Is College Worth it? So many graduates In Debt/Underemployed

[FutureMoneyTrends]

There is a new documentary showing the latest statistics on federal funding, loans, student debt and college attendance. It compares how the system has changed over the last 50 years.

You can view it at the link below:




or direct youtube link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XfJBgaIrxiQ

[Mike Christ]

College is a massive waste of time; there was a time where the barriers mattered and you had to get a degree, but the barriers have been nullified due to our economy and your only hope for a good job is to create it yourself, e.g. entrepreneurial work--which is, of course, made difficult for the very reasons why the economy is in such bad shape now.

To make an analogy, if the economy is a bird, and regulation is oil, then our bird looks like this:



It's not going to take flight until we scrub it clean, but it's only going to get worse if we put it off.  Anyway, the more oil that's stuck to our bird, the fewer jobs we're going to have, fewer college graduates are going to find good positions (even though we're nowhere close to being satisfied as a species and those jobs are just waiting to happen), the more worthless college degrees are and the more government subsidizes college tuition to get people to go despite their better judgment, which of course only tackles the effect, not the cause.

[BitOnyx]

It depends.

Going to college for something you can just learn from books is not worth it.When you need something more practical that is hard to learn from books smaller courses are cheaper, take less time and are much more useful.

Still if you want to be doctor, civil engineer or something like that, college is kinda must have.

[Hawker]

It depends on how you define "worth it."

College graduates earn more and the money you spend on a degree will get a better rate of return than any other investment.  In those terms, its worth it.

If you have the right family background, some private colleges plug you into the elite networks that make the money in certain professions and you will earn far more as a result of having attended that college.  For example, Princeton and banking.  In those terms, its worth it.  

US private college fees have shot up and the extra money is spent on facilities like luxury accommodation and gyms rather than on academic facilities.  These add nothing to your earning potential.  In those terms, its not worth it - go with a state college.

Some degrees are not designed to be financially "worth it."  No-one studies Anthropology in order to have the money to buy a Porsche.  I would still argue that a degree in Anthropology is worth it if you are fascinated by the subject.  If you are aware that you are spending money to follow your intellectual passion, then it has to be worth it.

[Dabs]

I've always wanted to take up the sciences. Theoretical physics. ... Those are almost not worth the money you pay, unless you become the next Einstein or something, or unless you are a scholar (in which case, you're not paying.)

But, if there is a job offer, and there are two candidates: one with a degree, one without. ... Depending on the actual job, the one who gets it is usually the guy with more formal education.

Manual labor jobs like electricians, plumbers, and miners (the ones in dark caves) don't usually have college degrees.

Office workers, like attorneys, lawyers, doctors, accountants and engineers, usually are because of the college courses they finished.

If you have the money, it's not a bad idea to actually finish a course and get one degree. If you don't, well, what choice do you have?

[Elwar]

College is a lazy way of proving that you have some understanding of the job you plan on taking.

The price of college is following the same progress of the housing bubble for the same reasons that housing prices skyrocketed.

Wait until the prices crash or build a portfolio for the kind of work you plan on going into.

Personally, I work for the government and they have formulas they use for salary which uses college degrees to determine your salary. So I used my work tuition payment to get my Master's degree. I did not choose my degree for gaining any knowledge but on getting through it easily so that I can get a higher salary because I have a higher degree.

[zetaray]

Things you learn from college can be learnt from books and practical experience. Knowledge wise, it is not worth it. From securing a good steady job stand point, college is well worth it. How else can you give an employer confidence that you are as you as you say, against other hundreds of applicants?

[sudoku]

College is about getting the diploma. Nowaday you can learn almost anything you want for free on the internet. There is a guy who did the MIT undergraduate computer science cirriculum in one year at home for the cost of text books. So if you can sell yourself without a diploma and have the discipline to learn on your own, skip college and the student debt and teach yourself.

[maurya78]

For the accreditation yes

Will be some time yet before employers will look beyond diplomas to skill sets alone

[Lethn]

No, 'compulsory' public education has been an extreme failure that nobody wants to talk about because they've convinced themselves it's the morally right thing to do to trick children from an early age into believing they're learning something that will either get them a job or help them survive out there, I was just having a chat with my art tutor about this and it's not only people my age that are being forced to stay at their parents homes again but even people her age ( She's a bit older than me ) are going back to their parents because it's becoming too expensive to stay on their own.

Now before public education advocates attack me with pitchforks and set me on fire, that is not to say it's necessarily a bad thing to go and get an education, if you can pick up a real skill set and you learn something then good on you, but the problem is the people running these courses are often scam artists and promise students the world if they sign up, once they have your money then that's it and you're fucked.

I stuck to private tuition and I honestly believe I have learned more in these past couple of years about my chosen subjects ( Art and Jewellery ) than I ever would have in a university factory processing environment because that's really all that matters to them. So long as you make their statistics look good, you aren't a problem to worry about or dispose of, my own experience of education was if I didn't care and did my work they didn't do shit, but if I did care and was actually interested in the subject they knew fuck all and were unwilling to teach me.

For the record I haven't been to university, but I've heard enough horror stories to prevent me from going and my experience in public education alone is what keeps me away, I think one of the worst parts about all these educational institutions is you're work is essentially their property and you sign it over when you go onto their course because they have zero respect for intellectual property, oh and they don't fucking pay freelancers.

[Initscri]

I definitely think college is worth it for most degrees that have risk or you cannot demonstrate experience or skills based off actual proof.

But let me go into depth.

I believe for example, college is, and should be a requirement to be a doctor. Doctors have risk and need proof of some form of learning.

As a doctor, if a customer asks you for proof about previous "work", you cannot grab one of your clients and ask them to discuss their issue and how you helped resolve it with them (at least 99% of the time).

In relation to jobs such as Web Developer, Server Admin, Business, etc... I think there is no necessarily a requirement for college. You can display your testimonials and work on-demand, and there is no risk provided within the job (unless you are managing sensitive data, or data which cannot be destroyed (which you are not going to get with any level of college degree without experience anyways)).

With the startup industries we have today (which continue to grow) and inventions like Bitcoin which allow for innovation and adoption on all levels with no exclusion of people without college degrees, I think having no college degree is worth something to look at.

In my opinion, I think every teenager looking to go into university or college should look into depth at their current standing situation. Most college and university students are funnelled through college not because they need college or university, but because they believe they need college or university (promoted via ads or parents). I have to admit, the level and demonstration of marketing and promotion from the universities and colleges over the decades is remarkable. They made people believe they need proof of "knowledge and skills" from a corporate entity (most of the time).

In most cases I find people believe you cannot get anywhere in life without a college degree. "You're going to be working at McDonalds for the rest of your life".

With facts taken from http://facts.randomhistory.com/millionaires-facts.html and other websites (can source if required), around 20% of millionaries and billionaires don't have college/university degrees. I cannot find the article but I explicitly found an article ( I think on Forbes or something) that said a large population of the 1% of the 1% don't have degrees either (Bill Gates for example). Now I know anyone can go on the fact that "These are small cases, and do not happen a lot". My point is simple, if a person feels they can succeed, don't stunt that with your own beliefs. There is no age requirement for college (as far as I know) and you can go at any time. Let the person look into their own mind and make their OWN decision, not yours.

TL;DR: Do I think College is worth it... Yes, but only if...

1. The person is willing and doesn't have a sense of urge or motivation to "try it out on his/her own".
2. The degree is worth it in terms of the specific job.

I'm sorry, but with the unemployment rate standing today... It won't be your college degree or diploma that gets you the job much longer, it will be your motivation and enthusiasm about the job you want to posses -- so why can't people who are extremely motivated and have enthusiasm with no degree gets jobs again?...

For the record, I went to college, dropped out. I am trying without, if not - I shall make the responsible and personal decision on college or no college again.

[iram3130]

I've always wanted to take up the sciences. Theoretical physics. ... Those are almost not worth the money you pay, unless you become the next Einstein or something, or unless you are a scholar (in which case, you're not paying.)

But, if there is a job offer, and there are two candidates: one with a degree, one without. ... Depending on the actual job, the one who gets it is usually the guy with more formal education.

Manual labor jobs like electricians, plumbers, and miners (the ones in dark caves) don't usually have college degrees.

Office workers, like attorneys, lawyers, doctors, accountants and engineers, usually are because of the college courses they finished.

If you have the money, it's not a bad idea to actually finish a course and get one degree. If you don't, well, what choice do you have?

Business owner, Entrepreneur, Managing your own business. Never on my dream to work for someone.  My dreams are people working for me. 

[FutureMoneyTrends]

Good thoughts guys. Agree with 90%

I also think the best option is to work for yourself; entrepreneurship and self learning.

[jeffersonairplane]

Study to gain knowledge and be able to create your own business.

[Initscri]

Study to gain knowledge and be able to create your own business.

No doubt. College/Universities are great places to gain knowledge (even though I believe most people go for the degrees).

In all honesty however, I think it is based off different learning types.

If you like balance and a structure of learning and cannot apply that on your own (Which many people cannot), then University/College is a better choice.

However, if you can apply the structure or sort-of "self-teach" yourself, then "self-teaching" yourself and building yourself up may be something to look at as well.

I think the bottom line is to not get influenced by others, evaluate yourself, and then make your own decision if University or College is worth it based on your principles of learning.

Edit: BTW, I forgot to vote on the poll. I voted "Yes, for the majority" simply because of the above stances of most people not knowing or able to self teach themselves.

[Dabs]

College = Proof of Work

Proof of Stake = ?

LOL, just thinking out loud.

[FutureMoneyTrends]

College = Proof of Work

Proof of Stake = ?

LOL, just thinking out loud.

Isn't it less proof since you can cheat your way through college?

[Bonam]

Well, some degrees are much more worthwhile than others. A lot of stats on this are available, generally showing much better payoff from technical fields compared to degrees in the humanities (unsurprisingly). In all cases, however, college provides one with an opportunity to build a network of contacts that can be a useful lifelong resource, it's up to the individual to make the most of it.

[Lauda]

Isn't it less proof since you can cheat your way through college?

Hopefully our doctors won't cheat, else you will have a fun time after visiting them.

[Bit_Happy]

College is about getting the diploma. Nowaday you can learn almost anything you want for free on the internet. There is a guy who did the MIT undergraduate computer science cirriculum in one year at home for the cost of text books. So if you can sell yourself without a diploma and have the discipline to learn on your own, skip college and the student debt and teach yourself.

He must have been very busy during that one year.
It takes real dedication to get that much done quickly.