college is a waste of money

[Pekelo]

Except this one.

That is alright, education is still an investment.

Now someone like you could argue, that although I didn't get a skilled job of my education level, but I got a life experience, maturity, life long friendship, etc. out of college and that was worth my money. If you value those that high, so be it. But purely from an economical POV, your return was negative if you don't work in the chosen industry or you don't need the skillset acquired in your current job.

I would say to that: You could have got similar experience for much cheaper or even by earning a salary. As a 18-19 year old not knowing what to do with yourself you could have volunteered to work for an organization maybe even abroad, and you bet you would have matured even more with such an experience. I am fond of the gap year concept, trying to find yourself.

 

[Pekelo]

Also, money isn't everything. You might be a highly educated and paid millennial who works 60+ hours and stressed out beyond belief. You might be trying to keep up with the Joneses and buying a new car every 2 years. etc.etc.

And I might just be a blue collar hair dresser who doesn't make much but I am always there for my kids, don't work more than 40 hours, and my blood pressure is normal. Oh yes, and I am happy!

TL: DR; Life is more than just about money.

 

[Sig]

Also, money isn't everything. You might be a highly educated and paid millennial who works 60+ hours and stressed out beyond belief. You might be trying to keep up with the Joneses and buying a new car every 2 years. etc.etc.

And I might just be a blue collar hair dresser who doesn't make much but I am always there for my kids, don't work more than 40 hours, and my blood pressure is normal. Oh yes, and I am happy!

TL: DR; Life is more than just about money.

True dat! Also a big fan of gap year. I wish our college admission system embraced it like the Europeans and Australians do.

 

[sss12]

Read it again. I did agree with you about college graduates making more than high school graduates in terms of income. You are marginally better but, not by much. Where you are very much wrong is when you assume having a a degree and a job is way better than trying to start a business which is my point and Robert Kiyosaki's point. And you want statistics, overwhelmingly, a lot of Chinese are rich because they stress owning a business to their kids as opposed to being employees. A lot of Chinese who became filthy rich became rich because they had street smarts as opposed to book smarts you learn in college. My grandfather and mother both taught me that you should study hard at school, get good grades and get a good job. That is guaranteed to keep you poor and in the rat race! Robert Kiyosaki's story about his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad illustrates this point. His real dad was a principal and he was born poor and died poor. Now, his step dad taught him about the economic structure and money. He was the rich dad and he changed Robert Kiyosaki's life for the better. Grew up poor and getting a job still meant you are stuck in the rat race. My classmates who were born rich with businesses run by their families are still filthy rich to this day. Their degrees did not make them rich. It was those family businesses that did! That is why the rich stay rich and poor stay poor. It is the economic structure that matters! Ignore it at your peril.

and the average income in in China is......very low, again refer to the mean.

also..just starting a business is not a guarantee of success. oh, and I'll take the college grads chances of success in starting a bus over a HS grad any day. ( and don't post but Bill Gates...blah, blah).

look at probabilities. a college degree increases your probability of success, even if you have to work as a waitress for a spell.

 

[jinxu]

Read it again. I did agree with you about college graduates making more than high school graduates in terms of income. You are marginally better but, not by much. Where you are very much wrong is when you assume having a a degree and a job is way better than trying to start a business which is my point and Robert Kiyosaki's point. And you want statistics, overwhelmingly, a lot of Chinese are rich because they stress owning a business to their kids as opposed to being employees. A lot of Chinese who became filthy rich became rich because they had street smarts as opposed to book smarts you learn in college. My grandfather and mother both taught me that you should study hard at school, get good grades and get a good job. That is guaranteed to keep you poor and in the rat race! Robert Kiyosaki's story about his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad illustrates this point. His real dad was a principal and he was born poor and died poor. Now, his step dad taught him about the economic structure and money. He was the rich dad and he changed Robert Kiyosaki's life for the better. Grew up poor and getting a job still meant you are stuck in the rat race. My classmates who were born rich with businesses run by their families are still filthy rich to this day. Their degrees did not make them rich. It was those family businesses that did! That is why the rich stay rich and poor stay poor. It is the economic structure that matters! Ignore it at your peril.

Wow. Just Wow.

https://johntreed.com/blogs/john-t-...ert-t-kiyosakis-book-rich-dad-poor-dad-part-1

"Summary
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is one of the dumbest financial advice books I have ever read. It contains many factual errors and numerous extremely unlikely accounts of events that supposedly occurred.
Kiyosaki is a salesman and a motivational speaker. He has no financial expertise and won’t disclose his supposed real estate or other investment success.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad contains much wrong advice, much bad advice, some dangerous advice, and virtually no good advice.
You may wonder if I just criticize or have I written a better book. I wrote a bunch of them. Here’s one on advanced fundamentals of real estate investment and another on basics. Click on either for more"

And you want statistics, overwhelmingly, a lot of Chinese are rich because they stress owning a business to their kids as opposed to being employees. A lot of Chinese who became filthy rich became rich because they had street smarts as opposed to book smarts you learn in college. My grandfather and mother both taught me that you should study hard at school, get good grades and get a good job. That is guaranteed to keep you poor and in the rat race!

First I've heard about this. True that Chinese are business oriented but education is still stressed in their culture. A lot!

 

[jinxu]

and the average income in in China is......very low, again refer to the mean.

also..just starting a business is not a guarantee of success. oh, and I'll take the college grads chances of success in starting a bus over a HS grad any day. ( and don't post but Bill Gates...blah, blah).

look at probabilities. a college degree increases your probability of success, even if you have to work as a waitress for a spell.

Chinese income low. Cost of living is low. Equals out.

The cost of living in China is dramatically lower than that in the US, Australia, and Western Europe. A nice two bedroom, one bath apartment with wooden floors and marble counters in the kitchen will run around 4,500 RMB a month (about $587.50 USD).Feb 28, 2009

Indices Difference
Consumer Prices in United States are 61.89% higher than in China
Consumer Prices Including Rent in United States are 75.38% higher than in China
Rent Prices in United States are 110.90% higher than in China
Restaurant Prices in United States are 128.01% higher than in China
Groceries Prices in United States are 53.44% higher than in China
Local Purchasing Power in United States is 59.08% higher than in China

 

[Pekelo]

a college degree increases your probability of success, even if you have to work as a waitress for a spell.

In the case of a waitress, a boobjob is much better return over a college degree, and I am not joking.

And in my story it wasn't for a spell, we were mid-40s at that time.

 

[Banjo]

I can't fathom why anyone would ignore statistics. In any profession/vocation there will always be statistical outliers. Statistical realities as winds at our backs are a far superior springboard into adult life than engaging them as headwinds. Throughout our lives windows of opportunity appear, open and close. The simplistic Boy scout motto "be prepared" comes to mind.

EDIT: I very much agree with sig re: a gap year,preferably doing something off one's normal patch.

 

[Sig]

Wow. Just Wow.

https://johntreed.com/blogs/john-t-...ert-t-kiyosakis-book-rich-dad-poor-dad-part-1

"Summary
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is one of the dumbest financial advice books I have ever read. It contains many factual errors and numerous extremely unlikely accounts of events that supposedly occurred.
Kiyosaki is a salesman and a motivational speaker. He has no financial expertise and won’t disclose his supposed real estate or other investment success.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad contains much wrong advice, much bad advice, some dangerous advice, and virtually no good advice.
You may wonder if I just criticize or have I written a better book. I wrote a bunch of them. Here’s one on advanced fundamentals of real estate investment and another on basics. Click on either for more"


First I've heard about this. True that Chinese are business oriented but education is still stressed in their culture. A lot!

Even without hearing this it was clear that Kiyosaki is a bit of a douchebag who never made it past the second level on Maslow's Hierarchy. I mean seriously "Robert Kiyosaki's story about his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad illustrates this point. His real dad was a principal and he was born poor and died poor." as if being a school principal is somehow a failure in life. I spent 20 years in the military, quite a bit more of a "slave" than your typical college grad given that we had official policies where "potential loss of (my and my crew's) life" was an acceptable risk for some missions. Worked 80 hour weeks for weeks at a time away from home and got paid crap compared to what I would have made as a civilian. Wouldn't trade the experience for anything, certainly not for being a 25 year old high school graduate millionaire. I have MBA classmates who either passed up or left 7 figure jobs to work in non-profits where they make less than 6 figures. One of them got malaria twice (apparently the second time almost kills you) and was struck by lighting in one year running around the outback of Africa, and before school he spent 10 years as a Marine. I can almost be sure he'll die penniless no matter how much he makes because he'll put it all into whatever social enterprise he's associated with. At 40 he's already had a far fuller and more meaningful life than Kiyosaki and his step-father combined ever will. There's more to life than money, far more, and those who don't realize it end up with the "what now" feeling when they finally do arrive and realize that the journey was the destination.

 

[sss12]

Chinese income low. Cost of living is low. Equals out.

And what percentage of the
Chinese population is living in such dwellings...the marble counter top ones ? Again, averages and probabilities.