Anonymous wrote:There are lots of jobs there don't require a BS in BS.

My job "requires" a graduate degree but truthfully you could do it with a bachelors. The graduate degree requirement is really more about screening for people with a certain work ethic and intelligence level but there is nothing about the job that requires anything I learned in my grad program. A reasonably smart college grad could learn everything I know with a little bit of time and effort (and be spared the loans that pretty much everyone takes out for the program).

And I think the same is true for many jobs that require college degree. In fact many of those jobs didn't use to require a degree but it just became a way to signal "I have some degree of reliability and am not a total idiot."

I wish all college was free or low cost like it is in some other countries. Does anyone have stats on the % of college grads for those type of countries??

Anonymous wrote:It is unfortunate that college and other “degrees” are often framed in terms of “payback” “investment” and other financial terms. I’ve often thought a more educated populace makes for a better person, and society, thus knowledge and knowing, can be fulfilling pursuits in themselves. Wouldn’t it be great to have ditch diggers who center their work within advanced mathematics and physics principles? Let a younger generation do the ditch digging as they pursue deeper and greater understanding of the world around them.

Well, Jan, for most of us money is finite, and since my children are not heirs/heiresses, they must earn a living when they are older. Thus, degree programs must be chosen with that in mind. Their educations will cost more than the down payment for our house.

Investment/payback/etc. is not the ONLY consideration, to be sure, but it certainly needs to be part of the equation for the vast, vast majority of families given the cost of college and (for most students) student loan payments for which interest does not stop generating nor payment due dates cease because one has decided to focus strictly on pursuing "deeper and greater understanding of the world around them." Unless you think we should return to a time when college was only for a small sliver of the population (i.e., the most privileged).

Anonymous wrote:It is unfortunate that college and other “degrees” are often framed in terms of “payback” “investment” and other financial terms. I’ve often thought a more educated populace makes for a better person, and society, thus knowledge and knowing, can be fulfilling pursuits in themselves. Wouldn’t it be great to have ditch diggers who center their work within advanced mathematics and physics principles? Let a younger generation do the ditch digging as they pursue deeper and greater understanding of the world around them.

Never confuse understanding and knowledge with formal education.

Anonymous wrote:You can thank Republcians and red states for that.

Guess what 2025 Project 2025 women will not be going to college.

Listen when they spew.

Sure they will the Mrs degree will still be pursued.

You can thank Republcians and red states for that.

Guess what 2025 Project 2025 women will not be going to college.

Listen when they spew.

More than half of Americans have an IQ below 100.

It is unfortunate that college and other “degrees” are often framed in terms of “payback” “investment” and other financial terms. I’ve often thought a more educated populace makes for a better person, and society, thus knowledge and knowing, can be fulfilling pursuits in themselves. Wouldn’t it be great to have ditch diggers who center their work within advanced mathematics and physics principles? Let a younger generation do the ditch digging as they pursue deeper and greater understanding of the world around them.

Anonymous wrote:100% of the people in my Langley neighborhood has advanced degree. Lawyers, Doctors, and political lobbyists with law degrees.

And water is wet.

Obviously certain neighborhoods will be filled with college degrees and advanced degrees. Live in one where the cheapest home is $1.5M+, vast majority will have a degree, likely advanced degrees. There will be a few business owners of trade companies, etc as well, but 95% around me would be college degreed

100% of the people in my Langley neighborhood has advanced degree. Lawyers, Doctors, and political lobbyists with law degrees.

Anonymous wrote:The world needs ditch diggers, too.

And electricians, plumbers, mechanics, woodworkers, general contractors, artists, farmers, drivers, servers, admin assistants, and a million other vital jobs. What the world needs less of is consultants, IMHO.

*Fewer than half...

And all we do here is argue about which are the top 10 schools in the country

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The world needs ditch diggers, too.

Well, who can blame all the ditch diggers for not wanting to pay your student loans?!

Well, the ditch diggers also rely on college graduates to help keep the economy, not to mention their employers, going.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the smartest and wisest people I’ve known haven’t had a college degree, whereas some of the biggest idiots and jerks I’ve known have been college graduates.

A diploma guarantees neither intelligence nor common sense. While it does indicate that the holder was exposed to some field of knowledge, there is no guarantee that the knowledge was mastered and has been retained. Meanwhile, there have always been some intellectually curious and highly motivated individuals who pursued their passions independently. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin are just a few of the countless Americans who made profound contributions to this country despite never graduating from college.

+1

I’ll +2 I guess, but yeah… water is wet? The sky is blue?