31–40 of 195 posts
Society as a whole would probably benefit from more trade schools, even for many jobs that are typically thought of as traditional white collar jobs. Though on the individual level it’d probably limit options and make it harder to switch careers.
One point of view arguing for a non-stem degree is that it teaches you to read, write and think. And there is some logic to that thought. Even if you spend 4 years just learning about, say, Sociology, you have to read up on a debate, summarize the background, have an opinion, be challenged and so forth. And you are on your way to 10k hours. Now film school might have a component of that, or maybe it is teaching you h…
> Perhaps the film school should add some courses on networking, fund raising and an internship at film shoots?
If you go to film school not knowing the quoted hot take above, you've watched or read zero about the industry, history, etc. of film making.
One of the most disappointing aspects of American College life is how incurious everybody seemed to be. I had grown up with Reddit & Twitter and easily, many times over, had more interesting conversations, read more nuanced takes, and learned more about the world than I did in any of my college classes.
Granted, I was a STEM major with very few humanities classes. But going to parties and clubs, nobody seemed to be curious about anything in the world. It seemed more a goal to "be a writer" than to "write," for instance.
Most of the world is like this, for sure. But I spent some $30k a year to attend. What was that money for? What did I get out of it?
I will say that in the STEM degrees people were far more curious than in the humanities. Kind of odd given the never-ending cries of "we need engineers to learn more ethics!" from journalists who themselves never bother to learn to code.
I'll offer one anecdote of counter-college hate. I went to a local state school, graduated in three years with winter and summer classes, commuted for the second and third, worked the whole time, and came out with a very small amount of debt (maybe 5-10k, been a while now and I don't remember). I made friends in college, I was able to get into a great job via an internship that I got from the school job fair, and got…
Throw enough darts at the board, and a bunch will turn out winners for the benefit of all. A bunch will turn out losers though (anecdote provided by OP).
It's probably a losing wager for individuals, but it benefits the economy as a whole.
For every 100 kids (insert your own preferred ratio) for whom film was just a phase, we generate a rockstar who changes the world for all of us.
The amazing thing is that there are always more individuals that have the audacity to keep trying.
That said, financially it was too expensive. I hope certificate courses on campus gain more traction as a cheaper alternative to a Bachelor's and people can still form networks in person vs Zoom in the future.
I also hope campuses stop forcing people to live on campus in their overpriced, shitty apartments...
One started as a wire guy in television and worked his way up to a producer now, the other one I got a job in corporate banking and he moonlit in a wedding video company. He has his own wedding video company now.
I wasted my college experience as an awkward introvert. I didn't take college to be a time to make connections with my professors, I didn't take the time to see it as a time of ecosystem of closeness you'd never have again.
I was way to shell-shocked inwards. The becoming an adult wasn't something I was ready for yet. I look back at all the opportunities I had to really learn interesting things and network and grow and frown because I was still in my high school 'just survive school' mentality. I did as little as I could to get through each class.
I'll offer one anecdote of counter-college hate. I went to a local state school, graduated in three years with winter and summer classes, commuted for the second and third, worked the whole time, and came out with a very small amount of debt (maybe 5-10k, been a while now and I don't remember). I made friends in college, I was able to get into a great job via an internship that I got from the school job fair, and got…
I used to think college was a complete waste in my 20's but rounding 30 I found the experience shaped who I am and contributed to my success – namely the social element and professors who cared. That said, financially it was too expensive. I hope certificate courses on campus gain more traction as a cheaper alternative to a Bachelor's and people can still form networks in person vs Zoom in the future. I also hope cam…