Is College Worth It?
by irms
There’s a healthy debate going on in which youngish people are wondering if going to college is worth the money, the time, the effort, the … hustle. In fact, coverage of this very thing can be found on this website, Nettuts, which is known for it’s tutorials and not so much for its articles (you’ll see why). If you ask me, the go-to-college-vs-get-a-job debate is tired. Historically, college graduates make more than non-graduates, but that gap is closing. I, for one, think there are better reasons to go to college than your salary, but I digress.
Really, there are two things that I hear often enough to write about on account of their absurdity:
- “My friend so-and-so got her degree in [ something ] and hasn’t been able to find a job in [ a number of ] years.”
- “My classes aren’t teaching me anything useful. When am I ever going to need to know how to solve for ‘x’ in a word problem?”
Um, hi. You’re being ridiculous. Getting a degree proves one thing: you can finish what you start.
If you think you’re going to university to learn how to do a job, YOU’RE ALREADY EXPECTING THE WRONG DAMN THINGS. College teaches you no such thing. I mean, unless you’re going to be a doctor or a lawyer (and even those disciplines require years of ‘internship’ before one actually makes money doing said job) you’re going to be disappointed.
This is my argument:
- Most learning happens on the job. Ask anyone that has one.
- School is supposed to help you learn how to think effectively. If you want to get a job doing exactly what you’ve been taught to do, you might as well circle back and teach that class (but then good luck learning how to teach effectivley).
- It will always be easier to simply not go to school and dive right in to a job instead. This should be the first sign that it’s the wrong thing to do.
- It never hurts to be “good” at school. Just like the most athletic person you know is probably also “good” at running, it certainly isn’t all he knows how to do, and learning to run well didn’t teach him to be good at sports.
- If you apply for a job that requires a resume, it’s noticable when there’s no mention of a degree. (And you should know by now that resumes are really only good for finding reasons not to hire you.)
- All schooling is worth the time, but not all jobs are.
You’ll notice that I left off the trite, “Not getting a degree will put you at a disadvantage in the event that you’re competing for a job against someone who has exactly your qualifications, but has a degree, ” arguement. This is true, and also unlikely. It’s more likely that you’ll compete for a job against someone who is simply better than you are, but the point still worth a quick mention.
Oh, and to address the girl/guy that got a degree and can’t find a job: Jobs are gotten due to the extra stuff on your resume and/or the connections you have or aquire doing those extra things. With rare exception, a degree alone isn’t going to do it. You better learn to be impressive in other ways.
P.S. I know plenty of people that have gotten where they are without a degree and I find that each of them are consistently missing qualities that graduates tend to have, but who also retain an unflattering arrogance in the workplace, again, with rare exception. “Successful People Without Degrees” is a topic for an entirely different post, but I concede that, of course, they exist.
I for a long time avoided succeeding in college. This is not to say that I did not attend. At some point I hit a wall though, and that wall is what gave me the determination to finish my degree. I believe there is only so far one can go without a degree. Absurdity #1 does have a small point though. All those people who earn degrees just to have a degree won’t be able to find a job because they have no desire. So I ask, better to have random degree or wait until you know what you want to do?
Darren
P.S. Love the blog. Just saw it today on Facebook.
Darren!
First, welcome, and thanks for visiting.
Second, I say get the random degree. Having extra degrees lying around isn’t exactly a detriment to your character. Waiting until… when? I can’t see the merit in a decision like that.
Sometimes Homework Blows
College is the next pyramid scheme to go up in flames. Fifty years or so in the making, won’t take nearly that long to be trashed.
you spend dadys hard earned money, play grown-up, receive your beloved diploma, buy your dream house/car, file divorce, pay taxes, die.
To his is own.
Here is another interesting take on College: http://veechi.com/blog/?p=437
I went to college, graduated in 4 years and now make less money than I did during my part-time high school job. I did an internship for a year, participated in clubs, wrote for the school newspaper and did other stuff to build my resume. Still, 7 months have passed and I can’t even get a job a full-time job at Office Depot.
Idiots like you should never write anything. Your blog is a piece of sh** and you’re a moron
I agree with the blog in regards to attending college for reasons other than getting a job. Sure it looks better on the resume, but the experience and the excitement of being in a learning environment can be more worth while than any job. It’s taken me 5 years to complete 1 year of college (im still taking it one day at a time) but i’ve grown as a person so much because of it. Why rush into a workplace that 8/10 people don’t want to be in? If i could, i’d continue w/the learning process all my life. Nice Read
your missing a very intigral part, height, ethnicity, looks, Body type, and who you know play a role equal too if not greater than that degree in obtaining that job, as well as moving up the latter at that job. I feel if we are talking about jobs we must add everything to the equation if we are going to be honest. Mankind does not live or die on degree alone.
In reply to “chinua dean”:
Beside physical appearance, one might also consider grammar and spelling; things you clearly have forsaken.
joshua bianco:
File divorce, pay taxes, find a younger, hotter wife…cheat on her with even hotter b*tches, pay more taxes, get a nicer car, pay more taxes, get caught cheating-didn’t get a prenup signed-get your money confiscated. Lose your kids to the b*tch, pay more taxes, quit your job, move into public housing, get food stamps, smoke weed, shoot heroine, go to jail, get anal raped, move into halfway house, not get a new job, move back into public housing, start drinking again, NOT pay taxes…
Die.
i think college helps but not guarantee job. i agree that college degree shows you are displined and capable of finishing what you started. but, drawback is so many peoples go to college these days. Unless you go to really good college, you don’t stand out. These days getting a higher degree (mba, master, phD) is equivalent to just college degree in old days.The stardard has changed. And the cost is tremendous. suppose you go to private university, by the time you graduate, you have 200K in dept, but, if you work and get 10/hr, in 4,5 yrs, you can end up with 50K or more if you are thrift and smart with investing. that’s 250K difference to start with. I think if you have talent, attractive, good social skill, you are better off doing sales, realty, some kind of broker, or going into show biz and be more successful. But, if you don’t have any talent, not very smart, not very attractive, social skill like many peoples including me, you have to study like me until 30 and make enough to survive. If i didn’t go to college, grad school, i would be in poverty.
I am 18, and i have been thinking hard about whether i should go to college or not, And why how is it going to benefit me? I know people think everyone should but it’s not going to be people who will be suffering the consequences of being dumb. I came to this conclusion that going to college is a safest for overall better life but isnt the best way. So again it comes down to risk & reward thing.
Oh also i tried calculating my total life earning and expenses in a very general sense i only ended up with 60k more dollars than if i were to not go to 4 years college. Not very impressive in my opinion.
Anyways, i decided to not give up my dreams of being in the control of my life which partially also mean be self employed. So ill be getting two degrees 1 in physics and other one in computer science. I really dont want to spend my whole life in doing whatever with either of degrees. I am gonna start my own multiple companies baby.!!!
I think the biggest problem in attending college is the huge amount that it costs, and the fact that so many people take out loans in order to finance it, which they may or may not be able to pay back. There are cheaper options for getting college credit, like independent study and credit-by-exam. Plus, there’s so much information on the internet for free that I’m sure one could get the knowledge of a college graduate for free online. What’s really costing is the piece of paper to prove that knowledge.
I personally think college is more for people who know exactly what they want to do with their lives as opposed to people ( like me ) who are still unsure. Personally however I’d be happy just to work at a video game store.