IYO, Is college worth it !?

[JLivi1224]

College is worth it, but not for the masses. The notion that everyone should go to college needs to stop. College is quickly reaching a tipping point where it’s cost is rising exponentially higher than wage increases.

Having said that you can do yourself a huge favor and not finance EVERY book, laptop, iPad and spring break with student loans.

Some college
No debt
20% higher income than my bachelor degree & licensed wife
30% higher earning than the average American

I admit I may be the exception not the rule

And here it is. Your first paragraph sums up the exact point of this post.

[88 Bound]

I have a bachelors degree. I do not use it in my field of work, although it contributed immensely to what I do. I paid off almost $50k in student loan debt in less than 3 years. I did go to a big Texas school (A&M). I'm happy to share my thoughts on the subject. Here goes....

College is 100% a necessity for young people (specifically). I won't sit here and tell you that the knowledge you gain from classes will make you successful. Truth is, it really won't. What college does is it allows you to be trainable. It turns you into soft clay. It is an experience in which the knowledge you gain is more of how you can be a benefit to society. You grow, mature, and learn about the world in a way that your parents can never teach you. You learn it on your own. Independence, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, etc. All of the things you experience teach you about yourself and how you survive in this world as an individual. There is debt, there are mistakes made and lessons learned. But it is a rite of passage in it's own regard.

Rant over. Hope this helps.

[txhunter90]

Bachelors and Masters in business here. Don't use em one bit. However, this topic seems to come up a lot I always tell people that if the desired profession requires the degree then, of course, it helps. If you want to be a doctor, lawyer, accountant, etc. you'll need it. A marketing degree is about at useful as a left-handed basket weaving degree IMOP and that's what my undergrad is in. I think the trade schools are awesome if the person has some entrepreneurial spirit and likes electrical, plumbing, welding, etc. as I have multiple friends in all of those trades and the ones that manage their business correctly do quite well. All in all, I do think some type of continuing education does pay off as long as it's thought out and used as opposed to getting the easiest degree just to say you have one.

I have a marketing degree, don't know why I went for it. But it has helped me get my jobs, but do not use it one bit. If I did it over I would have went a different route. Just glad I made it through, all of my closest friends dropped out. Almost thought about going to get a different degree that I would use. But just paid off my student loans and do not want to get anymore.

[jbhunting39]

Other than the experience, College is basically paying for specialized knowledge which you could get on you own for free from any library or the Internet.
College is a great business model. Very profitable
1st person in my family to graduate High School
No college only a HSD.
Business owner.
Last real job I had my salary was over 300k a year.
I would hire someone with real world experience over anyone coming out of college.
I have seen both out in the field and the experience always wins out.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JLivi1224]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Let me add this - I firmly believe that there has been an intentional dumbing down of America through the educational system. At the same time also feel like the increase in education being three times the amount of inflation in the same timeframe is making college completely unaffordable for a lot of families. Coincidence? that’s a good question.

[El Viejo]

I have a Bachelors, and half a Masters. It was worth it for me, as I didn't graduate with any debt, thanks to side jobs and help from my folks. My job for 39 years required a degree, so I that made it worth it as well. I know that today things are different. Lots of folks graduate with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and then can't find a job. Maybe they didn't pick the right major. Maybe they don't like the jobs that are available. Either way, I'd say it takes a lot of soul searching & prayer to do what is best for the person.

[JLivi1224]

Other than the experience, College is basically paying for specialized knowledge which you could get on you own for free from any library or the Internet.
College is a great business model. Very profitable
1st person in my family to graduate High School
No college only a HSD.
Business owner.
Last real job I had my salary was over 300k a year.
I would hire someone with real world experience over anyone coming out of college.
I have seen both out in the field and the experience always wins out.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your last couple of sentences here also make a very valid point. I live around the petrochemical mecca of the United States. I will say this, there used to be priority placed on college education in the petrochemical industry. This, over last few years, has begun to swing the other direction, And now the hiring priority seems to be placed on experience. Of course I’m speaking to operations, instrumentation, etc.. and not chemists, engineers etc...

[Pkripper]

College can be helpful, but common sense, hard work ethic and willingness to learn work as well. Many start at the bottom and work their way up. I don't look for a degree when hiring. A LOT of kids coming out of school have no clue on what's going on. Work hard, be punctual and absorb every thing and you will move up.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Easttxbowman]

Lol

Sorry, should have clarified fishcst.... These days you will not get hired in my career field without a degree or a ton of experience.

You absolutely do not need to have a college degree to be successful in lots of field however.

[BigRed323]

It all really depends on what career path you chose to follow.

-I wanted to be a veterinarian, so had to go to veterinary school and obtain my DVM
-Use the degree everyday
-Yes the time was worth it

That being said, you have to really outweigh the cost of loans vs what your income will be. I'm one of the lucky ones and finished school with almost no student loans. Friends of mine graduated with 200k up to 400k and we don't get paid nearly what medical doctors do so they will be paying debt for a long time. If you can do what you want to do in life without going to school or live in debt, go for it, but sometimes you have to just bite the bullet.

[glen]

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

[BigCohiba]

Bachelors in Business - Marketing.
Use it? Not really but it opened doors that would have otherwise been closed. Once you get your foot in the door, your performance, work ethic, attitude, and results are all that matter.
Zero debt. Fortunate to have some help from parents & also worked full time all the way with company picking up the tab for my tuition.

My kids are both in college now - and will graduate with zero debt. We started saving the day they were born. They both went to junior college while living at home and are going to U of H for junior / senior years while doing the same.

We never forced college on them. They have seen first hand what it can and can not do for someone. College is just a check in a box. What you do in life and how successful you are depends mostly on how hard you work and your attitude. My feeling was it couldn’t hurt - and once you have that degree nobody can ever take it away from you.

[TexasArchery_27]

Job title: Account Manager
Industry: Healthcare
Company size: 255,000 employees
Market: Dallas/Ft. Worth

A. - Associate's Degree - Applied Sciences in accounting
Vocational certification - Registered Pharmacy Technician
B. - Do currently use classes taken to obtain degree (Mainly excel spreadsheets), although not employed in a field directly related to obtained degree. Even an associates does help to meet minimum requirements some employers impose for similar positions.
C. - No debt due to: community college low tuition, grants, and parental donations. Time spent in college definitely worth it! Opens more doors that would have otherwise been closed.


I think a degree does not hold the same value as it once did. Specialized degrees (M.D, J.D., or PharmD) as required by state or federal laws will ALWAYS have an excellent outlook and return on investment. Other fields, it will not carry the same value.

Success in today's workforce depends on: experience, adapability, talent, and coachability. A degree on the wall at home does not necessarily correlate to having these values.

I will not be pushing my children to obtain a degree, but would encourage it if grants, or scholarships would cover majoirty of the expense.

[Cajun Blake]

Bachelors in Psychology/Sociology and a Masters degree in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling

I work with people who have been injured on the job, or experienced some type of personal injury. I evaluate the claimant's future vocational status based on their disability, education, transferrable skills and vocational testing results. I have testified as an expert witness for both the plaintiff and defense. For the injured worker with limited to no education or computer skills, they're in serious trouble trying to re-enter the competitive labor market.

[gmac]

College is like any other investment. If it is put in the right place it can pay dividends. If you take out a loan for a liberal arts degree..... probably a bad investment.

I have a BS and an MS. At this point I don’t use much of what I studied in school. But my degrees were the stepping stone that got me where I am now. Several class mates chose not to use their degrees and imeadiately went into other fields out of college other than what they studied. In my opinion they didn’t give the investment they made in their education a chance to pay off. As such it turned out to be a bad investment for them. Mine has paid off multiple times over.