What is your level of education?
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It all depends on what your want to do and what you have in mind for your kids. Most parents don't have high asperations of their children being HVAC techs or Auto Mechanics.
I'm a big believer that college could be a waste of a lot of people's time and money depending on what you want to do. If your into computers then college is a waste of time. Certifications is what employers want to see and hands on training. A+, Network+ Cisco certs, Microsoft Certs. Spend your time and money on this and I am willing to bet that if you have a few of these VS someone who has a B.A. in computer science, the guy who went to college looses
But if you want to be a Lawyer then yes, a 4 year degree from a college is going to be necessary.
Lot so fjobs out there don't require a degree. Hell, not that it's allot but i make $60,000 a year handling worker's comp claims. All it required was for me to get a License and worked my way up.
i finished high school. got my MCSE and a few other certs.
college? no fucking way. i like my salary. cant say the same for 99% of my friends that actually got their degrees...
college? no fucking way. i like my salary. cant say the same for 99% of my friends that actually got their degrees...
4 year degree, i use it everyday
could be doing bigger and better things had i applied myself through college and went for the big money jobs straight out of school
but that whole suit and tie deal isnt the lifestyle for me
i'm comfortable where i am, pay my bills, have a house, get things i want
and i'm lined up to be running the business in 5 or 10 years
things are allright
could be doing bigger and better things had i applied myself through college and went for the big money jobs straight out of school
but that whole suit and tie deal isnt the lifestyle for me
i'm comfortable where i am, pay my bills, have a house, get things i want
and i'm lined up to be running the business in 5 or 10 years
things are allright
This is where I will be in another three years, and where I was in 2007-2008. 2009 just flat out sucked. Mortgage went up, finally got it to go down and then got hit with a hard uppercut at the same time a roommate moved out on short notice. I'll survive though. I can pay bills, everythings just late.
I have a BA in Communications and I'm going for my MS in Accounting with a CPA.
I will say, my BA has done very little for me, other than qualify me for grad school and for jobs that require a 4 year degree. But I make more money waiting tables.
Perhaps the BA would have served me better if I had had less fun getting it.
I will say, my BA has done very little for me, other than qualify me for grad school and for jobs that require a 4 year degree. But I make more money waiting tables.
Perhaps the BA would have served me better if I had had less fun getting it.
jimboburgess
Go fast, Go Cheap
Oh hell yeh, I managed to beat a 3.0 gpa but didn't get much higher than that. I started school studying Music ed. but I would've had to have been way more motivated for that. I looked at my one friend who was studying Broadcasting and it seemed like he didn't really do anything unless it was fun. So I switched majors. I like the radio and TV.
And boy let me tell you I got lucky with the school i went to. I applied there because it was in my home town and was easy to apply to. They gave me money for being poor and smart and such, but still left with about $35000 in debt.
But the school aslo got me an internship at Foxnews in washington and started me working at espn, I worked part time at different events. And I also made friends completely by luck with a guy whos dad was the broadcast director at CBS in nyc and that where I am now.
$35K in debt but worth every penny.
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See, that's the thing about bachelor's degrees. If all you want is the required coursework and training necessary to land you a job, then yeah, just get an associate's or a certification. Bachelor's degrees are really designed to be a "life experience" (assuming that the school you're attending is of any academic quality). This is why they have you do a gen-ed core, electives, and a minor that expose you to other areas outside of just your major/vocational training. It's supposed to make you a more well-rounded person and give you exposure to arts/humanities/history.
I do personally believe that there is value in such things, and I'm glad that I earned the full bachelor's from a liberal arts school, but I'm also not uptight about it like some people with college degrees are. If you're not in to that "life experience" type of thing, then yeah, just get the training that you need and save yourself some debt.
The exception here would be careers that absolutely require advanced degrees (doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc.)...
95b16coupe
Well-Known Member
there was a lot of fluff in between these two sentences. i would have to disagree about the "life experience" aspect. maybe because i work in finance/banking/accounting type industries. if you don't have a 4 year degree, it's not going to happen for you. subsequently, a large portion of online forum members and other technical people aren't as interested in traditional white collar careers.
you need a degree because of what schooling teaches you. vocational schools are great to teach you how to work on an engine, computer, house, etc. same thing a cert like A+ or a CPA designation would do. However, with a vocational degree and say working as a mechanic, you know how the engine works, but not how the car industry and politics behind the industry affect and impact your industry as a whole. people need a better understanding of "the big picture" if they want to be more experienced and marketable, not just of the specific task they do day in and day out.
Well, yeah, I could elaborate more. There are other professions that you could add to the list that require bachelor's degrees (certain business jobs, teaching, most "white collar" professions, actually). And yes, that's kind of what I was getting at with the "well-rounded" talk. I think there is value to completing an entire bachelor's rather then just the career-training portions of the program because it does develop you as a person in terms of criticial thinking, "big picture" type stuff...
95b16coupe
Well-Known Member
good, i think we are discussing the same side of the topic.
it's really interesting to see people's perspective on this. i wish we could do a 3 question poll and add "how much do you make" and "what do you do".
it's really interesting to see people's perspective on this. i wish we could do a 3 question poll and add "how much do you make" and "what do you do".
Exactly the mentality I am talking about. You say well rounded. I say we jumped through more hoops. Do you what the new trend in secondary education is? Taking your gen Ed course work at a two year tech school then transferring to the college of your choice for the special -read courses not available- at said tech school due to some constaint whether it is population, location, or financial. Now I have to keep in mind what I call tech school you might call community college. Where i am from they are the same thing.
I'd say I use my engineering degree 20% of the time I'm at work. There's no way they would have let me set foot in the door without a bachelor's degree. What's funny though, is that there are old farts in high up positions who only came in 25 years ago with an associate's degree at best.
We only hire people with BS degrees or better in my Department (Engineering). I don't think I really use much of that degree anymore (BS in Computer Science). I'm an Engineering Manager for Symantec now. Now I want to get an MBA.
I make roughly 5x more now than I did when I started in the "help desk" job while I was going to college (~10 years ago).
IMHO:
I "think" 4+ year colleges give you a more "well rounded" education over vocational schools.
I make roughly 5x more now than I did when I started in the "help desk" job while I was going to college (~10 years ago).
IMHO:
I "think" 4+ year colleges give you a more "well rounded" education over vocational schools.
"into computers" is pretty broad. For IT helpdesk support type stuff; you're right. For software engineering; you're wrong.
TommyTheCat
Gonzo Scientist
B.S. in Electrical Engineering/Technology, I am an associate loudspeaker engineer for a pro audio company.
I could have gotten my foot in the door as a technician and tried to work my way up - but to be an engineer you have to have a degree (also they prefer advanced degrees for upper level positions). Some old farts may have gotten by and cashed in 20+ years of experience, but these days if you come in and want to be an engineer they'll send you right back to school. Don't think they cant find someone else willing to do your job that's more qualified.
So for those of you thinking about engineering, at least - you WILL at least have an undergrad before you start.
And I know I'd be making less because I could not have my position.
I could have gotten my foot in the door as a technician and tried to work my way up - but to be an engineer you have to have a degree (also they prefer advanced degrees for upper level positions). Some old farts may have gotten by and cashed in 20+ years of experience, but these days if you come in and want to be an engineer they'll send you right back to school. Don't think they cant find someone else willing to do your job that's more qualified.
So for those of you thinking about engineering, at least - you WILL at least have an undergrad before you start.
And I know I'd be making less because I could not have my position.
