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It sounds like your whole family is unmotivated. But, there are plenty of people out there graduating with "useless degrees" who are doing quite well. I know a few Business Admin grads who aren't doing so well, but I'm not going to lump them in with every other Business grad out there and automatically assume the degree is worthless and a waste of money.
I think it's generally more the school than the major. If you have the neurons and the work ethic to get into a top-100 school, you're probably going to do OK with a fine arts or psych major. If you do two years of remedial high school at a community college followed by 2 years expanded to 3 or 4 at the 3rd tier regional state school, that computer science or business degree isn't going to open many doors. The profs had to teach down to the level of their students. It's not the same education you'd get at a top-100 school.
A liberal arts degree is supposed to teach you critical thought and analysis. It certainly does that in an elite school and it usually does that at a top-100 school. That is the essential life skill that makes you employable. A glorified certificate of attendance from an unselective state school filled with unmotivated high school C students doesn't help.
I've worked with the hiring and interviewing process at several software development companies. A degree alone is nearly worthless. No company I've worked for will hire someone who has no work experience but a college degree. If you have a college degree plus have worked as an intern during the summers, that's a different story. If you have a college degree but have also freelanced for a few months and continued to teach yourself post college (and let's be honest, most of what you need to know in many software development jobs are things you have to teach yourself and not taught in college), then you're in a better position to be hired.
You're more likely to get hired at many companies if you have no degree but experience, than you are if you have a degree but no experience. Too many college kids think they deserve a job just for graduating college, which is now too easy and is in no way a guarantee that the candidate is either intelligent or knowledgable. The only universities worth a damn these days are the top 50. A college degree from a non top 50 university was a low weight factor when I hired and interviewed.
We've also already established that liberal arts degrees are nearly worthless, unless they are from an elite university, or unless you have existing connections you can leverage. Skilled trades can be very lucrative and are a better option than college for many people. A good electrician can make more than a software engineer these days.
Well now you know, ALL colleges are a business. The more Womens Studies and English majors a school can churn out the more money for the school. They do not care about getting you a job.
By the way, here at my hospital, all RN's have to complete their BSN within a year or two. Brand new RN's can make $30+ an hour within a year. RN's with a BSN can earn a lot more. The problem though is that you don't get an RN job with a Womens Studies degree.
I got my masters in nursing with a BA in english lit- (in 12 months).
That critical thinking is important.
Made a lot of money in my nursing career, and no I don't feel the English lit was a waste of time at all-
the woman in question comes from a 1% -er family, she has resources, and thus time, to sort herself out=
what helps you most in life, and your career is the ability to think critically and independently...
It sounds like your whole family is unmotivated. But, there are plenty of people out there graduating with "useless degrees" who are doing quite well. I know a few Business Admin grads who aren't doing so well, but I'm not going to lump them in with every other Business grad out there and automatically assume the degree is worthless and a waste of money.
No, it doesn't sound like the family is unmotivated, it sounds like their motivations lead them towards fields that don't provide a lot of well-paying jobs. There is certainly a difference.
I've worked with the hiring and interviewing process at several software development companies. A degree alone is nearly worthless. No company I've worked for will hire someone who has no work experience but a college degree. If you have a college degree plus have worked as an intern during the summers, that's a different story. If you have a college degree but have also freelanced for a few months and continued to teach yourself post college (and let's be honest, most of what you need to know in many software development jobs are things you have to teach yourself and not taught in college), then you're in a better position to be hired.
You're more likely to get hired at many companies if you have no degree but experience, than you are if you have a degree but no experience. Too many college kids think they deserve a job just for graduating college, which is now too easy and is in no way a guarantee that the candidate is either intelligent or knowledgable. The only universities worth a damn these days are the top 50. A college degree from a non top 50 university was a low weight factor when I hired and interviewed.
We've also already established that liberal arts degrees are nearly worthless, unless they are from an elite university, or unless you have existing connections you can leverage. Skilled trades can be very lucrative and are a better option than college for many people. A good electrician can make more than a software engineer these days.
Liberal arts covers a wide variety of topics, so to just lump them all into the category of "worthless" is a bit too much.
I don't know why someone expects a college to do all that for you - they never have before. It is not a bad idea necessarily, it is just not realistic and has never been the purview of a traditional 4 year college before. Colleges are in the business of academic education, not employment services (with some exceptions.) Anyone out there in the job market should be expected to figure out the software and behavior analysis stuff on their own - no one gets training in that, and it will be something different tomorrow - I don't know why a college would be expected to do that. That is just a matter of basic intelligence and technical proficiency. Anyone should know that a women's studies major does not easily relate to any wide streams of employment, and also that most economics jobs of any merit may require advanced degrees or being in a particular location for best options. I don't understand why people are so naive about their expectations and fail to understand that it is a student's job to do his/her own research about the job market and prepare him/herself for it by graduation. The degree and corresponding education is part of that, but not the whole story.
A liberal arts degree is supposed to teach you critical thought and analysis. It certainly does that in an elite school and it usually does that at a top-100 school. That is the essential life skill that makes you employable. A glorified certificate of attendance from an unselective state school filled with unmotivated high school C students doesn't help.
I think it's generally more the school than the major. If you have the neurons and the work ethic to get into a top-100 school, you're probably going to do OK with a fine arts or psych major. If you do two years of remedial high school at a community college followed by 2 years expanded to 3 or 4 at the 3rd tier regional state school, that computer science or business degree isn't going to open many doors. The profs had to teach down to the level of their students. It's not the same education you'd get at a top-100 school.
A liberal arts degree is supposed to teach you critical thought and analysis. It certainly does that in an elite school and it usually does that at a top-100 school. That is the essential life skill that makes you employable. A glorified certificate of attendance from an unselective state school filled with unmotivated high school C students doesn't help.
Although I finished college decades ago, I do know that state universities have changed pretty dramatically over the years. They have become quite competitive, as admissions officers realize that the state university might be the only somewhat-affordable school for lower/middle class students, thus the standards have risen. It used to be common for some state schools to accept almost anyone in the top half of their high school graduating class, and that's just not the case anymore...
Although I finished college decades ago, I do know that state universities have changed pretty dramatically over the years. They have become quite competitive, as admissions officers realize that the state university might be the only somewhat-affordable school for lower/middle class students, thus the standards have risen. It used to be common for some state schools to accept almost anyone in the top half of their high school graduating class, and that's just not the case anymore...
I would also say that an increasing number of top-of-their class grads are going to community college and state schools due to the rising costs of education and desire to avoid large student loan debts. These programs can be excellent and in some cases better than more 'elite' schools. Some are better than others - but in this day and age the traditional system of status just doesn't mean nearly as much as it might have once before. Look at national rankings of individual programs and your local state school can outrank many prestigious schools.
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