I dont think education is important at all. You only learn so much in a classroom. Of course there are highly specialized jobs where it is necessary but a lot of jobs that require degrees nowadays are not very complicated when you get down to it.
learning how to use technology and to use your time at work effectively is more important than learning calculus 99/100 times IMO.
the only reason people got it drilled into their heads that you have to go to college is because our education system is actually a business for the people who run it and they want to make as much money as possible.
All a degree does is get you an interview but knowing someone will also get you an interview without putting you into massive amounts of debt from school loans.
there's plenty of jobs that pay reasonably well and dont require anything more than a High School Diploma. You may not be able to just slide right into them and might have to prove yourself first but if you can't handle a more menial job then how are you going to handle something a level or two above that?
Everyone complains about there not being any jobs yet a lot of new college graduates consider themselves above working at some jobs.
aka, theyre a bit high on themselves and a piece of paper that proves that you can fill out a bunch of pieces of paper and explain basic psychology.
which you can use on yourself to figure out why nobody cares about your degree in Golf Course Management
I really couldn't tell you one thing I learned after 9th grade that I use ever, outside of tech related things.
The United States got so caught up in a some BS low-standardized test scores compared to the rest of the world that the powers that be decided to make it their goal to make every citizen a modern Renaissance Man when in reality they just needed to learn how to do one thing, and to do it better than anyone (RIP Orville Redenbacher, one of the best quotes of all time IMO). Kind of like Communism, except with a lot more shopping malls.
We didn't become a global powerhouse by sitting in classrooms, we did it by taking the best classroom people from other countries and making them work for us.
there's always going to be someone smarter than you, so you might as well just work hard as shit and be fun to work with. That is worth more than any test score or degree you can pull out
Subotai, this is a very eloquent post. I actually don't have much to argue with. Have you ever been to college? If so, what did you study and how long were you there? I'm just curious to find out what personal experience(s) made you so poo poo on the academic process.
I guess the reason your post resonates so much with me is because about 15 years ago I dropped out of college because I had grown very cynical with education as well. I was in my fourth year and had about three semesters left to graduate. Fast forward several years and I had a psychiatric breakdown of sorts and ended up homeless for about six months and eventually found myself caught in the revolving door of the mental health system. Once I finished all that and got stable on meds, I began the process of going back to work.
Just like you stated above, I started at the bottom and found myself doing very menial labor. I'll admit that jobs like that will grind your soul into nothing just as fast as any job that requires a degree. The people I worked with were all awesome and fun to work with, which made the labor tolerable. But the work itself sucked goat balls. I also did what you mentioned and networked with people in the workplace and was able to break into retail because a co-worker had two jobs - the one we worked and a job in retail. She got me an interview and I was hired on the spot.
While the change of scenery improved and the new co-workers were cool, I couldn't help but think I was wasting my time not doing something that had a more direct impact in helping others. Sure, helping people find the restroom or cleaning up after their kids' mess may give some employees the warm fuzzies, but not me. Once again I reconnected with a high school friend and he hired me to do commission sales for the construction company he inherited. As you can see, I had no college degree but over the years I was still able to move up in the world....and prove a lot of your post to be true.
But. For anyone who has done commission sales can tell you, it can be soul-sucking as well. I was barely able to cover my draws and have anything left over, I put a lot of wear and tear on my own personal truck, and worst of all, I got sick of having doors slammed in my face from potential customers who hated salesmen. Or to bust your ass with a two hour pitch only to have the customer go with an inferior, cheaper product.
Anyways, fast forward again and I got sick of not finding my work meaningful. I saved enough money to move and went back to college. I finished my BA online and subsequently enrolled in grad school. Two years later I had a Master's degree and now I'm working as a social worker for a great local agency. I get to help people every day and make the world a better place.
My point is, you said yourself that a degree gets you an interview and so does knowing someone. Now I challenge you to imagine the possibilities of having the degree AND knowing someone. Knowing someone can only get you so far if the company policy requires a college degree. So even knowing people on the inside has its limitations. But having the degree and knowing someone? The possibilities are endless.
Because of my experiences, I never look down upon people who come home from work sweaty and smelly from their job. It just ain't for me....ya dig? Rather than discouraging people from pursuing post-secondary education, I think it would be better to encourage people to pursue their dreams regardless of the journey it takes to get there. If that means trade or technical school, then so be it. If it means no school at all and going straight into the workforce, then so be it. If it means a decade of college, then so be it.
You have found a way to navigate the workforce without a college degree and I appreciate your input. I hope something I said makes sense to you and we can continue this conversation as adults.
