31–40 of 121 posts
We've got to stop letting 18-22 year-olds make incredibly expensive life/career decisions with zero information.
Zero information? Young people have so much information: government job statistics, job growth predictions, free career advice, peer-led career forums, etc.
They just ignore all of it.
In WA, there is a program where you can finish the last two years of high school at a community college and graduate with a two year degree for free. It was probably the best decision of my life. I basically got to trial and error all of my interests for free much earlier and cheaper than everyone else. And it went against the guidance of my school counselors. They thought community college would hurt my chances at g…
> And it went against the guidance of my school counselors. They thought community college would hurt my chances at getting into "Prestigious Schools". I mean, they're not wrong. You will statistically be less likely to get into those schools. Once you're a transfer student, your acceptance rates go down significantly for prestigious private colleges. (And some public universities too) If your goal is to graduate fro…
But I think for the average job and lifestyle people actually want to live, I think they will discover on their own how unimportant the school they went to will be.
In WA, there is a program where you can finish the last two years of high school at a community college and graduate with a two year degree for free. It was probably the best decision of my life. I basically got to trial and error all of my interests for free much earlier and cheaper than everyone else. And it went against the guidance of my school counselors. They thought community college would hurt my chances at g…
> And it went against the guidance of my school counselors. They thought community college would hurt my chances at getting into "Prestigious Schools". I mean, they're not wrong. You will statistically be less likely to get into those schools. Once you're a transfer student, your acceptance rates go down significantly for prestigious private colleges. (And some public universities too) If your goal is to graduate fro…
But why is that always the goal that counselors push? The data shows that future income is most closely correlated to major, not school choice.
In WA, there is a program where you can finish the last two years of high school at a community college and graduate with a two year degree for free. It was probably the best decision of my life. I basically got to trial and error all of my interests for free much earlier and cheaper than everyone else. And it went against the guidance of my school counselors. They thought community college would hurt my chances at g…
> And it went against the guidance of my school counselors. They thought community college would hurt my chances at getting into "Prestigious Schools". I mean, they're not wrong. You will statistically be less likely to get into those schools. Once you're a transfer student, your acceptance rates go down significantly for prestigious private colleges. (And some public universities too) If your goal is to graduate fro…
We've got to stop letting 18-22 year-olds make incredibly expensive life/career decisions with zero information.
> with zero information Zero information? Young people have so much information: government job statistics, job growth predictions, free career advice, peer-led career forums, etc. They just ignore all of it.
Even if a young person does know it exists and can parse it, it is often the case that every authority figure in a young person's life is giving bad information. Often times your teachers, guidance counselor, school administrators, and parents are pressuring you to go to some middling 4 year institution. We spend 18 years training kids to treat the adults in their life as authority figures, expecting them to make their own decision against the desires of these authority figures is naive.
We've got to stop letting 18-22 year-olds make incredibly expensive life/career decisions with zero information.
15 years ago when I was doing the university thing, I was surrounded on all sides by adults who were chock full of "helpful" information. While this career advice was probably sound back in the 70s and 80s, the world has drastically changed. It's pure lunacy to expect 18-22 year olds to not only recognize the bullshit, but also figure out the actual truth.
From the article: "Most satisfied: Those with science, technology, engineering and math majors, who are typically more likely to enjoy higher salaries, reported more satisfaction with their college degrees. About 42% of engineering grads and 35% of computer science grads said they had no regrets. Most regrets: Humanities majors, who are least likely to earn higher pay post-graduation, were most likely to regret their…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> with zero information Zero information? Young people have so much information: government job statistics, job growth predictions, free career advice, peer-led career forums, etc. They just ignore all of it.
This is disingenuous, data you either don't know exists or lack the tools to parse is useless. Even if a young person does know it exists and can parse it, it is often the case that every authority figure in a young person's life is giving bad information. Often times your teachers, guidance counselor, school administrators, and parents are pressuring you to go to some middling 4 year institution. We spend 18 years t…
It's quite easy to come across it with a Google search.
> lack the tools to parse
The only "tool" you need is the ability to read.
> bad information
Which is not "zero information" anyway.
This is truly shocking to me. I'd have thought that most people value the experience of college so immensely that it was worth the cost. I'll be paying student debt for the rest of my life, but in retrospect I'd have happily paid double for the experiences and perspectives I gained.