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IYO, Is college worth it !?

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    Originally posted by justindiehl7 View Post
    Another question for you. Who would you be more likely to hire.

    A and M grad with high book smarts and low common sense, knows little about the job he is applying for?

    Sam Houston grad with average book smarts, high levels of common sense, and a knack for the job he is applying for?

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    The issue is that the stuff you're implying can be hard to judge in an interview, and many companies that interview at A&M just don't interview at Sam Houston at all. I was on the hiring committee at a previous firm and when times were booming, we'd offer 10 spots to Aggies, 10 spots to Longhorns, 5 spots to Baylor, and 1 spot to Tech. Would extend additional offers based on acceptances, but generally in the same ratio. When workload slowed down, they'd just nix the Tech spot altogether (no recruiting there) and cut the other spots down by 1/3.

    If you're talking about making an experienced hire, almost every would-be employer will value experience and know-how over a particular degree. I'm talking purely from a college recruitment standpoint.

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      Originally posted by BitBackShot View Post
      The issue is that the stuff you're implying can be hard to judge in an interview, and many companies that interview at A&M just don't interview at Sam Houston at all. I was on the hiring committee at a previous firm and when times were booming, we'd offer 10 spots to Aggies, 10 spots to Longhorns, 5 spots to Baylor, and 1 spot to Tech. Would extend additional offers based on acceptances, but generally in the same ratio. When workload slowed down, they'd just nix the Tech spot altogether (no recruiting there) and cut the other spots down by 1/3.



      If you're talking about making an experienced hire, almost every would-be employer will value experience and know-how over a particular degree. I'm talking purely from a college recruitment standpoint.


      I agree. I’ve got one more year on my construction degree with a minor is business. I also run my own landscape company working 50+ hours a week from February til September. I have a couple of good buddies that work their tail off and come from technical and common sense families and I can’t hardly get them to come help me at 15 an hour. The ones that are worth hiring usually have a good plan and a job lined up within the first two years of school, then you have to weed through graduates to find a dirty diamond that needs some polishing, again this is from my personal experience, and my buddies in my degree field!


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        Depends.

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          One difference today from when I was in school is that many of the best high schools offer Advanced Placement courses that give students college credit. Many students enter college with almost a year worth of college credits they will not have to pay for. These start with pre-AP classes in lower grade levels, then those who are successful can get into the AP classes. Pick your a high school with a good AP program if you have a choice.

          Another way to cut college costs is to open and contribute to savings programs like the Texas Guaranteed Tuition Plan. You can contribute by making installment payments or a lump sum. The money can be used for any trade school or college. I bought these for both of my sons, who are now out of college. You will have to forego spending on other priorities to pay for these.


          Many colleges provide academic scholarships that are very generous. Some are based on the PreSAT test, rather than the SAT. Some are based on the SAT and/or the ACT, two different tests offered in the junior year. For example, Texas Tech in the past offered a 5 year full ride if your ACT was high enough. Many Texas schools, like A&M, Baylor, and Southwestern offer generous academic scholarships. Other schools do not offer many academic scholarships. Music/band/cheerleading scholarships are also available at some schools. Some schools offer jobs for students to help pay expenses.

          Community colleges offer cheaper tuition, and many will allow a student to transfer into a university with high enough grades. Living at home and getting community college hours is a good way to save money.

          The cost of college and graduate school is so much higher than my era (1970s), I am not sure what I would do today. High school students are often too young to know what occupation they want to pursue. Many will change their minds and careers several times.

          A friend of mine has a BS in Biology from UT and an MS from Midwestern in "Spiderology". Eventually, he went to work for his father-in law in the oil and gas drilling business which he later bought out. He now is retired, and owns a 1,000 acre ranch from profits from selling the business years ago. He taught himself the business.

          The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court has a "worthless" history degree. Jim Henson probably did not need to go to puppet college to be sucessful. The UT Chancellor Admiral Mc Raven obtained a UT journalism degree before he became a Navy Seal. Some of those liberal arts graduates do pretty well.

          Finding work you enjoy doing is the most important thing to me, but as the Jethro Tull song goes "Nothing Is Easy".

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            Originally posted by Burnadell View Post
            Depends.


            Wrong thread?[emoji57] I think this was for the GOF thread lmao


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              I find this topic interesting and have enjoyed the thread. A couple of things to think about.

              1. I think most, not all, but most will agree that college was worth it for them, if they went 10 to 60 years ago. At that time, it did not cost the same percentage of household income that it does now.
              2. The price of college varies dramatically right now. So some are probably still worth it, while some may have priced themselves out of the market.

              Take a degree at TCU right now. Over $200k. Does not matter if you can pay for it or have to get a loan, it is still over $200k. If you took that $200k and invested it when your kid was 18 and it grew compounded at 10 percent a year for 32 years. They could retire at 50 with $4.2 million dollars.

              I went to college and it was worth it for me, but I do think many of the larger colleges are starting to get to the price point that it is hard to justify from a financial position.

              I learned nothing in the classes that helped me at all in the real work world, but my network of friends I met in college have been very beneficial to my career.

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                Originally posted by BitBackShot View Post
                I have a buddy that graduated with a philosophy degree or something similarly worthless, drove a Dr. Pepper truck for awhile, and then married the daughter of a billionaire. He met her in college.

                Worth it.



                I think what some people are forgetting is is the social aspect. Moving out of your parents house at 18 and living in an entire community where EVERYONE is near your age really gives you an opportunity to learn how to be social. There is a huge social aspect to college. One of the most common overlooked key indicators of success is social skills. Not intelligence or education, but the ability to get people to like you. That is something that is difficult to measure and is a huge positive benefit of leaving home and going to school full time with complete strangers in a new environment.

                Even though I don't directly use my degree anymore the jobs that I did have opened the door.

                Plus, those on here that made good without a degree have pretty much all stated that they started at the bottom and worked their way up, and/or work in a blue collar profession where experience matters more than book learnin'. I knew by the time I was in kindergarten earning a living in the Texas heat was not an option for me.

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                  Originally posted by justindiehl7 View Post
                  Another question for you. Who would you be more likely to hire.

                  A and M grad with high book smarts and low common sense, knows little about the job he is applying for?

                  Sam Houston grad with average book smarts, high levels of common sense, and a knack for the job he is applying for?




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                  High Common sense would always win out. High common sense means good problem solving abilities and self thinkers, meaning you do not have to micro manage all the time and can spend your time focus big on your job and not theirs. People with high common sense are usually very self motivated as well. IMO


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                    A: Master's
                    B: Yes... every day.
                    C: Absolutely without question.

                    A Bachelor's degree from an accredited university is the first required step for licensure as a PE, so it was not optional for me.

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                      Bachelors in civil engineering, I use about 5%-10% of my degree since I mainly do mechanical design or other random things. Networking in school was one of the biggest assets I'm thankful for. It's definitely helped me get a good job and a make pretty decent money. I put myself through school over 5 years with 3 summers and dual credit in HS so thankfully no debt. I was tempted to go for my masters but I was tired of the endless assignments and being broke.

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                        A: High School


                        B: N/A


                        C: N/A

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                          Originally posted by glen View Post
                          Degree yes- however you don't make the decision on whether your kids go to school or not. You can decide to support them on whatever you wish. I have one that is not going and another that is. I would imagine one will make more money than the other probably doing less work
                          There is a lot of truth in this and parents would be well served to think about what Glen is saying.

                          To start off, bachelors/master degree for me. No I don't use it really, but I am compensated extra for it. I do believe it has assisted me with getting hired and promoted in my job. For some reason I've been able to fool people into thinking I was half way intelligent since I have degrees, lol.

                          To Glen's point, we live in the era of the helicopter parent. Its friggin out of control. I have a 14yo and 16yo. I know parents who's 7th graders are already taking the SAT/ACT. These same parents monitor their kids daily grades in almost real time, literally. Schools have a web based grade monitoring system available to parents which allows them to see grades as soon as they are posted. My 16yo just got asked to join the National Honor Society this year. I'm very proud of her accomplishment. You know how many times I've checked my kids grades online, not one time. I tell them its their job to keep their grades up and to complete homework/assignments. My understanding with them is that I will deal with them if their report cards show that they haven't been doing so.

                          My son also plays baseball. Again, great example of helicopter parenting at its finest. Little Johnny has to have a hitting coach, pitching coach, fielding coach, $300 bats, they video every at bat as if Little Johnny is playing in the World Series. Mom and Dad hold their breath and throw a fit when Little Johnny makes an error. My son is probably (arguably) the best player on his 14u select team. You know what, good for him. If he wasn't, its not the end of the world. He swings whatever bat I buy him that was last year's model, is on clearance, and typically under $100. He got there by natural ability and the hard work we put in together outside of practice. My advice to him has always been, I hope you become as great a player as you want some day. In the mean time, enjoy yourself, have fun, work hard, and God will guide you where he wants you to be.

                          My point to all of this is, as Glen said, its up to the child at the end of the day. I'm a proponent of a traditional college education. It was one of the best experiences of my life in so many ways. My wife and I paid off $30k of her college debt the first 7 years we were full time employees. It sucked, but in the grand scheme of things it was not a big deal. I'd gladly do it again. My wife and I will have two years of college funded for both of our kids by the time they graduate. Thankfully we did the Texas Tomorrow Fund. My daughter is going the dual credit route starting next year, so she will have a year of college knocked out when she graduates. Again, this was her decision and we helped guide her based on her future desires, which is to attend college. If my son were to decide he didn't want to attend college and would rather learn a trade, fine by me. Its their life at the end of the day and they will have to live with the decisions they make. All we as parents can do is support them in their endeavors and to make sure they are considering all sides of the situation.
                          Last edited by rockyraider; 05-04-2018, 11:21 AM.

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                            One cool thing I've seen advertised on 380 near Princeton H/s, is a "Free" associates degree upon graduation. Whenever I was taking community college classes, there were a few high schoolers in the same physics class. I think it's a wonderful opportunity, and if it's free there is absolutely no reason not to take full advantage of 2 free degrees.

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                              Originally posted by JLivi1224 View Post



                              A: what is your highest level of education?



                              B: For those of you with degrees, do you directly use your degree in your field?



                              C: given your income vs college debt (if any), or the overall expense in general, was your time in college worth it in the big picture ?




                              A - some college. I dropped out before my senior year. I was studying to be a wildlife biologist. I got a job as an electrician, and after a couple of years in the trade, enrolled in apprenticeship school. I graduated at the top of my class

                              B - college degree doesn’t apply. My education from apprenticeship school, I use every single day. I do use what I learned in college to manage my lease, and have in depth conversations with the local wildlife biologist about management strategies.

                              C - I paid off my college debt while I was in apprenticeship school. My company helped with apprenticeship. If I got straight A’s, they paid 90%, B’s they paid 80% and so forth. I kept straight A average, and it cost me next to nothing. I set it up so it came out of my paycheck, so I never missed those dollars.

                              I advanced in the trade while in school, got my Journeyman, and later my Masters license. I ran work, then spent several years estimating, which taught me a whole bunch about not only how to quantify materials, but also understand the overhead and general conditions that it takes to run a job, and ultimately a company.

                              Now, I’m a project manager. Basically, I run jobs alongside my superintendent, and I am responsible for making sure it comes in at or under budget. In the evening, I teach at the same apprenticeship school where I attended. I believe in the program, and really enjoy helping students on their way to a better career.

                              I firmly believe that skilled trades are going to be the next big earners in the not too distant future. As the Baby Boomers retire, there is a huge gap in skilled people, and supply and demand is gonna come into play.





                              I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

                              Henry David Thoreau

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                                Bachelors in Animal Science

                                No, work for a industrial equipment service company as service manager now in our territory office here. Started as a part time job in college and through experience gained through working in different parts of the company and field work I am at the level I am in. Degree has really nothing to do with what I do other than some of the core principles get used and special knowledge from Major classes help with discussions with customers and processes of their everyday operations.

                                It was worth it to me because it was a goal of mine and nobody can take it away. Of course $250 a month goes to loan payments but we are on the downhill side of that.

                                I too am a firm believer that college education helps for a lot of folks if they are exposed to the right field to get their interest and a lot of careers wouldn’t be possible without one. But there other careers that one is not required to be successful. My boss does not have a college degree, even though he was situated to go pre med and I believe he could have been a very good doctor, life gotnin his way at a young age and he had to go straight to work and he is very intelligent and a key player in our companies success. All of his success with our company came from experience and self teaching of our trade.

                                I will highly recommend it to my kids when they are old enough but I will be just as happy if they aquire skill and make a good living doing that.

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