger likelihood to get money but it's not like you can't make money in white collar jobs. But hey, if you want to buy in the war between the collars then stay classy my friend.
