College in a Nutshell

[fstarcstar]

[Philly]

I know plumbers and electricians etc make a decent enough living without dumping all that money I to a bachelors degree but if I had to install pipes or wire shit up all day I'd wake up every morning and want to shoot myself. It would bore me to death. Glad I went to college.

[gla22]

If you are smart about it college will set you up making 50-80k after undergrad with a bachelors. A lot of the keys to doing that are not handed out by the college, like a good junior year internship and guidance that says in no way should you be pursuing a degree in english, sociology ect...

[Winchester]

[John Galt]

liberal arts education is important. college is not a trade school. you should take classes that have nothing to do with your major.

i was graduated with a major in biology and in political science and i'm a software engineer. well, now i'm a senior software engineer, thank you very much. college is about opening your mind to the realization that there is so much more to learn.

[Spider]

Agree with Galt. Tunnel vision is not what a four year education is about. If you want a very specialized education, trade school is the way to go. A 4 year degree is supposed to educate you, as opposed to train you. I think that's an important but usually overlooked distinction. There is supposed to be a more holistic and flexible base of knowledge that can lead down different paths.

People are looking at college education like its just a speed bump on the way to a big mortgage and a German car. When I was a kid that's exactly how I saw it. I wanted an employable credential that would allow me to make money. As time goes on the importance of everything else they require you to learn becomes impossible to ignore.

[exploited]

To be fair, there are very few people going to school that are going for the sake of an education. I went to university because I honestly thought it would be a bunch of people like me, who wanted to sit around and talk about important things and organize politically and get access to brilliant people (the professors).

Needless to say, I was sorely disappointed. Almost nobody was there for those reasons. It was about partying, doing what was expected or trying to land a high-paying job. And the professors wouldn't even take you seriously until at least third year - they'd talk about your progress and your writing, but I always felt like it was never really taken seriously, even though I was averaging high 80s to low 90s.

Finished a year, hope to one day go back and get my bachelors for fun.

[foadi]

i only lasted a semester before dropping out. seemed like a waste of time and money. maybe ill go back eventually, I dunno. would prefer not.

[Stratego]

Liberal arts education is only important after you've done something with your life. It wraps up your experiences and give them context. But liberal arts as a college major for new high school graduates with no life experience is a waste.

[John Galt]