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Old 12-22-2015, 05:34 PM
 
Location: Sunrise
10,865 posts, read 16,960,118 times
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A good degree has cost roughly the same as a cheap house for as long as I've been alive.

The difference is, a student could pay his or her way back in my day. Today that simply isn't possible. The problem is wages (and expectations).
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Old 12-22-2015, 05:41 PM
EA
 
Location: Las Vegas
6,791 posts, read 7,094,959 times
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But it's still a difference, is it not?
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Old 12-22-2015, 05:45 PM
 
12,973 posts, read 15,762,680 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoopLV View Post
A good degree has cost roughly the same as a cheap house for as long as I've been alive.

The difference is, a student could pay his or her way back in my day. Today that simply isn't possible. The problem is wages (and expectations).
The Problem is student loans. When I went to school in the late 50s and early 60s they did not exist. Between my family and I we simply paid the bill. And I always made enough to cover my expenses even the last year when I was married. That was actually pretty pleasant as the new wife was an RN and employed.

I would also note that the last couple of years in school I basically worked full time as an Engineer. That covered my nut but had another advantage...I was a one man shop in a Biophysics operation working for a Professor who was a genius...and it gave me a background that was close to a 5 or 10 year lead on my competition when I graduated and went to work for a real Fortune 50 company. I knew what I was doing. I had shipped product. I had developed suppliers. I had used our scientific association to get people to help us build things that would have otherwise been impossible. Just could not have been better trained for the real world where all that is divided up into little domains with social walls between them.

Today I doubt that could be done. The smart kids have sufficient money from loans and grind. To hold your own and be successful you almost have to do it.
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Old 12-22-2015, 06:54 PM
 
Location: Sunrise
10,865 posts, read 16,960,118 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EA View Post
But it's still a difference, is it not?
It's a huge difference. The kind that Captain Commission willfully ignores.


When I went through school the first time around, the university was not cheap. But I was capable of working 40 hour weeks, doing work-study programs, and paying my way entirely though. I'm not suggesting this was easy. But it was possible. Most students received help from their parents. But many didn't. They could still make it on their own -- tuition, dorm, meal plan, books, and some semblance of a social life. I did this myself.

Today, that simply isn't possible. The sorts of jobs I worked back then don't pay enough today. Work study doesn't cover enough. There simply are not enough hours in the day to make the numbers work. When I attended school, the Ivy League was attainable (barely) for the starving student who was willing to hustle. That simply isn't the case anymore.
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Old 12-22-2015, 08:40 PM
 
848 posts, read 645,707 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScoopLV View Post
It's a huge difference. The kind that Captain Commission willfully ignores.


When I went through school the first time around, the university was not cheap. But I was capable of working 40 hour weeks, doing work-study programs, and paying my way entirely though. I'm not suggesting this was easy. But it was possible. Most students received help from their parents. But many didn't. They could still make it on their own -- tuition, dorm, meal plan, books, and some semblance of a social life. I did this myself.

Today, that simply isn't possible. The sorts of jobs I worked back then don't pay enough today. Work study doesn't cover enough. There simply are not enough hours in the day to make the numbers work. When I attended school, the Ivy League was attainable (barely) for the starving student who was willing to hustle. That simply isn't the case anymore.
While the tuition at my alma mater (University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy) is significantly more expensive compared to when I attended a couple of decades ago, the financial aid has become significantly more generous. Here is a link to the financial aid statistics for this year's freshman class: A Look at the Facts. Penn only offers grants as part of financial aid so students can graduate without debt.
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Old 12-23-2015, 10:46 AM
 
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What I've noticed mostly too is that while a degree is preferred by employers today and definitely needed for certain professions, experience is what makes or breaks someone's job prospect. I've seen it firsthand. There may even be a demand in a certain field and you have the degree to meet it, but the lack of experience keeps you from landing work. Then you end up going to school again to get a specific certification or license, which took much less time than college, and end up working in a field where your degree is not really valued all that much. Add the cost of going to college these days, especially if you didn't get a scholarship, and you start scratching your head a little to see if its worth it. On top of that, wages have declined, even for college grads, so paying back any student loans can take years. Cost of living is up too. Its a tough world out there...
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Old 12-23-2015, 12:19 PM
 
2,469 posts, read 3,250,804 times
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Many companies offer some tuition reimbursement. Mine offers some reimbursement and has scholarships you can apply for. When I worked at the Venetian they had educational assistance.

Experience is great but if you have two people trying to get a position, equal in most ways but one has a degree and the other doesn't, I'm going to bet the degree holder gets the job.
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Old 12-30-2015, 12:58 AM
 
34 posts, read 34,927 times
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source: http://www.buzzfeed.com/gregschoofs/...for#.nexY5n3Ry

My father went to college in the 50s, and got an even better deal than those in the 70s.
Funny how those advocating for a return to policies of the past are dubbed "progressives",
and opposed by so-called "conservatives" who simultaneously express nostalgia for this era.
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