Education

[Beau]

These days we are seeing an inflation of the college degree. The new Bachelors degree is the new masters, the new masters is the doctorate.

 

jobs are scarce, hell you are expected to at least have a Masters to step foot in a door on this competitive market. Having just your undergrad doesn't get you as far as it once did.

 

WIth that being the case how do we succeed in this economy? You rack up massive amounts of loans just through your first four years and now we are obligated to pursue a masters degree and consider grad school.

 

Even if you say ill take the loans just to get my education because its priority. There is such a little chance of you actually landing a decent job after its all said and done.

 

We are unfortunately growing up in hard times. How do you guys feel about this? Is it affecting you personally and your goals for the future? Do you think there is a better approach as opposed to school?

[Apache]

im ****** brb

[Father Justin]

Just plan on finishing high school & joining the family Exporting and importing business

[Solo]

To some of us, yes we are growing up in hard times, but for others we are adapting to a new age, age of technology.

 

I'm going to waterloo university majoring in CS and I have a few friends doing research about the economy (In waterloo region, Canada). The city where I live is heavily technology based, most of the jobs found here are technology related. You're right though, if you don't have a piece of paper that says you're a bachelor in X university, you're not going anywhere because there is so much competition. Research has shown high school graduates who dropped out from university/college can only get jobs for minimum wage and they can barely survive with that, so no, you cannot survive without a proper education unless you plan to live as a caveman.

 

Right now I'm on co-op term (working while studying) and I have a job at RIM (Research In Motion) as a project developer. I make around $18/hr which is great and even better I get dental benefits, paid vacations, massage/therapy (my favorite), etc..

 

Compared to my friends who are doing law and what not, they are finding it very difficult to find jobs in their field so they can't pay off the loans for tuition.

 

tl;dr: Education is key to success.

[Tayyab-]

try living in england

[`Pure]

Yea it's tough. I got into the coordinated dietetics program at my school so I'll be starting a full time supervised practice job in my last semester, which should set me apart from a lot of people once I start to do my own thing.

[Beau]

Compared to my friends who are doing law and what not, they are finding it very difficult to find jobs in their field so they can't pay off the loans for tuition.

 

Oh dear god lets not get started on the unfortunate ones who are law students. The unemployment rate in that field is absolutely preposterous.

[Nippon]

Well, university education here in Finland is free everywhere, so there's no need to worry about paying back loans (unless, of course, if you want to improve your living standards by taking some). Im studying economics in Helsinki and only about 4% of the new master graduates are unemployed a year after graduation, mostly due to their own preferences. What matters the most when you enter the labour market is your work experience rather than your education. Of course a masters degree in anything will be helpful, but what employers really want to see is that you are a reliable and hard-working employee with valid references and the skills that the job requires.

 

I don't see education as a necessity to find a good occupation. There are many other ways to find well-paid jobs, for example through connections or by becoming an entrepreneur with a succesful innovation.

[Alpha]

I joined the Navy a few years out of High School. I worked in a four star restaurant and hotel to pay for my AA and AS. Five years later in the Navy, I have my BS for free with no student loans and still have my GI bill which pays me as an active duty E-5 with housing allowance and bunch of other bonuses for I believe three years. I will be attending Medical School, and am debating coming back in to the Navy as a Medical Officer.

[Fatall]

It's all about who you know nowadays. It gets alot easier once you get experienced in a company. My advice would be too not move around too much (in terms of workplace) also for your work experience choose something related to what you want to do if you're older. If you're reading this and you're already at university/college than I advise doing something which allows you to go into the workplace. Such as a 4 year university course with the last year being work. This will often result in you getting offered a place at whatever place you went to during your studies. Even after university you can go into 'pupilage' in law. Which introduces you to a firm and lets you work under an experienced barrister. This is a good chance to make friends in high places/meet clients.

[Num Nums]

American are setting are selves up to fail. I did a research paper on education in America and basically

we ****** ourselves over with the No Child Left Behind bill. Basically the NOLB bill just sugar coats how

bad our students do in the public school system by giving waviers and lowering requirements to pass

standardized testing. Also standardized testing in itself has destroyed our education system.

 

How does this all affect future college students or future employees?

 

Well its actually a ripple effect and all the things you mentioned are said but true about our society.

[Piers]

Lots of different opinions on this, but an English university (I think Coventry or Nottingham) did a study and found that an individual with an undergrad degree or above earned (on average) 400-500k more than somebody without, so it's definitely worth it. As for post-university opportunities; Most unis have some sort of work scheme enrolled with their course don't they? I wouldn't know I'm only 17 hahaha.

 

edit: Can go into more depth with UK uni. but I'm not sure whether American or English unis are the main focal of this topic? Clarify yo.

[Hugh]

Intelligence is found in so many different forms, education doesn't offer enough for it to cover everyone niche. I went to university last year and yeh, its great fun. I'm getting a bucket load of money from the government to spend on various narcotics. As far as education is concerned, the quality of teaching i get is poor, tuition fees are a scam, and its an outrage that they've gone up to 9k a year or something stupid.

 

You want to be a doctor/engineer etc, go to uni.

You don't? Get a job you bum

[Piers]

Gotta love it. There are more photography students (at uni) in England than there are photography jobs in the whole of Europe.

lelelelell

[Ducky]

25 years ago, about 1/5 people considered going to university.

 

However, now it has been put into all our minds that we MUST go to university, there are many people who are just not suited for it but it is forced upon us in schools.

With so many people going to University and coming out with the same degrees, it makes it so much more difficult to get any kind of job in that area....people who come out from university are now 10 times as likely to just get a low pay/minimum wage job than any kind of work in their field compared to before.

 

 

I think that most Uni's are just a waste time/money and a degree that will most likely in this current time, get you nowhere sadly :(

 

Of course unless your going to the top Uni's like Oxford, Cambridge & Sheffield then employers automatically and rightly put you in front of others.

 

It's a tough time for us, everything is more expensive, it's difficult to find a jobs and it isn't going to get better any time soon.

[Piers]

Of course unless your going to the top Uni's like Oxford, Cambridge & Sheffield then employers automatically and rightly put you in front of others.

 

It's a tough time for us, everything is more expensive, it's difficult to find a jobs and it isn't going to get better any time soon.

Yes there's definitely a weight/prestige that comes with a degree from Russel Group Universities.

 

Personally I think there's too much pressure on you to apply and go straight off. More emphasis should be put onto gap years and whatnot.

 

.people who come out from university are now 10 times as likely to just get a low pay/minimum wage job than any kind of work in their field compared to before.

 

Where'd you get that from? I'm interested because there are completely polar opinions/statistics in regard to post-uni. job opportunities. I concur with the idea that many graduates end up in low-end retail jobs etc etc, but anyway any source for that stat?

[Jet]

I am in earth science studies in university. In Canada, \I have it pretty good tbh one of the easiest places to find a geological job.

 

I work part time instructing as a lifeguard and get 20$/h which is crazy for a student - but only 8 hours a week.

 

Seriously I consider myself lucky when I think about the world eco. and the state of my country in general. Cousins and adults I know are loosing jobs and are put in very tough situations

[Hugh]

Theres definitly a lot of pressure on people to go to university these days. I was pushed into it a few years ago and it wasn't even discussed by my school if there were any alternatives, all they care about are their precious league tables.

 

Hey, I got into a russel group uni myself, and at the end of the day I`ll probably benefit more because of it, but I`m at a stage in my life now where you look back at the oppertunities you`ve had think of what could have been. Im angry that I wasn't given an alternative to university.

 

Advice to anyone just finishing school this year; really weigh up your options and explore every alternative available. Universities a big commitment, thats atleast 3 years of your life and you will be getting into a disgusting amount of debt. Come the end of it, you may be a lot worse off than if you'd hit up work straight from leaving school.

[Rhys]

in australia its decent, there are alot of apprenticeships going etc

[Society]

It's not what you know, it's who you know.

[Saint Andrew]

It's getting harder for young people even getting into a College/University. Let alone the work load. Taking it back to the basic, School is for learning.

 

In England, you can leave eduction at Second/Grammar School, and still get a decent job. I think people stay on in Schooling because their scared or have no other choice. Though, the age of Grammar School has gone up to the age of 18, it's going to give students a better chance of higher results. I took my eduction for granted and only achieved 11 A* - C Grades.

 

It will help you later in life since the world is changes. The new skills you learn will be at your advantage. Personally, I'm on a gap year, and going to College in September to study Media & Film Production. It'll be a good experience for me.

[Acid-Sun]

I honestly hate the fact you have to go to college to land a good job, which is no certainty. College to me is meaningless, you work your ass off for a piece of paper that says you completed blah blah blah for what? Since when is college a requirement for working and being a productive citizen?

 

"If you want to get laid go to college, if you want an education go to a library"- Frank Zappa

[Davey]

I think it was important for me to get my education. And I never regret finishing it. There's way more chance you get a job because you have more options to go to. Else you have to go off by work expirience, hoping you find a job where you can grow in (if that's your goal).

The jobs are really hard to get nowadays, so I would recommend getting a study, something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life. It would be a waste to work all your life for a minumum wage, while if you study 5 years (here in my uni) you can get a job, where you're 80% more sure of a job, and 80% sure of a better wage for 5 years of study.

[Camels]

It's getting harder for young people even getting into a College/University. Let alone the work load. Taking it back to the basic, School is for learning.

 

In England, you can leave eduction at Second/Grammar School, and still get a decent job. I think people stay on in Schooling because their scared or have no other choice. Though, the age of Grammar School has gone up to the age of 18, it's going to give students a better chance of higher results. I took my eduction for granted and only achieved 11 A* - C Grades.

 

It will help you later in life since the world is changes. The new skills you learn will be at your advantage. Personally, I'm on a gap year, and going to College in September to study Media & Film Production. It'll be a good experience for me.

 

[M4G1CA]

In Germany, the amount of people unemployed is the lowest it's been since 1991. I'm not really afraid of not being able to find work here - that is, if I do indeed decide to stay.