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One went to college and studied Accounting, with a 3.2 GPA, and got a job in January with EY, one of the Big Four Accounting Firms, and is making about $60,000.
The other twin went to college, got a 4.0 GPA but got a Liberal Arts Degree in Communications and only could find a job at a Movie Theatre selling food and makes about $20,000 a year.
Both are college graduates. Is it fair that the Accounting Graduate is making $60K, while the better student, the Communications Major, is only making $20K for his full time job?
The difference is simple. The accountant learned a white collar trade. If he keeps up with the computerized advances in his trade he will still be an accountant and a well paid bureaucrat. He may even learn how to manage accountants and be paid even more. In any case he will HAVE to work 60 to 80 hour weeks and not have any life beyond working and playing a couple of video games or getting hammered to get to sleep.
The communications major, with his 4.0 grade, has learned how to learn. He can apply these skills to do almost anything. He could become acquainted with a local politician and, if his candidate wins, advance to writing condescending platitudes for a presidential candidate at very high pay. Hell, if he was really good at telling people what they wanted to hear he could be a politician himself. He could learn to help tobacco companies peddle poison with creative advertising. He could learn how to become a fundamentalist preacher and raise millions for the One True God and his personal aggrandizement. He can learn to do anything.
What I am trying to communicate is the first guy learned a trade. The second guy learned how to learn and how to tell other people what he learned. The first guy is locked into a cubical forever and the second can take the time figuring out how to make money while paying the rent with a job that at least offers unlimited popcorn for the time being. Instant money is not always that important. Long term success is.
One went to college and studied Accounting, with a 3.2 GPA, and got a job in January with EY, one of the Big Four Accounting Firms, and is making about $60,000.
The other twin went to college, got a 4.0 GPA but got a Liberal Arts Degree in Communications and only could find a job at a Movie Theatre selling food and makes about $20,000 a year.
Both are college graduates. Is it fair that the Accounting Graduate is making $60K, while the better student, the Communications Major, is only making $20K for his full time job?
Communications is not a liberal arts degree, but it is a STEM degree (either an applied science major or a technology major to be specific).
Last edited by marigolds6; 07-28-2015 at 09:56 AM..
This just shows how college degrees provide a sense of legitimacy.
To add though I believe year a college degrees proves you are legitimate but also business jobs tend to pay more then advertising and communications jobs. Its just how the world works.
My friend graduated with a communications degree because she likes PR. She just landed her first PR job right out of college in New York and it only pays $35,000-- may look like a lot on paper but to pay for living, food, etc. in the city that is barely nothing to save early.
With that being said, my friends who work in investment are making close to $45 an hour. This seems unfair but their hours are longer and the business is more though provoking in different ways.
It's the ugly truth. I am a communications student as well and I hate seeing that but now a days it's all about connections, alumni help and a driven personality to make more money.
Is the entry level accountant really worth three times as much? Remember, both are working full time and are college graduates.
I am trying to put a different spin on the question of how much difference in pay two people both working full time should have. Yes, I understand that if 20 years from today, one of the twins is still selling drinks and hot dogs at the movie theatre and has made no progress in his career and the other twin has become an expert in Cost Accounting and has moved into management and through his efforts has saved the company millions of dollars. Then the accountant should be paid significantly more.
But at age twenty three, right out of college the entry level Accountant may not be worth three times as much as the hard working movie theatre employee who is busting his but and standing all day, working like a dog.
One twin can do your taxes or balance your company accounts. Both are valuable skills that require extensive training and skill. The other can put popcorn in a bucket and squirt some fake butter on it. 2 minutes training and literally EVERYONE can do it. The difference in their pay is based on the value of their skills.
For the OP... I think we need to keep in mind that value in the market does not equate to value as a human being.
The market values the skills of an accountant much more than someone who works at a movie theater. It's just reality, and it makes perfect sense. Someone with a Liberal Arts degree will need to work harder on their soft skills in order to slowly move up and eventually show that they can be valuable to the market. An accountant has determinable hard skills that can be used immediately.
Both people may be wonderful human beings. Their incomes do not define who they are.
Too many people define their self worth by their net worth.
Communications is not a liberal arts degree, but it is a STEM degree (either an applied science major or a technology major to be specific).
I love how every major is being turning into a "STEM" degree.
Recall how almost every profession got "Engineer" tacked on to the end ?
Sanitation Engineer (garbageman), domestic engineer (housekeeper), etc.
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