How much is that degree really worth?

[itsame]

Quote from peilthetraveler:

I met a guy a few weeks back that runs a restaurant. He said he was looking to hire a few people(waiters & waitress) and got all these applications from people with bachelors degrees and such. I asked if he was going to hire any of them and he said no as those people would leave the second they found a "real" job. He was only hiring the high school educated people and the H.S. drop outs.

So it seems like if you are desperate for a job, having a degree hurts you.

This a very real problem with people that are over qualified. No one want to hire someone that will leave within 6 months. They (yahoo, msn, etc...) say that you should leave off advanced degrees if it doesn't pertain to your job

The last sentence in the quote can be confusing and taken the wrong way. A degree can only hurt you if you are extremely over qualified.

A couple examples.

http://www.jobget.net/article-archive/116-over-qualified

http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-Reasons-Resumes-Are-Rejected---Youre-Overqualified&id=4519338

 

[Eddiefl]

Quote from peilthetraveler:

They used to say with a college degree, you could earn $1.6 million dollars more over your lifetime than with a high school diploma.

Turns out the real number is more like $400k over 30 years. I bet if they factored in the extra taxes on high income the college graduates make, and add in the extra income that the high school drop outs make from the EIC on their taxes with all their kids they pop out and a college degree is worth even less.

http://finance.yahoo.com/college-ed...nt-paltry-return?mod=edu-continuing_education

Well if it gets you in GS or you head out to Silicon Valley with a good one it could be worth hundreds of millions.

OR you can open a yogurt stand and make shit.

its more of what you do with it than what it is worth.

That being said, it is much more easy and realistic to become succesfull with a college degree than without. HOw many CEO went to college, prob almost all of them. Yes, Bill Gates didnt finish, but for every Gates there are 10k guys who didnt do shit,

EF

 

[Mike Morrison]

Quote from blox87:

The million dollars over a lifetime number isn't representative of the self employed so that would be interesting to see if they factored that in also.

It's just one mans experience, I know, but the highly successful self-employed people I know never went to college.

 

[blackjack007]

for lame jobs like waiting on tables and cashier, you definitely do not want an over-qualified employee with a desirable degree. people like that will have options when the economy gets better and are likely to get bored. all you want is someone who's reliable and follows orders. that would be a high-school grad or perhaps someone with a useless degree in music or african-american studies.

when i worked for a tech company, i was part of a group who did interviewing. one thing we looked for was whether the interviewee was overqualified. people like that get bored, unhappy, and leave -- after you've spent $$$ training them. then you have to interview and hire someone new, all over again.

 

[blackjack007]

that website did not list certain schools (perhaps because they couldn't get enough responses?). UC san francisco is not on there but would likely be in the top 10. it is an elite public graduate school that produces mainly just doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses. because of the (relatively) low in-state tuition and high earnings potential, its ROI should be astronomical

 

[enkidu007]

Quote from Kassz007:

I'm not sure if I buy that. If I was an employer, I would want the brightest mind possible, as long as they were willing to work for the wage that I want to pay for that given position.

Out of curiosity, do you have a degree of any type Peil?

Just plain dumb comment some business you don't want the brightest or best. My dad owns 12 dunkin donuts in the chicago area and over the years running some of them I can tell you dumber is better, turnover is already bad enough I don't want someone leaving when they get a better deal. (you don't need the best to run cashier, just not steal!)

Just plain sad, my dad came here from india 10 years ago and accomplish more then most americans in their lifetime.

And yes I got a masters in CS from depaul.

 

[eternitysgarden]

Quote from blackjack007:

that website did not list certain schools (perhaps because they couldn't get enough responses?). UC san francisco is not on there but would likely be in the top 10. it is an elite public graduate school that produces mainly just doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses. because of the (relatively) low in-state tuition and high earnings potential, its ROI should be astronomical

A harvard degree is everything, anything else is fluff.

 

[TraDaToR]

Quote from Mike Morrison:

It's just one mans experience, I know, but the highly successful self-employed people I know never went to college.

Same here. The 3 most inspirational business owner I know( 1 is really big) never finished college and started their venture while attending or even before, their business was usually the catalyst for them dropping out... Nothing beats passion.

 

[Retief]

The Hutterites get by on only a high school education. The Amish get by on only an 8th grade education, raise huge families, and will not accept social security.

 

[QuikrRetirement]

Quote from Retief:

The Hutterites get by on only a high school education. The Amish get by on only an 8th grade education, raise huge families, and will not accept social security.

Yes, and the Amish also do not drive, avoid electricity, have serious problems when they need real medical intervention for their family members, and a lot of other things. They would obviously not be involved in this conversation, as they are not on the web.

They have a very limited vision, and yes they are among the nicest people and are the salt of the Earth.

If everyone stopped at 8th grade, you could pretty much kiss scientists, mathematicians, engineers, doctors, and a huge number of other occupations, as they will not come from the Amish.

If you want to advocate for being uneducated and "getting by", however, feel free to join them