41–50 of 195 posts
I'm not saying higher education is perfect, but it's always been the case that some degrees do nothing to further your career or get you a job.
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…
Most people learn that by grade 10. College should be for highly specialized skill learning.
I have yet to find a job where these things are not true. In fact, I very much doubt there’s a job where it is your diploma that gets you that job. It’s almost always your connections. Your diploma from Stanford is more l likely to get you a job because of the name than your success in studying there.
I finished my degree 15 years into my career as a self-taught developer. I probably didn’t need to get it. I do think it made me a more well-rounded person. And I’m proud of myself for accomplishing something that was not easy, by any stretch.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Turns out, starting work 4 years earlier in your life helps with compound interest.
Yes, if you're saving. But if you have no degree or work experience and a kid to support, your money isn't staying in your pocket unless your parents are willing to help out.
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.
tons of trade schools and trade jobs exist. the problem is the jobs are not that enticing.
I initially went to tradeschool, before college. This was a reflection of self-confidence. I hated it. I often didn't have important tools or had them stolen, I didn't connect with anyone, and there was frankly a lot of standing around and waiting for your turn, there was a substantial lack of written reference material if you so happened to miss what a prof says (and their attention was always monopolized by 1-2 guys). I also didn't want to work graveyard shifts and 12 hour days.
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…
That's kinda true about everything though and it's called business. I still remember a speaker from my stem undergrad first year who came in and asked whether we were more interested in :
A. Learning stem theories. B. Making money.
Maybe 3 out of 100 raised their hands to go with option B. Most of us where like, this guy doesn't know we're not in a business school right...
It took me a long time to realize it's all about business :/
College doesn’t make success, it just gives you a set of tools. Ultimately you have to do the work. I am not convinced this author has really put in the work.
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…
This is where these critiques often go wrong in my opinion. There's no mention of what was learned, what value was gained over that time, because I highly doubt it was nothing. As you mention, there is an aspect of project management in making a film. You have to write a film, you have to select roles for your film, you have to delegate tasks. There are all kinds of soft skills that are learned in the completion of any degree program, and people usually take them for granted because they never studied for that specific thing, their project management skills were never tested directly.
My advice: go somewhere cheap, and get a practical degree. I went to CCU for most of my college career (back when it had just become a standalone university). Wasn't (still isn't) prestigious, but with scholarships, was entirely free for me, and it had the added benefit of attracting some decent professors who had retired to the beach and still wanted to teach part time. Today, for in-state tuition, it's around $47K…