Is College Overrated?

I feel like, in today's society, we really put too much emphasis on college. I think that the biggest measure of skill and knowledge should be your ability to demonstate working, practical abilities...not being able to get a piece of paper. You can be awesome at just about anything without college, and on the flip-side you can go to college for anything and come out knowing nothing. College isn't everyone's best way of learning something, but in today's world you're punished for being one of those people that better learn some other way. If I could take the time I've spent worrying about college and self-teaching myself instead, I'd probably be twice as good at what I'm trying to do since that's how I best learn.

What do you think? Does society put too much emphasis on college over knowledge?

If you think that college is just about getting a piece of paper then you need to reevaluate your views on what college is.

College isn't for everybody that is true, but there is a reason for college far beyond just getting a diploma.

If you think that college is just about getting a piece of paper then you need to reevaluate your views on what college is.

College isn't for everybody that is true, but there is a reason for college far beyond just getting a diploma.

Wasdie

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

If you think that college is just about getting a piece of paper then you need to reevaluate your views on what college is.

College isn't for everybody that is true, but there is a reason for college far beyond just getting a diploma.

jalexbrown

There are other options to college, but in general, college is a measure of somebody's ability to work hard to achieve a goal. Employers see a college graduate as somebody who voluntary worked through 4-5 years of school in a very awkward time of a person's life.

Honestly I felt college was unnecessary. I started working right after high school and thought I'd make a living off of that. But now that I'm 24 I see that in this day in age you need that piece of paper to get a good paying job. I'm tired of making minimum wage. And even though I disagree with all the nonsense people say about how college opens your mind and gives you so much life experience, even though most master degree holders I know are complete idiots. I realize that piece of paper is the key to me having fincacial independence from my parents.

[QUOTE="jalexbrown"][QUOTE="Wasdie"]

If you think that college is just about getting a piece of paper then you need to reevaluate your views on what college is.

College isn't for everybody that is true, but there is a reason for college far beyond just getting a diploma.

Wasdie

There are other options to college, but in general, college is a measure of somebody's ability to work hard to achieve a goal. Employers see a college graduate as somebody who voluntary worked through 4-5 years of school in a very awkward time of a person's life.

[QUOTE="helwa1988"]

Honestly I felt college was unnecessary. I started working right after high school and thought I'd make a living off of that. But now that I'm 24 I see that in this day in age you need that piece of paper to get a good paying job. I'm tired of making minimum wage. And even though I disagree with all the nonsense people say about how college opens your mind and gives you so much life experience, even though most master degree holders I know are complete idiots. I realize that piece of paper is the key to me having fincacial independence from my parents.

thegerg

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

[QUOTE="jalexbrown"] The point I was really trying to make was simply that college is a more of a hindrance than a help on some people, and if you're one of those people it kind of sucks to be you.Iszdope

There are other options to college, but in general, college is a measure of somebody's ability to work hard to achieve a goal. Employers see a college graduate as somebody who voluntary worked through 4-5 years of school in a very awkward time of a person's life.

"...voluntarily".

You can drop out at any time. Nobody forcing you to go.

If your parents are forcing you to go then you need to grow up and realize you can make decisions on your own.

Also on topic, I can personally say that you learn skills in college vital to the real working world. I worked in a factory for 3 years during the summers of college. That was a "real" job that I could have just kept instead of going back to school. It made more than double minimum wage and could sustain a family in the area no problem.

Nothing I learned through experiances there would have helped me in my current job. You may not think you need your college education, but go back and read one of your high school senior papers and the compare it to the last paper you wrote in college. When I did that, I was shocked to see how much better I was able to communicate. Everything was at a much higher level. I took only one English class in all of my 5 years of college too. It's kind of an eye opener to see how far you've come.

I'll guarnetee that age alone did not teachall of those communication skills. If I were to still be working at that factory, there is no way I would have have progressed to the level I am at today.

I understand that college isn't for everybody but it's a lot more effective than people here give it credit.

If you think that college is just about getting a piece of paper then you need to reevaluate your views on what college is.

College isn't for everybody that is true, but there is a reason for college far beyond just getting a diploma.

Wasdie

this. people who don't want to get better at something always come with the college is not necesary excuse. and ofc is not neccesary, you don't need to go to college to do good at life but it improves your chances and you get better at what you do.

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

[QUOTE="Iszdope"]

"...voluntarily".

thegerg

You can drop out at any time. Nobody forcing you to go.

If your parents are forcing you to go then you need to grow up and realize you can make decisions on your own.

Oh, I'm typing really fast and not using spell check. I just got to work, sue me.

Wasdie, correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you a computer programmer? So surely you can respect that there are lots of incredibly talented programmers that are self-taught. Isn't it a shame to see that kind of talent not recognized because they either didn't start or didn't finish college?jalexbrown

College and university are not overrated. However, that doesn't mean that higher learning is for everyone. What did karl marx say? Oh yes: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." And yep learned that in university lol :D

[QUOTE="jalexbrown"]Wasdie, correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you a computer programmer? So surely you can respect that there are lots of incredibly talented programmers that are self-taught. Isn't it a shame to see that kind of talent not recognized because they either didn't start or didn't finish college?michaelP4

[QUOTE="michaelP4"][QUOTE="jalexbrown"]Wasdie, correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you a computer programmer? So surely you can respect that there are lots of incredibly talented programmers that are self-taught. Isn't it a shame to see that kind of talent not recognized because they either didn't start or didn't finish college?jalexbrown

Wasdie, correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you a computer programmer? So surely you can respect that there are lots of incredibly talented programmers that are self-taught. Isn't it a shame to see that kind of talent not recognized because they either didn't start or didn't finish college?jalexbrown

Yeah, talented programmers can be self taught, but programming is about 30% of being a software engineer. You can be the best programmer in the world, but if you cannot work together in a team, communicate well, and understand development cycle, business practices, marketing, training and documentation, or any of the other pieces that go into effective software, then you're useless.

There is a reason why I've never once run into any non-college grad programmers in my time in the industry. Usually great programmers are just that, great programmers. They often do not work well in teams or understand software beyond the context of the code they are working on. This makes them very difficult to put into an effective software development team. No real software packages are written by one person anymore.

Some people can make it to the professional world without college. These people have to prove themselves in some other way. Just throwing a resume into a job and saying you have 5 years of programming experience working for yourself isn't enough. With college, you've shown that you have been able to program and work to an acceptable level by the university. It's not just a few years of working for yourself. It's other people measuring you. A diploma shows that a group of people who generally accepted to be authorities on education have determined that you have met a certain criteria after judging your work.

So yes, you can be successful in a field that generally requires college education, but you're going to have to put a lot of effort in to prove that you know what you're talking about. College is a place for you to focus your abilities and have something to show for all of your work.

College and university are not overrated. However, that doesn't mean that higher learning is for everyone. What did karl marx say? Oh yes: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." And yep learned that in university lol :D

ydnarrewop

[QUOTE="michaelP4"][QUOTE="jalexbrown"]Wasdie, correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you a computer programmer? So surely you can respect that there are lots of incredibly talented programmers that are self-taught. Isn't it a shame to see that kind of talent not recognized because they either didn't start or didn't finish college?jalexbrown

Most of the pioneers had schooling of a different type. Math, engineering, or English seem to be most prevalent. There have been a few outliers who have taught themselves programming and made something of it, but most of the big names have traditional schooling of some sort.

For some people, yes. I don't think that if you know what you want to do, and you don't need a degree, then there is no reason to attend college. Many people go to party and "experience" college. I'm going because I just want to enhance my education and knowledge. College is not an entitlement. If you're a bad student, then don't go to college. Go intern somewhere and work your way up. Obviously if you want to be an accountant or a teacher, then yeah, college is necessary.

If you think that college is just about getting a piece of paper then you need to reevaluate your views on what college is.

College isn't for everybody that is true, but there is a reason for college far beyond just getting a diploma.

Wasdie

This. You get far more than classwork and basic knowledge. You meet people who can affect the rest of your life. You learn how to make connections in knowledge and understanding. You can get drunk, fool around with the gender of your preference, and have a general good time.

If you don't feel like you need college, don't go. It can be a financial burden, and it may not help you towards your career goal.

It is overemphasized and there are definitely individuals not cut out for it.

With that being said, college is far from overrated. As a recent graduate I can honestly say my collegiate years were some of the best of my life thus far. The social experience alone was worth the money in my opinion.

Depends on what you do. If you go to some remedial college with some pointless major, yes its vastly overrated. Some people are just curious about learning more and more though, and want their education to transition directly into what they want to do for the rest of their lives, and for those people it is indispensable.

If you don't pick a worthless degree it's not.

Honestly I felt college was unnecessary. I started working right after high school and thought I'd make a living off of that. But now that I'm 24 I see that in this day in age you need that piece of paper to get a good paying job. I'm tired of making minimum wage. And even though I disagree with all the nonsense people say about how college opens your mind and gives you so much life experience, even though most master degree holders I know are complete idiots. I realize that piece of paper is the key to me having fincacial independence from my parents.

helwa1988

I find it hard to believe that you're still making minimum wage after working for 6 year after high school.

Fuvk education.

Fuvk education.

TehFuneral

You go man! Stick it to the man! Ain't nobody gotta tell you what to do! I wish I was just like you.

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

If you think that college is just about getting a piece of paper then you need to reevaluate your views on what college is.

College isn't for everybody that is true, but there is a reason for college far beyond just getting a diploma.

jalexbrown

well, i know at least in my part of the country, if you dont have a college degree there are very few jobs you can apply for

waiter(must have prior exp)

sales associate(must have prior exp)

custodian(janitor...fun)

dish washer

host/hostess(must have prior exp)

and a few minimum wage part-time jobs w/o benefits that you'll have to work at least 2 of in order to have an apartment and eat(they only qualify you to use a palette jack and to work other minimum wage jobs and no room for promotion)

the military(tons of pros...a few really big cons)

i dont know where you live, but letting the military pay for my college seemed like the best choice to me. nothing like having 8 years of experience in your career field and a 4 year degree by the time youre 25 or 26.

I think it is to some degree. I just completed a four year degree and can say many courses were great, but a lot were useless. 4th year classes that focused on group discussion and major research projects were very good.

But survey courses are literally useless. You pay big bucks to listen to a prof blab on, when you can get the same info from any text book at a fraction of the cost. Some claim the prof makes people think critically about a subject, but really if you need someone else to make you think critically then you should not even be at university

I dislike how many people cannot afford unviersity, but are forced to take a major debt just to get a piece of paper. They ahve no choice, employers value a BA, even when many liberal arts degrees are useless. At the end of the day many people get a liberal arts degree and then go work at some place like Sears (were you will use virtually nothing that you learned at university).

I dislike how many people cannot afford unviersity, but are forced to take a major debt just to get a piece of paper. They ahve no choice, employers value a BA, even when many liberal arts degrees are useless. At the end of the day many people get a liberal arts degree and then go work at some place like Sears (were you will use virtually nothing that you learned at university).

RahXephon101

[QUOTE="TehFuneral"]

Fuvk education.

Wasdie

You go man! Stick it to the man! Ain't nobody gotta tell you what to do! I wish I was just like you.

Wow, reading that made me feel sad about what I posted earlier.

Well played sir...