The new trend nowadays is to frame people who get college degrees as worthless freeloaders who are taking on unnecessary debt and gaining a useless education that could be obtained in a library. People quote that obnoxious Good Will Hunting scene, where Matt Damon goes up to a pretentious Harvard student and reminds him that Matt Damon had a similar education for a much smaller price ( 150 dollars in Library fees). This is supposed to be a hyperbolic statement of course, yet people take it to heart. What people fail to acknowledge is the continuation of the scene where Matt Damon admits his kids will be serving McDonald's to the pretentious gentlemen. So let me make this clear. You are not Matt Damon. You are not a genius. The kind of intelligence exhibited in Good Will Hunting is not typical, it's not even above average, it's incredibly rare. So please stop citing my favorite movie for your own insecurities.
Now I want you all to stop telling kids to not go to college. It's obnoxious. Are there people who are successful without a college degree? Yes. This isn't a post claiming college is necessary for success. But the overwhelming majority of people need college to be successful. Why? College opens doors. Your college degree makes you more qualified than a random person on the street who decides to apply for your job. In terms of starting your career, college is the boost you need to get the experience you want so you can remain marketable. People often bring up entrepreneurs who easily outclass college graduates. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the gang are all examples of bright young minds who decided to forgo college for experience. Now I want you to give me the list of people who didn't get jobs because they didn't have college degrees. That's a much harder list to construct because no employer would outright admit they rejected someone because they have no college degree, but I'm sure there are plenty of employers who either reject people without degrees or prefer people with degrees.
Poor students who hear this mantra of "don't go to college" are the ones who are hurt the most by it. Poor students who are academically successful can easily be persuaded to forgo the costs of college. Rich and upper middle class students may whine and groan, but as long as their moms and dads are picking up the tab, they let out a long sigh and say "might as well". Poor students will hear about entrepreneurial work ethic and the overbearing costs of college. They also don't want to put their parents in the awkward position of saying no to their education. So it's easier to just not go. But that's a mistake. Even for those technically gifted, it can be a challenge landing an interview with Google or Microsoft, when they typically give their internships to college students. There will always be success stories that defy the odds. But everyone cannot be an outlier. Eventually the institutions set in place for proficiency in this country will bring down those who have decided to reject the system. The day companies stop using college degrees as a prerequisite for their careers is the day I will recant everything I said here. But until then, stop telling kids to not go to college. Stop labeling every student who leaves college without a job as a freeloader. The economy is hard, jobs are difficult to find. Finally, please stop it with the "college isn't for everyone" nonsense. I hate it when people say that. It's typically targeted towards poorer students who are "low achievers" in high school. I do agree college isn't for everyone, but with the variety of colleges and classes in this country, college is surely for most people.
List of random job offers where Bachelors is expected
http://jobs.bloomberg.com/job/London-2014-Financial-Product-Sales-and-Analytics-Polish-speaker-Job/43259900/
https://www.google.com/about/careers/search/#!t=jo&jid=21435001&
https://www.google.com/about/careers/search/#!t=jo&jid=33635001&
http://www.goldmansachs.com/careers/students-and-graduates/our-programs/americas-programs/new-analyst-copy.html
And I'm pretty sure the list can go on and on.
Now I don't want this to be post be taken as a Carte blanche for taking on an insurmountable amount of debt for your degree in Classical civilizations. That's a whole different ballgame that requires an expert in personal finances.
Bias: I am a graduate of the University of Michigan.
Now I want you all to stop telling kids to not go to college. It's obnoxious. Are there people who are successful without a college degree? Yes. This isn't a post claiming college is necessary for success. But the overwhelming majority of people need college to be successful. Why? College opens doors. Your college degree makes you more qualified than a random person on the street who decides to apply for your job. In terms of starting your career, college is the boost you need to get the experience you want so you can remain marketable. People often bring up entrepreneurs who easily outclass college graduates. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the gang are all examples of bright young minds who decided to forgo college for experience. Now I want you to give me the list of people who didn't get jobs because they didn't have college degrees. That's a much harder list to construct because no employer would outright admit they rejected someone because they have no college degree, but I'm sure there are plenty of employers who either reject people without degrees or prefer people with degrees.
Poor students who hear this mantra of "don't go to college" are the ones who are hurt the most by it. Poor students who are academically successful can easily be persuaded to forgo the costs of college. Rich and upper middle class students may whine and groan, but as long as their moms and dads are picking up the tab, they let out a long sigh and say "might as well". Poor students will hear about entrepreneurial work ethic and the overbearing costs of college. They also don't want to put their parents in the awkward position of saying no to their education. So it's easier to just not go. But that's a mistake. Even for those technically gifted, it can be a challenge landing an interview with Google or Microsoft, when they typically give their internships to college students. There will always be success stories that defy the odds. But everyone cannot be an outlier. Eventually the institutions set in place for proficiency in this country will bring down those who have decided to reject the system. The day companies stop using college degrees as a prerequisite for their careers is the day I will recant everything I said here. But until then, stop telling kids to not go to college. Stop labeling every student who leaves college without a job as a freeloader. The economy is hard, jobs are difficult to find. Finally, please stop it with the "college isn't for everyone" nonsense. I hate it when people say that. It's typically targeted towards poorer students who are "low achievers" in high school. I do agree college isn't for everyone, but with the variety of colleges and classes in this country, college is surely for most people.
List of random job offers where Bachelors is expected
http://jobs.bloomberg.com/job/London-2014-Financial-Product-Sales-and-Analytics-Polish-speaker-Job/43259900/
https://www.google.com/about/careers/search/#!t=jo&jid=21435001&
https://www.google.com/about/careers/search/#!t=jo&jid=33635001&
http://www.goldmansachs.com/careers/students-and-graduates/our-programs/americas-programs/new-analyst-copy.html
And I'm pretty sure the list can go on and on.
Now I don't want this to be post be taken as a Carte blanche for taking on an insurmountable amount of debt for your degree in Classical civilizations. That's a whole different ballgame that requires an expert in personal finances.
Bias: I am a graduate of the University of Michigan.
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