re: The ROI on college investment

If I were a parent and looking at my kid going to college I would have them enter into college with as many credits as possible. Let them take college credits at local community College or junior colleges and it'll reduce the cost once they get to the 4-year.

This would be a good plan for someone who plans on attending a state school.

I doubt elite schools would accept those types of credits.


Just don't go to college and pay for remedial courses which are literally the everywhere. I even used to watch calc-based physics lectures from MIT professors, they went over the exact same shite as I did at a state school. Am I saying the state school is the exact same? No, but at a base level they're pretty similar.

I think the college diploma is becoming the new high school diploma in the sense that, even if the job definitely does not need a college education, because (I guess) employers want to see that you had the discipline to finish a degree.

So, in that sense, getting your undergrad degree in general studies is fine if you're just looking for any entry level job and need any degree.

If you're looking for an actual high-paying, specialized job, without going to grad school, then you need to get a degree in a field like engineering or business.


And, having worked with college students, I try to emphasize the following:

Are you trying to do something outside of school related to your degree to help your career, or are you just sitting around and doing nothing productive outside of your studying?

A degree in mechanical engineering is great, but if you don't have any form of experience through a job, internship or research in the field while you're in school, then you're going to be passed by by everyone who does have this experience. You can't just go to class and then hang out/party and expect a job to fall in your lap.

Of course, there are still trades that require trade school, so if that's what you're interested in, then a four-year degree probably isn't worth it.

So, to answer your question, the return on investment is specific to the individual and their goals. If you're looking to make six figures and you're a gender studies major with a limited resume outside of school, then you're probably not going to get close to the return on investment that you want.

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The reliance on the excessively high cost of college, just to get in the door is insanity.

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And to get in the door for jobs that previously didn’t require a degree, much less two, no less.

It’s a societal issue. We bitch about college costs (and rightfully so) but we’ve facilitated it by going along with companies requiring degrees for jobs that don’t need them. Or jobs they don’t want to provide paid training for in the end.

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Is getting a degree even worth the thousands anymore?

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Im sure it’s been said repeatedly.

Depends on the degree.

Engineering, Nursing (anybody see what travel nurses make these days?), etc. absolutely worth it.

Gender Studies, Sociology, etc. spending 100k to end up being a barista at Starbucks doesn’t work out so well.

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out of state tuition at Auburn is $56k/yr

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At the same time, unpaid internships are a bunch of bull shite.

There’s a legitimate Catch 22 of you need to have X degree to get a job but if you don’t have one you have to have on the job experience. But you can’t get a job (in certain fields) unless you have a degree.

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Oh yeah, for sure. The last school I worked at, at least in the department that I was, required employers to give their students paid internships.

And, yeah, I noticed through my job searches that "entry level" jobs don't just mean college degrees anymore, they mean college degrees with at least a year of experience (that you can't get, because it's "entry" level).

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It’s not “worth it” if your in-state college offers an equivalent degree for 1/2 the cost.

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the only advantage in that one is that aubbies are similar to the faggies in being very cliquish in the professional world, you can be a first class buffoon going up for a job against someone more qualified and if the the person hiring is from AU or aTm, you'll be getting that job

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If I were a parent and looking at my kid going to college I would have them enter into college with as many credits as possible.

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And this can include AP (and IB credits too)! Once I got to college, I was definitely upset about that AP exam that I barely studied for and wish I had gotten a high-enough score for credit.

Less than 30% of working age Louisiana (25+) has a bachelor's degree or higher.

Yes my child just finished mba at lsu. 24 grand for that. With tops about same for 3 1/2 years. Starting salary in Houston in oil and gas analyst 105K plus 20% bonus and full match 401k plus effective day 1. The MbA was the critical factor in this.