2013-04-05 16:35:43.7744+00 by Dan Lyke 8 comments
Let's see: no ambition, able to follow procedures without showing initiative, no need to express creativity, able to put on a happy face and push buttons on a cash register. Yep, that's basically what a 4 year degree drums into ya.
The crushing debt making sure that you've got an employee grateful for every penny over the minimum wage is a bonus.
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comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2013-04-05 17:23:18.031443+00 by: Medley
"Let's see: no ambition, able to follow procedures without showing initiative, no need to express creativity, able to put on a happy face and push buttons on a cash register. Yep, that's basically what a 4 year degree drums into ya."
Bullshit.
#Comment Re: made: 2013-04-05 20:05:20.601067+00 by: Dan Lyke
Yes, it is a bit of an overstatement, but I believe that culturally these days we're imbuing the college experience with a sort of mystical power that it doesn't have. That a good portion of it is injurious to critical thinking, and that academia is as much a priesthood as it is a structure for pursuing experiment resulting in actual knowledge.
#Comment Re: made: 2013-04-05 22:23:59.435491+00 by: Dan Lyke
Semi-related: Slate: There are no academic jobs and getting a Ph.D. will make you into a horrible person: A Jeremiad.
#Comment Re: made: 2013-04-06 03:24:47.705668+00 by: other_todd
http://washingtonexaminer.com/...rs-degree-needed/article/2526280
The Boston Globe had a more detailed article with the debunking, but their paywall prohibits my linking it.
#Comment Re: made: 2013-04-06 10:57:27.745344+00 by: meuon [edit history]
College is largely: self-perpetuating liberal arts majors in a ponzi scheme that has hit the bottom of the pyramid.
And yet, I wish I had a degree to "check the box".
I've attended several utility conferences where they show statistics of an aging workforce not being replaced by a younger generation. They can't find people able and willing to do the high paying, technical and fairly physical work, usually outside.
#Comment Re: made: 2013-04-09 15:57:43.721009+00 by: Dan Lyke
I've been thinking about this a little more, and I'm on vacation and don't want to spend it all in front of the computer, but...
I believe that in a century or two we'll view college the same way we now view the Catholic Church several centuries back: It was the institutional structure which managed and funded knowledge, and it did so under heavy biases. It ended up suppressing a lot of good thinking because of this, but it was also the institution that passed along knowledge from monk to monk.
Academia will be viewed much the same way.
#Comment Re: made: 2013-04-09 17:39:50.749757+00 by: meuon
I went to an advisory board meeting at Chattanooga College last night for their new AS Degree program. Terry Parker's a good guy and inherited a program that was a disaster. He has targeted achievable goals and seems to be heading in the rigt direction. I learned some things last night about their program and their certification for providing degreed students:
I was impressed that during the degree program, you end up with usable certifications (A+, Net+, Microsoft, Cisco.. Redhat) that are yours even if you don't stay in the program until the end.
Having met some of the students, I'm reminded for many people and certain roles in society, formal education is a necessary and good thing. I like their practical approach and teaching by objective (passing real world tests and getting a job).
Wonder what percentage of Psych and Enlish Lit majors get jobs in their fields right out of school? (too lazy to google it... just a musing)
#Comment Re: made: 2013-04-16 14:26:35.217303+00 by: Dan Lyke
More than 33,000 food stamp recipients hold accredited PhD or JD degrees in USA