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Any "job" does not require a college degree. A "job" is something that anyone can be trained to do. If you think that the purpose of college is to train you for

Any "job" does not require a college degree. A "job" is something that anyone can be trained to do. If you think that the purpose of college is to train you for a "job" then you're doing it wrong. The point of college is teach you the underlying fundamentals of how things like language and science work, so that you can extend those rules and use them to create new things and new ideas. You go to college to learn how to create value, not get a job. There will always be a need for vocational training. But putting in the long, hard work of accumulating intuitive knowledge of the fundamental sciences, and having that knowledge verified by society to assure you haven't deluded yourself, is the only way to operate at the highest level of intellectual ability for anyone short of a true genius.

eng_monkey 10y ago
Exactly. It is baffling that to this day so many people believe the purpose of University is to provide some sort of vocational training.
tenkabuto 10y ago
Thank you for sharing this way of thinking about college. I feel like your statement "You go to college to learn how to create value, not get a job" really set things into perspective for me. I'm now really looking forward to taking on the coming week at school (midterm included).
humanrebar 10y ago
There's a lot good about this point of view, but it comes from a fundamentally privileged point of view. For first generation college students, the goal is to get a return on the substantial investment they are making. Achievement in abstract notions is fine, but paying off loans and escaping the career trajectories of their parents and neighbors is paramount. Maybe the "advancement of humanity" education needs to be more distinct from elite vocational training.