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December 30, 2011, 01:31:22 PM Last edit: December 31, 2011, 02:09:02 PM by Bind |
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I own a product installation, repair, and service company that employs tradesmen/craftsmen and helpers learning the trade/craft.
I have more and more people with college degrees applying for positions every time I put up a help wanted ad. I never had degreed individuals asking for work before the mid 2000's, and I have been in business since 1986. I had helpers who were going through college though, but they were by no means considered a serious candidate for advancement because they stated all that they were there for was to make some money to get through school, and when school was fiished, they usually left for greener pastures.
In my opinion, college degrees are a dime a dozen and do absolutely nothing unless you can be one of the lucky few to get in on the ground floor with a large company who isnt going belly-up or cutting staff positions of people with little to no seniority.
To me, hand skills are more important than college degrees. If you can create, install, repair, and service something, you have much more value in the world today. You can sell or barter your skills for what you need to survive even if you dont have an official "job".
Much of what we do requires the craftsmen to be part roofer, electician, floorman, carpenter, plumber, mason, painter, and mathmetician. Heck, I even repair and service our vehicles from time to time to save money, so you can add part automobile mechanic to the mix.
All that said, I dont think there is anything wrong with educating ones self as much as possible, and it certainly cant hurt to be degreed. Its just adds more diversity to the mix. But to go into debt for it and depend on it in todays world is a huge mistake in my opinion.
If anything, I would tell them to get agricultural degrees if they must get a degree. Feeding the population from domestic resources will be a huge deal in the upcomming decades.
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