90% of people are useless, so maybe 90% of degrees are useless too. I dunno.

I started working at 14 or so and when my class graduated high school, I already had a couple of years experience in the work force.

Might be fun now that I'm in my 40's to do some college, but it would purely be out of a genuine interest in the subject. Frankly that seems to be the best reason to go to school, rather than just following marching orders. I dont think I'd make more money if I had a degree at this point.

Here is what my college experience was like..... We made the news......

http://www.njscout.com/images/chanll.wmv

Well, the 'experience' as in partying for years, good friends, and fun yes. But I think the original remark was in regards to the to college degree. I am still paying on my education, and my 'degree' has not been all that beneficial... communications mass media... in opening doors.

I worked in telco for years before starting my own gig. But I did get to intern at radio stations, was manager of my college radio station for 3 years, and interned a summer at Polygram over in Warren.

But I do not know if the 'expereince' was worth $50k :Oh crap

Agreed.

You know, I don't think she's making the general statement that a degree=success. But I think her point is simply that there are some people who have done better in their careers because they've gotten a degree. Surely you can't disagree with that?

I used to agree with this until recently.

A good friend who owns a digital image corporation wont even give me a job unless I start to go to college to show him I am willing to earn a degree or do what it takes to succeed in his business...and this guy knows what skills I have and work ethic.

Good jobs in my area need a degree of some sort.. the rest of the jobs are minimum wage retail, dept. store, fast food, or some other kind of people service bullshit.

The only other high paying jobs are hard physical labor and those fucks dont even get paid enough.

Yeah I agree that the road graduates take after school is not the right way being employed by the puppet masters.

However school is still very important since basic skills are taught here. To me life after graduation is a matter of choice. It's better to go to war being prepared. Same goes with life after school. The more knowledge you earned from school the more you are better prepared to take life's challenges.

It's really a matter choice whatever career you want to pursue.

Toomuch posts to read so i would just say how i was thinking same.Well that is why people say go to college so you can get paper.So tehnicly purpose of college is to waiving with paper :D

I work in recruiting and the majority of the people I place in 100k+ jobs WOULD NOT be able to get hired without the degree.

(These are engineering and management roles.)

I have to disagree with your so-called "FACT".

If you live in a metropolitan area most of the people that don't have a degree are working for those that do.

Go up north in Wisconsin,no one has a degree..many haven't even graduated from highschool. Yet they survive and are probably happy in a simpler life.

You're changing your statement. I'm not going to have a discussion with someone who can't stay on task... just like my clients won't hire someone who can't attain a "degree" of education.

Perhaps a degree is 90% useless in your life, but to say that they are useless in general is a pretty naive statement. A degree says you have attained higher education, and education is NEVER useless.

Its true, when I found out that what I eventually want to do doesnt require a degree, i ex'd it off my list of to do things, all my education to be certified is hands on experience...and more employers are now looking for experience rather than a paper and NO experience.....my friend has a bachelors in psychology....no job until she proves she has experience.....its sad...

Bullshit.

MetaMan is just speaking form is his own ignorant experience working online.

90% of my friends went to a big univ/college find it a lot easier to find a job than my friends who didn't go to school and are trying to find jobs based on their experience...

Sorry but I dont want someone "trying" psychology... It's not sad she should have pursued her schooling further and got her masters... Even then she'd probally still have to work to gain experience.. this is very common in A LOT of fields..

"working online"

you are the one who is blinded.

your degree and no experience is being replaced by a chinese guy with experience who does the job for half the price. have fun college kids.

maybe you just hang out with alot of people who are just lazy and stupid? all of my friends but one that do not have degrees all work and make good money.

how is it that my friends left school to get jobs in the oil field and are now making much more then the ones that lasted it out? please explain that. my other friend left chef school to work in higher end restaurants and get the experience.

this is a global economy now, this is not 20 years ago.

you are the one who is ignorant, you are taught to believe in a certain way, that is why you are sheep, you are so blind and i dont blame you, you are raised like this from birth so i dont expect it to hit you in the face. hopefully eventually you will pull through.

Let me guess, you didn't get a diploma and now are jealous.

I couldn't care less about the diploma either, but the time on university was definitely worth it. I learned many things, I had great time with friends, I made great contacts(I know some influent people now) and the most important, I started my first company during school and from what I learned there. I would be actually stuck with making $2k/month now without going to university, I had no motivation to do anything at all, just the regular 9-5 job would do it for me. I completely changed on the university, it pushed me to a different level.

I have a college degree in computers.... Everything I learned in college ten years ago no longer exists.....

And btw all my friends from school have a nice apartment/house right now(5 years after we finished) and a good job. My college friends(some kind of middle school here where I am) aren't doing that well, mostly going from one shitty job to another one with shitty payments.

SHIT.. I only got a GED, and look at my ass.. College Degrees are way over rated.

I know plenty of people with degrees that are waiters or are stocking shelves at grocery stores now..

yes i ammm sooo jealous that when i am losing an argument i cant point out "i have an MBA" or talk to people about "the course i am taking in university"

wtf is you people bragging about "the experience"? all my college buddies ate fucking rahman, lived in a place packed with 10 dorky kids, drank cheap beer and were to poor to go out.

nice expierience!!!

i been makin money for myself since i was 15 i didnt need a degree so i can go to people "i have a peice of paper" wow amazing!

I agree that college is "big business" in the US and that 50%+ of kids that go would be better off learning a trade or other vocation. However, studies still show that earning power over your lifetime is greatly increased with a college degree. The key is "over your lifetime." Sure, you can make more as a welder right out of high school - but will reach the ceiling quicker.

I don't have time to read everyone's opinions in this thread so forgive me if my post is redundant but I saw this thread title and felt that I needed to at least put in my 2 cents.

What you learn in a classroom is not useless regardless of the degree you choose to take, even if it is only a BA.

It does not guarantee you a certain salary, but what it gives you is the ability to prove to any potential employer that not only can you learn, but you can accept information that is presented to you in a critical manner, and then synthesize it together to make well thought out decisions on how to proceed.

In most places you need to have a university degree just to walk in the front door of a badly paid position and the 4 years experience you will have instead of a degree will mean jack if it is as a receptionist or laborer.

Having a degree basically does not guarantee a salary but it is a badge of honor that you can take to an employer and say.. look I can think and I can learn and this institution will back me up on that.

Say what you will about education but there are lot of people who could really use some. It would help them to post complete sentences, it would encourage them to completely read an email before replying to only part of it or it would perhaps help them to waste less time by doing things more efficiently after a little bit of research.

That said, you can be all of those things without an education, it is just much harder to prove it when a potential employer asks you to.

bingo my buddy is a computer engineer and i been helping him learn a little about online and now he has totally realized they are just teaching him shit to work a 9-5 and stare at a white board all day.

this friend has done a total 360 in the past 6 months.

he is completing his degree in germany but as i said before is going to south africa to sail sailboats. i am quite proud of him and am glad he saw how things really were before it was to late.

that was before, these days it is more of a global economy now, talk to me in 10 years when we are talking about todays time, you have people with degrees bar tending and working in warehouses.

china man has tooken over and if you think for 2 seconds big business cares about helping the "college kid" at home you are mistaken. they will import and export whatever the fuck is cheaper and which can fatten their wallets.

you are going to see a huge shift away from these averages.

I bet you $10k that the Chinese kid went to univ/college and got damn good grades.

Hmm.. No..

I definitely hung out with a few people are who are lazy and stupid...

You live in Calgary.. the average pay is higher.. companies are desperate to hire..

I know kids who didn't go to school and are making good money right now but that is after busting their ass for the same time they coulda been in school partying... and they had to start off working desperate jobs..

I know kids who went to univ for 4 years had all their bills paid and partied for the entire time came home and just plopped themselves in the same positions with a lot less effort..

Oil fields? well that accounts for a very broad range of jobs.. What specifically?

Maybe your friends who went to school are lazy and stupid?

Becoming a chef is based on skill level.. I will agree that if you have a skill and can work to gain experience and enhance your skill you don't need college or univ because the work experience can be much more important than what they teach in school..

He's lucky if he was able to get a job at a higher end restaurant to learn..

You are in Calgary a massive exception to the rule.. You guys are desperate to hire peopple..

Maybe that highend restaurant was desperate for a chef to help out and yer buddy lucked out?

But I guarantee that if he had no experience and went to school and got the training he needed first he could go to any city and get a better job and feel confident doing it.

Ever worked in a kitchen in a high end restaurant with no experience? heh.. he's boiling beans..

Yah so? Those kids getting jobs in 3rd world countries are the lucky ones that had $2.95 a month donated to them so they could go to SCHOOL.

I didn't go to college or univ.. I don't believe that YOU MUST go to school.

But for most people it is what they need to do.

We are lucky we have skills that can be self taught quite easily.. and can easily be shown and proved to a prospective employer..

Most employers want to see that paper. :thumbsup

I completely agree that working experience in a lot of fields will get you the job over school experience.

But getting that experience without going to school first is extremely difficult.

You would have to be an intern or work for free or have a connection.. etc..

And if you are an older person not a 18 - 24 yearold GOOD LUCK nobody will hire yer ass to teach you..

I don't have a degree, but I will only hire people that do. Not necessarily because I am biased, but because the resumes of people without a degree suck.

If you want to be an owner, school can hurt you (but not always.) If you plan on being an employee, you have to have one.

That said, don't be an idiot and crank up debt on classes you don't need. Do your 4 years and not one semester extra. Also don't spend $50k on a degree that will earn you $30k. Unfortunately most people don't bother to take the 15 minutes to figure this out..

this is probably the most well rounded post in the entire thread. :thumbsup

I would add sciences to that list as well as an accounting degree.

Most people that did well as bean counters in school had a pretty nice job coming out of school. Which while it might not be your dream job it does provide great experience in the business world. Never hurts to know how to count the monies.

Sciences if you are looking to go on to grad school and become a lab rat then school is very necessary and after you salve in a lab for your grad program you can stay in the academic world or turn to a nice paying industry job very easily.

For the most part I agree though.

Don't you think you are an exception to the rule?

Do you think that just because you kno people who have degrees but did nothing with them.... That going to college or univ is useless?

FACT: idiots with degrees do better than idiots without degrees. :))))

Average Starting Salary Offers for 2008 Bachelor's Degree Graduates

Samples of average starting salaries across a range of college degrees include:

* Accounting: $47,429
* Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering: $57,999
* Agricultural Business and Management: $42,299
* Business Administration and Management: $44,195
* Chemical Engineering: $63,616
* Civil Engineering: $50,940
* Computer Engineering: $59,962
* Computer Science: $59,873
* Construction Science/Management: $52,745
* Electrical Engineering: $56,944
* Finance: $48,616
* Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering: $58,252
* Liberal Arts (group average): $35,378
* Management Information Systems (MIS): $50,800
* Marketing: $43,318
* Mechanical Engineering: $57,821
* Psychology: $34,054
* Sales: $44,005

This post should be titled college/university degrees are 10% useless... because 90% of people don't have a clue on how to run a business, don't want to do it, and even if they did, can't organize themselves and need a boss breathing down their neck to get anything done.

I got an honours in computer science and a minor in math. Looking back, I'd still do it even though I didn't really enjoy it and still have not picked up my diploma from the university. Since I work with software, I can whip up pretty much any tool that I need without having to wait for a programmer to do it and can do things more efficiently and know when someone bullshits me on things related to programming.

... of course if I had a 12 inch cock and strippers knocking on my door 24/7 and wads of cash appearing from the sky I probably wouldn't have needed a degree but *shrug*, I ain't there yet.

If you want a "job" you don't need college or a university degree, but anyone that wants a career that pays anything meaningful they pretty much need some form of higher education, or the other guy gets the position, period.

That's assuming you want to work for someone else.

For those of us who prefer to be self-employed, you're completely right... no degree required.

No way to tell how much of this is just that smarter people from families with more resources and motivation tend to go to college but ..

2004 average salary by education in the US

Advanced degrees $74,602
BS $51,206
HS $27,915
Dropout $18,734

Pretty significant differences

Doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher, accountant, economist, medical researcher, biologist, engineer, psychologist, pharmacist, etc.

Basically, unless you want to start your own company, you're better off getting a degree than not getting one.

Just look at this:
http://www.forbes.com/2007/06/04/job..._0604jobs.html
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/...lary/by_Degree

And even if you start your own company, the knowledge and network you get from university and the experience you'll have from working in a job you wouldn't have gotten without a degree will usually help tremendously.

The guys from Google? They met at Stanford. The guys from Yahoo? Met at Stanford. Amazon? Princeton degree. Ebay? CS degree with work experience. PayPal? Yeah, degrees. Starbucks? Degrees. Arcelor Mittal? Degree.

Of the 5 richest people in the world, 3 have finished university, and 1 dropped out.

Basically, what it comes down to is this: degrees matter.

There is world outside the US, too. People don't pay for school in the most countries. Well, not that much, at least.

for me..porn first, med school later

speak the truth Metaman !!!

Bill Gates dropped out! :thumbsup:1orglaugh

I will say this...

on average I have not made under what my degree cost me. So I guess take that for what it's worth.

Oh, and you are not biased. You're a hippocrate. There's a difference toots. :)

I have to admit, most of the responses to this thread are pure comedy on so many levels.

:)

Fair enough, you'll make more money being self employed and live a better life. But saying school was pointless means that people are only going to school for the money. And you're not going to get any money from a degree, that's fair to say too.

BUT being a university student I'll tell you this:

I KNOW that I can do shit that other people can't even begin to understand
I KNOW that I can demand a certain amount of respect because of my credentials
I've been able to work with, and talk to and interact with such a huge variety of talented people that wouldn't have come together for anything other than University
I've met a billion and one girls who are smokingly hot, smart as fuck, can hold a meaningful conversation, and are funny as hell too
I learned some organizational skills (still need polishing) but skills that I wouldn't have learned anywhere else

So all in all, it's not the money you go for but everything else is priceless. The people, the environment where everyone is learning and all that can't be put into words, its so amazingly great that it changes a person. The mistake people make is thinking that their education entitles them to anything. But if you're going to do everything for the money for your entire life then what's the point of living, you need to experience things, meet people and have fun and University is a damn good place for all of those things!

My ba in psychology is the most useless degree ever. I couldnt get a job in my field despite having it. What it all comes down to is work experience, not the degree.

Thanks for the entertainment today

I will scan some of my degrees for you and then you can use your design skills to photoshop your name on them. That should make you feel better and raise your self esteem a little. :frenchman

Your posts are pointless.

But they still amuse me.

:2 cents:

And who exactly are these "puppet masters in (sic) society" that you speak of?

"This graph shows the median household income in accordance with the householder's educational attainment. The data only applies to household with a householder over the age of twenty-five.[18]"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ion_Income.jpg

most of it :)

i date accountants, oil managers and women who make just as much as i do and they are all smoking and i never set foot in a college.

i am smarter then 100% of my friends who went to college and it is because i have real world experience and knowledge, not some bullshit i read out of a textbook.

again i love how people talk about the university experience. you must have had rich parents who babied you through life anyway so you dont count because you have no sense of the real world anyway.

my buddies who went to university were broke, at fuckin kraft dinner and rahman noodles, drank cheap beer and smoked weed all day while studying while living in a shitty house with 5-8 other guys or girls.

what an amazing experience!!! while they were in school i was out traveling the world building my business, ill take my experience over theirs anyday.

stop making it sound like university is the only place to learn, you are so blinded it is not even funny, i dont need my puppet masters to teach me what i should be thinking i go out in the real world and discover it for myself. :2 cents:

The best years of your life are spent in college/university. I bet what you would have experienced in school would have trumped 'travelling the world building my business'