You don't need a college degree to make good pay if you are an above average worker.

If you are an average to below average worker, a college degree will give you a much better chance to make a decent living. But it doesn't guarantee anything.

My parents raised 6 kids, three of us have at least a Bachelor's degree, and I'd bet the average income of the three without a degree will beat the average of the three with a degree.

If you want a cushy gig, a college degree is definitely the way to go though.
(I'm one of the ones with a degree, BTW).

 

Which degree did you get? Mine sure didn't led to a cushy job. I should have chose better.

 

If you only knew....Seems here in Eastern Ky, the coal companies want you to have 20+ years of experience....When your 20-25.....W-T-F......

And what I honestly don't get is; The older guys that could easily train a young man in that field are retring/dying off.....

 

I am all for having a degree. Does it really take one for an entry level security job though? I just think that these type of jobs do not payout for the time and money to get the degree.

 

Unless you're going for a technical degree of some sort (i.e., engineering), when you combine the time out of the workforce while in school, the cost of school and the loans, many degrees do not make economic sense.

The push in the last 30 years to get everyone in college has been a huge disservice to this country. There are far too many careers that require some training, but not a 4-year degree, so time and money spent on school is wasted.

I'd better stop now so I don't get this sent to the Club.

Jason

 

Most security jobs only require a clean background and being able to read and write...Or well, a HS diploma...And you'll get $8-10 an hr....

Not too shabby when you look at the fact you literally are sitting on your butt and doing NOTHING...

Minimal work/Minimum wage....

 

It really depends on the situation. Engineering may not make sense either, it depends on the situation. You would have to do an individual cost/benefit analysis(I actually do have a masters in economics, ag economics, but concepts are very much the same) to determine if it's worth it in your case.

Also there are some things that may not apply to you either. My dad had his education paid for by the GI Bill. I paid for mine myself, no loads.

While some education will not provide a monetary value in the form of a paycheck, it does provide the value of you not getting taken advantage of. It teaches you how to think and take what people say to you and help you determine if it's a load of crap or not.

In order for to determine if it makes economical sense, you have to evaluate everything that you can put a value to. Most of what was mentioned above was in the accounting sense, with the possible exception of "time out of the workforce", although that would depend on how that was valued as well. I also might add that I did college while working, so I had zero time out of the workforce. It all depends on the individual circumstance.

Ben Franklin once said: "Put your money in a bank and someone can take it away from you, invest your money in education and no one can take that away from you".

Now I can think of some ways people can deny you access to that knowledge, but they really don't truly take it from you. But that's getting far more philosophical then I care to go in this thread.

I somewhat agree, but not in the way that you would think. I think training people just for a specific job and getting them out into the workforce is doing a disservice. I think going back to making sure people had more of a classical education as well as teaching them for a job set would be far better.

 

My question is:

Why will I NEED a 4yr college diploma, to sit an watcha tv screen?

I mean get real....If you listened in HS somewhat...You can make it in the real world..You'll know how to read/write/do arithmetic....Do you NEED to know anymore?

IMHO, NO...Thats good enough to do 90% of the factory jobs.....Well, the ones that were shipped to mexico, to guys that can't read nor write...

But for medical, electronics, etc....Yes, you'll need it...

 

Have you seen the crap that comes out of quite a few HSs? I read the Jilting of Granny Witherall and I don't recall her knowing Ninjistu and carrying a submachine gun. With the adoptation of "No Child Left Behind" that placates to the lazy and unmotivated as it does to the kids that truly don't get what's going on and do need help. The ole ball and chain had to deal with that crap before she moved on to accounting.

I hold very little faith for the public education system in that regard. Now it's not everyone, but there is enough of it coming out of the public system that it's scary. They really don't have the basic concepts of reading and writing. The mere fact that "conversate" had to be put in the dictionary is a testament to that.

 

Sadly....You are right...Given that I played poker 90% of my HS days...I still seem to make it pretty easily....I love reading, an whatnot....Guess its all in the person in how well they soak up knowledge...

 

I'm hoping that the degree happy days are coming to an end. I saw an interesting article that seemed to say that a lot of schools aren't teaching what's needed.

‘Skills gap’ leaving firms without workers - Business - Personal finance - Careers - msnbc.com

What this seems to be saying is that there are a lot of jobs for super technicians ( as opposed to engineers). I can believe this. I worked for a company that had gotten to the philosophy of hiring engineers vs technicians because 'An engineer can always do anything that a technician can do'.

They forgot to add 'poorly'. I worked with one lab that had 4 PhDs and one tech. When the tech went on vacation a lot of things ground to a halt.

This is not an antidegree rant. I always wanted a EE degree, but lack of drive and then family stopped that from happening. (I did get some of the basics, and I was able to get a 'company' degree).

What I am saying is that there is a big need for folks who can do some very skilled tasks, but don't have the more esoteric theory part. Most engineers make fairly poor technicians, and most technicians are not engineers.

I'm hoping that companies are starting to recognize this fact.

hj

 

No Child Left Behind was a JOKE!!!

When they "realigned the curriculum" to make sure every child had a fair and balanced education,,, ALL they did was realign it so the kids could pass the State Standards Assessment Test!!

NOTHING changed in the curriculum except for teaching to the test!!

Well,,, some topics were dropped,, the ones that weren't on the test. But who needs Home Ec, Health, Art, Music and PE anyways,, right? So much for balance,,,

After teaching for 15 years,, I was embarrassed to be a part of it any longer,,, and quit to do something totally different,,, which I absolutely love!!!

 

High schools across the country offer very challenging college level classes that will help to prepare a young person for higher education, but it won't do squat for a person entering the working world.

I think higher education is something that all young people should aspire to obtain these days. There is nothing wrong with blue collar work, I've done it all of my life. With an education, you have more choices and more doors will open.

 

I haven't seen that or maybe it skipped here and went right on across to the next state.

Considering that some states actually have shortages of teachers compared to the amount of students, I don't see how they can effective help everyone or even the majority of everyone(I'm talking at least 51% majority).

The only hope that someone has in the high school system (especially public) is if they are lucky to have really good teachers that help inspire the kids or the kid has a naturally drive themself. Even finding one of those is very hard to do.

 

My daughter was fortunate enough to get to take college classes for her last two years of high school through this program,,, her school called it Running Start.

She graduated high school on a Saturday, and then Sunday morning, we took a 200 mile drive so she could graduate from college with her Associates Degree.

She continued on with college and got another Associates Degree and a Certificate. Only two of the 48 students in her graduating class have jobs.

Jobs period,,, not just in their field,,,

Very sad,,,