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However going to an elite school and majoring British art history with a minor in German literature will probably get you an 11.50 an hour job with a debt load you will never be able to pay back.
We have family members that did this. Two kids went to expensive private liberal arts college for some obscure degree with little job prospects. One kid went to work on an organic farm for a couple of years after gradfuating before realizing that they could not make a decent living wage. Now they are going to nursing school, another expensive educational cost. The other kid majored in a foreign language and after a year of not being able to find work, is teaching in Europe at a very minimal wage. They are still not sure what to do for the long term. Not my idea of a good use of an expensive education. Jay
The fact is college education helps. There are successful people in every major and some real lunks in pre-professional majors.
I couldn't agree more.
When I was talking about getting my MBA I was told do it while your young, but then I started to complain about how much it would cost. Someone (I believe at UNH) told me that once your education is completed and that piece of paper is on your wall NO ONE can ever take it away. If you get divorced, loss your job or loss all your money you WILL always have your MBA. Looking at it that way made me realize that education is very important.
I'm not going to lie, it has helped me get some "prospects" that I don't think I would have obtain otherwise.
When I was talking about getting my MBA I was told do it while your young, but then I started to complain about how much it would cost. Someone (I believe at UNH) told me that once your education is completed and that piece of paper is on your wall NO ONE can ever take it away. If you get divorced, loss your job or loss all your money you WILL always have your MBA. Looking at it that way made me realize that education is very important.
I'm not going to lie, it has helped me get some "prospects" that I don't think I would have obtain otherwise.
That's true, and even if you are jobless on the street addicted to crack you will "still have your MBA. Greg Giraldo (RIP) was a hilarious raunchy pseudo celebrity, but most of all, he was a drug addict with not much money who had a Harvard Law degree.
Life is what you make it. You're clearly motivated, intelligent and have a good work ethic. Your education will only augment your success and create more opportunity. There are people in this world you could hand a check for one million dollars along with a diploma from Yale University and they would still manage to be a broke deadbeat in a year. It's all about direction and knowing what you want in life. Money and education just make the ride smoother.
My network of professionals are ex-military, college grads, and people in the skilled trades. My alumni is broad but I got an opportunity of a lifetime not because of college, but because I'm an honorably discharged veteran with a technical background.
I got into the Audi military veterans program. Audi schools, professional industry certification, all paid for by Audi.
However since I was a kid I've been car crazy, it's actually a pathetic addiction. I knew I wanted to do something with cars and I started out at 11.50 an hour, I stayed with it, worked my butt off, cussed out Fords, got dirty, and had a few cars hand me my butt over the years.
Today I make 26.50 and hour, was moved up to a team leader position, manage the inspection station and what I love most about what I do is I get to mentor younger folks interested in the automotive industry.
The one thing I found most important about success is you have enjoy what you do. That passion will push you upward.
Like I had said earlier. College is a noble ambition, some careers require you to have a degree. But the best advice I can give a younger person is enjoy what you do, college is surely one way to success, but it's not the only way.
WThe other kid majored in a foreign language and after a year of not being able to find work, is teaching in Europe at a very minimal wage. They are still not sure what to do for the long term. Not my idea of a good use of an expensive education. Jay
That's odd. Foreign language teachers are often needed so badly in the public school system, that the school boards suspend rules about retirees who already started taking a pension, coming back and teaching because they cant find someone suitable to fill the spot.
That's odd. Foreign language teachers are often needed so badly in the public school system, that the school boards suspend rules about retirees who already started taking a pension, coming back and teaching because they cant find someone suitable to fill the spot.
I know science and math teachers are in short supply but never heard that about foreign language teachers. I know he was home in MA for a year without working before going to Europe. Not sure why. Jay
That's odd. Foreign language teachers are often needed so badly in the public school system, that the school boards suspend rules about retirees who already started taking a pension, coming back and teaching because they cant find someone suitable to fill the spot.
They would need a foreign language education degree. I have a degree in bio and math. I wouldn't be allowed to teach either.
They would need a foreign language education degree. I have a degree in bio and math. I wouldn't be allowed to teach either.
Are you sure about that, Sigequinox? Even with a degree in math and bio? I ask because I was at a party a long while back and a teacher in a major city (I can't remember, maybe NYC?) had said they needed teachers in those subjects so badly for Spanish speaking students that they would take a non-education graduate. He said they would hire someone with any major at all, as long as that individual could speak Spanish, and that the school system would tell you what to teach them.
Are you sure about that, Sigequinox? Even with a degree in math and bio? I ask because I was at a party a long while back and a teacher in a major city (I can't remember, maybe NYC?) had said they needed teachers in those subjects so badly for Spanish speaking students that they would take a non-education graduate. He said they would hire someone with any major at all, as long as that individual could speak Spanish, and that the school system would tell you what to teach them.
My knowledge in education industry is very limited, but from what I know, yes. Maybe some schools have enough authority to lift such requirements for really dire situations. Many NYC schools are falling apart, the student teacher ratio awful, and many of the kids are going off to college with math/science competencies far behind their suburban collegiate peers. Though I'm not sure if those schools are making it better or worse by allowing "anyone" in.
IMO, the ability to teach is something you are more or less born with, not something you learn in school. So yes, there are a ton of people out there with non education based degrees that would make incredible educators. However, they would be much better served with training specific to the level at which they will teach.
I tutored all through college and I can tell you I would NOT want to teach HS or MS. When doing so at college level you have students with a foundation of knowledge. Teaching kids something for the FIRST time ever is an art, and an important one. I can only assume that getting a degree in education trains you specifically on just that. IMO, it's much easier to teach a college student calculus than to explain to a child the concept of zero. Or to explain subfunctionalization mechanism of genetic variance than the concept of an atom.
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