Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jo Jerome on June 2, 2010 at 11:16pm

I wouldn't flat-out say "Don't go to college," but rather don't go to college...

- Without knowing what your major is/goals are

- On student loans

- Solely to land a job. Jobs/careers can end suddenly and often through no fault of your own. Make sure it's something you are passionate about learning whether or not it will help you land a job. And if possible, a degree that will apply to several areas.

A degree does look good on a resume, even if it's in an unrelated field. But it's amazing as very tiny that difference is sometimes.

Permalink Reply by Buford Twain on June 3, 2010 at 7:49pm

Yes I agree with that - be mindful of what you are doing.

Don't just drift into going to college because you can't think of anything else to do.

And the fact that a degree looks good on a resume - this seems to me to be a way for colleges to extract money from people, as opposed to adding much of real value.

Permalink Reply by Jo Jerome on June 3, 2010 at 8:38pm

Education is what you make of it. I have a friend who is a self-taught IT expert. Awesome for him and he managed to luck out with a job or three that hired him on experience only, no degree.

On the other hand, there have been jobs he was overqualified for but couldn't get because the degree was required.

Film degrees are possibly the most useless. The education certainly isn't; it gives one the opportunity to work with equipment one probably couldn't afford on their own and build a resume of show reels ... and it's the show reels that is the only thing prospective employers/clients care about.

My current college endeavor is Anthropology. That's another one where the degree does mean something and the education gives one the opportunity for internships and such along the way.

If one takes advantage of it. Again, education is what you make of it. Some come out of college with nothing but the piece of paper saying they went; not a brain cell brighter than when they began.