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What are you telling your kids about getting a degree/career?
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:20 am
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:20 am
Obviously the significance of a bachelor's degree holds very little merit. And with the economy..., yikes...
Even a Masters these days is meh..., in a competitive field.
Is the medical field the only/the best way to pursue such right now? with the others being almost a waste. Is it better to start looking at the old trades - mechanic, welder, etc, as it's a dying breed but yet the demands have not went away.
Even a Masters these days is meh..., in a competitive field.
Is the medical field the only/the best way to pursue such right now? with the others being almost a waste. Is it better to start looking at the old trades - mechanic, welder, etc, as it's a dying breed but yet the demands have not went away.
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Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:28 am to lsufan112001
quote:
Is the medical field the only/the best way to pursue such right now?
The O&G sector is fantastic. If you have a mechanical engineering degree and are willing to move to where the work is, you should never have to worry about not having a job.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:28 am to lsufan112001
My kids are 4 and 1. I'm probably going to push engineering fields on them pretty heavy as I assume those fields won't be as automated as others. But it's a long way from now.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:33 am to C
quote:
I'm probably going to push engineering fields
+1
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:33 am to lsufan112001
quote:
Obviously the significance of a bachelor's degree holds very little merit. And with the economy..., yikes...
Even a Masters these days is meh..., in a competitive field.
You are overstating this.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:37 am to lynxcat
quote:I bet there are +30% of the people under the age of the 30 that would have been better off financially if they would have entered the job market directly rather than going to college.
You are overstating this.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:37 am to lynxcat
when i say competitive, i meant oversaturated. Such as a Biologiy degree. which is in my area.
of course everyone is saying engineering, but obviously that gap will be filled in if most are pushing in that direction and it becomes to have too much competition.
we had 130 to apply for one job where i'm at, turning down folks with Masters left and right. and this was an entry level job.
of course everyone is saying engineering, but obviously that gap will be filled in if most are pushing in that direction and it becomes to have too much competition.
we had 130 to apply for one job where i'm at, turning down folks with Masters left and right. and this was an entry level job.
This post was edited on 4/5/13 at 11:39 am
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:40 am to lynxcat
quote:
You are overstating this.
I agree.
Technical degrees like engineering, comp sci, MIS will continue to be in demand. Some of the basic sciences (biology comes to mind) are good places to be if you commit to grad school from the start. Every organization in the country needs accounting majors.
There are plenty if ways that college can make you better off if you're smart about it and don't overload yourself with debt.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:41 am to lsufan112001
quote:
when i say competitive, i meant oversaturated. Such as a Biologiy degree. which is in my area.
of course everyone is saying engineering, but obviously that gap will be filled in if most are pushing in that direction and it becomes to have too much competition.
IMO the thing that will keep engineering from being over saturated is the fact that a lot of kids flat-out don't enjoy math and physics. That and it is incredibly difficult. Even if parents stress the importance of math and science to their kids, many simply aren't going to catch on or aren't going to have the interest to keep them sticking to it through highschool, college, and possibly grad school.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:41 am to C
quote:
I bet there are +30% of the people under the age of the 30 that would have been better off financially if they would have entered the job market directly rather than going to college.
That's me but I wouldn't trade my college experience. Can't put a price tag on some things.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:46 am to OldSouth
quote:
Can't put a price tag on some things.
Yeah like if my wife had never gone to college, I wouldn't have met her and married her, thus I would be better off financially...
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:47 am to C
quote:
I bet there are +30% of the people under the age of the 30 that would have been better off financially if they would have entered the job market directly rather than going to college.
This was probably true for me my first year after undergrad. My first job was one that i could have gotten a couple years after HS. However, I went to grad school after that and now I'm much better off.
Sometimes that undergrad degree looks like a bust but it can still create opportunities for you.
This post was edited on 4/5/13 at 11:49 am
Posted on 4/5/13 at 11:52 am to ZereauxSum
quote:
but it can still create opportunities for you.
I agree. But it seems like most aren't experienced enough to make a decision about a degree without real world experience into what they like to do and what will actually pay the bills. I think a lot of people would benefit from working first then going to college part time or full time as you have more direction in life... but college is a lot of fun...
Posted on 4/5/13 at 12:01 pm to C
quote:
But it seems like most aren't experienced enough to make a decision about a degree without real world experience into what they like to do and what will actually pay the bills.
That was definitely the case or me
I agree, I think the "standard model" doesn't work for a lot of people and having that break between HS and college would help.
I also think kids in k-12 need WAY more exposure to career options. Too many people (I was one) get to campus and start picking majors without having a clue what type of day-to-day work people with those degrees actually do.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 12:01 pm to lsufan112001
Just don't let them major in business unless they are going to get their masters degree.
Good degrees: finance, economics, engineering, geology, accounting.
Good degrees: finance, economics, engineering, geology, accounting.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 12:03 pm to ZereauxSum
quote:
I also think kids in k-12 need WAY more exposure to career options
agreed. I plan on selling my kid off to farmers, mechanics, and volunteer centers during summer breaks.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 12:11 pm to C
^^^Yup
I'll emphasis education (math, science, literacy, and critical thinking) with my kids, but I'll also have them do trades and stuff like sewing. I'm def. determined to get them inundated in entrepreneurship.
I'll emphasis education (math, science, literacy, and critical thinking) with my kids, but I'll also have them do trades and stuff like sewing. I'm def. determined to get them inundated in entrepreneurship.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 12:17 pm to lsufan112001
JMO, but theres no predicting what the industry of the future is. There are some safer bets but nothing is certain. It's the very nature of rapidly evolving Technology and a Capitalist economy.
Every Tom, Dick and Harry was getting an MIS degree during the dotcom bubble thinking they'd be the next Silicon Valley millionaire; and now half of them cant find a job outside of the Best Buy Geek Squad.
I still believe a degree has value but will admit that it appears the US isnt competing as well as we used to from a global perspective. I worry that at this rate the US Masters degree will be the minimum necessary to compete with some Asian and European BS degrees.
Every Tom, Dick and Harry was getting an MIS degree during the dotcom bubble thinking they'd be the next Silicon Valley millionaire; and now half of them cant find a job outside of the Best Buy Geek Squad.
I still believe a degree has value but will admit that it appears the US isnt competing as well as we used to from a global perspective. I worry that at this rate the US Masters degree will be the minimum necessary to compete with some Asian and European BS degrees.
Posted on 4/5/13 at 12:18 pm to C
I agree with this:
I strongly disagree with this:
First, there's no question that having a bachelor's degree is still important. Probably more important than it ever has been. Have you checked the unemployment #s for people under 30 with HS degree only? They are staggeringly high. For all the doom-and-gloom about recent college grads unemployment rates, they're still below 5%. The fact is, with a high school degree these days it is exceedingly difficult to get a stable, long-term job with growth prospects. Jobs that a HS grad could've gotten 20 years ago are now going to college grads, and this isn't reversing any time soon. In other words, I think this is a fundamental shift, and not the temporary result of the current weak ongoing job market, although obviously I could be wrong about that.
LINK
Second, despite this, there's no question that, as C said, over 1/3 of people are worse off for not getting a job straight out of high school. Those people are dropouts. The real economic problem, as I see it, is people who end up with student loans and 2 or 3 wasted years with nothing to show for it. This is doubly true if they were suckered into an expensive for-profit college.
Also, a more minor point, focusing on 30 year olds ignores the fact that, over the long run, the college grads will make more money. No question that, at age 30, a janitor who's been working for 12 years will have made more $ than a freshly graduated lawyer or doctor. By age 40 that will no longer be true.
And as to this:
I can only say
quote:
I bet there are +30% of the people under the age of the 30 that would have been better off financially if they would have entered the job market directly rather than going to college.
I strongly disagree with this:
quote:
Obviously the significance of a bachelor's degree holds very little merit.
First, there's no question that having a bachelor's degree is still important. Probably more important than it ever has been. Have you checked the unemployment #s for people under 30 with HS degree only? They are staggeringly high. For all the doom-and-gloom about recent college grads unemployment rates, they're still below 5%. The fact is, with a high school degree these days it is exceedingly difficult to get a stable, long-term job with growth prospects. Jobs that a HS grad could've gotten 20 years ago are now going to college grads, and this isn't reversing any time soon. In other words, I think this is a fundamental shift, and not the temporary result of the current weak ongoing job market, although obviously I could be wrong about that.
LINK
Second, despite this, there's no question that, as C said, over 1/3 of people are worse off for not getting a job straight out of high school. Those people are dropouts. The real economic problem, as I see it, is people who end up with student loans and 2 or 3 wasted years with nothing to show for it. This is doubly true if they were suckered into an expensive for-profit college.
Also, a more minor point, focusing on 30 year olds ignores the fact that, over the long run, the college grads will make more money. No question that, at age 30, a janitor who's been working for 12 years will have made more $ than a freshly graduated lawyer or doctor. By age 40 that will no longer be true.
And as to this:
quote:
Yeah like if my wife had never gone to college, I wouldn't have met her and married her, thus I would be better off financially...
I can only say
Posted on 4/5/13 at 12:28 pm to lsufan112001
I can say for a fact that my bachelor's in Microbiology would have done almost nothing for me. Had I gone for a Master's I wouldn't have been in any better of a position. I went straight to a PhD and am working on it now, and I honestly feel like I have no other choice if I want to be the supporter in my family, haha. Even then, faculty jobs only start around $40k and it's the lucky ones who see six figure salaries decades into the job.
This post was edited on 4/5/13 at 12:29 pm
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