How important is education?

[Jabberwocky]

There are many reasons that people have for studying and not studying. Some people take their time at university, learning as much as they can, valuing the accumulating knowledge. Some people think further education (beyond high school) is pointless. What value do you give to education and why do you feel that way?

Personally, I find education useful for developing myself as a person; learning more and more about the world as I progress through the education chain to the end of a university degree, and achieving my goals in that sense. I think it's important to have goals and to work hard to get from A to B; there is so much to learn on the way, so many situations that will give you an outlook on life that you didn't previously have. I love educating myself.

Do you prefer learning though organised education, like university institutions, or being an autodidact - teaching yourself from places like the internet or library?

 

[scureto1]

I feel that I grew a lot as a person from the exposure that my time at a University gave me. I learned a lot about critical thinking, understanding alternative viewpoints, and just generally got a lot more exposure to the world than I would have otherwise. With that said, however, I spent 6 1/2 years there getting a bachelor's degree in chemistry and then 2 years in a PhD program for organic chemistry. I am now working at a software developer making a lot more money than I saw in my job outlook as a chemist. So in that regard, all of the money and time and effort were, in some sense, wasted. My wife had a similar experience where the earning potential of her master's degree didn't even begin to compare to the costs she incurred to get it.

I think university and education in general are great things and that everyone should be bettering themselves educationally in SOME WAY beyond highs chool. But I think our society (U.S., can't speak for other countries) is doing a disservice to high school students and other young people when they promise them that going to college and getting a degree in something that interests them will guarantee them financial and social security, because it absolutely will not.

 

[Jerry Atrick]

Some jobs in some industries require an education beyond high school. For young people who want those jobs, the logical step would be to get an education.

Some jobs in some industries do not require education beyond high school. For young people who want those jobs, the logical step would be to forego the education and try to find an entry-level position.

I think the grey area occurs when someone is unsure what they want to be when they grow up. Then there is a dilemma. Should I go to school and find my way while I'm there or should I leap into the job market and earn money?

For me, the university experience was about much more than learning in the classroom. It was the first time in my life I had lived away from the security of my parents' home. I learned how to be independent. I learned how to make friends in a town I had never previously lived in. I learned how to get into bars with someone else's ID. I could go on and on and on. Sure you can go to the library and learn what you need to learn while living in your parents' house your whole life. But where's the fun in that.

Back to the book learning part. Yes it is doing a disservice to tell a young person that an education guarantees job success. What we have to instill in young people is that while the education part is important, having drive and ambition is important as well. School is supposed to give you the tools to be successful. But the only one responsible for putting those tools to use is Y.O.U.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Thanks for your responses.

Scureto1, indeed, critical thinking is a trait that can be gained through study; my critical thinking skills have accumulated over the period I have studied, and I would hope that these skills will continue to do so. Critical thinking skills can be developed at home as well, so it's not just through education that one can gain such skills. Organised education is, however, a catalyst for developing such skill, and as a chemist I'm sure you know much about catalysts

Jerry Atrick, your discussion and description of university resonates with me well, for I too have 'grown up' by working through university studies. One thing I love about studying in general is that it is perpetual, there is no person that knows everything, and the desire for knowledge is a great guide for life, as opposed to other guides such as making a quick dollar.

 

[Tude]

Education has value to me only as long as it's useful to what the person is trying to achieve. I don't believe everyone must go to college. As a teacher once said, someone's gotta deliver pizzas. Lol but in all seriousness, it's okay not to go to college as long as you are able to pay your bills/feed yourself.

 

[Jabberwocky]

sounds like you had a wise teacher, Tude. Someone's gotta deliver pizzas!

While I agree with most of what you wrote, I partially agree with the 'useful only' to achievement part. Education can be personal, and even though I can see that there is no real imminent and/or obvious need to go to college for anyone (i.e that it is about what one wants in life, and how we go about attaining set goals), I do think people can choose to be autodidacts, if they like.

The bulk of my friends did not go to college/uni/etc. A lot of them dropped out of high school. My bro dropped out of high school, but still has a wicked job. In this day and age, it is possible to educate yourself on what ever it is that you want to learn. The information is at our fingertips, it would be such a shame to not take advantage. I really do wish more people would show some initiative and educate themselves on some of the more contentious issues in society today, like 'climate change'.

In this evolving world, I see a need to be aware of the nature of things in our surroundings. I think that there is a need to have some understanding of what we hear mass media and politicians talking about, aside from what it is that we are told by them and the media. I see this need is increasing as the world gets more and more adaptive to the observable world, technology increases, the human footprint on the Earth is becoming more apparent, and that we should not just accept what we are told is so, but to set out to learn about the nature of things for ourselves.

I'm also a proponent of the emotional intelligence model for society, that what is known as "IQ" is no where near as important as the awareness and ability to constrain one's emotions. I think that is how 'successful people', for the most part, make it in life, by having control of their emotions, and I think this can be done better if people understand that they can have an equally fulfilling life, as someone described as "intelligent", by learning about themselves and the emotions that they have, and the emotions of others.

 

[TheRapperGoneBad]

I think its important to expand your mind and continue your search for knowledge. School is a great way to do that and a good way to get a higher paying job that's less physically straining. I feel like experiencing things first hand is how you really learn. I would love to travel out of the us and see the worlds culture.

 

[Xn1919]

now days people want people who have some college. it shows you have the drive to finish something and learn. and people who have school make more money 99% of the time

 

[Tude]

I wouldn't say ninety-nine percent of the time. Teachers and nurses are grossly underpaid, firefighters, too. There's plenty of blue collar workers who earn more than people with degrees. Welders make BANK.

 

[Shimmer.Fade]

A basic education is super important. Other than that the trick is teaching yourself how to learn and find the new, accurate information that you want at any given time.

Within any profession it is expected that you be a professional, and in order to be a professional you must know more and do your job better than a lay-person ever could. This involves dedication and information (education). Professionals have their own languages so that they can speak quickly and accurately about their area of profession. In an ideal situation you can say a sentence within your profession where someone with no experience would understand a more or less foreign language, but you would have conveyed to your colleagues an idea or thing that would have taken much more time and effort to explain had they never educated themselves to be at that level.

So, I think education is important, a basic for survival, and a further education (smithing, welding, plumbing, teaching, etc..) for those who want to be professionals. The expansion of the basic education can both allow one to become a professional, and to explore and understand better what is around us.

 

[Shimmer.Fade]

now days people want people who have some college. it shows you have the drive to finish something and learn. and people who have school make more money 99% of the time

Very wrong. Perhaps it is somewhat more accurate in the US, but I still know quite a few people who made good choices right out of high school, and are getting paid more and have less debt than several people I know with degrees. In Germany the pay level is much more fair, and encourages people to do what they like as opposed to something they feel they have to do.

Pay here normally raises with seniority, and for some professions it raises much more quickly. Beginners with college or technical degrees receive similar pay at the start (more than a living wage), but depending on your degree the pay can raise fairly quickly. Medicine for instance starts out paying about as much as an electrician, but the top accessible pay level is higher, and the pay increases faster with seniority. However, that electrician can really apply him/herself and become a master. Masters are also paid quite nicely.

Keep in mind this is an international forum, and your post was incredibly american-centric response. Many Americans have fucked themselves by buying into what the universities are selling without really thinking much about it.

 

[LuGoJ]

Formal education is optional depending on your goals.

With that said, people should always strive to remain informed and never stop educating themselves about current events, the world in general and other societies. This is how ignorance is born.

 

[Tude]

Very well said! ^

 

[llama112]

I think many people go to college or university just because they are too scared of the "real world" or whatever. I personally don't think years and years of college or uni is for me. It really works for some people. I mean - doctors, lawyers ... ok THEY need to go to school. I don't learn from school. I learn from doing. I went to college for a couple years, got a diploma, then got a job where I'm learning every day... but I'm learning about things that matter, I'm doing things that matter, etc. I have learned more at work than I ever did in school.

 

[notfried]

its not important for some things depends what you want to do

 

[Factin]

Hi to all Education for me is important because it is my asset to get a job.

 

[Dtergent]

As an employer, I try to hire people that didn't finish college because it's difficult for them to get work elsewhere because of graduate oversupply. However, I notice that there is indeed a difference in decision-making when it comes to those who have more education. There are those who have high intelligence and sense of judgement though they didn't even finish high school (and vice versa-- there are idiots with master's degrees), but from a company's perspective, it is definitely easier to go with those who have more education. If they want to hire under, they need to devise systems that ensure they train people well. Otherwise (and mostly in spite of that) you get a lot of frustration, and I have to deal with problems I'd never thought I'd have (e.g. converting units, creating formulas with excel, and etc). Ultimately I'd had to fire more people since I started hiring non-college graduates.

I'd say work experience in a similar (or horizontally applicable) field is a must. You can forgo college and work your way up in a company. My blanket suggestion would be to go to even a cheap college if you can't afford the expensive ones-- distance learning, etc. Just be one who goes beyond the textbook and does extra research and apprenticeships.

Personally I went through college in a perpetual drug-addled haze. Despite graduating, I never developed the skill of putting myself to work at something despite not feeling like it (something that is really important when you are working). I also never got around to developing a routine or system for living, until much later in life. I believe that if I developed these skills through college / early work (my first jobs were pretty flexible about time and were deliverables-based), my businesses would grow much much faster than I'd made them. So if you are skipping school, consider getting a basic education on systems thinking..

 

[Maya]

I would say that both Education and Experience is very important to be very successful in a career field.

The company I work with is very strict when it comes to hiring and will always go into agencies to look for employees. Job Agencies tend to assess your computer skills like Word Excel and various Microsoft programs and if you did not go to school to take these courses you will not survive in our company.

 

[JessFR]

I think it's extremely important, problem is the education system keeps getting in the way.

I dropped out of high school as soon as I was old enough too, I barely knew anything at the time. Now I seem to be self taught to a better educational standard than most people who've left high school. You only need look at the majority of people to know the education system is a joke. College is better, not perfect, but better. High school is just a prison to keep kids off the streets while parents work. It SHOULD be about educating kids. I think society would be significantly better off with a better educated population. The amount of social problems caused by ignorance is staggering.

 

[cashfl0w_d0nkey]

As an employer, I try to hire people that didn't finish college because it's difficult for them to get work elsewhere because of graduate oversupply. However, I notice that there is indeed a difference in decision-making when it comes to those who have more education. There are those who have high intelligence and sense of judgement though they didn't even finish high school (and vice versa-- there are idiots with master's degrees), but from a company's perspective, it is definitely easier to go with those who have more education. If they want to hire under, they need to devise systems that ensure they train people well. Otherwise (and mostly in spite of that) you get a lot of frustration, and I have to deal with problems I'd never thought I'd have (e.g. converting units, creating formulas with excel, and etc). Ultimately I'd had to fire more people since I started hiring non-college graduates.

I'd say work experience in a similar (or horizontally applicable) field is a must. You can forgo college and work your way up in a company. My blanket suggestion would be to go to even a cheap college if you can't afford the expensive ones-- distance learning, etc. Just be one who goes beyond the textbook and does extra research and apprenticeships.

Personally I went through college in a perpetual drug-addled haze. Despite graduating, I never developed the skill of putting myself to work at something despite not feeling like it (something that is really important when you are working). I also never got around to developing a routine or system for living, until much later in life. I believe that if I developed these skills through college / early work (my first jobs were pretty flexible about time and were deliverables-based), my businesses would grow much much faster than I'd made them. So if you are skipping school, consider getting a basic education on systems thinking..

Thanks for the informative post!