81–90 of 96 posts
You can ride around on a motorcycle without a helmet and wager no harm will come to you; it's a safer bet with a helmet.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's interesting how many people who advise against college are so well educated themselves. I've seen Michael Bloomberg and Rick Santorum discouraging college or playing down its value, but I bet their kids go to college and probably graduate school. When people say 'college isn't for everyone', they mean it's for them but not for you. You can see this play out as college becomes more expensive and the province of t…
Isn't that sort of obsolete thinking? We don't have any skilled jobs for our current crop of college graduates. Why train more, just so they can drive busses?
A few thoughts on that argument:
Unemployment now is moderate and dropping, especially for college graduates. The lifetime income of college graduates is significantly higher than others.
Also, your argument (which I realize is widespread) look only at graduates' initial jobs. College education is not initial job training; it benefits people in many ways, as individuals, as citizens, as community members, as family members, and as workers; it benefits them over a lifetime. To evaluate it based only on one part of life (work), and only on a short period that also is the least significant (their first job) doesn't make sense.
Also, looking at careers: Note that most of the world is run by people with college educations. Future jobs will become more and more intellectually demanding. What is our message to 18 year olds: Abandon your dreams, just give up and drive a bus? From people like Santorum, the message is: Your kids should give up and drive a bus while mine go to college.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Very few people, % wise, finish in under 4 years. The average is much closer to 6 years ( http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2013/aug/11/r... ). You may be in a bubble of extreme high achievers that makes it hard to see the reality of most people. And that's data from all tiers combined, not just low tier schools (does that mean non-ivy?).
But the article is about people who are high achievers.
An associate at USVP asked me about my lack of degree. Me: "I'm following the Bill Gates model." He: "What, you have a Mother that is a Lawyer and you dropped out of Harvard?" I laughed. They put in a few million. This was a while ago; mileage may vary.
Most people don't know what they want to do with their lives at age 18, whether or not they think they do. The strongest argument against college is an unmanageable amount of debt, which can haunt you for decades, and I have many friends who suffer from this. The strongest argument for college is the connections you can make which will be with you for life. I know countless people who can trace their career opportuni…
I recently stopped going to college (a few months ago). I've been thinking about the decision for around two years now and it was the best decision I've ever made. I have never been as productive and generally happy as I have after leaving classes. What I agree most with the article is that college is not the correct decision for those who already know what they want to do or have a specific goal in mind. Attending c…
Thanks for sharing this here. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my situation. I started programming in freshman year (2006) of high school and fell in love with it. I've been coding since, but also started getting excited about startups. A year after graduating from high school, I started one with a couple of friends from college. It's the best decision I've made.. I have learned so much in a few years. I am convince…
More than anything though, ask yourself what you want to do. Analyse all the scenarios and where you would feel happiest. Do you really believe in your work? in your startup? Have your feet grounded and boom, chase your dream like it's do or die.
I recently stopped going to college (a few months ago). I've been thinking about the decision for around two years now and it was the best decision I've ever made. I have never been as productive and generally happy as I have after leaving classes. What I agree most with the article is that college is not the correct decision for those who already know what they want to do or have a specific goal in mind. Attending c…