Education is a commodity

[r_victory]

Although a degree from a top-tier university like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, or others opens a wider door to better jobs and salaries, nothing prevents anyone who hasn't had access to them from being successful. Those who want to learn know where to find information; education is practically at our fingertips and free. If a person is a competent professional and is constantly evolving in their learning, they can compete equally with anyone who graduated from those universities.

Those who want to, do; those who don't, make excuses!

[GeorgeJohn]

Although a degree from a top-tier university like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, or others opens a wider door to better jobs and salaries, nothing prevents anyone who hasn't had access to them from being successful. Those who want to learn know where to find information; education is practically at our fingertips and free. If a person is a competent professional and is constantly evolving in their learning, they can compete equally with anyone who graduated from those universities.

Those who want to, do; those who don't, make excuses!

They can only have a better job if they are in a civilized country but anything that makes the person that acquire such a degree from Harvard University and the person is not being based in a civilized country that certificate will be a Waste of document, but if you are deciding in a country that the values are certificate it would be easier for the person to secure employment because if the last country knows the value of a certificate from a good university, why unsivilized country or a corrupt country don't know the value of a certificate from a good university like Harvard

[Dogedegen]

And it’s not really a bad thing, but it shows how pressured young people are under. Because instead of studying a career they love , many choose what’s profitable so might secure a good job after graduation.
So yes education has kinda become a commodity.

You can't have it both ways though. You can pick a career that you love but if it is not a profitable one you don't get to complain later at the world like a spoiler child, but trust me many people who do this do blame the world for their own decision to study this. You either pick something profitable or you pick something you love, in both cases you have to deal with the consequences of your actions. Unless you are among the lucky ones who love something that is very profitable.

Yes, that's absolutely true. Educational institutions have become commercialized, making it difficult to find consistent quality across schools, creating disparities. Public schools are more often associated with students from ordinary families, unlike private schools, which are favored by wealthy children. While these two types of schools are certainly an option, they have created a significant divide between rich and poor children.

Quality of schools is not the problem, the problem lies in the students. You can get extremely educated at even the worst school if you have a will and determination, but you can also come out as an empty head from the best school. Here you also show that you don't really understand the world thinking that private schools are always better. In most cases private schools are significantly easier than state schools, often private universities are on the level of a state high school or even easier. Students that go to those go because they are rich and want an easy paper, they don't care about education. The private universities can't be made too strict or children would complain to parents and parents would withdraw them. The only exceptions are the most reputable and in demand private universities of the world, but those are very few. Even there it is harder to get in than to pass the exams in many fields.

Although a degree from a top-tier university like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, or others opens a wider door to better jobs and salaries, nothing prevents anyone who hasn't had access to them from being successful.

Which is not related to education at all. You have no idea how easy and dumb some non-STEM fields are at those schools. Some of the dumbest Phds have been done at Harvard.

Those who want to learn know where to find information; education is practically at our fingertips and free. If a person is a competent professional and is constantly evolving in their learning, they can compete equally with anyone who graduated from those universities.

Those who want to, do; those who don't, make excuses!

This part is true.

[terrific]

Although a degree from a top-tier university like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, or others opens a wider door to better jobs and salaries, nothing prevents anyone who hasn't had access to them from being successful. Those who want to learn know where to find information; education is practically at our fingertips and free. If a person is a competent professional and is constantly evolving in their learning, they can compete equally with anyone who graduated from those universities.

Those who want to, do; those who don't, make excuses!

It's a good start if someone is privileged to have themselves sent to those prestigious schools.
They've got more opportunities as employers prefer those who have graduated into known and reputable schools.
But what you have said is right, it's not a requirement to be successful because even if someone who didn't end up graduating nor touching even first year in college, they can also become successful on their own based on how they'd work it out.
Many of the billionaires aren't college graduate but they're smart, I think that comparison is what gets the most of people motivated to stop schooling. Although it's not the same, they're talented and have outsmarted everybody.

[Iranus]

It's also fortunate that I didn't go to college to get a degree, because I think my skills can generate income.

I don't understand why you feel lucky not to have a college degree. To me, that is a shortcoming  and it would be a mistake if you ignored it thinking it was useless. Because think about it, if you had both the skills and the degree, you probably would have a job with a much better income by now. Or even you have achieved important positions in big companies.

Please note what I said earlier, I criticize the government but I do not blame them or the education sector entirely. Part of it is because students are lazy, have illusions about their own power and have the outdated thinking that just having a degree is enough. In addition to degrees, they should try harder to accumulate skills and experience if they want to get a job. Because that is the new standard of the modern world.

[Jaweria parveen]

It's also fortunate that I didn't go to college to get a degree, because I think my skills can generate income.

I don't understand why you feel lucky not to have a college degree. To me, that is a shortcoming  and it would be a mistake if you ignored it thinking it was useless. Because think about it, if you had both the skills and the degree, you probably would have a job with a much better income by now. Or even you have achieved important positions in big companies.

Please note what I said earlier, I criticize the government but I do not blame them or the education sector entirely. Part of it is because students are lazy, have illusions about their own power and have the outdated thinking that just having a degree is enough. In addition to degrees, they should try harder to accumulate skills and experience if they want to get a job. Because that is the new standard of the modern world.

This is very important because most people understand this and I am a school teacher and I know how important it is because those who want to be able to work to some extent should get it and even if they don't want to and have studied, they should still get it. It comes in handy at some point. In my opinion, those who are not interested in business or don't know its purpose should get a job, which is why jobs have become very rare these days. Here, the government should keep more capable children so that their education is not wasted and the country can develop, which everyone can benefit from. Along with this, teaching should also be done so that more and more new things can come in front of them.

[DYOR+BTC]

Although a degree from a top-tier university like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, or others opens a wider door to better jobs and salaries, nothing prevents anyone who hasn't had access to them from being successful. Those who want to learn know where to find information; education is practically at our fingertips and free. If a person is a competent professional and is constantly evolving in their learning, they can compete equally with anyone who graduated from those universities.

Those who want to, do; those who don't, make excuses!

Having a degree in Harvard, stanford or any top-tier university stands like an open door not for some countries like Nigeria, to have a job in Nigeria you must be connected to any top management official without that your chances of getting employed are slim. Thousands of graduates with good grades in various universities come out every year with hope of getting employed but ends up selling newspapers while some managed to establish themselves in anyway they can just to meet end needs.  Not  that those certifications are bad but just that some countries corruption rate is high and things are not done based on merit but by connections.

[Theupdude]

Although a degree from a top-tier university like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, or others opens a wider door to better jobs and salaries, nothing prevents anyone who hasn't had access to them from being successful. Those who want to learn know where to find information; education is practically at our fingertips and free. If a person is a competent professional and is constantly evolving in their learning, they can compete equally with anyone who graduated from those universities.

Those who want to, do; those who don't, make excuses!

I think, it is not that a large university does not suffer a loss, nobody can refute it. The worlds and connexions there tend to be open. However, it is not correct to believe that all others are going to fail. Now you can study literally at the tip of your fingers, YouTube, courses, articles, they are all available.I believe that there is at least a way out learning by individuals who are genuinely interested in learning. And it is often observed that those who are educated in a well renowned college, yet have little to do in their job, on the other end, self educated persons are doing excellent work.

[Silverstonez]

Why people embark on school journey is simply because they want to know more, read more, and learn more, not necessarily what they will gain in the future, in those days not everyone was opportune to go to school but they made real money, the only problem we the Nigerians have is our leaders because as a graduate youre supposed to have a good paying jobs because school of nowadays are different from what our parents encounter, some of the lecturers won't  come to class to teach, so any student that says he or her is coming to school just to make their rich without acquiring the knowledge is actually joking because your certificate won't give you a better job it's what you have upstairs that will get you a good paying job.

If it was before I can agree with you that people embark on school journey to learn and improve their knowledge. But this time around people don't longer go to school to learn, some just want to have the certificate, they want answer the name graduate. While some person's are going to school this day's if they can secure a well paying job. Because in world we are today even the list cleaning job requires you to have a degree before you can be employe.

[Money bag]

Education is considered a right of every citizen. But has education ever been accessible? Back then only the elite was able to study. Only a few have been able to read and be considered educated. If you are wealthy you can study and even though now education has become more accessible the truth is still only the wealthy can get highest quality of education. But now schools are selling education. They are promoting the culture and prestige of their schools.

Because the truth is there usually are generalizations when it comes to these prestigious schools. For example, Harvard. Someone from harvard would be idolized and thought of someone who is intelligent and probably has a lot of connections. Harvard sells. When you get into these prestigious schools, more than education, you are also paying for the name of the school. But why are we paying for education? To make more money. Education is an investment wherein we expect huge returns after graduation.

Everything now is done with the purpose of making more money in the future. Are there people who go to school just simply wanting to learn? No. Most of the time, students consider the profit they will be making and the job they can get with the degrees they will get.

One of the primary purpose of going to the university is to secure a good job after graduation and also to elaborate your memory more, but in some part of the country education has been waste of resources after spending big money going to school you will graduate and have no job to do, so in those countries what is important is having primary and secondary education after that find a skill and learn through this method you will earn a living.

[Fara Chan]

One of the primary purpose of going to the university is to secure a good job after graduation and also to elaborate your memory more, but in some part of the country education has been waste of resources after spending big money going to school you will graduate and have no job to do, so in those countries what is important is having primary and secondary education after that find a skill and learn through this method you will earn a living.

I believe this is not limited to certain countries; almost all citizens should have skills after graduating from any university. Because on the one hand, the skills we possess can at least lead us to things that can provide us with income. The title we carry after graduating from university is simply a title attached to our name, not a means of securing employment. Jobs that rely on titles are usually more government-related, not for most companies, although some companies do consider them a key factor.

[YUriy1991]

Having a degree in Harvard, stanford or any top-tier university stands like an open door not for some countries like Nigeria, to have a job in Nigeria you must be connected to any top management official without that your chances of getting employed are slim. Thousands of graduates with good grades in various universities come out every year with hope of getting employed but ends up selling newspapers while some managed to establish themselves in anyway they can just to meet end needs.  Not  that those certifications are bad but just that some countries corruption rate is high and things are not done based on merit but by connections.

Some countries prioritize proximity over education, a common occurrence in corrupt nations. However, I'm confident that graduates of Harvard, Oxford, and other prestigious universities will not give up their pursuit of excellence. If degrees are not valued in those countries due to political affiliation or family ties, those graduates will often leave the country and seek employment elsewhere. However, there are also university graduates who fail to compete because they don't study and slack off during their studies. After graduation, they lack the knowledge and skills to compete for jobs.

[slapper]

The rich, that is, the children of the rich, may have more opportunities for formal education, but real education comes from the family, from the experience and technical skills of the individual. If I talk about my country, then 15-20 years ago, children from here had to work from a very young age and only if they earned money by working could their families feed themselves, but now in our country, education is being received at a very affordable price, and after the government of our country made primary education compulsory, most children are now school-going.
What you mean about education is that higher education is seen only being received by the rich class because they have enough money and can continue their education by spending that money, but in the case of the middle class or lower middle class, children have to earn money at a certain age, so complete education is no longer possible.

The mandatory primary is an enormous accomplishment yet what it actually solves: literacy, numeracy, basic socialization. What it fails to address is the returns problem. Since the value of education is solely a matter of what the labor market will rewards, and that is changing faster than any curriculum.

I had seen this play in action. A decade ago, they all said: get educated and you would get out of poverty. We have now educated unemployment, and skilled trades remain vacant. That middle-class calculation you are talking about (stop school, start earning) is not shortsighted. It is logical when four more years of education equate to four years of debt or salary loss with a questionable payoff. The rich will wait until there will be compounding returns. All others require urgent liquidity. Education has become obligatory, and it has not been made sufficient. Children go through twelve years in school and emerge as individuals who lack practical knowledge and theoretical depth. Only enough to become aware that they are supposed to desire more education they cannot afford anyway.

The family education that you referred to (experience, technical skills) used to pass across the generation with ease. It is now worth nothing without certification, which is money, which has to be afforded by the family already being stable. We have commercialized the process of knowledge sharing. We are then shocked when individuals make decisions on optimizing for cash flow over learning.

[WillyAp]

Funny enough: African kids run 15 miles to the school as for them it is an opportunity.
Western kids try to dodge the school as they see it as a burden. 

[Mame89]

One of the primary purpose of going to the university is to secure a good job after graduation and also to elaborate your memory more, but in some part of the country education has been waste of resources after spending big money going to school you will graduate and have no job to do, so in those countries what is important is having primary and secondary education after that find a skill and learn through this method you will earn a living.

I believe this is not limited to certain countries; almost all citizens should have skills after graduating from any university. Because on the one hand, the skills we possess can at least lead us to things that can provide us with income. The title we carry after graduating from university is simply a title attached to our name, not a means of securing employment. Jobs that rely on titles are usually more government-related, not for most companies, although some companies do consider them a key factor.

A degree doesn't guarantee a job because experience and skills are highly valued these days. Working in government also requires connections. This is the case in many countries; a degree doesn't guarantee a decent job. However education is also important to gain connections, knowledge, and, of course, ethics and morals to fit in with our environment.

However having a degree from a renowned university like Harvard or Stanford significantly increases your chances of finding a decent job. Admittedly university membership plays a significant role in job hunting, but the problem is that not everyone can afford to attend a top-tier university due to financial constraints. Only the wealthy can afford it unless you're exceptionally intelligent and receive a scholarship.

[junder]

I don't understand why you feel lucky not to have a college degree. To me, that is a shortcoming  and it would be a mistake if you ignored it thinking it was useless. Because think about it, if you had both the skills and the degree, you probably would have a job with a much better income by now. Or even you have achieved important positions in big companies.

Please note what I said earlier, I criticize the government but I do not blame them or the education sector entirely. Part of it is because students are lazy, have illusions about their own power and have the outdated thinking that just having a degree is enough. In addition to degrees, they should try harder to accumulate skills and experience if they want to get a job. Because that is the new standard of the modern world.

Yes, I know that having a degree can certainly help us in getting a decent job. My lack of a degree doesn't mean I consider it useless because some of my family members have degrees from years of study. Seeing the current reality in my area, many people have degrees but don't work and don't earn any income, including from skills. I don't think those with degrees suffer the same fate as most unemployed people in my area.
It's not surprising that many young people or students tend to be lazy about working; sometimes they're trapped in a zone that makes them reluctant to leave even though it doesn't produce anything.

[Out of mind]

In the past, very few people were able to get education but now even though education is easily available, it is still very difficult for the poor. Especially high quality education where rich people are able to get big degrees from there for their money but the children of a poor person are not able to get high quality education they are deprived from it. We know that in different countries where there is high quality education, the children of the poor do not have money to study due to which they do not get high quality culture and status but the rich enjoy all the benefits.

Only those who have enough money get the opportunity to get their degree in high-class educational institutions like Harvard. But you will see that there are many poor people who are very talented yet they do not get the opportunity to study there because of money, this means that we can say that nowadays education is sold only to the rich. There are many poor people who are talented enough but they are only defeated by money, due to which they miss the opportunity to study in famous schools and universities. Basically, nowadays all power is sold to money, we can see this in the field of education too, in most of the institutions, the rich people have enough opportunities.

However, most people nowadays study in schools, colleges and universities to earn a degree. So that they can build a bright future by doing a good job in the future, but those who can earn a high-quality degree can work in high positions. Those who do not study in prestigious schools and universities, rather study according to their means and after earning a degree, they look for a job opportunity in a small company. But we can see that there is a lot of inequality in education today, especially in prestigious schools, where the rich have more status but the poor have less value.

[CryptoBuds]

A degree doesn't guarantee a job because experience and skills are highly valued these days. Working in government also requires connections. This is the case in many countries; a degree doesn't guarantee a decent job. However education is also important to gain connections, knowledge, and, of course, ethics and morals to fit in with our environment.

Degrees never guaranteed us immediate employment, even in our parents' time, let alone ours. Degree does not guarantee a job, it only provides knowledge, mindset and opportunities, which give us easier access to career opportunities than those without degrees.

Nowadays, degrees have not lost their value, experience and skills have never been more prioritized than degrees as people are discussing.

What is happening in the job market today is that most employers require both qualifications, experience and skills. They won't hire you if you only have a degree but no skills, and vice versa. They also won't need you if you have skills and experience but no degree. If you are lucky enough to get a job but don't have a degree, you are just a contract worker, a low level employee with no chance of advancement.

[Dareo]

Some countries prioritize proximity over education, a common occurrence in corrupt nations. However, I'm confident that graduates of Harvard, Oxford, and other prestigious universities will not give up their pursuit of excellence. If degrees are not valued in those countries due to political affiliation or family ties, those graduates will often leave the country and seek employment elsewhere. However, there are also university graduates who fail to compete because they don't study and slack off during their studies. After graduation, they lack the knowledge and skills to compete for jobs.

But to be honest, a big degree does not mean that everyone will be skilled. Many people only get the tag of a reputable institution, but cannot survive in real competition. Then there are also people who really work hard but if there is no place for them in the country  they are forced to leave, Brain drain is actually the result of this corruption and bias.

In my opinion, no matter where the country is, when the doors of opportunity are closed people naturally look for alternative paths and in countries where qualifications are not valued, it is difficult to have talented people. On the other hand if you cannot combine skills and practical knowledge with education, just sitting with a certificate is of no use both sides are true and both sides create problems.

[maknyos]

A degree doesn't guarantee a job because experience and skills are highly valued these days. Working in government also requires connections. This is the case in many countries; a degree doesn't guarantee a decent job. However education is also important to gain connections, knowledge, and, of course, ethics and morals to fit in with our environment.

Degrees never guaranteed us immediate employment, even in our parents' time, let alone ours. Degree does not guarantee a job, it only provides knowledge, mindset and opportunities, which give us easier access to career opportunities than those without degrees.

Nowadays, degrees have not lost their value, experience and skills have never been more prioritized than degrees as people are discussing.

What is happening in the job market today is that most employers require both qualifications, experience and skills. They won't hire you if you only have a degree but no skills, and vice versa. They also won't need you if you have skills and experience but no degree. If you are lucky enough to get a job but don't have a degree, you are just a contract worker, a low level employee with no chance of advancement.

A degree is just a degree, and it doesn't guarantee a decent job. And a degree doesn't even indicate a person's quality. I see many of my friends who earned degrees not through their own efforts, but simply paid someone to help them complete their final assignments.

And I actually find it quite strange that some people send their children to college, hoping for a decent job. What I mean is, this is a misconception, does college mean work? Because the world of work isn't like the world of education, even though knowledge is essential in the workplace.