41–50 of 195 posts
I find it disheartening that the only way it seems we can think about college anymore is a sort of vocational school where we train for careers.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find that point of view to be a conceit. It's an emulation of the noble classes of yore, who learned things they didn't need to know as a way of signaling that they could afford to do so because they didn't need to work. Most people are no better off 10-years down the line for having learned about what native Americans used to live in Virginia or what covalent bonds are.
For an opposing viewpoint, today might actually be an excellent day to ponder the effect of a lack of understanding of basic math, science, and history has on the general electorate.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I studied Japanese in school and I think it would have been extremely difficult to learn on my own. So... I'd say it depends.
Language seems like a complicating factor here. It's difficult (especially in non-Latinate cases) to learn self-directed, and people who are fluent and willing to work in the field can actually do quite well traveling and translating for businesses and government agencies. Of course, all of these numbers are complicated by "salary of graduates" versus "salary of graduates employed in field".
[1] https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/curre...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I studied Japanese in school and I think it would have been extremely difficult to learn on my own. So... I'd say it depends.
Given the thousands of majors, there are certainly exceptions on both sides. But I'm still comfortable with that assessment in general; "learning an entire language" is also one of the exceptions. I'd also point out that if for the sake of argument that was your primary goal at college, college is a very cost-ineffective choice. There's plenty of non-college ways of doing that, for way less money, since it's somethin…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I studied Japanese in school and I think it would have been extremely difficult to learn on my own. So... I'd say it depends.
Language seems like a complicating factor here. It's difficult (especially in non-Latinate cases) to learn self-directed, and people who are fluent and willing to work in the field can actually do quite well traveling and translating for businesses and government agencies. Of course, all of these numbers are complicated by "salary of graduates" versus "salary of graduates employed in field".
That is very scary if it's true. If a degree in the experimental sciences from a top-10 institution does not pay better than a degree from Tumbleweed State then the employment market for scientists is completely broken.
Do those ROI calculations include the cost of borrowing? I'd expect they don't - and if not, it means that most degrees are no longer worth it if you have to borrow a significant portion of the money. With federal loans ranging between 6-8.5% (last I looked) it means that for the first 10-20 years, the government is the one capturing the gains from many people's college educations. There may well still be a positive…
http://www.payscale.com/college-roi
Average loan amount is factored into the ROI calculation.
In addition to the obvious 0 line, it's worth taking the article's observation that S&P has returned 7.8% and mentally drawing a line there too. Also, for anyone in the position of deciding which to do, I'd add the observation that it is way easier to go to college and get a formal education in science, math, or engineering, and pursue an ongoing adhoc self-directed education in the arts and humanities in your remain…
Yeah, not really. There is a huge difference between reading a book by yourself, and reading a book then discussing it with a room full of other intelligent people + a knowledgable teacher.
Bear in mind this is 20 years and not lifetime earnings. Many studies have come out that across majors lifetime earnings are anywhere from USD 300k to USD 1 million higher than those with only a high school diploma.[1] [1] https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/curre...