tricky_ab

Common...I don't get that vibe here.

Anyways College is good when you have a plan. Education's bubble will burst before long at this rate---might as well be in a race with commercial real estate off that cliff. I generally blame the admins and other cash-in folk that twisted the thing any number of ways from elementary on up these past many years----different issues at each level but the same kind of assholes selling it down the river.

inopsey

that is some bad advise. if you go to school to take 'classes that interest you' with no end job in site you will end up with a huge debt and no job. if you decide to go to university make sure you have a goal and a possible job in mind. everything you do at university should be focused on the end goal(employment). i agree 100% with the op networking (internships) are way more productive to produce a good job than unfocused learning or a degree with no network. thats the nice thing about trade schools and other diploma collages, they find you work and internships to complete the programs, and the network you need to find a job and stay in the industry.

at least in canada, you do not want to be a scientist/chemist; minimum education is a Phd. there is also no funding for this stuff here, all the money (multi millions) are provided by private corporations like monsanto and in the last 10 years have caused such a backlog of research talent that it is impossible to get a job in the sciences without a Phd. the government here is retarded to anything scientific and has been cutting funding to all research for the last 10 years. even Phds are having a hard time finding post doc work, let alone the full filling work that made them want to do a Phd in the first place. everyone in the scientific research field walks around their term jobs (continuing perm. positions dont exist up here in the sciences) on eggshells because they know there are a stack of resumes a few phone books high waiting to replace you.

axiomatik

I think many of you are reading this the wrong way. Back in 1980, for a lot of jobs, having a bachelors was a way for you to stand out in the application process. Nowadays, almost any office job outside of secretarial is looking for a bachelors degree of some sort. Your BA in English isn't special anymore. Now a Masters is a way to stand out. Also, the recession is making a lot of people go back to school because of the horrible job market, so more people are getting Masters than ever.

Also, you can get a Masters degree for a lot less than some of you think. I received my BSME from Arizona State in 2003, and then went to Stanford for an MSME. I completed my program at Stanford in one year, fully financed via student loans. I finished with less than $50k in student loans, with a Masters degree from one of the most prestigious universities in the country. Now, not everyone can complete the program in one year. It's hard as hell and very few people try to finish in one year, but it saved me money because I only had to pay room & board for one year versus 2 (the cost of the program is roughly the same whether it takes you one year or two).

$50k in student loans may be a lot, but I am pretty sure I'll make it up in increased earnings over my lifetime. In fact, I may already have.

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PNgo12

This thread worries me lol. I'm starting my second year this upcoming fall and I'm still undeclared. I'm not even close to figuring out what I want to major in.

zeitgeist

It STRONGLY depends what degree you get.

If you get what everyone else has (MBA cough cough) and dont have the experience to back it up, you're probably gonna be waiting tables for a while.
Like someone else here said, you need a plan before you start school.
Work while you're in school and stay at that same company throughout your 4-5 years, so by the time you graduate you are often able to have the foot in for a management position

And when it comes to a Master's, the school name means more than anything IMO. And at school is the best time to network!

And whoever spent 200k on a college education messed up somewhere LOL. Hell Im going to MIT for their logistics program and I wont even spend anywhere near that

It's not what you know, its who you know. This is how you move up in the world quickly

WanganRunner

^^
This is true.

MBA's are basically a prerequisite in my line of work, and so I got one. I did it part-time (i.e. worked while I did it), and so my debt load was lower (didn't borrow room & board), and I also had 3 years of work experience that I wouldn't otherwise have had. I ended up with about $40k in loans, which I should be able to cover in full my first year out with the post-MBA income differential. I've actually already got a job that should do that, but I don't want to count my chickens, etc.

In the right field, grad degrees are definitely worth it.


EDIT: I need to preface this with WHICH MBA you're getting is enormously important. Top 25 only, otherwise don't bother. Any program that will let you in without 2-4 years of really solid work experience is probably garbage. Career changers be wary, it's best to have that 2-4 years in the same field you want to work in after you graduate. If you want to be an investment banker, then top 10 programs only.

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duffman1278

There's a masters in leadership, creative writing ( as mentioned), communications, social work. No offense to anyone but these are basically useless degree's and a waste of time and money. There's more out there but people might feel offended.

People today for some odd reason believe that what they were told as a kid was that ANY college degree they get is going to lead them to success. But people need to stop being lazy and go to school to actually learn not just find the easiest major they find so they can party and tell their parents they're getting a college degree.

I've seen people with master's degree's in the science and engineering fields and they have really good and secure jobs. And they're able to find jobs fairly easily. Undergrad is a bit difficult but not too bad.

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omgRWDgoodness!

These statements really hit close to home. I laugh quietly to myself when I see some of those trendy art majors walking around campus, long on arrogance but short on substance. I also notice that a lot of chicks are into psychology degrees, and ironically it always seems to me that they are in one way or another crackpots themselves.

Oh well, each one is another person I don't have to compete against in the job market I guess...

11:11 make a wish!

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theicecreamdan

There is still stuff out there for art majors. I work for a guy that majored in ceramics, not sure what his boss did in college, but its related. They're not rich, but they're happy.

Moral of the story: Study something that actually interests you, stand out above everybody else, and make it fit into your life somehow. And don't be a hater, because that's energy you could be spending on improving yourself.

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bb4_96

^People pursuing art and what they love is the best thing in the world. But when you borrow 50k+ to pursue it and can't hack it after the fact. There-in lies the trouble.

I've never seen one of these creative writing degrees curriculum, but I have to wonder how someone teaches a person to be creative? The same with art. You can teach someone to make something, but how can you teach someone to make something new/original? I dunno with those degrees I think at some point it comes down to talent and motivation. If your talented you can be a little more lazy than others because if you're good people are going to notice. But if your lazy and lacking in creative juices trying to ride a degree isn't going to get you anywhere.

But that's the same with every degree. If you do the bare minimum people are going to see it. If you don't pursue things it shows. Some people feel as though a degree will get them out of hard work. When the opposite should be true, a degree should be a testament to that fact that you can bust your ass like that every day for your employer.

And to everyone that's going to school undecided... just do something. I really wanted to get into civil engineering when I left high school. Unfortunately there are no schools for civil in my area and i wasn't ready to borrow money for my education. So i took my scholarships and went to local cc. While there I decided on going to a local university for mechanical engineering instead. It's something I find interesting but ultimately not what I wanted it to do. I made that compromise because It was the adult thing to do and I'd still be in school if I had stayed undecided for 8 years. If I ever get bored I'll have more than enough bank to go back to school.

Moral of the story: Not even little kids get exactly what they want all the time. This is capitalist america, go to school for something you find tolerable and marketable and be done with it. Hobbies are interests for the weekend.

bb4_96

I'm pretty sure I said not everyone should go to school earlier in this thread. Who cares as long as you do something to make yourself marketable. Garbage truck drivers make way more than homeless canadians.

inopsey

truck drivers also make way more than scientists up here....