4 ms·

This is one thing about USA I do not understand. Why pay $200K for a degree that can not pay that money off in couple of years ? Just why ?

irrational 9y ago
Because there are almost no jobs available that pay more than minimum wage that do not require a college degree.
- nugget 9y ago
  America is one of the most entrepreneurial countries on earth. There are plenty of fields that you can enter with no college degree and build your way up to a great living. Even for very "white collar" jobs we are starting to (slowly) move away from a pedigree-based economy towards a skills-based economy.
- runT1ME 9y ago
  Except, you know...software engineer, IT, DevOps, Infosec, WebDev, etc.
  - alistairSH 9y ago
    1. Those are a very small portion of the total available jobs. Even if every 18 year old had the aptitude, there aren't enough of those jobs. 2. It's a LOT easier to get into all of those fields with a relevant degree. As noted elsewhere, a degree is a strong signal that you can perform at least some of the work.
  - opportune 9y ago
    This is true on an individual level but not a macro level. Not everybody can be a developer or IT professional. The market just can't support that.
    - subterfudge4 9y ago
      Then these people probably should not go to college in first place and instead become plumbers or car mechanics.
  - runako 9y ago
    Most companies that hire for those jobs in practice require a college degree to get to the interview stage. Also: youth with nontraditional backgrounds (e.g. women, ethnic minorities) obviously begin the IT hiring process at a disadvantage. Having a 4-year degree can level the playing field with "traditional" applications possessing only a HS diploma.
fwefwwfe 9y ago
Because the initial increase in pay and lifetime increase in earnings is well worth it. Why do so many people get car and house loans they take more than 2 years to pay off?
- subterfudge4 9y ago
  If it is worth it then why complain so much ?
  - ceejayoz 9y ago
    Because it doesn't necessarily have to cost that much. There are world-class universities in Europe, Australia, Japan, etc. that don't cost $60k+ a year.
    - muninn_ 9y ago
      Eh, I tend to disagree. Great university's for sure, but the large majority of universities (particularly those accessible to anybody) reside in the United States. Now, I do agree that a university education doesn't have to cost as much as it does, but the scale of world-class universities in the rest of the world is dwarfed by the United States. Maybe students should not stop coming to US schools if they cost so much, as well. Idk?
      - ceejayoz 9y ago
        > Great university's for sure, but the large majority of universities (particularly those accessible to anybody) reside in the United States. There are 4,140 in the US. https://www.infoplease.com/us/higher-education/number-us-colleges-and-universities-and-degrees-awarded-2005 https://www.infoplease.com/us/higher-education/number-us-col... There are about 4,000 in Europe. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV:c11067 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV:c...
        selectodude 9y ago

irrational 9y ago

Because there are almost no jobs available that pay more than minimum wage that do not require a college degree.

nugget 9y ago
America is one of the most entrepreneurial countries on earth. There are plenty of fields that you can enter with no college degree and build your way up to a great living. Even for very "white collar" jobs we are starting to (slowly) move away from a pedigree-based economy towards a skills-based economy.
runT1ME 9y ago
Except, you know...software engineer, IT, DevOps, Infosec, WebDev, etc.
- alistairSH 9y ago
  1. Those are a very small portion of the total available jobs. Even if every 18 year old had the aptitude, there aren't enough of those jobs. 2. It's a LOT easier to get into all of those fields with a relevant degree. As noted elsewhere, a degree is a strong signal that you can perform at least some of the work.
- opportune 9y ago
  This is true on an individual level but not a macro level. Not everybody can be a developer or IT professional. The market just can't support that.
  - subterfudge4 9y ago
    Then these people probably should not go to college in first place and instead become plumbers or car mechanics.
- runako 9y ago
  Most companies that hire for those jobs in practice require a college degree to get to the interview stage. Also: youth with nontraditional backgrounds (e.g. women, ethnic minorities) obviously begin the IT hiring process at a disadvantage. Having a 4-year degree can level the playing field with "traditional" applications possessing only a HS diploma.

fwefwwfe 9y ago

Because the initial increase in pay and lifetime increase in earnings is well worth it. Why do so many people get car and house loans they take more than 2 years to pay off?

subterfudge4 9y ago
If it is worth it then why complain so much ?
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  Because it doesn't necessarily have to cost that much. There are world-class universities in Europe, Australia, Japan, etc. that don't cost $60k+ a year.
  - muninn_ 9y ago
    Eh, I tend to disagree. Great university's for sure, but the large majority of universities (particularly those accessible to anybody) reside in the United States. Now, I do agree that a university education doesn't have to cost as much as it does, but the scale of world-class universities in the rest of the world is dwarfed by the United States. Maybe students should not stop coming to US schools if they cost so much, as well. Idk?
    - ceejayoz 9y ago
      > Great university's for sure, but the large majority of universities (particularly those accessible to anybody) reside in the United States. There are 4,140 in the US. https://www.infoplease.com/us/higher-education/number-us-colleges-and-universities-and-degrees-awarded-2005 https://www.infoplease.com/us/higher-education/number-us-col... There are about 4,000 in Europe. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV:c11067 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV:c...
      - selectodude 9y ago