Is a bachelor's degree enough to be successful in the 21st century? (credit, consulting)
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No, if it's something useless. If that's the case, it might be better re-evaluating what you have vs what's actually in demand, and start making some decisions.
Plenty of people are massively successful with and without college degrees. Far more important than education is the drive to ACTIVELY better your career and skills. People that get their degrees just so they can occupy a desk for 30 years are those that get left behind. The successful people are those who relentlessly pursue skills to make themselves more valuable to their employer. These "skills" aren't necessarily education, they can be a multitude of things.
Success is more dependent on taking an active role in shaping your career than it is on credentials. Don't be afraid to make moves to enhance your responsibilities, and when an opportunity pops up, seize it and keep your eyes up for the next one.
Now I'm only in my mid-20's and my career is still getting off the ground, but this is what I understand to be the key to success. Once upon a time the key was getting in with a good company and riding it out for 30 years. Now the key is actively increasing your value to the employer and taking advantage of every opportunity that allows you to make progress toward your career goal, whether it be inside the company or not. You need to be aggressive in the working world.
As salary data shows those who are driven are the ones who often do go to college because they have been driven and successful in HS.
These decisions must always be balanced with cost and student loan payments later on etc. With a degree in Mathematics and the right career path, you could have been in Risk Management or something of the sort for a major bank and climbing the Corporate ladder right now.
I have a friend with a Math Degree who followed that track. The Bank paid for an MBA, which opened doors.
A generic degree isn't going to open doors, you must get that foot in the door first.
I know an actuary who makes GOOD money, $150k a year. He's in his early 30s and he has a mathematics degree. Works for an insurance company.
Not everyone is cut out for it as you have to pass the actuarial exams which are known for being extremely rigorous. Passing the actuarial exams is much harder than passing the CPA exam. There is a reason why they are paid well.
Also, the work is boring. Had to throw that in there.
I remember my parents pushing me to go to college when I dropped out of high school in 1993. I got my GED in 1994 and went to work later that year for a small window manufacturing company operating manual machines. Over the years I went from manual to CNC machines.
17 years later after an extensive layoff I landed a job in WA machining parts for a top Boeing supplier... $60k + with overtime and benefits. My resume consists of 2 weeks of tech school certifications and 1994-2012 experience.
I have friends that aren't doing this well, but they do have nice big student loan payments. I feel lucky and fortunate, but don't regret not going to college. I am doing what I enjoy doing and making a good living at the same time.
I followed a similar course. The funny thing is, while in high school, I attended vocational classes for machining. They don't even offer those programs anymore, and that is what got me started in my profession! I've dealt with the layoffs before, but there are machine shops all across the country. Every year, my wages have increased, except during this crappy recession, although that changed during my last job change. Jobs come and go. Ya gotta keep moving on.
The stuff that I do is not being taught anymore, and no one is interested in learning what I have to offer. Can't complain though, I get all the OT I can eat, cause no one else is around to do it. 60K down south is easy with the right skillset. Up here, the sky is the limit if you know the right stuff and can deal with the stress and BS of production work. I don't know why the basics of my kind of work are not being handed down anymore. Never had a problem supporting myself, even though I moved out young. Wasn't an easy road, but I wouldn't change a thing. Made me the man who I am today, albeit a little you know what and vinegar. We don't make plumber's wages, but I certainly wouldn't be happy working on pipes and toilets for a living either!
I think the young folks in this country need to have exposure to professions like ours. It's not easy work, and it doesn't always pay well starting out. No problem. You never turn down overtime and learn everything you possibly can as fast as you can take it in. The smart ones do fine after a few years. In 4 years, you can be making decent money, have no debt, and have that experience that every employer is demanding.
A smart machinist told me at a shop I was at a few years ago... We are in a new age. Those who will be making $20/hr and over are going to be the ones who are worth it, no exceptions. It seems to have worked out just the way he predicted. Might as well pick something you are truly interested in. If you pick something just for the money, chances are you won't become the best at it. Rant over
As salary data shows those who are driven are the ones who often do go to college because they have been driven and successful in HS.
We also need people with the drive to start a business, enter into hands on technical work, give an honest shot in the trades, etc. There are many paths to success in this country. I would like to believe that is what makes this country great. College is not the end all, be all though. It requires risk, and not everyone can capitalize on such risk, or afford the potential downside of debt. We still need intelligent folks to try different routes.
Seems the whole go to college route is a bit saturated these days. It's not a bad pursuit, but it doesn't always yield the expected results. The biggest mistake many high school districts have made was to cut vocational training programs. These programs allowed young folks to graduate high school, enter into $10-$12/hr jobs and learn for a few years until they could make an honest living. If we loose routes to an honest living such as that, we may very well develop a caste society such as the one enjoyed in India today.
The bachelors degree has long been the high school diploma of yesteryear, and now it's becoming the high school diploma of the 1990s... that is, the very bare minimum for ANY job, let along a good one. A BS in Computer Science in 1990 would put you in the running for any entry level software job short of Bell Labs. Now you seem to need a M.S.C.S for any decent entry level software job... and if it isn't from a "prestige" school you're at a major disadvantage.
(oh, and "48÷2(9+3) = ?" is ambiguous. There's no standard as to whether implied multiplication comes before division or if it is of equal precedence and follows left to right evaluation. Since this example is given at wikipedia I suspect the poster knew this and is pulling our leg, also the integral of d(cabin)/cabin is "log cabin" -- more properly "ln cabin" but that ruins the joke)
I followed a similar course. The funny thing is, while in high school, I attended vocational classes for machining. They don't even offer those programs anymore, and that is what got me started in my profession! I've dealt with the layoffs before, but there are machine shops all across the country. Every year, my wages have increased, except during this crappy recession, although that changed during my last job change. Jobs come and go. Ya gotta keep moving on.
I think the young folks in this country need to have exposure to professions like ours. It's not easy work, and it doesn't always pay well starting out. No problem. You never turn down overtime and learn everything you possibly can as fast as you can take it in. The smart ones do fine after a few years. In 4 years, you can be making decent money, have no debt, and have that experience that every employer is demanding.
A smart machinist told me at a shop I was at a few years ago... We are in a new age. Those who will be making $20/hr and over are going to be the ones who are worth it, no exceptions. It seems to have worked out just the way he predicted. Might as well pick something you are truly interested in. If you pick something just for the money, chances are you won't become the best at it. Rant over
We most definitely have followed a similar course. A lot if what you've said sounds just like me. I really enjoy my job.
Great post and yeah I'm greedy for OT. I got back from vacation the 20th and have worked 12 hrs every day since... 12 days straight and now I have 2 days off. I work like this in the winter and coast in the summer.
We also need people with the drive to start a business, enter into hands on technical work, give an honest shot in the trades, etc. There are many paths to success in this country. I would like to believe that is what makes this country great. College is not the end all, be all though. It requires risk, and not everyone can capitalize on such risk, or afford the potential downside of debt. We still need intelligent folks to try different routes.
Seems the whole go to college route is a bit saturated these days. It's not a bad pursuit, but it doesn't always yield the expected results. The biggest mistake many high school districts have made was to cut vocational training programs. These programs allowed young folks to graduate high school, enter into $10-$12/hr jobs and learn for a few years until they could make an honest living. If we loose routes to an honest living such as that, we may very well develop a caste society such as the one enjoyed in India today.
That is why I said those who often. The problem now are average students who are going to college when a trade would be a better fit.
Success in life has never been easy and never will be. With people having easy access to a B.S. degree, getting that is basically useless beyond getting the bare minimum to qualify for a job posting. It has always taken strong drive and passion to succeed and always will be. There will always be losers and winners. Not every person that goes to college is going to make good money.
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