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My parents and grandparents told me to "go to college". No mention of majors. They said this because they saw their peers with "college degrees" advancing in th

My parents and grandparents told me to "go to college". No mention of majors. They said this because they saw their peers with "college degrees" advancing in their fields. You could pay for college with a part time summer job making minimum wage. Today, the labor market is flooded with "degrees" so the major matters more than ever. The cost has also skyrocketed. The advice today should be "Go to an inexpensive college and choose a major that can lead to a lucrative career".

dudul 11y ago
Excellent comment. I always find it infuriating when someone says "I have a college degree" without specifying the major. What does it mean you have a degree? A degree in what? Farming? Psychology? Pet sitting? Mathematics? What can you actually do? I would amend your last advice with "... and if the lucrative career doesn't need a degree, don't go to college at all, learn a useful trade, don't get in debt for nothing and start making money right away doing something useful".
pc86 11y ago
> Today, the labor market is flooded with "degrees" so the major matters more than ever. Really? I've since gotten my degree but I dropped out of school in 2008 with half a bachelor's in Political Science. I've been a full-time software developer since 2009. Having a degree is a signal that you can finish something on a longer time horizon than the end of the month.
- dudul 11y ago
  I'm sure there are cheaper ways to send that signal.
- angersock 11y ago
  Counterargument: most software projects are maintenance, and finishing something inside of a month is actually a rare accomplishment. Besides, school is more a series of different assignments cycled through with set objectives--the real world (sadly, especially in our industry) lacks either the variety or velocity that we are acclimated to in school. Instead, it's day after day of the same bullshit, punctuated by panic.
merpnderp 11y ago
My parents and grandparents told me to "go to college and learn something useful". We spent a lot of time discussing cost vs. benefits of each type of degree. And this was 20 years ago. I've never understood how people can get a degree in something with little market value and then be confused as to why they can't find gainful employment.
- wfo 11y ago
  Because many people think of college as the path you go along to develop a career, become educated, become a part of an informed and thoughtful society, (because that is what it used to be and should still be) not a job training for the general population that is free for corporations and life-destroying for citizens, their future indentured debt-slaves-cough I mean employees. Not everybody does a cost-benefit analysis to calculate what jobs are in demand (realistically, will be in demand 5 years from now which may be radically different and unpredictable) and what majors give them these skills, then choose to forgo a real education in order to train for something they hate because of expected financial return. You're arguing that everyone should do that. I'd suggest that no-one should.
  - sjg007 11y ago
    those that do, go to med school
- zaccus 11y ago
  >I've never understood how people can get a degree in something with little market value and then be confused as to why they can't find gainful employment. >We spent a lot of time discussing cost vs. benefits of each type of degree. I think you answered your own question.

dudul 11y ago

Excellent comment. I always find it infuriating when someone says "I have a college degree" without specifying the major. What does it mean you have a degree? A degree in what? Farming? Psychology? Pet sitting? Mathematics? What can you actually do? I would amend your last advice with "... and if the lucrative career doesn't need a degree, don't go to college at all, learn a useful trade, don't get in debt for nothing and start making money right away doing something useful".

pc86 11y ago

> Today, the labor market is flooded with "degrees" so the major matters more than ever. Really? I've since gotten my degree but I dropped out of school in 2008 with half a bachelor's in Political Science. I've been a full-time software developer since 2009. Having a degree is a signal that you can finish something on a longer time horizon than the end of the month.

dudul 11y ago
I'm sure there are cheaper ways to send that signal.
angersock 11y ago
Counterargument: most software projects are maintenance, and finishing something inside of a month is actually a rare accomplishment. Besides, school is more a series of different assignments cycled through with set objectives--the real world (sadly, especially in our industry) lacks either the variety or velocity that we are acclimated to in school. Instead, it's day after day of the same bullshit, punctuated by panic.

merpnderp 11y ago

My parents and grandparents told me to "go to college and learn something useful". We spent a lot of time discussing cost vs. benefits of each type of degree. And this was 20 years ago. I've never understood how people can get a degree in something with little market value and then be confused as to why they can't find gainful employment.

wfo 11y ago
Because many people think of college as the path you go along to develop a career, become educated, become a part of an informed and thoughtful society, (because that is what it used to be and should still be) not a job training for the general population that is free for corporations and life-destroying for citizens, their future indentured debt-slaves-cough I mean employees. Not everybody does a cost-benefit analysis to calculate what jobs are in demand (realistically, will be in demand 5 years from now which may be radically different and unpredictable) and what majors give them these skills, then choose to forgo a real education in order to train for something they hate because of expected financial return. You're arguing that everyone should do that. I'd suggest that no-one should.
- sjg007 11y ago
  those that do, go to med school
zaccus 11y ago
>I've never understood how people can get a degree in something with little market value and then be confused as to why they can't find gainful employment. >We spent a lot of time discussing cost vs. benefits of each type of degree. I think you answered your own question.