For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
online.wsj.com
For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
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Re: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
#2For me, it was not.
I did study Math, and while most of the knowledge can't be used directly in my daily job as a programmer, and most of the higher math was forgotten, I was taught to think abstractly in several different ways (like algebra, math analysis, statistics, geometry etc.) All of those subject are very beneficial to study, IMHO, even if you don't apply them directly in your job.
Re: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
#3I'm doing my best to prove that this is true. While I have college credits (about 60), I'm a full-time developer and part-time entrepreneur at 20. So far no need for a degree...
That's not to say I'm poorly educated by any means. I have the writing, mathematical, scientific, historical, and artistic skills needed to earn a degree. My knowledge of the Russian canon alone might be enough at a school which offered that major (Russian Literature or even World Literature). It just didn't take me four years in a restrictive environment and an empty wallet to earn it :^)
Re: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
#4The column seems to be entirely from the point of view of an employer looking to screen potential employees. Like it or not, college is about more than job training. For a lot of people the social life is a big part of it, the first part of life away from parents, but still with some security, and about intellectual exploration (answering the question - what exactly do I want to be when I grow up?). Perhaps none of that is worth the lost time, but when I see it in the WSJ, my initial reaction is that it's another right wing wacko who sees college as just too many liberals with too much influence.
And he puts too much faith in certification tests as "classless", in my opinion. I used to do test prep, and like most things, the people who have the money and the time to train for the certifications have an advantage.
Re: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
#5I'm doing my best to prove that this is true. While I have college credits (about 60), I'm a full-time developer and part-time entrepreneur at 20. So far no need for a degree... That's not to say I'm poorly educated by any means. I have the writing, mathematical, scientific, historical, and artistic skills needed to earn a degree. My knowledge of the Russian canon alone might be enough at a school which offered that…
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Re: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
#6For me, it was not. I did study Math, and while most of the knowledge can't be used directly in my daily job as a programmer, and most of the higher math was forgotten, I was taught to think abstractly in several different ways (like algebra, math analysis, statistics, geometry etc.) All of those subject are very beneficial to study, IMHO, even if you don't apply them directly in your job.
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Re: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
#7I'm doing my best to prove that this is true. While I have college credits (about 60), I'm a full-time developer and part-time entrepreneur at 20. So far no need for a degree... That's not to say I'm poorly educated by any means. I have the writing, mathematical, scientific, historical, and artistic skills needed to earn a degree. My knowledge of the Russian canon alone might be enough at a school which offered that…
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Re: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
#8I'm doing my best to prove that this is true. While I have college credits (about 60), I'm a full-time developer and part-time entrepreneur at 20. So far no need for a degree... That's not to say I'm poorly educated by any means. I have the writing, mathematical, scientific, historical, and artistic skills needed to earn a degree. My knowledge of the Russian canon alone might be enough at a school which offered that…
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DC area? I'm about 1/3 between Baltimore and DC
Re: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
#9This is better than most "college is a waste" articles, but it repeats a common mistake: thinking that people are hired for their skills. When I'm hiring, I don't want someone with a "web design" certificate or a "Python programming" certificate, or (worse) a "sales and marketing" certificate. I want someone who is smart, passionate, loves to learn, thinks creatively, knows how to write, and is enjoyable to work with. These things can't be governed by a certificate system. Of course, they also don't correlate strongly with a college diploma. But there is some correlation, at least with some majors - give me a philosophy major over a business major any day.
Re: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
#10The current system is the continuation of a historical establishment, which is the same with many other human-created systems. They will always be flawed, but humans will also be slow to react to changes; the larger the group, the older the establishment, the more resistant to change.
While it is atrociously suboptimal, it's a bit much to call it a waste of time.
Incidentally, I happened upon this article this morning and like the idea very much: the Grandes écoles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandes_%C3%89coles Does anybody have any related stories to tell?