My BA was pretty much a waste of time. If I could do it over I would have started working full time out of high school, and I'd be at least one house further ahead than I am now.
An undergrad is the new highschool?
Is education ever a waste of time ? There are things I missed going straight into the corporate world from HS … of course now it looks like a good decision
Everyone has their opinion but what people fail to consider is the other benefits people gain from university. Sure I was limited to summer jobs but I had a ton of fun at school, had so much more flexibility to ride/ski than people with full time work and I also met some of my closest friends there.
Upon graduating I travelled and then decided to work nearly a year later. Since then there has been no shortage of work for me (engineering).
I am planning to go back to get my masters in September for two reason:
1) To be challenged and learn more
2) To have flexible time where I will be able to ride/ski most of the time when I want to.
University isn't the right choice for everyone but I think it provided me with a fun lifestyle. I should note I am in no hurry to buy a house but saying that I also have no debt. If owning a house quickly is a priority then University may set you back.
Whilst I wouldn't have been able to get where I am now without my undergrad, I look back at my time in school as being far more useful in terms of life experience and good times that as an educational benefit.
Interesting discussion. If you are looking for job skills, go to a technical school or trade school. If you are looking for an education, go to university. The wrong attitude at a university, is tell me what I need to pass this course. If that is what you are there for, you are in the wrong place. That means most people should not be there but are best suited for some other field; maybe your destiny is to be a barista, and university was a mistake for you.
I have a Bsc and a teaching degree from SFU. I also went through an electrical apprenticeship. In theory the job I have now as a facility manager in a prison, you would think, who needs that edkucation, and was it a waste of time. However when you look at everything you are expected to deal with, my previous education was invaluable, especially when ones role expands to dealing with environnmental issues, regulatory issues, and dealing with inmates and staff. Skills learned in one field are directly transferable to another
Now if we could just find engineers that actually have built or wired a building………., or would listen to those who have.
You can cherry pick stats to reinforce any argument. I just found some that reinforce a BA as the way to go.
"Trends points out that even during the recessionary years of 2008-2010, 300,000 new jobs were created for university graduates. This compares to 430,000 jobs lost for those with no postsecondary education. The research also shows that the income advantage for a bachelors graduate over a registered tradesperson or college graduate working full-time is 40 percent ($1 million), while the advantage over those with a high school education grows to 75 percent ($1.3 million)."
I took a BFA, and went right into my field. (Show Biz). It's what I've always wanted to do and it's still rad. My closest friend took a trade, and he's also super happy. Figure out what you want to do and go do it, whatever it is.
One final point, if you are a young man, university provides excellent odds.
from: http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/tag/male-female-ratio/
"female-dominated campuses are an increasing reality at universities across the country. According to Statistics Canada, 57 per cent of the student body in universities is female. Of the 69 schools Macleans surveyed in its 2010 university guide, 24 institutions have a student body thats over 60 per cent female. And its not just Mount Saint Vincent where the females make up more than 70 per cent of the population. Its the same at NSCAD University and Université Sainte-Anne"
In my program, it was 3 to 1. just sayin'
A four year Uni degree is the new high school diploma, and I'm still surrounded by morons.
It's the education arms race! Aaaah! :lol:
Who's fault is that!
Phfff moves to USA and expects to be surrounded by SMRT people.
hehehe I kid.:beer:
"X is for x-ray. If you've been bikin' and you haven't had an x-ray, you ain't goin' hard enough." - Bob Roll
there's nothing easy about a career in the trades
truth
"X is for x-ray. If you've been bikin' and you haven't had an x-ray, you ain't goin' hard enough." - Bob Roll
It's all what you make of it. There's a lot of people that go to college/university for the good times and partying and just get an arts degree, and thats fine if thats all you want to get out of it. There's also people who go to school with a plan beyond graduation, and put all they can into their education to further themselves. The vast majority of people who go to post secondary are somewhere in between. I went to schools with plenty of people who had no clue what they wanted out of it, or where in business school because they thought that business grads ran all the companies (not true at all).
A lot of people go in to college with no real plan for afterwards. Granted, it's pretty hard to know what you want to do when you are 18 and just got out of High School. But knowing whats in demand will help you plan to be successful in the future.
There's also nothing wrong with getting a trades degree either. Our society can't function without the trades, so its pretty important that we have people to go into those as well. You can also be pretty successful with a trades degree, even though the social stigma is that you need a college degree to be successful.
I went into college knowing what I wanted with what I learned from past summer work experiences, and planned my education around that. I picked a school that had a good petroleum engineering program in a location that would give me exposure to a lot of oil companies (school career fairs, etc.), and decided a school in the U.S. would offer more opportunities than one in Canada. I went to the same school as Farmer, or as KenN calls it:
the buttfuck montana school of hole diggin? - Kn.
. I now work in the industry I want with a great wage and great opportunity. I graduated college and went to work immediately as an expat engineer, making over 6 figures with a great schedule. I just recently found out that I will be rotating out of Thailand for work, working 4 weeks on 4 off. Due to previous boom/bust cycles in this industry, there is amazing opportunities for young engineers as a large part of the work force is getting ready to retire.
School is what you make out of it, and if you plan right you can have great success. You can also have that piece of paper hanging on your wall and be serving coffees at the local starbucks.
"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity."
Sigmund Freud
:canada: :usa:
Who's fault is that!
Whose.
The Grammar police are back. Watch your p's and who's.
The Grammar police are back. Watch your p's and who's.
I didn't go to university so I'm too stupid to notice.
I didn't go to university so I'm too stupid to notice.
Someone got the joke… ;)
Whose.
Trades person…… I honestly wouldn't know better. Grammar wasn't my thing.
"X is for x-ray. If you've been bikin' and you haven't had an x-ray, you ain't goin' hard enough." - Bob Roll
Everyone has their opinion but what people fail to consider is the other benefits people gain from university. Sure I was limited to summer jobs but I had a ton of fun at school, had so much more flexibility to ride/ski than people with full time work and I also met some of my closest friends there.
Upon graduating I travelled and then decided to work nearly a year later. Since then there has been no shortage of work for me (engineering).
I am planning to go back to get my masters in September for two reason:
1) To be challenged and learn more
2) To have flexible time where I will be able to ride/ski most of the time when I want to.University isn't the right choice for everyone but I think it provided me with a fun lifestyle. I should note I am in no hurry to buy a house but saying that I also have no debt. If owning a house quickly is a priority then University may set you back.
This. There are exceptions, but people who go to university come out equipped with ways to creatively problem solve, manage time, argue and discuss, motivate themselves, and think critically. Combine this with the connection you make in university and you're on a good track.
A university degree doesn't mean as much as it did 30 years ago in the job market, but it does make you more marketable. And it gives you access to a lot of post degree technical and masters programs which focus on career specific skills.
It also gives you an opportunity to meet and play with like minded people your age and develop lasting friendships!
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