Reputation of University of Wisconsin Campuses (Milwaukee, Madison: find a job, theater, shop)

[lakal]

Originally Posted by Solas

Actually, blue-collar people are a fringe minority in Milwaukee nowadays... keeping in mind that "blue-collar" is not synonymous with "working class." Pretty much any industrial/manufacturing businesses that are actually hiring are smaller and family owned. The big factories like Harley, Miller and Briggs & Stratton haven't hired any full-time employees at the entry level in ages and continue to lay people off like crazy.

I say all this as a "blue-collar guy" myself (I work at a pork factory).



Not always, but in the overwhelming majority of the time that tends to be the case... especially in the Midwest.


That's a pretty bad look for the Twin Cities if you ask me. For the most part, suburbs contribute nothing positive to their metro areas and the people who grow up there tend to have completely different values and experiences than people from the city.

That's where Minneapolis/Saint Paul have significant differences with Milwaukee, the general nature of the population is more dispersed; after all, there are two central cities. Cities like Chicago also don't fit this model any longer of minorities hyperclustered only in the central city.

Come the 2010 census, a significant number of inner ring suburbs will either be minority-majority (Brooklyn Center is projected to be the first) or have heavy minority populations. Segregation, while present, is not as stark as Milwaukee (which is city vs. suburbs even moreso than within the city of MKE itself).

And yes, sprawl is not a good thing! I highlighted that only to show that MKE's population is more weighted to the central city (a good thing IMO) but that also influences the metro areas demographics -- MKE's suburbs are extremely white, even where they border areas like the north side of Milwaukee.

Anyways, while sprawl is bad, let's not lie -- suburbs do have to exist. While I prefer centra cities, I won't begrudge people for wanting more space/different options/whatever motivates them to live elsewhere.

[Solas]

Originally Posted by lakal

That's where Minneapolis/Saint Paul have significant differences with Milwaukee, the general nature of the population is more dispersed; after all, there are two central cities. Cities like Chicago also don't fit this model any longer of minorities hyperclustered only in the central city.

Chicago and the Twin Cities are (unfortunately) the exception to this. It's still very much the norm for major cities in the Midwest (with Detroit being a primary example).

Originally Posted by lakal

And yes, sprawl is not a good thing! I highlighted that only to show that MKE's population is more weighted to the central city (a good thing IMO) but that also influences the metro areas demographics -- MKE's suburbs are extremely white, even where they border areas like the north side of Milwaukee.

Brown Deer and Glendale are near North MKE and both have significant black populations... Halle Berry used to own a house in the latter. Racine and Kenosha, while not necessarily being close to Milwaukee are also heavily black and latino.

There's also other things to consider like the fact that black people from Milwaukee are much, MUCH more likely to move down south rather than the suburbs, and personally, I can't blame them. Milwaukee's suburbs are stuck in the Leave It To Beaver era. Until a few other members and myself started calling them out about it, every other thread in the Milwaukee forum was a question about whether or not a certain area was safe... even places like the Upper Eastside and the Far NW!

Originally Posted by lakal

Anyways, while sprawl is bad, let's not lie -- suburbs do have to exist. While I prefer centra cities, I won't begrudge people for wanting more space/different options/whatever motivates them to live elsewhere.

I disagree... that's what rural areas are for. Suburbs especially don't have to exist around a place like Milwaukee which has a handful of neighborhoods that are everything like suburbs except for having to write "Milwaukee" on your mail.

[Solas]

Originally Posted by Wingfoot

I had one insructor at the Zero who was English and I asked if I was right
in thinking something was drastically wrong at the Zero-she gave me a long look and said "this place would not be considered a decent secondary school in England" .

To be fair, it's not considered a decent secondary school in most of Wisconsin either

Seriously, does UWO even have a specialty?

[bort5000]

You can go to any UW school and be successful. It's all about your attitude and how hard you work.

I have friends who went to Madison and didn't do much with their degree after graduating and friends who went to Oshkosh that went on to get PhDs in science and are now well respected scientists and professors.

Work hard at any of these schools and you can achieve. The name of the school you went to might get you in the door for some jobs but most employers want to know about your qualifications and achievements, not those of the average graduate of your school.

For most employers, especially those out of state, the only school they'll be familiar with is Madison. Many out of staters won't even know Marquette and they certainly wouldn't have any clue that UW La Crosse is supposedly more prestigious than UW Oshkosh.

[EastSideMKE]

Originally Posted by Solas

To be fair, it's not considered a decent secondary school in most of Wisconsin either

Seriously, does UWO even have a specialty?

Oshkosh has far and away the best music program in the state of WI.

[NicePolishBoy]

Originally Posted by jjacobeclark

Oshkosh has far and away the best music program in the state of WI.

You must mean state schools, because Lawrence is far better.

[EastSideMKE]

Originally Posted by NicePolishBoy

You must mean state schools, because Lawrence is far better.

No, not really. If your goal is to play in a symphony, then yes, Lawrence is better. However, if your goal is to be a musical entrepreneur and own a recording studio, independent record label, musical instrument repair shop, or to do anything else related to making music professionally, then UWO is unmatched in WI. They don't even teach Pro Tools at Lawrence, 'nuff said.

[Socialmatt]

Flipping through the posts on this thread lets me know the stigma associated with UW-Stout is still being passed on. However, nothing could be further from the truth of that ol' saying, "When in doubt, go to Stout."

Overall placement rates have been 95%> the last three years. Take into consideration the economy we've had... UW-Stout students are still finding jobs. Not only are they finding jobs, as the economy continued to tank, UW-Stout's overall placement rate and in-major placement increased.

UW-Stout is ranked 2nd in the entire system in terms of Federal Grants for faculty research, only behind UW-Madison.

UW-Stout's educational focus consists of...

Career Focus: offers a comprehensive curriculum that prepares graduates for professional careers.

Applied Learning: blends theory with practice to produce innovative solutions to real world problems.

Collaboration: works closely with business, industry and other educational institutions to benefit students and grow the economy.

When asked the question, "Should I come to UW-Stout?" my answer is typically, "Is there a major here that really interests you?" If they say yes, then I would highly encourage them to enroll. UW-Stout has a very select, small number of majors which often doesn't work well for those who are undecided. We don't have boat loads of undergraduate programs to which the job market is next to nothing in terms of demand. The field we have are cutting edge and focused on the trends of the job market.

We have very good programs in education, engineering, art, and various sectors of business.

My overall point is, with the sheer make-up of UW-Stout and its core educational values and structure, the old saying "when in doubt, go to Stout" doesn't even make any sense.

It's time to end this perpetuation of a low-tier education, the facts simply don't hold up that false-truth.

I will be proud to call myself a UW-Stout graduate.

Information & Communication Technologies undergraduate (2011)

[UWMEastsider]

I agree completely with socialmatt i never understood the "when in doubt, go to stout" I've always wondered why people say it because it doesn't making and f***ing sense. Shouldn't it be like when in doubt go to Milwaukee? why would you go to a school with limited major options when your undecided? wouldn't you go to a school that offers a wide range of options?

[brewnik]

Originally Posted by Socialmatt

UW-Stout has a very select, small number of majors which often doesn't work well for those who are undecided. We don't have boat loads of undergraduate programs to which the job market is next to nothing in terms of demand. The field we have are cutting edge and focused on the trends of the job market.

To me, that just says Stout is a glorified tech school.

I'm not knocking your decision to go there... it sounds like it's really working out for you. But the purpose of going to college is to get educated, not to find a job, and for those seeking the former, most of the stigmas against Stout still apply... of course they'd also apply to at least half the UW system as well (aside from each campus' "specialty.")