Do you think College is always the way to go, in order to achieve success?
So many people often go straight to College, right after high school.
But do you honestly think it's the best way to achieve success and stature, that it's the best way to prepare for life?
I come from a long line of men, who worked with their hands, men who often involved in construction, or in some other type of work that required working with tools.
For example, My great grandfather on my dad's dad's side of the family was a farmer. My dad's grandfather on his mom's side was a lumberjack back in the 20s and 30s - which was a very hard and often times dangerous occupation.
My Granddad on my mom's side was also a farmer, as are a couple of my uncle's on my mom's side. And one of my uncle's was involved in construction for a number of years, and my own dad is very good with his hands. None of these men went to college, and yet they have managed to do alright.
So what I don't understand is why this big push for college?
Why treat it as the best way to get started in life?
Many a times when I talk to people who are college age, and I'm not to much older than them, but the point is often times they have no interest in working with their hands, some even seem to project the attitude that it's somehow beneath them - that they're to good to get their hands dirty, or to do manual labor.
Now I'm not against college in itself, but I don't understand why some treat it as the only way to go, that: "If you don't go to college, your never gonna make it as a person."
I ran across an interview with Mike Rowe, the creator of the show "Dirty Jobs", and he had some very insightful things to say on the topic. And I also ran into another video where he testifies before congress on the subject, and what he had to say made a lot of good common sense.
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Now before you answer, let's please keep politics out of this thread. This is NOT a political thread, nor do I wish to see it turned into such. This is more or less a thread about getting started in life, and what's the best way to go about it. Frankly, I'm tired of politics, I'm tired of hearing about it, and I just want us to be able to talk about a "life issue" without having to drag some political agenda into this.
(The biggest reason I included a video where Glenn Beck is the interviewer is because it's relatively short - only about 7 minutes or so long. The original video I wanted to use, where Glenn Beck is not the interviewer, is over 40 minutes long, and since I included two videos in this thread, I wanted to make them as relatively short as possible, while at the same Time including the information that I thought was quite good.)
Comments
I hate to say it, but the answer to that question is inseparable from politics. No, you don't need to go to college to achieve success, and how success is defined, whether personal, financial, or artistic is effectively subject. I don't idolize physical labor like a lot of Americans, but I'd like to think I don't look down on it either. Where politics come in is that unlike your parents and grandparents, blue collar labor frequently doesn't pay a living wage anymore, and, when it comes to the job market "college is the new high school diploma."
People push for college because nobody 'wants' to be a fisherman but that's unrealistic. Nobody wants to say to their little kids "No, you're not going to become an astronaut." It's something like 70% college attendance rate, but guess what, professional jobs do not make up 70% of the market. In that light, I actually think the constant push for college is pernicious, especially that nowadays too many people keep scrambing for fewer and fewer high paying jobs all while ignoring the conditions of the labor class. That's part of why I'm heavily in favor of vocational schools.
If you want to get a better paying job you NEED to go to college. I want to be a forensic scientist, which requires you to have a bachelors degree at the very least. So if I'm ever going to get my dream job then I HAVE TO go to college.
Labor sucks. Go to college. Learn more.
That doesn't always apply~ I went to school with a boy that dropped out at 16 (failing all his grades is the process) to work with his father at his family business. He was very clever but he just didn't care as he knew what he wanted to do with his life. Also a mother that acquired a degree in psychology and is now making minimum wage at the lowest end of the care spectrum.
It's not enough just to have a degree anymore, not like it was 40 years ago when few people had them. The majority of people have degrees and if you don't make it count you get pushed down to the bottom of the pile.
All you have to do is stand out~ get a MSc or PHd or specialise in criminology and do activities that you can put on your résumé. There are definitely some jobs you need specialised education for but never assume that people that have this are better that people that don't.
side note~ I'm from England so some things might not apply in America
Well if you want to get a higher paying job and most likley the job you want, then yes, you basically will have to find a way to go to collage. Now it feels like if you want I get a decent paying job without collage it seems like you'd need a family business passed to you.
Unfortunately, it's hard to support a family on a trade, these days. Real shame too.
My grandpa was a stonemason in Pittsburgh, he joined the companion the day after he graduated from high school. Hard work, but it paid good and they had a strong union. They were almost always flush with work. Combined with his wife's income (she was a school secretary), he was able to support four daughters and send each of them to college.
I can't see that happening anymore. Industry moved, the unions were steamrolled by government & big business and a college degree became the new high school diploma. It's a shame because not everyone is cut out for intellectual pursuits. It's an even bigger shame because the university-industrial complex has rendered college completely unaffordable, yet kids have few alternatives if they want to find a decent job.
Like Sarangholic said, the question is inherently political.
CNN.com had a story today on how you can actually make a pretty good living as a garbage collector. It all boils down to supply and demand.
Furthermore, once you get your first really good job in your career, suddenly your education becomes less important. Experience headlines your resume.
However, in my opinion, a college degree will protect you the longest in the coming robot revolution that will replace all the manual labor and customer service jobs.
Really, it's what do you want in life that will make you happy? That matters more than money.
Not necessarily, but it generally depends on the industry. Obviously, professions like accounting, law and medicine need higher education degrees and licensing. Other professions use higher education degrees as gatekeepers and as a barrier to entry which may or may not accurately measure one's success. And there are other professions where a degree is not a necessity to succeed. As far as I can tell, finance sales positions don't require advanced degrees, just licensing. Police officers don't need higher education. Entrepreneurs and business owners don't necessarily need advanced degree. Artists and musicians and athletes - nope.
Anyway, degrees are not a guarantee to success. Also persistence, relentlessness, confidence, likability, relatability, prowess, presence, etc.