Seeing university only in terms of careers

RedEyedAbyss

Yes, I know that getting a career is a huge concern for pretty much everyone, but it seems narrow-minded to let that be the sole motivation for pursuing higher education. After all, isn't the purpose of post-secondary education to learn? Besides, the education in primary school is very incomplete.

I suspect this perspective is a product of the cost of getting into university in the first place, which is a shame since education should be accessible to everyone. 

Bee

Make it cost somewhere to the tune of $30,000 less and I'll be a bit more inclined to appreciate its more frivolous aspects a bit more.  Until then, I'll keep being irritated that out of over 6 years of college, maybe half my classes were in any way relevant to how I'm going to pay it off.

MadassAlex

The entire education system is pretty fucked, especially in the USA where costs for tertiary education are so high. University should indeed be an outlet for further education, but it's just another task as long as costs are high and pressures are on. 

Malkavian

>Pays $80,000+ for a degree because he's been told otherwise he'll have to work at a burger joint.

>Even the burger joints aren't hiring

Only sort of relevant. I don't regret my totally practical English/Film degree but I am annoyed at the fact that that it's not worth what it supposedly should be.

LouieW

Abyss_Worm,

I suspect this perspective is a product of the cost of getting into university in the first place, which is a shame since education should be accessible to everyone.

I think I agree that you can miss a lot if you only look at university in terms of how it will translate into a job down the line.

Plus, I feel like sometimes things that seem like they might not directly impact your job prospects actually can help a bit. For example, while philosophy classes may get a bad rap, they may also help you work on problem-solving skills that can help you in plenty of jobs that require a university degree. The same can probably be said about English classes and writing. Of course, that does not necessarily mean that employers will hire you based on seeing those classes on your transcript, just that they help you develop some useful skills.

That being said, it definitely seems like the cost of a college education shapes how people think it should be used. Yet, cutting costs through stuff like subsidies can be a bit complicated, at least if your goal is to make it accessible to everyone.

While I do not know that much about this, I actually have read that in some developing countries, university education is relatively affordable, but that actually is problematic because only the elite have the requisite education qualifications to enter university. Basically, the primary education that the overwhelming majority of the public needs in those countries can be underfunded as a result of providing a cheaper university education to the relative few.

Though I would be cautious about saying the same exact thing happens in the U.S., some people say that subsidizing state universities is inefficient because it tends to benefit people who could pay for a college education anyway.

RedEyedAbyss

"$80,000+"

That is atrocious.

And yes, that's the cruel joke of the economic downturn. I remember when one of the top people (of the Engineering department) said by now, there would be plenty of hiring opportunities.

Evergreen

I don't see my time here only in terms of a career, because I on the one hand know I'm not much good at anything that'll make me much money, and on the other hand my parents have promised to support for as long as it takes no matter what my stage of life. So I'm mostly just here to enjoy the atmosphere. I'll worry about what a B.A. in History with no other majors or minors and no concentration will do for me in the working world when I get there. As it is, I seem to be incapable of trying to be anything but an archivist, so who the hell knows.

Er, and also, yeah, I'm not paying for my education. That probably factors in somewhere too. I'm not trying to anger anyone with this post, but if you feel it anyway, I would understand...