• LAVA Moderator: Mysterier

Do you really need a degree to 'succeed'?

Have the same problem as OP. The only difference is I'm almost 23 and still don't know what to do with my life. I'd love to just start my own business but wouldn't know what direction to go.
 
Thujone, I went to university to learn about things that interest me. Full stop. If an employer asks, that is the answer I give. I did not go to university to get a high paying job, and I don't only apply to high paying jobs. I also apply to jobs that seem interesting. University is a business, but it does students no good to go in with that attitude. It might sound cliché, but go there to learn, be challenged and become a more worldly individual. Go there to learn how to better think critically. You mentioned you didn't have a great experience. That's unfortunate. :(

I think you've had a good university experience, if you leave with the understanding of just how little you truly know. That takes good professors and commitment on the student's end as well.

I look at working the same way. I don't want to work at a job for a paycheck. If I'm there for the money, I'm there for the wrong reason.

Your persistent non-jaded attitude is actually much appreciated. I feel bad for the way I come off in the education forum sometimes. You seem steadfast in your support of it in spite of reasons to be cynical. One's own attitude undoubtedly plays the largest role in their personal misery regarding career and education.
 
Thujone, I went to university to learn about things that interest me. Full stop. If an employer asks, that is the answer I give. I did not go to university to get a high paying job, and I don't only apply to high paying jobs. I also apply to jobs that seem interesting. University is a business, but it does students no good to go in with that attitude. It might sound cliché, but go there to learn, be challenged and become a more worldly individual. Go there to learn how to better think critically. You mentioned you didn't have a great experience. That's unfortunate. :(

I think you've had a good university experience, if you leave with the understanding of just how little you truly know. That takes good professors and commitment on the student's end as well.

I look at working the same way. I don't want to work at a job for a paycheck. If I'm there for the money, I'm there for the wrong reason.

i took this approach and had a great university experience. i learned a lot of interesting things, was exposed to new and different ideas, and honed my ability to think critically about a variety of subjects.

then i went to grad school so i could get a job.
 
That's the thing, Cyc, is I went to university not knowing what I wanted to get out of it and it sounds like the OP is in the same boat. All I can offer is my experience, which is that during my time at university I met a lot of recent graduates who were still working menial jobs despite all their accolades while at school, and in the past half-decade I've been working a lot of people who came in to work under me (me being a high-school graduate) had degrees too. University is a huge financial burden and a lot of people just can't afford it without taking out loans. I don't really see how someone can AFFORD to pay back that much money right after graduating when they have no hope of landing a decent position for years yet.

I did actually return to post-secondary recently (college this time) and I'm soaking up knowledge like a sponge here because it's technical knowledge that has real applications that employers will pay a lot of money for. It's hard not to get jaded when comparing this enriching experience to university where basically any given lecture about any given arts-related topic is hardly worth the time in lecture let alone the exorbitant amount of money being demanded for it.
 
I got my B.A and after searching for 8 months for a job, im slicing deli meat at a supermarket. Which is funny in that those commercials urging people to get their degrees, in one for GED'd completion advice they show a guy knocking down the wall at his supermarket job as to portray the new possibilities ahead if he were to have that GED.

My problem is mostly with the for-profit schools who are more interested in making money as a business than the job placements of its students. Most of these for-profit schools can only get one so far, in a specific trade which can be good because like I said, having a B.A in history landed me at a super market. If lets say I got an associates degree and specific training in a classroom from one of the trade schools like ITT tech, I may have come out with more.

Education is an important part of life, I beleive, however its not a guarantee for success as those commercials would like you to believe. Don't throw in the apron and ketchup bottles just yet
 
One thing that I like, is that private schools in Canada can't offer degrees. Only public-funded universities and affiliate colleges can offer a bachelor of anything.

I always wondered how in the US employers were able to differentiate between candidates when you call both university and college, "college" and there's no regulation over who can offer an actual degree. Like some hole in the wall can basically print you off a BA or a B.Sc and now it's up to the employer's due diligence to evaluate the worth of the degree?

That's insane.
 
One thing that I like, is that private schools in Canada can't offer degrees. Only public-funded universities and affiliate colleges can offer a bachelor of anything.

I always wondered how in the US employers were able to differentiate between candidates when you call both university and college, "college" and there's no regulation over who can offer an actual degree. Like some hole in the wall can basically print you off a BA or a B.Sc and now it's up to the employer's due diligence to evaluate the worth of the degree?

That's insane.

whether or not a school is called a "college" or "university" really doesn't say anything about its quality in the US. Harvard is a university, but Dartmouth and Amherst are both called colleges. i think it has more to do with size, although there's no hard and fast rule.

And there is an accreditation process for post-secondary education, but I feel like most employers already have a good idea of what tier a school falls in.
 
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That's the thing, Cyc, is I went to university not knowing what I wanted to get out of it and it sounds like the OP is in the same boat. All I can offer is my experience, which is that during my time at university I met a lot of recent graduates who were still working menial jobs despite all their accolades while at school, and in the past half-decade I've been working a lot of people who came in to work under me (me being a high-school graduate) had degrees too. University is a huge financial burden and a lot of people just can't afford it without taking out loans. I don't really see how someone can AFFORD to pay back that much money right after graduating when they have no hope of landing a decent position for years yet.

that was my experience too. i had a good time and learned a lot, but i was also lucky enough to go to a public school and have very supportive parents. if i had graduated with $100k in loan debt, i'd definitely have a lot more regrets about the way i spent my college years.

i completely agree with you that students need to have at least some idea of what they want out of college before they go. "follow your interests and don't worry about getting a job" is only good advice if you really won't need to worry about getting a job.
 
One thing that I like, is that private schools in Canada can't offer degrees. Only public-funded universities and affiliate colleges can offer a bachelor of anything.

I always wondered how in the US employers were able to differentiate between candidates when you call both university and college, "college" and there's no regulation over who can offer an actual degree. Like some hole in the wall can basically print you off a BA or a B.Sc and now it's up to the employer's due diligence to evaluate the worth of the degree?

That's insane.

The institution issuing the degree must be accredited by a strict set of rules, and the U.S secretary of education by law releases a list of thos agencies nationally recognized as being accredited for higher education. Granted, some colleges or universities carry more prestige for their academics but all are recognized by the u.s dept of education.

The terms college or university is more of a regional connotation i think is what ur thinking of. I think Canada is the only place whre there is actually a difference, but in the U.S they are practically synonymous. Some countries use college to refer to 2ndary schools where university means higher learning.

University here basically is a collection of colleges, from which the degree is awarded by the university. I went to West Chester University for example, in the college of history. My diploma is B.A history, West Chester University.

employers know if you have a B.S from Soupvillle online college of technology or something or all these for profit schools poppin up that are more business than school. Employers know the difference between an accredited higher learning institution versus trade and technical schools
 
What you major in is just as important as having a degree in the first place. If your major is in the humanities, a degree may or may not help you. If you can find a job in your field, you might be paid more with a degree than without. But you might be better off working and getting paid for 4 or 5 years rather than paying for school for those 5 years.

The sciences are another story. You can't be a chemist or an engineer without a degree. And any jobs in those fields pay 3-4 times more with a degree than without.

Anyway, my point is that what you do is more important than whether or not you have a degree.
 
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