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This. The idea that college somehow intrinsically causes you to earn more money is completely wrong and absurd. It completely conflates causation and correlatio
by skewart 9y ago
This. The idea that college somehow intrinsically causes you to earn more money is completely wrong and absurd. It completely conflates causation and correlation. Yet it's frequently trotted out as a justification for taking on student loan debt (as it was in this article).
It's exactly the same as saying that people who own Ferraris make more money, so therefore the key to reducing poverty is increasing Ferrari ownership. And of course it's reasonable to take on hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to buy that Ferrari because owning one will help you make more money.
As absurd as the Ferrari ownership push is, at a certain point, once enough people own them it does start to make sense for any given individual. I mean, who's going to hire the one weirdo who doesn't own a Ferrari?
Education arguably has a lot more intrinsic value than a luxury sports car. But a degree from an accredited institution is not the same as education.
- Eiriksmal 9y agoThis Ferrari point is especially apt because many of the commenters here are stating that no, their college professors and lecture experiences weren't better than YouTube offers, but look at all the great people I met and interacted with! This perfectly fits your Ferrari fallacy: When you own a Ferrari, you're part of a highly-exclusive social club. "Well... No, my Ferrari didn't actually earn me more money, per se, but it let me hobnob with so-and-so, and look at me now! Totally worth the crippling debt!"
- runako 9y agoThis is obviously true in the abstract, but there literally are lots of well-paid jobs that simply will not consider applicants without degrees from 4-year accredited institutions. Given that reality: yes, having a degree will increase your probability of earning more over your lifetime.