Poll collegiate degree - pole (1 Viewer)

[zeetes]

do you think having a college degree is overblown?

for example, i have a general studies bachelor's of general studies.

i would not have my current job without a '4 year degree' and it makes zero sense. not a single thing i have learned in college, especially classes towards my degree, have any bearing on my field of work.

 

[zatsnzapps]

I voted no.

Earning a college degree gives someone a basic set of tools to do a job, but by no means does it make someone an expert. The degree is a differentiator to get a foot in the door.

As one's career progresses, a degree can be somewhat less important for getting a lateral position, but it can be a differentiator (maybe even a glass ceiling) again when trying for promotions.

 

[St. Widge]

There is more to going to college than learning something for a specific career field. There is also the idea of just generally being an educated person that understands things in general and has the skills to analyze things.

But, if you choose the right degree, it can provide valuable skills and knowledge for a job. For instance, you could have gotten a degree in computer science, computer engineering, Information Technology, etc.

But, yes, a general studies degree, or Philosophy Degree (which is what I have) have no direct relation to doing a job. But, they can provide you with the knowledge and basic educational background you need to get a professional degree that will touch directly on a job.

That being said, there are lots of jobs around today that require a college degree that shouldn't require one.

 

[SystemShock]

I'll take the tacoes, with a side of "it depends what degree we are talking about".

When you go in for brain surgery, there are 2 things you don't want to hear: "technical school" and a Southern accent.

Hey! Take it to Foxworthy.

 

[zeetes]

i guess it just bothers me that for what i do, a degree is required. why? for example, my bachelor's is general studies. half of my classes were teaching related. fork. if i was a teacher, your poor kids.

i dunno. my brother has a degree in history of whatever. he wants a job in it. he's afraid he couldn't even do help desk work. it just made me think of how certain fields requiring a degree, well, it doesn't make sense.

i'm not stupid, just dumb, but somehow, i have been a superstar wherever i have worked. i hated hs, hated college, but yet my degree says that i can work because o accomplished something? i beat off earlier, is that not an accomplishment?

 

[sonicboom]

do you think having a college degree is overblown?

for example, i have a general studies bachelor's of general studies.

i would not have my current job without a '4 year degree' and it makes zero sense. not a single thing i have learned in college, especially classes towards my degree, have any bearing on my field of work.

I think college degrees are over priced and supposedly most people get jobs in different fields. Take for instance high school algebra, how many jobs require you to know this? Very few, so why is it required in High School? Just think of all the subjects you had to take in college, now think about how many those classes you need in your current job.

Studying for a career should go back to internships, this way you know if what you are studying for is in demand. How many graduate with degrees with no jobs available in the field of study? Try talking to people who are looking for the first lawyer job.

There is a huge student loan problem also, and it's almost impossible to get rid of these loans through bankruptcy. People are graduating with 100k-200k worth of student loans and having a difficult time making these payments every month.

 

[DCSaints_Fan]

For science and engineering, definitely not overblown.

One of the benefit of university is to force yourself out of your comfort zone.

Although i was a computer science major, I can still remember freshman English. On first graded essay the TA really ripped me (and quite a few of my classmates) a new ***hole. I also fondly remember a class in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy. Wish I had kept the text for that class.

 

[zeetes]

For science and engineering, definitely not overblown.

One of the benefit of university is to force yourself out of your comfort zone.

Although i was a computer science major, I can still remember freshman English. On first graded essay the TA really ripped me (and quite a few of my classmates) a new ***hole. I also fondly remember a class in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy. Wish I had kept the text for that class.

science and engineering are great examples for a needed degree, as would a teacher, accountant (my wife), attorney, doctor, etc. other jobs, most, no. the specialised jobs i totally understand.

i don't think it applies to employees nearly as much as employers expect.

 

[DCSaints_Fan]

science and engineering are great examples for a needed degree, as would a teacher, accountant (my wife), attorney, doctor, etc. other jobs, most, no. the specialised jobs i totally understand.

i don't think it applies to employees nearly as much as employers expect.

Many jobs do not require it, yes. I think employers started requiring it basically as a weed out . At least it shows an employer you can commit to something and see it through. On the other hand, for certain jobs it can be a negative - such as trades/contracting type stuff.

 

[Tony1Saintfan]

I'll take the tacoes, with a side of "it depends what degree we are talking about".

When you go in for brain surgery, there are 2 things you don't want to hear: "technical school" and a Southern accent.

Hey! Take it to Foxworthy.

I agree with you except for the southern accent. When I had my leg removed most of the doctors I had between 3 different hospitals had southern accents and they were damn good.

I think most 4 year degrees aren’t worth what most people end up getting in return with a few obvious exceptions. I know several guys I’ve worked around that were making 6 figure incomes with a 2 year degree or trade school. I think they were definitely getting more bang for their buck.

 

[sonicboom]

43 million Americans have student loan debt with 16% who are in default (bankrupt). So, approximately 7 million Americans are bankrupt in a large part due to student loan debt. At the very least, college education needs to be reformed, especially the cost. Education is a huge money making industry, but this at the expense of the people who are mostly ill prepared in understanding the consequences of debt.

 

[FL_Saint]

After I got out of the USCG, I started school immediately and flew through it. I finished in 3 1/2 years. I chose an easy path, though - Criminal Justice. Because I just needed the piece of paper to get a federal civil service job. However, school did give me an opportunity to learn how to organize and prioritize and how I best learned new things. That has served me well in my career. Later on, I decided that an MBA would help my career. I tell you what, I had to learn twice as much as everyone else in the program because I didn't have a good knowledge base with many of the course subjects. Did the MBA help? Maybe. I use some of that knowledge in my current position, but I had to relearn/refresh a lot of it because it has been a while.

 

[Tater]

Had to look twice. At first I thought it meant a person can get a degree in Pole dancing.

 

[Saint Jack]

No, if you’re okay living in a rural area. All my friends with college degrees are moving to more bigger cities like Chicago or Philadelphia.
Even before this COVID thing, I was beginning to plan to move to L.A.

 

[SaintSpyNDallas]

While I agree college can give you tools to be able to learn and plan and be a generally good employee, I feel like certifications is the way to go. If you're gonna spend your money working towards a (better) job, proof that you know how to do the job seems like the way to go.

My degree hasn't been much help at all (B.S. in Video Production). No one in that field cares about degrees. They'd rather (understandably) have people who have experience (even on their own). I am currently a sys admin and I got that based on my own self-taught skills.