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“Hot” Takes?

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Thump said:
For the average student, college is becoming less necessary by the day.
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Agreed.

DubCoffman62 said:
Its actually becoming a liability
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I wouldn't go that far. You might be right, though.

I have an engineering degree. It's opened a lot of doors for me. But to do what I actually do, a smart kid with a high school degree can learn it. Or, if you want someone who has had some training, I could probably set up a curriculum that takes no more than 4 semesters. And that's including classes like, "How to use Microsoft Excel" and "How to write an effective email that makes it seem like you aren't an idiot."

Is it really that bad to work in construction, or go to a trade school and learn a skill? Be a plumber? Electrician?
 
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Thump said:
For the average student, college is becoming less necessary by the day.
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I don't know about necessary but it's getting harder and harder to justify the ROI.

Payoff at the end (realistic job/salaries) doesn't warrant the expense of the degree.

Unless a kid is in that bubble of child of elite class-->going to elite U -->where they recruit for the elite six figure jobs right out of school then a "normal" kid is better off getting the degree (especially undergrad) as cheaply as possible. The name on the certificate means nothing.
 
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Jaxbuck said:
I don't know about necessary but it's getting harder and harder to justify the ROI.

Payoff at the end (realistic job/salaries) doesn't warrant the expense of the degree.

Unless a kid is in that bubble of child of elite class-->going to elite U -->where they recruit for the elite six figure jobs right out of school then a "normal" kid is better off getting the degree (especially undergrad) as cheaply as possible. The name on the certificate means nothing.
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Why do so many women major in Education or Psychology? For what teachers are paid it doesn't seem worth it and the psychology market must be flooded. I think they end up baristas anyway.
 
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A college degree without a plan (e.g. graduate school, professional school, getting a degree in something like nursing or engineering that you can get a good tangible job with, etc.) is a waste of time and money in 2026. It can still be useful in many circumstances, but the days of it mattering in and of itself are clearly over. And the cost of "finding yourself" given that real professors hardly ever actually teach anymore is really, really hard to justify.
 
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DubCoffman62 said:
Why do so many women major in Education or Psychology? For what teachers are paid it doesn't seem worth it and the psychology market must be flooded. I think they end up baristas anyway.
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Maybe they know how hard @Thump mom has to work for twenty dollars and figure being a teacher isn't that bad?
 
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Jaxbuck said:
Unless a kid is in that bubble of child of elite class-->going to elite U -->where they recruit for the elite six figure jobs right out of school then a "normal" kid is better off getting the degree (especially undergrad) as cheaply as possible. The name on the certificate means nothing.
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This is exactly how I see it with the additional exception that if a kid has a very specific talent or passionate interest in something, "elite U" might mean just an elite or unusual specialty program at an otherwise non-elite U, even if the initial money prospects aren't great. I do think that college is generally beneficial beyond just typically improving one's job prospects, but a lot of kids who aren't ready for it still think it's their only option when they could be better served to learn a skill or trade, or maybe do a few years in the military, first (or maybe long-term) if it turns out they like it. The son of my former office manager is making bank as a welder working in oil fields in the Dakotas, and has hardly any expenses as they cover his housing. It's probably hard to do that for a really long time (the office manager tells his son to learn everything and be the guy who owns the company not just the welder long-term), but if you do it for five years and bank away money in retirement accounts and/or for a house down payment well before you're 25, you're well ahead of most. College will still take your money later and you'll have a big maturity edge over others if you go back later (and you might get an employer to pay for it too ...).
 
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Bucklion said:
A college degree without a plan (e.g. graduate school, professional school, getting a degree in something like nursing or engineering that you can get a good tangible job with, etc.) is a waste of time and money in 2026. It can still be useful in many circumstances, but the days of it mattering in and of itself are clearly over. And the cost of "finding yourself" given that real professors hardly ever actually teach anymore is really, really hard to justify.
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So.. I think this depends on a few things. Kind of like the saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." The value of the college education is different for a lot of people. And I'm not talking about lawyers and doctors and countless other professions. Some professions really need a bunch of education after high school. And, like I said, I'm an engineer. I wouldn't hire some guy to build me a tower who didn't go to college for this. But for what I do.... so my old boss and mentor for 20+ years didn't graduate from college. He didn't need to. He got a job and worked his way up. Then, somewhere along the way, the managers decided that new hires needed college education. So they got me. And the most difficult thing I did for 5 years or more was V=IR. And it hasn't gotten much more complicated than that since. What value is there in having an engineering degree, when the guy with the engineering degree is asking the guy without one for help and advice?
Then, when they decided to clean house, they kept those of us with degrees and got rid of a lot of people without them. So there's the value of it - the people signing the pay checks think someone with a degree is better than someone without one.
On top of that, I've got the top certifications in my field. Great. But that just means that I can pass a test. It doesn't mean I shouldn't listen to nerds with lower (or no) certifications.
And on top of that, I have PE licenses in a shitload of states. I'm the smartestest person ever, right? Pfft. But they keep giving me money based on that kind of thing, so it's good to me.
But to actually do what I do, take your high school physics class, learn how to use Microsoft Word and Excel. Maybe some Powerpoint. Learn to write the date on the top of every single one of your data sheets. And that's about it.
 
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In theory, the purpose of much higher education was to teach people how to think, not to be some sort of vocational program. Yet somehow it became that, and the tuition and admissions process matched accordingly. Now that business model is collapsing for various reasons. Perhaps it's time for it to pivot again, but something needs to be done about the cost for that to happen.
 
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