Higher education: a wash or the golden egg?

I am the only member of my family without a degree, and I am the only one with a career and retirement account….and I have 2.

There is no doubt that a college degree impacts your salary levels and advancement potential in may careers. The studies that show this have been done. Worth it.

Also, the time is unique, in that it is the only time in modern life when you have independence as an adult, but few responsibilities. In that way, people often make lifelong friendships in college, or meet a mate, or define their life path. Experientially, it is wonderfully worth it.

Both sound like good arguments for/against.

What bothers me is people who make a career of being a student…my sister in law wants to pursue a doctorate, not because she needs or wants the degree, but because as long as she remains a student, she doesn’t have to start paying back her loans. That makes a lot of sense….you’d think she’d realize that as long as she’s enrolled, they’re just getting bigger…guess they don’t teach that.

Why doesn’t your sister-in-law become a faculty member then? That way, she gets some of her tuition paid for, right? I heard if you’re a member of the university some of your tuition is free – is that but a dream? I bet she just likes the university crowd and environment, huh? ;)

I did not go, and I will always regret it. Not for career reasons, but for the personal growth aspects. I hated high school in ways you cannot imagine, and mistakenly decided I was done with all forms of education. One day, I’ll take the classes that interest me, in pursuit of knowledge and growth, not a degree.

@Augustian: cool answer too.

DEAR GOD! DO NOT GO TO COLLEGE UNLESS YOU ARE A) A GENIUS, B) RICH, C) A RICH GENIUS!

I made the horrible mistake of going to privet college. Don’t get me wrong, it was an incredible thing to experience, but the cost was NOT WORTH IT! If you can get into a college completely for free, or a college you don’t need to pay for, or a college that only charges you a few bucks a class, or your father can buy part of the college for you, then YA! Go man go!
If you can’t fulfill any of those requirements, well, you are better off working your ass off and getting the job you want with experience and skill, rather then expensive luck.
That is what happened to me. I went to college, have nothing but a 100,000$+ debt to show for it, but I started writing my but off and now I am going to be published next year by the end of the summer (hopefully, as long as I can work through my carpal-tunnel) and I have been offered a job multiple times at the Apple store and once by one of my friends who works for Apple’s tech department.
All of which I could have done without going to college. (That is if you don’t assume the time I spent away at college in some way contributed to this “success.”)

Another cool point of view. It IS expensive, and if you don’t land the right job when you get out, you’ll be paying for it side-by-side with your mortgage for the next 25+ years, right?

Having gone to a private university and to an MFA, I’m a little biased, but I can honestly say that nothing I’ve accomplished (creating Fluther, having a successful acting career) would have been possible without going to school.

It really depends on what you want to do with your life. I want to either work for NASA or be a paleoanthropologist I might be able to do both, either way I will need a doctorate. Someone with just a high school education would not ever have those options available to them. I don’t agree with the idea that you have to be a genius to go to college, again, it depends on the courses you’re taking, and the direction you hope to go in life. I know some people are just fine not going to college, and if it works for them then I don’t give a damn. Go for it.

On the other hand, college is a wonderful time for figuring yourself out without financially and mentally fucking yourself.

What it really comes down to is who you are.

@andrew: Damn good answer. Lurve the new avatar.

It depends on how much you like school and learning, whether you have any natural aptitudes, how motivated you are, and what opportunities are available to you. I think for the majority of the population, there is more to be gained from a two-year school or certificate program. Not having a degree may close certain doors to you, depending on what you want to do, and how well you do depends on how you manage your experience while having it.

I have a degree in finance. I graduated from college in 1980, right in the middle of negative growth in bank employment. I went back to work as a bank teller, and tried to get into a management training program, but there were no hiring options at the time. So I took a job in an ad agency, doing their billing. I kept complaining about the way our print pieces looked, and when the print production manager left, I asked for the job and got it. I’m now in marketing, and I find many times that what I learned in college has proved to be beneficial.

Having worked with people with and without degrees, I find that people with exposure to liberal arts (English, sociology, history, languages, philosophy, etc.) often tend to make better managers, because they are able to look past a current state and see what needs to be done to make improvements. I think it’s because liberal arts exposure challenges you to think and question, in order to gain understanding.

Well, I’ve not been to university yet, but I’ve applied and will be going. I am however, someone who has aims. I have a general idea where I want to be, and I know that place will be very very hard to get to without a degree. It includes things like trying to become a Chartered Engineer, and whether you like it or not, you are more likely to get a higher paying job in certain industries with a degree. Infact. As I was looking for a degree to do, I looked at job prospects and a number of jobs required a degree (in the area I was looking at, but then again…who wants someone uneducated designing the workings of a nuclear power plant?).

It is a very special experience so I’ve heard/read/seen/have yet to experience, and is very worth it, especially if it increases your chance of getting a job that you want to do in the future.

There are some brilliant answers up above :)

I went and I regret my choice.

Not my choice for going, but what I chose to do. I should have a. gone else where for what I chose, or b. chose something else for where I went.

My mistake.

Sorry to hear it Bri_L. On the bright side, did you learn something useful from your education which you can use in everyday life?

It depends on what you want to do with your life, and how you want to get there.

There are some jobs that (barring unusual circumstances) you simply can’t get without education: certified professional engineer, lawyer, doctor, nurse, social worker.

There are some jobs that you’ll have to work a LOT harder at if you don’t have the education: many clerical jobs, many computer jobs. For some of these, you can get an entry-level job without a college degree, but without the degree your advancement prospects are limited.

And there are some skills that it’s much easier to obtain if you’re in a college setting: the sort of critical thinking and subjective analysis skills you develop if you take a challenging course in the humanities or soft science, the formal reasoning skills you develop if you take a challenging course in math or the hard sciences.

College is also a great time of personal growth and exploration. The courses I took in art, though they haven’t made me any money directly, have given me a lot more knowledge, and so I can go to a museum and understand a lot more, so that I get something out of the experience.

So the only answer to the question is, alas, “it depends.”

@ siren – Thanks. yes I did. I learned to take advantage of the opportunities that life gives you when you have the chance. So when I had the chance a year later to move west with my best friend and try to get into the Disney internship program, I got my $300 and did. I never looked back and boy am I glad I did it.

@Bri – So it all worked out, huh? That’s great, and good for you!

@ Siren – thanks! yeah. in the end. And we all have the opportunity to make it right. I am going to takes some classes and filled in where I was not educated on my own. Got accepted by Disney and said no. Life goes on.

@Bri: So you are forging your own path. Choosing from education what will benefit you.

@ Siren – On the nose!