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I'd be interested to see what they are telling their own children.

JKCalhoun 1y ago
I'm telling mine: 1) try to get a college degree regardless of whether you use it or not (I'm paying for it, BTW) but 2) don't become a programmer like I did though unless you really, really enjoy it. They (three daughters) have no problem with 2), some struggle though even with 1). My secretary, single mom pushed my sister to go to college so we would be happier than she was raising two kids and working at more or less minimum wage. (It turned out my degree, Education, didn't figure into my ultimate career as a programmer at Apple but it did allow me to buy a Mac Plus while in college with a student loan and at half the non-educational price — so I tought myself to program, wrote some games. It also introduced me to peers that were unhappy with the otherwise-prospect of playing D&D and working at Walmart for their foreseeable future.) I guess my point is that when "messaging" our kids, we are reacting of course to what we disliked about the path we took as well as what we liked. They'll do what they want, live their own lives ... regardless of what I tell them though. I accepted that a long time ago.
- gadders 1y ago
  I don't mind too much what people tell their children - what concerns me is when people tell their own children one thing but give different generalised advice.
xrhobo 1y ago
Ideally, if I had a high school age kid right now I would want them to get a 4 year degree but leave college with zero debt and then also learn to be an electrician. For some, college is an obvious choice. For some, a trade is an obvious choice. For some in the middle, hedging both is probably the best choice.
- gadders 1y ago
  We have a relatively new option in the UK which are "Degree Apprenticeships" [1] "A degree apprenticeship enables you to gain a full undergraduate or master’s degree while you work. Degree apprenticeships take three to six years to complete, depending on the course level. You’ll spend most of your time working and you’ll also study part-time at university. For example, you might go to university one or two days per week, or in short blocks, such as a week at a time. Overall, you spend about 20% of your time studying vs. 80% of your time working." [1] https://www.ucas.com/apprenticeships/degree-apprenticeships https://www.ucas.com/apprenticeships/degree-apprenticeships

I'm telling mine: 1) try to get a college degree regardless of whether you use it or not (I'm paying for it, BTW) but 2) don't become a programmer like I did though unless you really, really enjoy it. They (three daughters) have no problem with 2), some struggle though even with 1). My secretary, single mom pushed my sister to go to college so we would be happier than she was raising two kids and working at more or less minimum wage. (It turned out my degree, Education, didn't figure into my ultimate career as a programmer at Apple but it did allow me to buy a Mac Plus while in college with a student loan and at half the non-educational price — so I tought myself to program, wrote some games. It also introduced me to peers that were unhappy with the otherwise-prospect of playing D&D and working at Walmart for their foreseeable future.) I guess my point is that when "messaging" our kids, we are reacting of course to what we disliked about the path we took as well as what we liked. They'll do what they want, live their own lives ... regardless of what I tell them though. I accepted that a long time ago.

gadders 1y ago
I don't mind too much what people tell their children - what concerns me is when people tell their own children one thing but give different generalised advice.

xrhobo 1y ago

Ideally, if I had a high school age kid right now I would want them to get a 4 year degree but leave college with zero debt and then also learn to be an electrician. For some, college is an obvious choice. For some, a trade is an obvious choice. For some in the middle, hedging both is probably the best choice.

gadders 1y ago
We have a relatively new option in the UK which are "Degree Apprenticeships" [1] "A degree apprenticeship enables you to gain a full undergraduate or master’s degree while you work. Degree apprenticeships take three to six years to complete, depending on the course level. You’ll spend most of your time working and you’ll also study part-time at university. For example, you might go to university one or two days per week, or in short blocks, such as a week at a time. Overall, you spend about 20% of your time studying vs. 80% of your time working." [1] https://www.ucas.com/apprenticeships/degree-apprenticeships https://www.ucas.com/apprenticeships/degree-apprenticeships