Education is a joke

[Capn]

Education is a tool. You can't be given an education, you have to work at it. Much of what they do is just jumping through professors hoops with bs assignments. However, there's much much more there for you. Anyways, 25% of billionares maybe have no college degree but only 1-2% of US executives do not have a college degree. A diploma is not a substitute for hard work and innovation, however you don't get hardwork or innovation by dropping out of school because you're sick of it. Stick it out, you'll be glad you did. In any case, my father has his BS and MS in electrical engineering, then he got bored with it and now he's a baptist minister. So there are other career options out there for you.

 

[vi edit]

I don't know about you guys, but doing well in high school scored me about $7,000 a year in scholarships and grants for my next 4 years of college. Simply putting in an extra 10 minutes into a class was certainly worth the $28,000 that it got me when it was all over.

If I had just screwed around in high school, I wouldn't have received that money and probably wouldn't have been able to afford the private college that I went to.

As far as college, I see it as a way of guaranteeing a *respectable* income(depending upon your major). If you go into CS, CE, EE, Accounting, or Finance, it more or less guarantees that you will have a decent paycheck once you get out.

Sure I can skip college and hop right into the job field, but how many people at the age of 22 without a degree besides a high school diploma make 40k a year? My guess would be not too many.

Those who didn't go to college took chances. They took the chance that they could get a decent job and a decent pay. College more or less takes you along the safer path to a higher paycheck.

 

[BoberFett]

vi_edit

<< how many people at the age of 22 without a degree besides a high school diploma make 40k a year? >>

Hey, I resemble that statement.

Unfortunately, a degree does NOT guarantee you a good income. It's another tool in your toolbox when you try to get a job, but that's it.

 

[vi edit]

Bober, I know that you have a very decent paying job and do not have a degree.

I believe that you are a minority though, and will ever increasingly become a minority. Many of your big employers are upping the ante on the employment requirements. In the last two corporations that I worked for, one having 10,000 employees worldwide and the other having 10 times that, if you wanted a full time office job, you were required to have a degree. No if's ands or buts about it. No degree, no paycheck. I see this trend increasing.

 

[Ornery]

Damn, aren't any of you guys going to be teachers? That looks like the way to go, and one very good &quot;career&quot; to come from college. $45,000 per year for 180 days of work and benefits that include a retirement plan apart from Social Security. Face it, government union jobs yield far more money than they're worth. Why not grab it? I'm going to try and steer my boys that way for sure! Hell, I think I'm going to steer my own ass that way! Not going to school if I can help it, but there are other government jobs I should be able to snag. Hey, if ya can't beat em...

 

[LadyNiniane]

My long answer is already posted over here

But I will add a reminder - diplomas and degrees are what you get for completing someone else's goals for you, education is what you get when you complete your own goals.

And no, that education isn't always received in a classroom setting.

If you're that close to completing the degree work, do whatever you can to go ahead and finish it; it does make a difference down the road in salary potential and job placement.

Just never buy in to the idea that the &quot;piece of paper&quot; is your goal.

Lady Niniane

 

[jyrixx]

i've been thinking about that alot lately outersquare...

i'm a freshman in college, and my brother knows a kid, who didn't go to college, and will be able to retire next year at the age of 24, if he choose to.

the way i see it, college makes it easier to obtain a decent job doing something you want to do...

 

[vi edit]

Ornery, I've thought about getting a teaching degree, but have more or less decided against it. In Iowa the average starting salary for a teacher is around 22k or so. We have a teacher shortage and I can pretty much tell you why. You go through 4 years of schooling and put in that much heart and mind into a job doing one of the most important jobs out there and you only make $22,000 for it? I don't think so. The school systems are missing out excellent teaching talent simply because the would-be teachers have jumped ship moved over to more profitable industries.

I also didn't want to put up with all of the crap and politics of the school system as well. I'm pretty non-conformist and that doesn't sit well in an education environment. I also feel that a lot of parents out there are trying to prevent teachers from doing their jobs and I don't have the patience to put up with ignorant parents.

But, that's just me.

 

[Ornery]

I always thought the reason was to provide bodies for classes that would otherwise be empty. Makes more money for the college. What? Too cynical?

Edit: In our city of 50,000, the teachers have an average of 16 years service and average salary was at $47,000 in 1996. Not sure what it is now, but you know it didn't go down. I think they start a lot lower, but it doesn't take long for it to pile up. Not paying into SS is a HUGE benefit too. Not to mention only 180 days work! Good Lord! Think about it!

They do have some politics to screw around with, but they can NEVER be fired. Even the molesters just move on to another district. So don't be so idealistic. Just coast through the years and suck up the dough. I don't personally know anybody that works for anything but the money!

 

[Zenmervolt]

&quot;I was never one to let schooling get in the way of education.&quot; - Mark Twain

Always remember that quotation, it has worked for me. You can learn more in a day at the library than in a week in a classroom. Just realize that you have to play the system. All a degree is good for is getting your foot in the door for an interview, beyond that everything is in your hands. Of course you can't get a job without an interview so you need the degree. I'd say that the best thing to do is to play the game for now, realizing that it is merely a game. Once you are out in the &quot;real&quot; world, that &quot;promiseless piece of paper&quot; will be able to get you an interview with a company and perhaps a shot at a job that will be something you love to do. As for UPS guys making the same $45K per year, just remember that $45K is pretty much the ceiling for UPS guys but only the floor for a college educated person in EE. Very successful people may be very rare, but college educater people tend to do better than college drop-outs. Your average college drop-outs may be able to pull of middle class if they are lucky, but most will likely stay in the lower middle class bracket, while college educated persons are frequently upper middle class or above.

Zenmervolt

 

[vi edit]

<< I always thought the reason was to provide bodies for classes that would otherwise be empty. Makes more money for the college. What? Too cynical? >>



Ornery, I'm not catching your point here. Can you expand upon that comment?

 

[Ornery]

That's not in reference to teaching. That's about the original topic by OuterSquare. He's stuck taking classes just to fill seats that pay professors and administrators.

Zenmervolt nailed it at the beginning of his post. It's a game...

 

[vi edit]

Ornery, not sure how things work in your school district, but to get that sort of salary in your smaller schools in Illinois you have to hold a masters degree. Compare just about any other non-education based profession that involves a masters degree and you'll find that 45,000 isn't that high.

Yes teachers only put in 180 days a year, but you have to factor in how many extra hours are required to prep for classes. Teachers may only teach from 8-3, but the time spent grading papers and preparing lectures makes up for it.

When it comes down to it, people don't hop into teaching for the money, it's because it's something that you really want to do.