Topic: College Conspiracy

[Dunrobin]

If you are in college or planning on going to college, you owe it to yourself to watch this video:

[youtube=640,380]VpZtX32sKVE[/youtube]

[xraffle]

Too late. I finished college 2 years ago. The thing is, a college degree isn't worth anything unless you have work experience and you continue to work on getting some extra credentials, such as an MBA, PhD, etc. And in this crummy economy, a lot of entry-level jobs are now requiring you to have work experience.  
One you graduate college, you haven't finished, you've just begun and you still have a long way to go. And entry-level salaries (especially in this economy) are pretty bad. College itself won't help you make money or be successful. It's what you decide to do with your life AFTER college that will determine your success. You have to climb your way up and believe me, it's a very difficult climb.

[falsealarms]

I don't disagree with that video... it's mostly spot on. Very provocative stuff.

I graduated with a BA a year ago. Luckily, I went to a relatively cheap (but still expensive) public state school. Not sure if it was worth it. If I could do it over again, I'd either not go at all or have done something different while in college.

The one guy had it right - it isn't what it used to be.

[xraffle]

Here in NY, we have city colleges you can go to that are pretty cheap. Should only cost about $5,000 per year. A few of my friends went there because they couldn’t afford to go to private colleges. This nonsense where you need to go to some expensive college to stand out is not necessarily true. All employers look at is what degree(s) you earned and how much experience you have. I would’ve gone to a city college if I couldn’t afford it. But lucky for me, my parents were willing to pay for my tuition and I also earned some partial scholarships.

I would never say college wasn’t worth it. I’ve learned a lot from it. High school was the one that wasn’t worth it because I didn’t learn a thing there. At least in college, instructors are more educated and you’re in a more serious environment.

One thing that does sadden me is the fact that this recession started on the year I graduated, which really killed my chances of getting a better job. I could’ve graduated a year earlier and gotten a better entry-level job, but I decided to stay an extra year to get a Master’s degree as well. Not sure if that extra year was worth it because a Master’s degree without good working experience doesn’t mean squat in this economy.

[falsealarms]

What that one guy said in the video... that it's all regurgitation ... is sadly true. I wasn't a top of the class student in college, but outside of one horrific semester, I was always in the ballpark of a 3.0. Sometimes a little below, sometimes a little above. But I didn't really learn anything. You attend class, listen to the professor babble endlessly, and then try your best to regurgitate what he/she said on the exam. There wasn't much learning, but a lot of memorization. And then you gradually forget it because you never need that knowledge again, which brings into question how valuable it was to begin with. Just yesterday there was a scathing op-ed piece on my college in one of the local papers. A published author wrote it and said he learned little at my school compared to what he could have taught himself in a library. I don't doubt it. I've often had similar feelings. I didn't know what I wanted to get out of college, so I majored in Sociology (which many wrongly confuse with Social Work) because it was marketed as something applicable to many careers. It's not. A Sociology BA is worthless unless you get a masters. Even then it's limited unless you want to teach or be a researcher. Psychology is kind of the same -- you can't make much money with a Psych degree unless you get a masters or a doctorate in it. I thought "a" degree would be enough. Wrong. At some point in the not too distant past, it probably was. Not anymore.

I have some work experience, so I'm not empty-handed in that department, but it's not the kind of work experience that stands out on a resume. I haven't been able to find much since graduation.

[xraffle]

Yeah, a Bachelor's degree is not enough and neither is a Master's. And I know because I have one and it's not getting me anywhere now. Many employers want people with a lot of experience in the real world. If you don't have that, you're screwed. I think this all started happening since 9/11. The economy really went downhill since then. My dad works in IT and before 9/11, he was able to go from job to job without any trouble. He used to do it because he couldn't make up his mind on what job he wanted. Heck, my mom used to get so annoyed at him for constantly changing his mind and switching jobs so often. But ever since 9/11, that's not the case. He's stuck at the place he's working in now because IT jobs are almost impossible to find now. Of course, he's making good money now, but that's because he has a lot of good working experience and he worked very hard for his credentials. But he started out worse than me when he graduated college.

My point is, this stuff takes time. We need to wait for the economy to recover (if it ever does) and we need to keep working hard in order to make ourselves more marketable so we're able to get a decent job.

[Liz]

I'm in the teaching credential program for the English major.  After I graduate and get my credentials, I plan on getting out of the shit hole that is California and going back to New Hampshire or Massachusetts, which could potentially mean another year or so of school to get credentials for NH or MA, but supposedly, getting your credentials in California is supposed to satisfy the requirement for all states.  I'm only a freshman, but I just finished my freshman year and that time is coming up fast.

[FineBari3]

I'm in the teaching credential program for the English major.  After I graduate and get my credentials, I plan on getting out of the shit hole that is California and going back to New Hampshire or Massachusetts, which could potentially mean another year or so of school to get credentials for NH or MA, but supposedly, getting your credentials in California is supposed to satisfy the requirement for all states.  I'm only a freshman, but I just finished my freshman year and that time is coming up fast.

Do you mean teacher certification? (I never heard the term 'teaching credentials' before).  I went to school 20 years ago to be a social studies teacher, and I always heard that California is the most difficult state to get certified in, and that Pennsylvania (my state) was 2nd.  I know for sure that if you went to Virginia, specifically around Newport News and Virginia Beach, that they will let you teach without certification, but you have to be enrolled in school and in that program.  They need teachers very bad in the South (VA, the Carolinas).

In these times of budget-cutting, it would be a very good idea to be dual-certified; certified in another subject.
Good luck!

[Liz]

Do you mean teacher certification? (I never heard the term 'teaching credentials' before).  I went to school 20 years ago to be a social studies teacher, and I always heard that California is the most difficult state to get certified in, and that Pennsylvania (my state) was 2nd.  I know for sure that if you went to Virginia, specifically around Newport News and Virginia Beach, that they will let you teach without certification, but you have to be enrolled in school and in that program.  They need teachers very bad in the South (VA, the Carolinas).

In these times of budget-cutting, it would be a very good idea to be dual-certified; certified in another subject.
Good luck!

I do mean teacher certification.  Here at SDSU we call it the credential program.

About the double-majoring thing; that's kind of what my mom wants me to do.  She wholly supports me in the English major, but she wants me to major in French as well.  I am wholly confident in my abilities to speak French, but I love English more.

The thing is, at SDSU, a lot of our majors are impacted because of the cuts, meaning you have to have really good grades to actually get into the major after sophomore year.  If I don't get in, I will probably petition and/or major in French or Television, Film, and New Media with an emphasis in Critical Studies (though I don't see myself going anywhere with that besides hobby-wise).   

[Dunrobin]

I wish you well in your studies, Liz.  I just hope you don't come out of college already $200,000 or more in debt.   

[metaldams]

I wish you well in your studies, Liz.  I just hope you don't come out of college already $200,000 or more in debt.  

I work in the student loan business.  I once spoke to a borrower who once he leaves his residency is scheduled to pay $4000 a month!  Of course that's an extreme case, but I've seen some insane levels of debt.

I was raised in the mindset you have to go to college to make something of yourself.  There are some professions where that is absolutely true.  I would not want a doctor without a degree.  That said, I was always skeptical of taking basic education courses in college, isn't that what K - 12 is for?  Bottom line is I have an English major (with no incentive to teach) and my brother is a history major.  I work in a student loan business and he sells alcohol to stores.  Of course it's both of our faults we listened to our parents and not ourselves, but bottom line is he's worked his way up in his profession without any help from his studies and I'm in the process of doing the same in my profession.  In the meantime I'm still paying off a student loan.  When I was 18, I had no clue what I wanted and at 32, I'm just a tad more sure of myself.  College for a lot of young people is either an excuse to party or a place to be because you're "supposed" to be there.

Liz, it sounds like you have a focus, something I did not have at your age, so more power to you, and good luck.

My Aunt cut hair, finally figured out what she wanted to do, and got her degree in her 40's.  I think she's smart.

[xraffle]

Yeah, like metaldams said, it really depends on the profession. If you want to be a successful doctor, lawyer, accountant or a teacher, you must have a college degree. But like I said earlier, college itself won’t get you anywhere. It’s just a starting point. Don’t think, “When I graduate today, I will be a successful lawyer tomorrow.” That’s not going to happen. Like I said, college is just a starting point. After you graduate, you still have to go to law school. After law school, you then have to study hard for the bar exam. And once you pass the bar exam, you still need to work your way up to success from there. A similar thing can be said about the other professions I listed. College is an investment in the future.... the far-distant future.

[Liz]

That's the thing, x:  I'm only a freshman, but jeez, this year went by in a hurry.  And from what I've heard, the credential program for English majors is sheer hell.  All that will be here before I know it.

And Doug, I know what you mean; so many people respond to my question "What do you want to do with your major?" with "I don't know." Makes me believe that they "have" to go to college.  And I hate the party scene; I hate on Greek life every chance I get, lol.     

[metaldams]

And Doug, I know what you mean; so many people respond to my question "What do you want to do with your major?" with "I don't know." Makes me believe that they "have" to go to college.  And I hate the party scene; I hate on Greek life every chance I get, lol.     

Just keep up what you're doing, you seem to be on the right path.

I was a double joke in college because not only did I not know what I was doing there, but I wasn't a partier either.  I had a long distance girlfriend at the time and we took turns visiting each other on the weekends.  I never cheated on her, and I never experienced a hangover until I was 23, so yeah, I was totally non college material.  During the week, I was the guy blasting Motorhead in the dorms instead of studying.

[Lefty]

Not being able to play football or basketball, I did not get a free ride through college. 

"What's the difference between pro sports and college sports?"  "The pros get paid by check."

While it took me until two years after graduating from college with my A.S. and B.S. in C.S. to get a job, the degrees did help me at said job, in that it kept me 12 positions above the cut-off line for layoffs in 1992, and it helped me reach the ceiling promotion-wise.  (Next highest spot, manager or sorts, but I'm more technical than managerial.)  BTW, it's a public, not private, sector job.  "Oh, a gubmint woiker, eh?"  "Soitenly!"