The Biggest Scam in America

[ElCubano]

Attending a real college or university specializing in education rather than job training is a waste of time and money for anyone not committed to learning.


A college education won't guarantee happiness in life.

Committed to learning doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything, perhaps making it a waste time and money. There are tons of highly educated doctors who make less than the pharma reps who bring them their drug samples.

Happiness is usually found when their is purpose in life, it’s truly inside of us all. I’ve always said some of the happiest people I know are not highly educated and don’t have jobs we would consider fun. Weird how that works huh?

 

[heypa]

The United States government. Oops. Shoulda been all caps.

 

[piezoe]

Committed to learning doesn’t necessarily guarantee anything, perhaps making it a waste time and money.

My comment was in regard to persons not committed to learning. Which does, I think you would agree, virtually guarantee a waste of time and money, as I put it. On the other hand while what you point out is true, it is not something we should be concerned about because the vast majority of those committed to learning will benefit from education. It is those that never wake up to the reality that even though their professors provide both inspiration and guidance, the student must do most of the work needed to acquire a good education. The student is not paying for a degree, though some will think so, they are paying to have a difficult job made easier. (We are discussing education, not job training.)

 

[piezoe]

There are tons of highly educated doctors who make less than the pharma reps who bring them their drug samples.

My best guess is that in the United States this is wrong, at least in aggregate. A google search confirmed my suspicions.

"As of Nov 19, 2020, the average annual pay for a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative in the United States is $91,977 a year."
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I should mention, however, that I view Medical School, beyond year one as mainly job training. The first year is education intensive, at least in the U.S. curriculum. Typical practicing physicians, however, receive the bulk of their education in undergraduate studies. Some other disciplines are similar in that job training is largely relegated to graduate study, however the mix of education and job training in graduate programs, varies very widely among disciplines.

Education and job training are so intermingled in the minds of Americans that they can be talking about one, but thinking they are talking about the other. And most people make no effort to distinguish between the two. Education, with time, is becoming all the more associated with job training, so I daresay the two terms will eventually mean the same thing, and we will have to adopt another word for what we used to call "education."

 

[Same Lazy Element]

Education, with time, is becoming all the more associated with job training, so I daresay the two terms will eventually mean the same thing, and we will have to adopt another word for what we used to call "education."

I think the concept of education will stick around for a while. Unfortunately, it does seem like it is going to be mostly applicable to the top schools, while everything else will become de facto vocational schools.

The key differences between education and job training are the ability to process new information, pick up new skills and general critical thinking. For example, a computer science education will teach you stuff like theory of algorithms and systems design, while a vocational course in Java programming will teach you how to write while-loops. While the latter will get you a job as a computer programmer much faster and cheaper, the former will keep you employed and progressing even as technology changes.

 

[piezoe]

I think the concept of education will stick around for a while. Unfortunately, it does seem like it is going to be mostly applicable to the top schools, while everything else will become de facto vocational schools.

The key differences between education and job training are the ability to process new information, pick up new skills and general critical thinking. For example, a computer science education will teach you stuff like theory of algorithms and systems design, while a vocational course in Java programming will teach you how to write while-loops. While the latter will get you a job as a computer programmer much faster and cheaper, the former will keep you employed and progressing even as technology changes.

Not only do I like your post. I like it very much!

 

[JSOP]

Well it depends on what you majored in for your undergrad degree and also how you tailored your degree according to what you want to do after you graduate. If you just get a general BA degree majoring in English, then yeah it won't be much use to you in your career placement after you graduate. But some of the degrees with majors that actually teach you something like accounting, financial analysis and etc., it is still quite useful at least as a preparation for further studies. Lots of planning is required. That's why you are supposed to talk to a counselor in your department who will help you plan your courses in the most efficient curriculum path and also fit your future career needs.