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The 100k basket weaving liberal arts student barely exists and is a meme to generate rage clicks.
by trgn 7y ago
The 100k basket weaving liberal arts student barely exists and is a meme to generate rage clicks.
- yowlingcat 7y agoThe 100k in debt grad student becoming an adjunct and needing food stamps not to die of starvation in poverty is a pretty stark reality. One would have to be tone-deaf to pretend it does not exist.
- trgn 7y agoSure. But I said the basket weaving liberal art student. The 100k grad student can be everything from a CS major to a soon-to-be-tenured ivy league history professor. These are not the same people, and it's not what I said.
- sodosopa 7y agoPick a major which ensures your financial survival. Spending 100k on a degree which cannot ensure survival is a hell of a way to learn that lesson.
- yowlingcat 7y agoI don't disagree with you, but when that cost is underwritten and inflated by nondischargeable, government-guaranteed debt that's the product of a decision made by folks scarcely old enough to vote or serve in the military -- it just feels wrong.
- sodosopa 7y agoThere are other options, not all require college. The world needs tradesmen/women. Some of their pay is on par with my data scientists. I also have a few on staff who do not have a degree but perform solid work and manage the same tasks as my degreed team members. There are options with college or military.
- yowlingcat 7y agoI think that's exactly why this kind of a loan product existing is wrong in the first place. Why is it okay to directly profit off of the debt interest of selling hopes and dreams of class mobility to impressionable youth who will be in an even worse position after taking that loan? If we abet it, are we intrinsically taking a dim Darwinian view and saying that they deserve to be exploited?
- undefined1 7y agoThat's probably some of it, but the underwater basket weaving meme predates the internet and has embedded wisdom. Essentially a cautionary tale about taking on debt for something unlikely to be able to pay off that debt.
- mtbcoder 7y agoAgreed, attacking degree programs is a red herring. Also, what kind of society would we be if the only subjects available to pursue were a select list of STEM programs?
- sodosopa 7y ago> Also, what kind of society would we be if the only subjects available to pursue were a select list of STEM programs? It's a sacrifice. I love art and music and spent many years pursuing both. I'm an old man now and many friends spent years seeking that out and unable to ensure their own survival years later.
- jhallenworld 7y agoThe modern versions are usually gender studies, communications, or English.. As an engineer, it's difficult to accept any non-engineering degree as legitimate :-) So my nephew is getting his degree in "expeditionary studies": https://www.plattsburgh.edu/programs/expeditionary-studies-major.html https://www.plattsburgh.edu/programs/expeditionary-studies-m... I'm jealous..
- jefflinwood 7y agoI haven't got any idea if that degree will lead to a worthwhile career for your nephew, but that looks like a lot more fun than the four years I spent getting an engineering degree I don't use :)
- sbmthakur 7y agoThere is a Career Opportunities section on the same page.
- paulddraper 7y ago"Basket weaving" may be a meme. But English, psychology, history, music, etc. are in fact very real.