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I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears

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Re: I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears

#21

What's the word when people with trust and experience on one field suddenly trusted when they talk about other topics too? Saw this a lot with COVID but this is a good example too.

Some kind of mix between appeal to authority and false equivalence?

Re: I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears

#22

Seems like a pretty unremarkable collection of surface level observations if you ask me

This could be Sam Altman reacting to the recent article about George Hotz [1] mentioning Sam Altman as actually being a pro status quo figure masquerading as an anti-establishment figure:

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30738763

It's a poetic mission statement for an endeavor which seems to jive with Hotz’s recognition that such a school must be physical and beautiful. However, scratch away the veneer, Hotz suggests in a recent blog post, and one finds that those behind UATX “are either straight up supporters of Power or naive political children.” He points to Joe Lonsdale, Sam Altman, and Marc Andreessen, all of whom “are very successful in the current system.”

“This is not a counter-elite!” Hotz continues. “This is a spin off of the exact same BS that’s everywhere. NGO awards and fake status signaling markers.”

Re: I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears

#23
I didn't see any statements about what will be, just what should be.

The sort-of counter-example is that "Tech jobs [..] are increasingly willing to hire with no degree". But strange that he of all people didn't add a statistic on that.

Am I missing something?

Re: I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears

#24
post #6

This is kind of a weird mix of points. Ignoring his political axe-grinding, I think the value of a college degree is increasingly in question for many fields because the price has risen wildly for decades without a corresponding increase in market value. (Except perhaps for elite-institution degrees, which are more about the brand and the network than what people actually learn.) I think we haven't seen at least a pa…

Question: do elite institution degrees confer any addition to market value commensurate with their cost, or do they simply select for people who already have high market value?

Good question. This has been studied a lot and the answer is…unclear.

I think the kind of longitudinal studies needed combined with a small “treatment” group make this kind of investigation as hard to do as a nutritional study.

Re: I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears

#25

Seems like a pretty unremarkable collection of surface level observations if you ask me

Got the same impression. The narrative presented indicates the writer has minimal appreciation for what degrees in fields other than their own actually provide.

Good luck being able to practice engineering if you haven't got a degree! The licensing bodies for professions won't care a fig about your life experience.

Re: I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears

#26
post #19

Seems like a pretty unremarkable collection of surface level observations if you ask me

Try hiring someone without a degree in healthcare: someone's life is on the line, not some rich man's toy.

Healthcare demonstrates the other extreme of the problem in my experience, where entrance to the field is gatekept by the medical education system to ensure that there's not an over supply of professionals that would put downward pressure on existing salaries.

Re: I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears

#27
It’s really too late for me to drop out (graduating in the fall), but it’s something I’ve put a lot of thought into in the past. Really, the main thing that’s had value for me has been my senior thesis. Most classes, even high-level engineering classes, are a waste of time.

Re: I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears

#29
post #6

This is kind of a weird mix of points. Ignoring his political axe-grinding, I think the value of a college degree is increasingly in question for many fields because the price has risen wildly for decades without a corresponding increase in market value. (Except perhaps for elite-institution degrees, which are more about the brand and the network than what people actually learn.) I think we haven't seen at least a pa…

Question: do elite institution degrees confer any addition to market value commensurate with their cost, or do they simply select for people who already have high market value?

It is not the degree that is valuable, it is the network it allows you to access that is valuable. The classmates you have at certain institutions will increase the probability of you achieving certain goals.

Re: I think US college education is nearer to collapsing than it appears

#30
post #6

This is kind of a weird mix of points. Ignoring his political axe-grinding, I think the value of a college degree is increasingly in question for many fields because the price has risen wildly for decades without a corresponding increase in market value. (Except perhaps for elite-institution degrees, which are more about the brand and the network than what people actually learn.) I think we haven't seen at least a pa…

> Except perhaps for elite-institution degrees, which are more about the brand and the network than what people actually learn.

Even for a place like MIT/Caltech?

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