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ManyRoses
02-28-2011, 12:30 PM
I absolutely sympathize with a lot of what is being said here. I think that the main problem is twofold:
1 - people are told that they absolutely "have" to get a degree. Like a few of the girls have said, the idea of not going to college is not even considered by most. This has devalued the degree to such an extent that it means almost nothing.
2 - schools these days are so focused on "rewards" and "building self esteem" that they give awards and praise for the smallest achievement, and provide so much "help" for everyone that most kids leave school with a sense of entitlement.

These two things put together mean that all high school graduates believe that they are special, and in the top 10%, that they will be going to college, and then a job will be waiting for them as soon as they graduate. Many people I've spoken to over the years don't even choose a degree based on career prospects or a passion, but because it is a "good degree to have"! So many school graduates believe that they are entitled to a job if they get a degree, so they don't have the mindset to go above and beyond to get one. Combine this with hundreds of other graduates with a "good degree to have" who also believe that they shouldn't have to do anything more than gain the degree, and you have a hugely overqualified waiting staff across the country.

I would love to go back to university, but I would love to go back to study art to expand my skills for the job I already have. I would really love to see people get a JOB straight out of school, one that they are truly passionate about, one that suits their temperament and personality, and train on the job. And then, when they are working, and have saved enough to go to school, go to school to move up in their career. It may seem completely radical, but that would mean that you don't have student debts, because you are not borrowing before you are earning. It means that if you are starting in an industry at an entry-level position, you find out if you would actually, really enjoy the industry before you spend thousands of dollars on a degree...

sorry for the looooong post - this is a subject that is close to my heart! I know too many people who are working in jobs they hate, or are unemployed, or who are simply dealing with mountains of debt because people guiding them refused to think differently.

Optimist
02-28-2011, 03:42 PM
I know too many people who are working in jobs they hate, or are unemployed, or who are simply dealing with mountains of debt because people guiding them refused to think differently.


Here here! >:( Conventional wisdom has to be set aside these days because yo' mama and daddy's world was a VERY different one.

tampadancer
02-28-2011, 07:31 PM
I have a BA in English and am finishing a MA in international communications at a top school with a 3.9 GPA. I have excellent references and three years of successful professional work experience. I have applied to nearly 100 jobs in the past four months (a job in itself) and haven't gotten a single interview. So I've returned to dancing... and I am so disappointed in myself for not doing this much sooner.... or even foregoing the MA and just stripping.

It is a scam. I feel like this has been such a fucking waste.

bambiblue
03-03-2011, 02:41 PM
Personally, I'd rather take my chances trying to find a job WITH a degree than without one.

Odette
03-04-2011, 08:52 AM
Oh man I love everything said in this thread, I've been so conflicted as to what to do about school the last few months, and some of you echo the exact same things I've been thinking! I'm halfway through a degree right now, so I think I will finish it at some point, but OJenni's talk of crazy debt ruining her credit realllllllly scares me, and really, is why I started dancing in the first place, that's the amount of debt I was supposed to graduate with and I just was like WTF at how I would be able to pay it off...I think I'm going to HAVE to take a gap year at some point, both for my own sanity and to earn enough to pay off the student loans I do have/pay for the rest of school. I really regret not being educated on other educational options in high school...it was a heirarchy and you were considered to be at a lower level if you graduated and went to college instead of university, and basically a total failure at life if you graduated and went to work, no postsecondary at all. I'm really interested in entrepreneurship, and the biggest obstacle there is $$$ for startup costs that you cannot get if you have massive loans that have made your credit shit x_x Sometimes I think the whole wide world is one big scam :(

Optimist
03-04-2011, 05:43 PM
Personally, I'd rather take my chances trying to find a job WITH a degree than without one.

That makes sense IF you've done your research. What jobs are you going for and do they require a degree? Every job simply DOES NOT require a degree. There is a such thing as over-qualification for a job. When applying for a job that doesn't require it, the degree can make you appear to be a short-time opportunist who will demand more (to pay off those loans and live at the higher class level college grads feel entitled to) and will be unhappy quickly when they are not stimulated at that higher intellectual level. That's real. Human resource departments think this way. After all, why higher the person with the degree and the demands just to have to re-hire for that position when they move on to bigger better things in a matter of months. ;) That process takes money that can be used elsewhere.

BTW that's exactly what's going on in dancing too. You can hire desperate girls, whether they are down and out extras girls or illegal immigrants, because they won't leave so quickly and will pay higher house fees.