4 ms·

"Because I'm living in poverty. People who live in poverty don't have money to invest." You have your time and energy to invest, and you can get an educational

"Because I'm living in poverty. People who live in poverty don't have money to invest." You have your time and energy to invest, and you can get an educational loan. " then work at your job for 5-10 years to pay that debt off" I don't think all of your money goes into paying off the debt during that time. "I'm philosophically opposed to getting a piece of paper for a job that I could do just as easily without a college education as I could with one" Well if you don't need it and don't want it, obviously don't get that degree. " I also feel really uncomfortable with debt in general, especially debt that I cannot choose to have absolved through bankruptcy." Since you have established you can earn as much without a degree, and it takes 5 years to pay off the costs, you could also work for 5 years and save money for the degree.

catlikesshrimp 5y ago
You don't address the concern here "Well if you don't need it and don't want it, obviously don't get that degree." The concern is that, according to parent, and I believe parent, is that the system requires a useless piece of paper. The degree is more an economic hurdle than a proof of capacity. That merit is a social construct.
- barrkel 5y ago
  Money is a social construct. In fact almost everything other than food, shelter and tools are either social constructs or only have value in a social context. Jobs are social constructs too.
- kkjjkgjjgg 5y ago
  But the parent also claimed he can make the same money without the degree. Both things can not be true at the same time ("you need the useless paper", "you can make the same money without it"). Apart from that, while the usefulness of some degrees can be questioned, there is a general concept called "signalling" which has actual value. That is you demonstrate certain qualities in a way that are difficult to fake (usually by doing something costly, like getting a degree, or carrying around a huge tail if you are a parrot).

catlikesshrimp 5y ago

You don't address the concern here "Well if you don't need it and don't want it, obviously don't get that degree." The concern is that, according to parent, and I believe parent, is that the system requires a useless piece of paper. The degree is more an economic hurdle than a proof of capacity. That merit is a social construct.

barrkel 5y ago
Money is a social construct. In fact almost everything other than food, shelter and tools are either social constructs or only have value in a social context. Jobs are social constructs too.
kkjjkgjjgg 5y ago
But the parent also claimed he can make the same money without the degree. Both things can not be true at the same time ("you need the useless paper", "you can make the same money without it"). Apart from that, while the usefulness of some degrees can be questioned, there is a general concept called "signalling" which has actual value. That is you demonstrate certain qualities in a way that are difficult to fake (usually by doing something costly, like getting a degree, or carrying around a huge tail if you are a parrot).