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In some circles, the notion that students who are not already financially independant should consider earning potential when choosing what their college experie

by Crito 12y ago

In some circles, the notion that students who are not already financially independant should consider earning potential when choosing what their college experience will be is considered offensive, or even politically incorrect. Some people honestly seem to believe that any college education should be highly valued, and that it is unjust that some programs have poor placement numbers. This may explain why some articles fail to mention that the value of a college degree depends on the nature of the degree.

Dewie 12y ago
I think that the notion that "we" (working- or middle class) are so well-off that we can really consider a higher education as mostly a broadening of horizons, and life skills being kind of something that comes automatically along with it. We've already spent around 13 years in learning institutions at that point - what do people find so horrible about then looking for some kind of education/training that is more directly applicable to, um, surviving?
- Crito 12y ago
  I think you are right. Taking on several dozen thousand dollars of debt right after highschool to backpack around Europe for 4 years would nearly universally be seen as wildly irresponsible, but at the same time doing the same to get a degree with low economic value is somehow seen as not irresponsible. However when we call it irresponsible, people freak out and act like that is wildly unreasonable. It might be symptomatic of a cross wiring of people's sense of what should be, and what is. They believe that a college education should be free, so they behave as though it is. Where a college education free, then getting a relatively worthless degree would be perfectly fine. However since college is currently very expensive, getting a worthless degree is a very poor decision unless you are already wealthy. Asking people to separate their beliefs about how reality should be from their knowledge of how reality currently is, tends to make them angry.
  - Dewie 12y ago
    > They believe that a college education should be free, so they behave as though it is. Where a college education free, then getting a relatively worthless degree would be perfectly fine. I don't know. I'm getting my university education for free, but I still have living costs (which may be mitigated by a part-time job) and "losing" five years that could be invested in some relevant work experience. So if I was going for a useless degree, career-wise, I would be at least be a little worried. I guess some people think that people like me should be living it up while they can, and not worrying so much about the future. But there might be a mortgage to worry about in 5-10 years, and buying your own apartment/house is becoming more and more expensive (which might change in 10 years, for better or worse). And even though I am well-off by world standards, the future seems more unsure then ever; having some sort of economic independence seems like something that is worth working towards.

by Crito 12y ago

Dewie 12y ago

I think that the notion that "we" (working- or middle class) are so well-off that we can really consider a higher education as mostly a broadening of horizons, and life skills being kind of something that comes automatically along with it. We've already spent around 13 years in learning institutions at that point - what do people find so horrible about then looking for some kind of education/training that is more directly applicable to, um, surviving?

Crito 12y ago
I think you are right. Taking on several dozen thousand dollars of debt right after highschool to backpack around Europe for 4 years would nearly universally be seen as wildly irresponsible, but at the same time doing the same to get a degree with low economic value is somehow seen as not irresponsible. However when we call it irresponsible, people freak out and act like that is wildly unreasonable. It might be symptomatic of a cross wiring of people's sense of what should be, and what is. They believe that a college education should be free, so they behave as though it is. Where a college education free, then getting a relatively worthless degree would be perfectly fine. However since college is currently very expensive, getting a worthless degree is a very poor decision unless you are already wealthy. Asking people to separate their beliefs about how reality should be from their knowledge of how reality currently is, tends to make them angry.
- Dewie 12y ago
  > They believe that a college education should be free, so they behave as though it is. Where a college education free, then getting a relatively worthless degree would be perfectly fine. I don't know. I'm getting my university education for free, but I still have living costs (which may be mitigated by a part-time job) and "losing" five years that could be invested in some relevant work experience. So if I was going for a useless degree, career-wise, I would be at least be a little worried. I guess some people think that people like me should be living it up while they can, and not worrying so much about the future. But there might be a mortgage to worry about in 5-10 years, and buying your own apartment/house is becoming more and more expensive (which might change in 10 years, for better or worse). And even though I am well-off by world standards, the future seems more unsure then ever; having some sort of economic independence seems like something that is worth working towards.