D'oh! SA Makes List of Lowest % of Residents with College Degrees (Austin: low income, loans)

[LindaGrace]

Originally Posted by plwhit

So I guess this means SA has one of the highest ranked populations when it comes to common sense and logic

What is the point of this comment?

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by plwhit

So I guess this means SA has one of the highest ranked populations when it comes to common sense and logic

You must be seeing the world upside down, because getting a college degree is "common sense".
Ask anybody that has worked for 30 years without a college degree how they feel when a 20 year old kid gets hired and bosses them around.

There's nothing like having a little kid step all over your dignity because you had "the common sense" to not go to college.

[L210]

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

While I think that college is definitely beneficial, my wealthiest clients don't have degrees. Started businesses and worked their tail off. Getting a degree doesn't amount to too much these days. Those that are successful are those willing to work their tails off, degree or not.

I happen to think it's the opposite. Many older people are very successful these days because when they started out, degrees weren't that important and they were able to work their way up. Now, I even see secretary (or administrative assistant) jobs that require associate's degrees. Many jobs in the medical field used to only require on-the-job training, but now they require degrees.

According to the information here on this site, San Antonio's median income is about $8,000 below the Texas median and $10,000 below the U.S. median. I don't know how much of that is balanced out by our low cost of living.

I wish there were a balance between recession proof, decent paying jobs, and low cost of living. Or is that what you get in Austin? Why is our unemployment rate so low? Is it because we have thousands of job openings for customer service representatives, MA's, and CNA's? A person with kids working full-time at one of those jobs is very likely to still qualify for government assistance.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

Those that are successful are those willing to work their tails off, degree or not.

That's like saying... don't go to school, just play basketball and you can be rich like Tim Duncan or Ginobili.
Guess what, only 0.000001% of people that try doing that reach that goal.
And if you don't get picked in the draft, you are going to be washing dishes in a restaurant.

[xsa210tx]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

On average, a person with a Master's degree earns $31,900 more per year than a high school graduate—a difference of as much as 105%!

I have a Master's degree but it also depends on the specific career/fields in which you have that Master's. In some fields you'll do really well with a Master's degree. With others, well, you'll have to really work (harder and many more years than other Master's degreed individuals) to get that kind of long-term pay, so these figures won't be realistic at all for certain degree career/fields.

Mine is in Communications. Not the best, but it's what I wanted.

Sure I could have went into Business, if I wanted to chase money, but money has never been the motivating factor for me in my education. It's all about what I enjoyed and liked.

So while the figures are all great, with this recession, and with certain degrees not being as "sought after," these figures might not tell the full story for individuals seeking pay that will pay them what their education is worth.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Dopo

That's like saying... don't go to school, just play basketball and you can be rich like Tim Duncan or Ginobili.
Guess what, only 0.000001% of people that try doing that reach that goal.
And if you don't get picked in the draft, you are going to be washing dishes in a restaurant.

Well let's take out Tim Duncan at least and replace him with Tony Parker because Tim Duncan graduated from Wake Forest with a degree in Psychology. I admire future professional athletes who stick it out through college. At least they have something to do after their career is over when people forget about them.

[Proffer]

Very interesting lists, especially when you consider which list is comprised almost entirely of liberal cities, and which list is comprised entirely of conservative ones!

[wCat]

Originally Posted by Dopo

You must be seeing the world upside down, because getting a college degree is "common sense".
Ask anybody that has worked for 30 years without a college degree how they feel when a 20 year old kid gets hired and bosses them around.

There's nothing like having a little kid step all over your dignity because you had "the common sense" to not go to college.

Just FYI.....that happens to "older" degreed professionals as well. It's called age discrimination.....it's illegal but it happens.

[wCat]

Originally Posted by meisha210

According to the information here on this site, San Antonio's median income is about $8,000 below the Texas median and $10,000 below the U.S. median. I don't know how much of that is balanced out by our low cost of living.

This is a good point. SA has a broader job base that doesn't require degrees. Not sure how to improve that without more companies coming in with higher paying jobs that require degrees. Even Rackspace offers jobs that do not require degrees. Knowledge of computers and certain certifications are what they look for and they train within. These employees probably fall into what Kevin is talking about. They are intelligent, ambitious and will probably work hard and go somewhere because they want to be in an industry that is growing.
Some may even get their degree while working. The traditional way of going to high school, then college and then get a decent paying job is changing.....which I think is a good thing. Some people spend 10+ years in school....having multiple degrees including one or two masters and still have to start out at a mid management job with hefty student loans to shoulder. I guess my point is that while the stats seem to be negative for SA, it may not be as bleak as it appears. In some cases....yes....others not necessarily a dead end job sentence.

[DerpyDerp]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Source = America's Smartest Cities

A city isn't necessarily "smarter" because it has more degrees than another area. It's not as if they hand out a degree to everyone who is of above-average intelligence and I know plenty of people with degrees who are of below-average intelligence. My test scores are good enough for membership in Mensa (if I were so inclined) and I have only an AA degree.

Earnings are always tied to education, either. According to your figures I earn as much as someone with a doctoral degree, while my ex has a Ph.D. and 4 other college degrees and earns half of that as a university professor.