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> the time and mental energy wasted comparing prices could have better return on investment if used on other things like learning a new skill, meeting a friend,

by ponow 4y ago

> the time and mental energy wasted comparing prices could have better return on investment if used on other things like learning a new skill, meeting a friend, reading a book Maybe. Actual cost savings are observable now, with very high probability. Maybe that book or skill is useless; in other words, there's a broad distribution on possible outcomes. Who actually measures this stuff to assess ROI? It's not obvious that most people get a good ROI out of university degree, or at least at the same levels as in the past. At best I've seen some average measures, but not bottom 10 percentile measures, you know, essentially guarantees that one's time and energy and money isn't wasted. It should be of significant concern that even a CS degree isn't an effective guarantee of a job offer that requires the knowledge gained from that CS degree. It's as if a lot of the actual skill an employer requires is learned outside school, which is insane and conflicts with the broad everyone-must-graduate-college narrative in the US and Canada.

mwint 4y ago
Correct, this is what I’ve observed too. It’s stunning to me that the big tech companies - Amazon comes to mind - aren’t writing colleges big checks in exchange for “produce us people who can function in real life teams”.
- ChuckNorris89 4y ago
  >aren’t writing colleges big checks in exchange for “produce us people who can function in real life teams”. The US has has the privilege($$$) to import the minds and workforce it needs, thereby skipping the need to invest in local education, and offshoring this burden to brain-drain countries in the process.
  - ponow 4y ago
    And this is done without any violent process of physical capture. Others could play that game too, and the US could play it as well as it once did. All the participating parties would benefit directly, and "the world" indirectly.
  - mountainb 4y ago
    The US spends more per capita on education than any other large country on earth. The only countries in the OECD that surpass the US in per capita education spending are Luxembourg, Norway, Austria, and Iceland. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmd https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmd So, the US is actually doing both: doing its best to brain-drain other developed countries while also spending more than anyone else on education. Is college the best place to train people to function better in teams? Or would Amazon be better served in funding lots of youth sports teams and recruiting from those?

by ponow 4y ago

mwint 4y ago

Correct, this is what I’ve observed too. It’s stunning to me that the big tech companies - Amazon comes to mind - aren’t writing colleges big checks in exchange for “produce us people who can function in real life teams”.

ChuckNorris89 4y ago
>aren’t writing colleges big checks in exchange for “produce us people who can function in real life teams”. The US has has the privilege($$$) to import the minds and workforce it needs, thereby skipping the need to invest in local education, and offshoring this burden to brain-drain countries in the process.
- ponow 4y ago
  And this is done without any violent process of physical capture. Others could play that game too, and the US could play it as well as it once did. All the participating parties would benefit directly, and "the world" indirectly.
- mountainb 4y ago
  The US spends more per capita on education than any other large country on earth. The only countries in the OECD that surpass the US in per capita education spending are Luxembourg, Norway, Austria, and Iceland. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmd https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmd So, the US is actually doing both: doing its best to brain-drain other developed countries while also spending more than anyone else on education. Is college the best place to train people to function better in teams? Or would Amazon be better served in funding lots of youth sports teams and recruiting from those?