I would argue the problem is people going to 3rd tier state schools, and receiving educations that have essentially no value. Looks at the “suggested” admissions requirements to a school in the midwest with an enrollment over 10,000: “We look for one of the following: ACT composite score of 18 or better; an overall high school GPA of at least 2.6 on a 4.0 scale; or rank in the top 60 percent of your class.”
^ I guess if you follow your own advice and do more home improvement projects yourself, how much they charge shouldn’t impact you. So why do you care then?
For higher education, I agree for some jobs, a college degree is a waste of money. But the problem is, if everyone’s going for the same job, and 80% have the degree and you don’t, you may get passed up. It’s the same issue with the CFA charter. It’s not so much the actual material translated into real investment gains. It’s: can you land that highly desired job, when 800 people apply, 600 people are in the program at L1 L2 or L3. And you are not in the program at all.
higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Too many people go to college in the US now. The > fact that 70% of HS graduates go to college is > ridiculous. Parents and society have to accept > the fact that college is not the right path for > everyone. The hard part here is telling people their kid can’t go to college. I mean, what you’re saying is generally agreed on, but everyone agrees their kid should go to college and everyone else should stop sending theirs. As a contrary point: The other day (I wish I could remember where I read it) they said something like in 1970, Americans were being awarded over half the worlds advanced degree graduates in sciences and mathematics despite being only 6% of the worlds population. This laid the groundwork for the coming boom. Compare that to where we are today in those areas. So, I think the best argument is not that we are oversaturated or in an education bubble, but simply that all that education has been watered down too far and needs to be refocused. Germany gets by with such high education levels because the intensity is greater and the focus is on math and science.
^ true, but as long as skilled foreign labor workers want to make a life in the US, it’s not all bad.
i remodled my bathroom my self (assuming i saved $4-5k) and called a plumber to hook up the pipes. just to "measure/quote was $149; he charged $125/hr after that and charged $150 per fitting. i thought i saved a lot until i paid him $800+ for three hours of work. just sayin’
This is scary " In one study of British PhD graduates, about a third admitted that they were doing their doctorate partly to go on being a student, or put off job hunting. Nearly half of engineering students admitted to this. "
BValGuy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ^ I guess if you follow your own advice and do > more home improvement projects yourself, how much > they charge shouldn’t impact you. So why do you > care then? Because I don’t like to see others getting ripped off.
thommo77 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The best schools are getting better (and thus more > competitive) while the bad schools are getting > worse. Pretty soon the only degrees that will be > worth something will be from top schools only. That’s already true. If my son ( third grader) doesn’t make it to a top school, I’m not paying for his education.
marcus phoenix Wrote: > Yeah and then comes in and does unclogs your > toilet with an auger in 5 mins which you could > have done yourself. You got problems if you can’t unclog your own toilet. He does commercial and not residential BTW. Also there is a sign in his union parking lot that says foreign cars are not allowed to park there.
dspapo Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > looking at the past, people were only expected to > graduate 8th grade, then they were expected to > graduate high school. > > now, everyone is expected to get an > undergrad degree. since i’m in the > corporate world, i’m also expected to get an mba. > > Can the current trend truly continue much > further? will people be expected to get > doctorates before they can get a decent job? This, in itself, is a big part of the problem.
Maybe shortening college to 3 years is worth trying.
Man, most asinine discussion ever.
The moral of the story is that if you go to state school and get an arts degree, you’re still devoid of skills that the efficient/competitive/lucrative employers desire.
It is not a “bubble” but rather one of the largest industries in the USA. The “must go to college” attitude has more stakeholders than can be counted. It’s a poor analogy, but it’s like the multi-billion dollar ‘war on drugs’. There is no accountability for outcomes, but the money keeps flowing anyway.
Analti_Calte_Equity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The moral of the story is that if you go to state > school and get an arts degree, you’re still devoid > of skills that the efficient/competitive/lucrative > employers desire. True in part, but an engineering/accounting/finance degree with a C-average won’t get you very far either. I think the biggest issue is the change in expectations regarding higher education (as someone above already pointed out); holding a degree was once something for the advantaged few, now it’s a lot more commonplace and of somewhat less value. Regardless, the bottom-line, and generally accepted view, is that holding a degree today cannot hurt, but not holding a degree can.
Actually its not the number of degrees that is the problem but the number of jobs and industries that have been shipped overseas that has led to the glut of graduates. When we don’t have much of an industrial or scientific base left anymore, why would we need that many college graduates?
marcus phoenix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Actually its not the number of degrees that is the > problem but the number of jobs and industries that > have been shipped overseas that has led to the > glut of graduates. > > When we don’t have much of an industrial or > scientific base left anymore, why would we need > that many college graduates? Last time I checked, most of the jobs shipped overseas did not require a college education…
So my microwave was not assembled by PhD holders? I want my money back!
I would never do home improvement projects myself. In my spare time i’d rather code up Android app, or develop some site, or do some reading - def a lot more return vs doing home remodeling