And what will you do with your degree?

So my friends don't get it. Most people I mention this to don't either. And I guess since I am positing in a forum full up with people working towards their various degrees that you will all say the same thing: "Jo you are crazy".

But it has recently occured to me (after years of pointless and to be honest ridiculous study) that getting a degree, in the big scheme of life, isn't all that great or even important. I have studied at various institutions around the country but not done anything enough to earn an actual degree as I just kept changing my mind and doing random interest papers from various degree structures.
Im not interested in a career that comes along with a shiny degree, I dont want to work in a pointless job doing (lets be honest, pointless human created, meaningless) work. I dont need to tell my peers that I have a high salary or a new promotion or a company car with health benefits.

So many of my friends are graduating and finding themselves working in retail or beaurecratic paper pushing back office jobs while trying to work out what to do with their flash certificate from the university.

I am more interested in those who are wise. People who have done it all, seen it all, embrace it all, but not necesarily have a degree. For me its not the fact that you can hold up a piece of paper with some letters on it that show you can sit through years of classes and write a pretty essay, its what you do with the knowledge you gain. I know people who went through uni to come out the same, maybe a little more haggard from all the drinking, but wise? No.

I have struggled with the pressure put on us to attend University and get a degree, like it is just expected. I really hate it. Yes I am doing part time study, but I cant tell you what degree I am going for, or if i will ever get one. I am taking papers by correspondence on topics that interest me. I am all for life long learning, but as long as you use the knowledge for positive things, to make yours and others life better, not just for a flashy certificate and company car.

So all you academics, your thoughts?

 

Hi,

for me it was and it is fun to learn. I have a few university degrees, but it was not getting the certificates that drove me. It was the way to reach the certs, learning, hanging out with like-minded people, having time to play with things. Well, the certs might help getting a job. But until now no employer wanted to see the certs. Saying 'hey folks, I am an engineer' and acting like one is all it needed to get me a good job.

Regards
Gyro

 

College is another form of institutionalized slavery of the mind . It's just another form of big business. It brainwashes and enslaves the mind into into further conformity in a mass consumer driven society . You must free the mind , and see these things for what they are . At their core as always is conformity .
Some of the most " educated " people I've met are also some of the most closed minded , sheepole and dumbest " book smart " , with no common sense people . As if twelve years of the madness wasn't enough . They go off and pay big money for a piece of paper , that really isn't worth the paper it's printed on . To end up making 10 bucks an hour at some retail chain store . IT'S CRAZY , STOP GOING IN DEBT FOR THEIR BULLSHIT ! With the Internet age you can now learn almost anything you need to know on your own for free .
Yes education is important , but just like everything else today , it just became big business . And lets face it a high school education years ago , was a college education today . Hell they are even rewriting history to fit into politically correct molds today . It's complete bullshit . A complete waste of time and money . What most come away with from their time is a substance abuse problem , and maybe a std or two . You're on the right track , free your own mind . Leave the sheepole herd behind .

 

It also keeps the class system alive and well . One of the biggest evils pushed on the world .

 

I disagree with the above post. Formal education does not enslave the mind. People allow their own minds to be enslaved, and the cause can be anything. Any excuse that a person allows to be a defining structure of their life can become a form of enslavement. Too much faith in a formal education is certainly an example, but the system itself is not the problem.

If a university education is something you want, then go. If it's not, then don't. There are many ways to carve out a happy life and I think the only true prescribed path is the one where you keep a positive attitude and try to help others. Bitterness, over anything, is a cancer of the heart.

 

I have no idea what I will do with my degree.

As for papa wolf. No you cannot learn everything you ever wanted to from the internet. You sound like someone who never went to school after highschool. Or went to post highschool and took bullshit classes and drank before dropping out claiming how stupid and useless it all was. At least in my classes, the internet can barely tell me shit. If you want countless overviews of subjects, by all means consider yourself smart because you read a lot of Wikipedia or sites like the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (personal example). Sure you can often find what you are looking for. But I disagree that even a well written wiki page can tell one more then a professor who has spent the better part of their life in that subject.

Conforming in post secondary? Only if you let yourself be. People are always blaming institutions for conformity. But it is up YOU whether or not you conform. I can put poison on your plate. But it is up to you to eat it.

Get a good summer job, and you do not have to have much debt. Sure 10 grand is money you would rather not owe the bank. But in the scheme of things, it is really not that much money. Work a bit before school, work in the 4 month summer break you get, and I know plenty of people that left school debt free.

Kindergarten teaches you how to live in your own daily life (Not hitting others for no reason, sharing, structure)

Middle School teaches you how to make friends

Highschool teaches you how to express your ideas, and also prepares you for the real world. If you fail at highschool, it does not just mean you failed a bunch of classes, but it means that you failed at becoming a productive member of society. Whether or not you think that means conformity is irrelevant. Take note that I am in no way saying that highschool is the real world, because that is bullshit. But I mean it used to be in highschool if something was late, it was not accepted, because in a job, if your late on a "project" your boss can not just say "Oh well, bring it to me tomorrow". You are punished for drugs at school because 1) Regardless of personal feelings, they are illegal. And 2) In the real world, your bosses will not always be cool with you showing up stoned.

Free your mind of this "fight the man" "Do not be the herd" bullshit before you tell others to free their mind. You conform every day in everything you do, it is impossible not too. You brush your teeth like everyone else, you turn doorknobs live everyone else, you speak like everyone else. Too broad for you? "No Leviathan" you say "One of the reasons I joined this site was because it is a free thinking site with real individuals on it". In that case, ill leave you to tackle the same questions over and over from the same angle, complaining about how either the government is doing something wrong or how we are all sheep. I know the tune well, because it is not original.

 

Hello,

well, if you let you brainwash and enslave your mind, what ever that means, it is your fault. I mostly disagree with your posting.

Regards
Gyro

 

I don't know. I have a BA in Political Science and have yet to find a "political scientist" job. Some degrees have direct careers paths (i.e. Nursing), while others are not so direct.

It kinda sucks that I realized late I would probably have to get a Masters degree in order to even use my BA.

*edit*
As far as papawolf's posting...you are looking at it all wrong. Yes, those that own the means of production (i.e. "big business) will always find a way to profit from things like education. However, is that a good enough reason not to go to school? I don't think so. College does not just stuff your brain with facts, it teaches you to think for yourself. Among other things, it teaches you to look at both sides of an argument

 

Hello,

here I partly agree with you. I my country after elementary school school splits into three branches: one that brings you nowhere, one that brings you into university and one somewhere between the former two. That is a very simplified view and in theory you can change between the three branches. But there are lots of studies that show that education is linked to the social environment you are coming from. It is less likely for children from worker families to go to university than it is for children that come from families where the parents are teachers or have PHDs or something like that. And we are not talking about intelligence or money here.

Regards
Gyro

 

Hello,

I have friends that studied art or history or other things that don't bring you bread on the table. Some of them regret their choice. I have a slightly different opinion on that. If you want to study art for some reason, just do it. It is no secret that you will not earn big bucks later in your life. It's no secret that jobs in museums etc are rare and that you will most likely work as a secretary for a fat lawyer . If you feel studying art is the right thing for you anyway, just do it. I will be happy to throw my tax money on you to sponsor you. But don't come afterwards and whine because you don't find a good job that pays you a house and two cars. To sum it up, don't look at those studies that bring you big bucks, look at those, that make you happy.

Hopefully .

Regards
Gyro

 

Well I started My own Business. Because of School i met the people that I am going to work with for the rest of my life. They are literally the best team that I could ever hope to be a part of. So my degree really did not get me anything but the people I met and the struggles I went though because of it are worth the price.

 

I'm not saying education is a bad thing . It's the key to everything . And yes it's correct to say it's up to the individual not to be enslaved mentality . What I'm saying is way to much emphasis is being placed on that piece of paper .
What amazes me however , is how so many of you become so judgmental and critical of those who don't see it from your point of view . If you went to college that's wonderful for you , I hope it served you well . There's nothing wrong with going to college , as long as it for the right things . Like a REAL education , and not just going to party on mommy and daddies dime .
My question to you is this . Would you have paid for that same education if it didn't mean more money and a career and a higher social standing ? In other words to learn just for the sake of learning ? Of course not , and that's where the strings are attached . It's all for higher social standing and economic benefits . They tell you what to learn , not what you want to learn .
If you're going to educate yourself , to help humanity then God speed . If the reason for going is greed to make the most money you can to buy fancy things that shine to validate yourself worth in material possessions , then yes your mind is enslaved by greed . At that point , it's no longer about higher learning . It's about being part of the problem that got us into the mess the worlds in , not the solution . For some it's just about selfishness and a sense of I'm better than you . NOT ALL SOME !
Go to college for the right reasons . To study what you have passion for . Not how much money it can bring you .

 

I was not saying that there is anything wrong with not going to school or hopping around from major to major I'm just saying what i did with mine.

IMO school is a scam. When you get right down to it they are a business and right now they are taking advantage of the students.

 

Yes. Would and did.

I would hope 90% of tertiary students are the same.

 

Hello,

some people and companies do, some don't. I said politely goodbye and left during job interviews, because the questions became so dump and strange that I felt that the company wasn't made for me. I can see that not everyone has the choice to react like that. But that's my way to handle such situations. I can't change companies, but I have the hope that some of my fellow engineers do the same and that slowly over time only the 'good' companies get the good engineers.

I'm sorry if you feel like that. It's not my intention and maybe not the intention of the other posters to judge about you or your opinions. I haven't said that you are wrong and therefore be a jerk or something like that. It's just that my opinions differs from yours.

Of course, yes. I stayed much longer than needed at university. And that is not because I was to dump or to drunk to go to the exams , as stated before I have a few final grade certs. It was fun, you know, FUN. And sometimes I think about going back to university and study something completely different. My social standing? Who cares? I'm not fscking rich, but I have more money to spend than the hard working family with two kids from the next block. And yes, my parents where workers in their time. And yes, I worked before I went to university, I worked all the years while studying and I have a good job now. Again, that is not the way for everyone, but it's my way.

Full agree here.

Regards
Gyro

 

i would have to agree i did not take my path because i wanted more money i took my path because i love what i do.

 

I dropped out of college after a couple of years and now I am stuck in a mindless job that I absolutely hate. With a degree, even if I couldn't find my dream job, I could at least find a job that allows for growth and thought.

A degree is important unless you're just really passionate about waiting tables.

 

It seems to me that you are the one being judgmental. Afterall, there aren't any posts here that insult people that chose not to go to college. Instead, you give a list of illegitimate reasons for going to college, as well as offering a list of unacceptable behavior for those that are in college. No offense, but who the hell made you king of all that is right?

I went to college to learn for the sake of learning. In fact, I plan to stay in school for the rest of my life. Anyone arrogant enough to think they know everything there is to know is not a very wise person. Sure, it is an impressive feat to be a self-taught-_______. However, that will only get you so far, as self-taught-________s are not viewed as legitimate as someone that took the time to go to school for the same skill. Also, college has many more intangible benefits, such as networking. That was certainly a very valuable part of my education.

Once again, anyone that has been to college would agree that such education is not only fact based, but also focuses on enhancing your skills for the workforce and for life. Critical thinking, arguments/debates, public speaking, writing, etc. are all parts of a college education.

 

Hello,

I don't know exactly how things work in your country. But with 26 you are not too old to start something new. There might be a few hard years ahead, but it might work if you reallly want it. If you are stuck in a bad job for too long you're lost.

Regards
Gyro

 

OP, if you have come to a point where you can no longer appreciate the opportunity, or if you simply can't make up your mind on a degree that you can do something with, then quit. You're calling the shots now, and no one can tell you what to do with yourself but you. Just be prepared for how difficult it's going to be to get back into the swing if you decide you change your mind. It's possible, and I believe anyone who wants to can manage it if they make it a proper priority, but don't bitch later when you've got all kinds of responsibilities heaped up on you and you are going to have to take a cut in wages to go back to school.
Who knows, maybe you'll find something gratifying that won't require a degree, but things like that are few and far between, and unless you are going to live a minimalist life without a spouse or children, it will be almost impossible to support your lifestyle on just a high school diploma. The way things are going, the bachelor's is going to become the new diploma and the only people that will be making a living wage are the professionals. If you are fully aware of all of this and still willing to take the chance, by all means, drop out. I just can't promise you it will be as easy to get back into it. If you think you can, I would advise you to take some kind of test (we have the ACT test here) that measures your strengths and weaknesses and can help you pinpoint something that you could stand to start with and maybe build into something you would enjoy. I am sorry that the way of the world dictates that we should choose one thing and go with it, but I know plenty of people that have changed their tune halfway through their life and done something else. It's not like it would be your last and only chance to choose something. But I'm not sure it is advisable to become a jack of all trades and a master of none, because it's just not good enough to keep you fed in these times. I'm sorry, but that is the cold, hard reality of the world, and you can work with it or against. Just don't ever expect it to be easy. That's not what life is. No matter what you do, you'll always have to work at it, and no matter what, there will always be periods of time when you feel lost or discontent. That's just the human condition.
Good luck in whatever path you choose. I hope you find some kind of peace in a life you can live with.