Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 308 posts

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#191

Post by ghufran_syed »

bernardino wrote: post #139
throwaway0255 wrote: post #94

Most jobs don't require higher education. Most jobs that do require higher education don't actually make any use of the higher education. Are people who didn't follow the author up the ivory tower all failures who just fell through the cracks? What if some people are perfectly happy working in HVAC? These articles are always so condescending. The position that all people should by default go to college and that peopl…

This comes at, I think, a critical point for me. In short, I spent four years at a community college (completing my associate degree in CS and exhausting almost all the courses I found interesting i.e. Mysticism, Writing Short Fiction, etc), and now in the fall I'm planning to attend San Francisco State University for CS. A few old high school friends, who attend Berkeley (one just graduated and is starting work in f…

If you want to start working, and have the skills to do it, just start working! You could finish your entire cs degree part-time for less than the cost of one semester at Berkeley, via university of London (https://london.ac.uk/courses/computing-and-information-syste...) My daughter did this, started working at the age of 19 as a software developer, and is finishing her degree part-time. She should graduate when she’s 24, by which time she’ll have 5 years full-time experience (and five years of earning a salary) Feel free to message me if you have any questions.

EDIT: we are in the Bay Area too btw. And the above would NOT apply if, for example, you wanted to go on and do a PhD.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#192

Post by arkh »

hrktb wrote: post #188
throwaway0255 wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's important to keep in mind that college is meant to enrich people as individuals, not explicitly prepare them for jobs. Technical/vocational schools are for job prep. The more college is shown to be failing the job market, the more I hear this argument. Are people who don't go to college less enriched individuals? Lately, academics seem to be shifting their value proposition to the instillation of this undetect…

> Lately, academics seem to be shifting their value proposition to the instillation of this undetectable unmeasurable X-factor. We can't see it, we can't prove that it exists, but it's there, and its value is absolutely incalculable. How convenient for the sales pitch is this. The cost of college forces some people to also argument for better revenue opportunities and better fit for future jobs, because otherwise bur…

> In countries where university are cheaper nobody bats an eye at someone going through the cycles just for the sake of it, purely to learn interesting things.

We do. Every year discovering yourself is a year you're not productive. Those cheaper university fees come from taxes which you need employed people to pay. I'd argue the US system is fairer: people who enjoy university education pay for it. In Europe, people who got in trade and never thought about getting a university degree are paying for those for get them.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#193

Post by IIAOPSW »

nugi wrote: post #6

The world continues to focus on cities, while the rest of the people are left behind. I notice a clear metropolitan bias on HN, often incredulous that 1st world citizens are still living in a unimproved state. Even an 30min from one of the 10 biggest cities on the USA, broadband is still unavailable to a majority, ambulance times are in hours, and school funding is increasingly disappearing. Please keep in your minds…

> Even an 30min from one of the 10 biggest cities on the USA, broadband is still unavailable to a majority, ambulance times are in hours, and school funding is increasingly disappearing.

Literally all of those services are more efficient in cities. A km of fiber serves more household when population is dense. Ambulance (and any other vehicle) commute times are shorter when everyone's in the same place. A single school building can be within walking distance of more kids.

Its not a matter of city folk being entitled or holding their provincial counterparts in contempt. It is impossible for rural areas to enjoy the same standard of living as urbanities because literally every interaction and service has to pay extra to solve the last mile problem.

Do you know how much fiber, how many ambulances, how many school buildings it would take to make every rural area as desirable as the city?

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#194

Post by meuk »

throwaway0255 wrote: post #94

Most jobs don't require higher education. Most jobs that do require higher education don't actually make any use of the higher education. Are people who didn't follow the author up the ivory tower all failures who just fell through the cracks? What if some people are perfectly happy working in HVAC? These articles are always so condescending. The position that all people should by default go to college and that peopl…

Agreed. College/university is more of a party experience for most, it doesn't necessarily help you doing your job (although it may help you do your job, since many employers require you to some degree).

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#196

Post by thanksgiving »

justin66 wrote: post #173
zamfi wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lately, academics seem to be shifting their value proposition to the instillation of this undetectable unmeasurable X-factor. We can't see it, we can't prove that it exists, but it's there, and its value is absolutely incalculable. Historically, college was a finishing school for the wealthy. This is not a new argument. The new argument is that colleges should provide job training. Previously, this was the role of…

> The new argument is that colleges should provide job training. Previously, this was the role of vocational or training schools. And employers.

My economics professor used to insist that colleges don't prepare you for a job because if they did, then McDonald's University wouldn't exist.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#197

Post by spiderfarmer »

mozumder wrote: post #190
throwawayfjk wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would assume that the rural are rational to the same degree as anyone else, so the statistical difference mostly means they find college less beneficial relative to their opportunities. There is too much of an agenda feel to this piece, from the title to selective interviews and statistics

> I would assume that the rural are rational to the same degree as anyone else, The rural have limited social interaction, leading to a biased worldview.

I have lived in a rural area most of my live and it's not about limited social interaction - it's the fact that international affairs don't affect us as much as it does people who live in cities. Therefore it's just not as interesting to people here.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#198

Post by kelnos »

bjelkeman-again wrote: post #183
throwaway0255 wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's important to keep in mind that college is meant to enrich people as individuals, not explicitly prepare them for jobs. Technical/vocational schools are for job prep. The more college is shown to be failing the job market, the more I hear this argument. Are people who don't go to college less enriched individuals? Lately, academics seem to be shifting their value proposition to the instillation of this undetect…

I switched sector I work in, from generic IT/web to working in applying these tool in a specific sector; water/agriculture in international development. I don’t think I could have started the organisation I now run without going back to university. It was hugely beneficial to me to have the right terminology and understanding of the subject matter I am now working with.

I don't think that's a refutation of the parent's point; if anything, I think it supports it. It sounds like you had some very specific needs that I don't think apply to the average person.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#199

Post by PhasmaFelis »

vanilla_nut wrote: post #123
throwaway0255 wrote: post #94

Most jobs don't require higher education. Most jobs that do require higher education don't actually make any use of the higher education. Are people who didn't follow the author up the ivory tower all failures who just fell through the cracks? What if some people are perfectly happy working in HVAC? These articles are always so condescending. The position that all people should by default go to college and that peopl…

On the other hand, I come from a rural area and I feel that college was absolutely worth it for me, even with the huge bill that I had to pay myself. (I graduated fairly recently) College was the first time in my life when I feel like I truly took responsibility for myself, and people generally thought I was a responsible kid growing up. I finally found myself in a place where I could make friends who shared interest…

> It's important to keep in mind that college is meant to enrich people as individuals, not explicitly prepare them for jobs. Technical/vocational schools are for job prep.

I'm fine with this as a concept, except that colleges routinely present themselves as job prep, and many employers follow suit.

Re: Who's Missing from America's Colleges? Rural High School Graduates

#200

Post by wutbrodo »

_acme wrote: post #128
threatofrain wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Living expenses trump cost of college, IMO, especially if you are a needy person. Needy people can get great assistance, even if they don't know where to get it.

Who is a "needy person"? Usually that phrasing is meant in a derogatory way; is that what you mean?

I think it's rather obvious from context that he means low-income. There's no need to go desperately searching for something to be outraged about.
Post reply on HN