4 ms·

This is addressed in the article. It says: > Almost all students cite getting a better job as a primary reason for attending college. With a link to this stud

This is addressed in the article. It says: > Almost all students cite getting a better job as a primary reason for attending college. With a link to this study: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/heri-freshman-survey-242619 https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/heri-freshman-survey-2426... Which says: > Students are increasingly placing a premium on the job-related benefits of going to college. The portion of incoming freshmen that cited "to be able to get a better job" as a very important reason for attending college reached an all-time high of 87.9 percent in 2012, an increase from 85.9 percent in 2011 and considerably higher than the low of 67.8 percent in 1976.

Loughla 5y ago
I feel like that's a chicken and egg issue, though. People who work in the humanities know they aren't going to make much, but they 100% will make more than if they try to get a job in the humanities without college. Most require a bachelor degree, at a minimum, regardless of salary. So what's the solution there?
- munificent 5y ago
  > they 100% will make more than if they try to get a job in the humanities without college. This is true, but is only part of the equation. You also need to factor in: * The probability of them getting a humanities job. * The cost of college. If college is expensive and most humanities majors don't end up with humanities jobs, then your statement can be 100% but still a net loss for humanities majors in aggregate.
  - Loughla 5y ago
    That is a fair assessment, and I would really, really like to see accurate data around that question. Edit: As a side note - the first person to make a billion dollars from educational data will figure out how to gather accurate, unbiased data from all schools/colleges for accurate comparison data. Not even interpret the data, just gather it. Because right now, working in the belly of the higher ed beast for decades and decades, I can tell you that any data you see has been scrubbed and scrubbed and interpreted as to make it functionally useless to compare programs within institutions, let alone separate institutions.
hinkley 5y ago
> Almost all students cite getting a better job as a primary reason for attending college. You're asking a bunch of teenagers about their life plans, or a bunch of 20-somethings to talk about something they put more energy into than they've ever put into anything in their entire short lives. Every adult in the room should realize that it's 80% bullshit rationalization. What I've learned through many hobbies and non-academic classes across many disciplines is that there's a kernel of truth to the Kung Fu movie story arc. The instructor tells you what you need to hear right now, not the objective truth. Sometimes it's carrot, other times it's just keeping you from injury. You 'level up' every time the story changes, and you graduate when you see the training wheels and take them off. This 'rule' is just a guideline and you can break it in these situations. What kids need to hear is that a few more years of hard work now will get them an easier life later on. They hear 'career' but college gets most of us out of whatever little bubble our parents and neighborhoods put us in. You are not in a little pond anymore and it doesn't matter how big of a fish you thought you were. It softens the blow when you graduate and discover the ocean. If we didn't learn to build bridges in high school, we learned to build them in college. All of these things do help you in life, including your career, but typically it's indirectly. But you try telling a 16 year old who has just started looking at college pamphlets this and many just think it's more parental lecturing radio gaga. What they believe is the bait. And hopefully by the time they see it for what it is, it's no big deal because they've got other motivations instead.
mcguire 5y ago
And yet the proportion going after a business or finance degree is less than 100%.
- smnrchrds 5y ago
  That's kinda the point of the article: people are choosing majors and universities based on false advertising that it will improve their career prospects, while in reality for some it worsens it.

Loughla 5y ago

I feel like that's a chicken and egg issue, though. People who work in the humanities know they aren't going to make much, but they 100% will make more than if they try to get a job in the humanities without college. Most require a bachelor degree, at a minimum, regardless of salary. So what's the solution there?

munificent 5y ago
> they 100% will make more than if they try to get a job in the humanities without college. This is true, but is only part of the equation. You also need to factor in: * The probability of them getting a humanities job. * The cost of college. If college is expensive and most humanities majors don't end up with humanities jobs, then your statement can be 100% but still a net loss for humanities majors in aggregate.
- Loughla 5y ago
  That is a fair assessment, and I would really, really like to see accurate data around that question. Edit: As a side note - the first person to make a billion dollars from educational data will figure out how to gather accurate, unbiased data from all schools/colleges for accurate comparison data. Not even interpret the data, just gather it. Because right now, working in the belly of the higher ed beast for decades and decades, I can tell you that any data you see has been scrubbed and scrubbed and interpreted as to make it functionally useless to compare programs within institutions, let alone separate institutions.

hinkley 5y ago

> Almost all students cite getting a better job as a primary reason for attending college. You're asking a bunch of teenagers about their life plans, or a bunch of 20-somethings to talk about something they put more energy into than they've ever put into anything in their entire short lives. Every adult in the room should realize that it's 80% bullshit rationalization. What I've learned through many hobbies and non-academic classes across many disciplines is that there's a kernel of truth to the Kung Fu movie story arc. The instructor tells you what you need to hear right now, not the objective truth. Sometimes it's carrot, other times it's just keeping you from injury. You 'level up' every time the story changes, and you graduate when you see the training wheels and take them off. This 'rule' is just a guideline and you can break it in these situations. What kids need to hear is that a few more years of hard work now will get them an easier life later on. They hear 'career' but college gets most of us out of whatever little bubble our parents and neighborhoods put us in. You are not in a little pond anymore and it doesn't matter how big of a fish you thought you were. It softens the blow when you graduate and discover the ocean. If we didn't learn to build bridges in high school, we learned to build them in college. All of these things do help you in life, including your career, but typically it's indirectly. But you try telling a 16 year old who has just started looking at college pamphlets this and many just think it's more parental lecturing radio gaga. What they believe is the bait. And hopefully by the time they see it for what it is, it's no big deal because they've got other motivations instead.

mcguire 5y ago

And yet the proportion going after a business or finance degree is less than 100%.

smnrchrds 5y ago
That's kinda the point of the article: people are choosing majors and universities based on false advertising that it will improve their career prospects, while in reality for some it worsens it.