university is a waste of time

Discussion in 'Higher Ed' started by sunflowerpower, Jun 20, 2012.

  1. sunflowerpower

    sunflowerpower Guest

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    Got your attention, did I? Yes, university is a waste of time if you want to be drilled to take tests and fit a mold... also the student loans aren't fun to pay back; and, most students don't deserve to be in college- I knew more intelligent people who did not go to college or university but got jobs and made something of themselves.

    What road did I take? University. What road do I regret? You betcha!

    Please do not bash me for saying university is a waste of time. I got wonderful grades and had a decent amount of friends when I was on campus; it just does not prepare you for the real world!

    Does anyone else feel the same way? Given that I cannot even get a volunteer job because I have a M/A in this economy, I deserve to feel a little upset. I see mentally handicapped people with jobs and I am told I am overqualified? Geez. I suppose that is why our country is in the toilet.

    From someone who has been down the higher education road, spend your time dedicating yourself to a field or company you can grow with and learn the trade. If you enjoy cooking, fixing cars, or chilling with people learn the vocation and become the best chef, mechanic, or counselor the world has ever seen. This goes for anything else that cannot be outsourced! Vocational training is the way to go. Don't spend your time with a four-year university or more. Get a real job. I wish someone would have told me this 10 years a go!
     
  2. Tyrsonswood

    Tyrsonswood Senior Moment Lifetime Supporter

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    University was never meant to prepare you for the real world... It's to prepare you for taking orders, just like all the grades before. (except you are away from home now)
     
  3. FlyingFly

    FlyingFly Dickens

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    Yeah, sure, good luck trying to find a job in science or IT without university.

    You don't need the university, you need the paper.
     
  4. redrobin

    redrobin Guest

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    I'm concerned about the professors' points of view that will certainly be taught to my daughter when she goes to college. I know many are of the liberal mind-set that I've never grown up agreeing with. I do agree it's not the university but the degree that is needed. The key is to have her get a degree in a major that will help her get a job after graduation. We're going in the direction of Business, maybe Marketing specifically.


    <edit>
     
  5. horace13

    horace13 Member

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    I would rather be unemployed anyday than "make something of myself", "get a real job" or become adapted to "the real world".

    Have a made nothing of myself because I'm not useful to some boss? Are my occupations not "real" because they don't make my boss wealthier? Is my world unreal because I'm not a cog or a tool of capital?!

    Love cooking or tinkering with cars? For the love of God don't destroy your pleasure in those things by turning your passion into a job! You'll wish you'd never seen a frying pan/carburretor in your life!
     
  6. MeAgain

    MeAgain Dazed & Confused Lifetime Supporter Super Moderator

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    The purpose of higher education is not to get a job, that's a Tech school's role, or learn how to take orders, that's the military's role, or to become adapted to the real world, that's the family's role.

    Higher education is intended to broaden your understanding of the world, present multiple ideas and teachings from many different cultures, teach you to think in non-dogmatic ways, and increase your understanding of society and the individuals that comprise it, including yourself.

    Professors seem "liberal" to close minded individuals because they have been trained, and are willing to look at many different subjects, ideas, and notions from many different directions. Close minded people have decided that only one way is correct , their way.

    The "piece of paper" or degree is not what is needed, what has been learned is what is needed. The degree is only a representation of what is supposed to have been learned.


    Higher education is only a waste of time only if you enter it with false expectations. "I went to college to get a good job and make lots of money", is a false expectation. If you attend with the attitude that you will use the environment to increase your knowledge and improve your mind, and then make every attempt to do so, you will never loose, as you will have developed a strong mind and powerful will that can be used in whatever situation you find yourself in.

    In short the purpose of higher education is to grow up.
     
  7. I'minmyunderwear

    I'minmyunderwear Newbie

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    well yeah, that's what high school was for. university is much more focused on essays and critical thinking.

    it just depends on what program you're in. my professors were generally less liberal than i am, and i am not particularly liberal myself.

    i didn't take many classes in the business spectrum, but i would assume those professors would overall be about the least liberal on the faculty.
     
  8. Ranger

    Ranger Hip Forums Supporter HipForums Supporter

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    A great thing if you caan drop the idea of 'getting a job' and focus on making a job or even better a biz of your own. Two of my bros got 'higher educations' and one now has an orchid biz in the islands and the other has his own nursery biz in New York.
     
  9. xmas

    xmas Member

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    College has deff broadened my horizons and I've learned a good bit. I got my GED after I dropped out of Catholic school. I'm not super Catholic but I do believe in good will and being more of a pacifist than resorting to violence. Right now, I am contemplating finishing the next two years or going to Cosmetology school and then I can go straight to work. I was thinking of becoming either a hairdresser or skin care specialist. The thing is, I can just go straight to work instead of spending two years not sure of what I'll do with mass communications. I think technical school is now the easiest route toward a decent job. Liberal arts colleges are good, we have an excellent nursing program but I never went into nursing, too squeemish and worried I would mess up. I know Cosmetology is kinda cliche but i think it would be fun and a good start.
     
  10. RooRshack

    RooRshack On Sabbatical

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    If you got a degree to "prepare" for a "job", yeah, you just fucked yourself.

    If you want to go to college, learn some shit, and enjoy yourself, if you can do it without loans, that's awesome. If you want a job, go to windmill school and become a windmill tech/mechanic, they make amazing money.
     
  11. unfocusedanakin

    unfocusedanakin The Archaic Revival Lifetime Supporter

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    Well unless you learn a trade, you sort of have to play their game unless you would like to make $9 an hour forever.

    Your HR department will treat you like shit without a degree because from their perspective you are not worth an investment of the company's resources. You are easy to replace and it's likely you are lazy and unmotivated because you did not go to school. They also consider you to be much more likely to be arrested or cause trouble. They will not admit this to you (for fear of being sued), but spend some time in HR and you'll see how they really look at you. But to do that you would need a degree in an appropriate field to begin with.

    I did and I promise you, they think your worthless. And it is HR that decides who to interview and how they will do it.
     
  12. DroopySnoopy

    DroopySnoopy The ORIGINAL Dr. Droop

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    I am a business school major and you are right. In this field, the professors mostly believe in doing thins by the book and not rocking the boat. Although a few of my best professors (particularly one in the marketing dept.) challenged us to think differently and screw convention. I think it depends on the school a bit as well.

    But to the OP, no, you do not NEED a college education to be successful (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc.) but you will gain alot more from said education than you may be aware of. Like a few others have said, college is what you make of it. You can learn from reading a book at home sure, but you have the chance in a university to inhale some wisdom from those around you that you might be able to put to good use later in life.
     
  13. TipsyGypsy

    TipsyGypsy Light of a Fading Star

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    I'm going back to do a Masters in a couple of months. For me, it wasn't a waste of time. It depends on what you want to do with your life.
     
  14. Asmodean

    Asmodean Slo motion rider

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    It is a waste of time if you can't conform to the purpose.
     
  15. thedope

    thedope glad attention Lifetime Supporter

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    I think the system suffers from academic inbreeding however, you can't really waist time but you can use it unwisely.
     
  16. Ergative

    Ergative Banned

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    Contrary to the overall tenor of anti-intellectualism in this thread, I find academia to be an exceedingly gratifying and rewarding experience and the only place where I've experienced what I can only describe as unfettered intellectual freedom.
     
  17. DroopySnoopy

    DroopySnoopy The ORIGINAL Dr. Droop

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    I'm glad I'm not the only one that appreciates a good college education.
     
  18. Miluiel

    Miluiel Guest

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    It depends what you want out of it... I decided to take the course because it was a chance to study a subject that I love, and it was worth the loans that will take years to pay back, just for the confidence it gave me after years being treated like crap in a low-paid job. I would say if you feel passionately about the subject or have a specific career goal in mind, then it would be a good decision; if you are only going into it because you think you should then you may not get so much out of it.
     
  19. Dancing til Dawn

    Dancing til Dawn Senior Member

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    It is a piece of paper that states I can regurgitate all the stuff you put in my head and spit it out in what I believe are my own words but only in the way you tell me I can write!
    It also tells a future employer I can turn up most days and do what is expected of me...

    I doubt I will ever do it, but one day when I am a grown up I might give it a go to see if I can join the masses and believe I might have a better chance of a job in this over populated world..
     
  20. LivinAFantasy

    LivinAFantasy Member

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    Years ago I was told, " Don't go to college to get a degree so you can get a job. Go and get a degree so when you'll be able to create a job". I ended up in the military instead, but I still think it was great advice.
     

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