4 ms·

I have found Community Colleges to be the perfect place for this actually. Community College classes are MUCH cheaper, and are even more so if you don't take t

by kop316 6y ago

I have found Community Colleges to be the perfect place for this actually. Community College classes are MUCH cheaper, and are even more so if you don't take the class for credit (where I went, tuition was $20 for a 1 credit class for non-degree seekers. No that was not a typo, it was Twenty USD for the entire class). Community College professors don't do research, so they are usually focused much more on teaching classes. I have actually known quite a few professors who are in actual industry and teach a class or two. I took a Jazz Combo class every semester with a well known local musician. He enjoyed teaching the class because everyone wanted to be there (we were all adult non-degree seekers), and since it was on a weeknight, he wasn't gigging anyways so it was a nice bonus to his freelance work.

DC1350 6y ago
The problem with community colleges is that you completely miss out on any meaningful networking. As long as all the best students see it as beneath them, you'll have a hard time meeting people in a community college who can actually help your career
- the_only_law 6y ago
  Another problem is wildly varied quality. I’ve seen course material from some community colleges that made me think “wow, this seems to be a high quality resource” in all sorts of interesting subjects, but most community colleges in places I’ve lived near or been too have limited programs and often low quality ones at that.
- kop316 6y ago
  I think your comment misses my original intent. If people might value education for its own sake (which is what I was replying to), then I have found Community Colleges to be the perfect place for this. But to address your point: > The problem with community colleges is that you completely miss out on any meaningful networking. As long as all the best students see it as beneath them, you'll have a hard time meeting people in a community college who can actually help your career Since the instructor I had was a well known local musician, he actually called me up a few times for a gig, and I have done quite a bit of networking that way. I think you would be surprised just what type of networking oppritunities are actually are at a decent community college. Like I said in my comment: > I have actually known quite a few professors who are in actual industry and teach a class or two. One of the best entry-level folks I have ever met we found this way. He is an incredibly hard and smart worker, but did not have the money to go to a four year university. So he went to community college, and a colleague of mine who taught there offered him a job as he was a student. Now he has a four year degree (he was able to pay his way through college with that job) and is one of the best contrbutors to that group.
  - DC1350 6y ago
    Yea I missed the point. Everyone I’ve ever met who went to a community college did it specifically to learn job skills since those are what all the programs were for. I didn’t know they taught things just for the sake of knowledge or personal interest.
    - mlyle 6y ago
      There's a massive number of people who as adults or even seniors take classes on a non-degree path at a CC-- whether it's a language, an arts class, or whatever.
  - medium_burrito 6y ago
    I suspect community colleges are a fantastic way to recruit people who one would not find otherwise. People taking classes at night and holding down a full time job, and doing well, just out of interest- that's someone who has potential.
- VLM 6y ago
  If you insist on a pyramidical social structure, 99% of the population will never meet or network with the top people in their field anyway, and as such a school that prevents them from doing what's impossible anyway yet saves money is wise, especially if the alternative is spending ten times as much on a pale imitation of what the people at the top would get but they'll never associate with them anyway. Classic microeconomics vs macroeconomics problem. Individuals can always improve but you can't extend "just pull yourself up by your bootstraps harder" to an entire civilization. An individual benefits personally by going to Yale, if they can. You can't fix a national education system by making the official strategy telling kids their only hope is getting into Yale. Especially if there's an alternative that actually works for the masses, like CC.
Noos 6y ago
They generally aren't that high quality in terms of classes, and the humanities they offer are "transfer credits" when they aren't practical skills. I mean that there's little chance to go to a community college that has a strong English section, or gives any more than the basics of history or psychology. CCs are mostly there either for cheap transfer credits, or technical programs for local industry; things like cad/cam, aviation tech, etc.
- kop316 6y ago
  > They generally aren't that high quality in terms of classes, and the humanities they offer are "transfer credits" when they aren't practical skills. There were a lot of classes I saw (and some I took) at Universities that were just as bad, if not worse. I would say they have a wide variety, much like universities. I have generally had a pretty good experience doing it for non-credit (i.e. education for it's own sake).

by kop316 6y ago

DC1350 6y ago

The problem with community colleges is that you completely miss out on any meaningful networking. As long as all the best students see it as beneath them, you'll have a hard time meeting people in a community college who can actually help your career

the_only_law 6y ago
Another problem is wildly varied quality. I’ve seen course material from some community colleges that made me think “wow, this seems to be a high quality resource” in all sorts of interesting subjects, but most community colleges in places I’ve lived near or been too have limited programs and often low quality ones at that.
kop316 6y ago
I think your comment misses my original intent. If people might value education for its own sake (which is what I was replying to), then I have found Community Colleges to be the perfect place for this. But to address your point: > The problem with community colleges is that you completely miss out on any meaningful networking. As long as all the best students see it as beneath them, you'll have a hard time meeting people in a community college who can actually help your career Since the instructor I had was a well known local musician, he actually called me up a few times for a gig, and I have done quite a bit of networking that way. I think you would be surprised just what type of networking oppritunities are actually are at a decent community college. Like I said in my comment: > I have actually known quite a few professors who are in actual industry and teach a class or two. One of the best entry-level folks I have ever met we found this way. He is an incredibly hard and smart worker, but did not have the money to go to a four year university. So he went to community college, and a colleague of mine who taught there offered him a job as he was a student. Now he has a four year degree (he was able to pay his way through college with that job) and is one of the best contrbutors to that group.
- DC1350 6y ago
  Yea I missed the point. Everyone I’ve ever met who went to a community college did it specifically to learn job skills since those are what all the programs were for. I didn’t know they taught things just for the sake of knowledge or personal interest.
  - mlyle 6y ago
    There's a massive number of people who as adults or even seniors take classes on a non-degree path at a CC-- whether it's a language, an arts class, or whatever.
- medium_burrito 6y ago
  I suspect community colleges are a fantastic way to recruit people who one would not find otherwise. People taking classes at night and holding down a full time job, and doing well, just out of interest- that's someone who has potential.
VLM 6y ago
If you insist on a pyramidical social structure, 99% of the population will never meet or network with the top people in their field anyway, and as such a school that prevents them from doing what's impossible anyway yet saves money is wise, especially if the alternative is spending ten times as much on a pale imitation of what the people at the top would get but they'll never associate with them anyway. Classic microeconomics vs macroeconomics problem. Individuals can always improve but you can't extend "just pull yourself up by your bootstraps harder" to an entire civilization. An individual benefits personally by going to Yale, if they can. You can't fix a national education system by making the official strategy telling kids their only hope is getting into Yale. Especially if there's an alternative that actually works for the masses, like CC.

Noos 6y ago

They generally aren't that high quality in terms of classes, and the humanities they offer are "transfer credits" when they aren't practical skills. I mean that there's little chance to go to a community college that has a strong English section, or gives any more than the basics of history or psychology. CCs are mostly there either for cheap transfer credits, or technical programs for local industry; things like cad/cam, aviation tech, etc.

kop316 6y ago
> They generally aren't that high quality in terms of classes, and the humanities they offer are "transfer credits" when they aren't practical skills. There were a lot of classes I saw (and some I took) at Universities that were just as bad, if not worse. I would say they have a wide variety, much like universities. I have generally had a pretty good experience doing it for non-credit (i.e. education for it's own sake).