I think the fact that we're seeing a lot of articles, stories, and publications revolving around the thoughts of college becoming useless and the importance of starting businesses says something about the way our culture is changing, and perhaps waking up.
This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach
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Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach
#32So the writing in this is atrocious. There's no clear line of thought. I got 5 paragraphs in and could not figure out just what the hell the author was trying to tell me. LEARN TO WRITE.
Well, it WAS written by a psychiatrist.
Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach
#33So the writing in this is atrocious. There's no clear line of thought. I got 5 paragraphs in and could not figure out just what the hell the author was trying to tell me. LEARN TO WRITE.
What a shame that nobody has posted a pithy one-line summary for you. My big condolences.
I spent three minutes skimming this article and it's perfectly clear what the author's thesis is; that the millennial generation has been raised to expect a breed of safe, corporate job in their favorite fields which just don't exist in the quantity that young adults wish they did. He suggests that they had better relax their standards and take some risks if they want to get work.
The author may not be Hemingway, but it's hardly difficult to understand. Learn to fucking read.
Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach
#34Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless. From the article: "Were you smarter at 21 post college than your Dad was at 21? And whatever the difference, was it worth the $50k-$200k he paid to get you it?" Yes. Yes I was smarter. And I didn't pay 200k because I went to a state school. I graduated a wholly different person with a completely different world-view and a ton of appli…
Agreed. College has definitely changed my view of the world and expanded my mind. And I'm glad I went to an affordable state school.
I do, however, believe that past generations had more advantages with their degrees than my generation does.
Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach
#35Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless. From the article: "Were you smarter at 21 post college than your Dad was at 21? And whatever the difference, was it worth the $50k-$200k he paid to get you it?" Yes. Yes I was smarter. And I didn't pay 200k because I went to a state school. I graduated a wholly different person with a completely different world-view and a ton of appli…
I'm rather bothered by all the people knocking liberal arts degrees, in this and other threads. I did go to a school with a reputation for having a hard liberal arts core education, and it turned out to be a great decision. (In retrospect, I now wish I had gone to a different school, but the one I chose wasn't bad at all.) It's hard to explain why it's good to be able to think about these things, but it's hard to exp…
As am I. A liberal arts education makes you better able to understand and explain the world around you. The notion that every moment of college must be teaching you a skill that you will directly apply in your future career is positively stifling.
Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach
#36I propose an alternate question: Even if he got the "package" job he was looking for. Should he take it?
I'm currently in an argument with my parents about attempting a startup after I graduate vs getting a job and trying to start something on the side. Obviously the parents think it's too much risk, I think I've tried to "follow the rules" for too long and have nothing to lose.
Anyone else been in a similar situation?
Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach
#37Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless. From the article: "Were you smarter at 21 post college than your Dad was at 21? And whatever the difference, was it worth the $50k-$200k he paid to get you it?" Yes. Yes I was smarter. And I didn't pay 200k because I went to a state school. I graduated a wholly different person with a completely different world-view and a ton of appli…
TL;DR? The essay doesn't knock college at all.
It knocks the idea that the kid is better-educated at 21 than his father was, and that he has MORE opportunities because of it.
It knocks the sad fact that the kid's father and grandfather were entrepreneurs, but somehow taught the kid that he has to have A Real Job with a Career Ladder and 401k - or nothing at all:
"The parents and grandparents, like so many parents today, are disappointed in their son because he's not taking their advice, but in fact their son is taking their advice to its inevitable conclusion: he's holding out for the perfect corporate job."
It has, in short, nothing to do with you, your school, or your defensiveness about graduating college.
And if you think college graduates today are actually smarter than they were 30 years ago, I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken. Their facts may be more up-to-date, however, writing skills, reading skills, and whatnot, are down across the board.
Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
"The Greatest Generation" refers to the parents of the baby boomers.
They don't get off Scot free either. Here in England they voted in the Nanny State in '45 and we've been paying for it ever since. Did you know in '48 they claimed the cost of nationalized healthcare would go down in time as the population got healthier...?
Certainly vastly cheaper relative to the alternatives. Britain's health care system does a pretty good job of controlling costs while maintaining decent results.
Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach
#39Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless. From the article: "Were you smarter at 21 post college than your Dad was at 21? And whatever the difference, was it worth the $50k-$200k he paid to get you it?" Yes. Yes I was smarter. And I didn't pay 200k because I went to a state school. I graduated a wholly different person with a completely different world-view and a ton of appli…
I'm rather bothered by all the people knocking liberal arts degrees, in this and other threads. I did go to a school with a reputation for having a hard liberal arts core education, and it turned out to be a great decision. (In retrospect, I now wish I had gone to a different school, but the one I chose wasn't bad at all.) It's hard to explain why it's good to be able to think about these things, but it's hard to exp…
> Essentially, a good liberal arts education transforms your world-view of those subjects the same way a good engineering education does.
I think most people agree with that, they just disagree that it's worth paying $50/hour to get. Go into any high end coffee place and you'll find someone you can have a good discussion with about liberal arts-related topics. I was talking about Jeffersonian vs. Hamiltonian democracy with a member of the U.S. Foreign Service at a coffee place a couple months ago. Talked for two hours - cost was $5 for an iced tea. Sure beats paying $150 for a three hour lecture and getting assigned some busywork essay at the end of it.
Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach
#40Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless. From the article: "Were you smarter at 21 post college than your Dad was at 21? And whatever the difference, was it worth the $50k-$200k he paid to get you it?" Yes. Yes I was smarter. And I didn't pay 200k because I went to a state school. I graduated a wholly different person with a completely different world-view and a ton of appli…
I went to school for one reason and one reason only because I knew I had to. I picked Psychology as my degree because, at that time, this was the only thing I could imagine studding for 4 years.
I worked in IT industry before I started school, while going to school and after graduation. Most of my techy friends discouraged my degree every step of the way.
'Why the hell do you need it? Bill gates never even finished' was the tone of their message.
Well, I got my degree and sure I don't really use it in my job. Sure I had a big lump of dissapoitnment in my throat after I graduated and came home to realize the big pay off is not there. However, as lame as this sounds, I learned how to learn. I learned that as pointless as most of my classes were, ones that weren't will stay with me for ever.