College in the US: Total waste of time

[Chemical Alia]

I love these elitist college student threads. The problem isn't the value of the degree you're pursuing, it's that the colleges accept too many students, don't fail out the ones who lack the aptitude (thereby dumbing down your education), and the lack of education about vocational possibilities. If you want to be an artist, then by all means, major in art. No sense majoring in engineering or some other boring shit if you're going to be miserable at your job for the rest of your life, and not everyone is meant for math-related fields. Just don't kid yourself and be aware of the challenges you're going to face when you take on a riskier major. If you identify your goals, the steps you need to take to achieve them, and work nonstop until you develop the skills you need, you stand as good a chance as anyone else in eventually reaching that career.

Firstly, humanities degrees are not worthless. You learn how to summarize content, think critically, and make cohesive arguments. They are meant to be an education rather than job training, which I think people often confuse.

Second, having any degree opens doors and looks good on your resume. Will an English degree get you a job as a computer programmer? Fuck no. And if that's what you wanted to be, then yes, I will submit that degree is worthless to your goals. But it will elevate you above the competition for any type of office job, government job, et cetera. Because it shows you were willing to work hard enough and jump through enough hoops to get that degree. Now, unfortunately, that's been lessened by elitist crap that people are constantly spewing that humanities are worthless because they aren't a mindlessly linear route that has a magical million dollar job waiting for you at the end of it. New flash: same goes for every other degree. While popular culture loves to claim that being an engineer or computer science student or med student will automatically grant you a hugely profitable job it's total bullshit. Especially in the current job market.

Third, we have way the hell too many people going through university in general. A lot of people who do go through for arts degrees aren't even interested in the education. They're just subscribing to the fallacy that degree = job. Since University's love them tuition funds, they dumb down those programs and overload classrooms with students to keep people paying into them despite lowering the actual value of the degree to all involved.

Totally agreed on all of these points.

 

[ace_blazer]

Thats why you get a co-op doing something useful.

Yea, and useful co-ops are in such great supply yes? Please. When it comes to a co-op new grad vs someone with 5 years experience (which is happening A LOT now that so many companies are downsizing), who's gonna win? The co-op may as well be filler.