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College often not worth time, money
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | Thursday, February 24, 2005 | Mike Seate

Posted on 02/24/2005 9:12:40 AM PST by Willie Green

A waitress at one of my favorite Strip District restaurants last week used one of the industry's oldest cliches. She delivered a meal and reminded me that she "really didn't do this" for a living.

Waiting tables, she explained, was simply something she was doing until a well-paying job opened up in the field she studied during six years in college.

While this is rote conversation for wait staff in places like New York and Los Angeles, where everyone with a tray of linguini in their hands is waiting for a slot on NBC's "Fear Factor," it's unusual for Pittsburgh.

Or is it?

The waitress, it turns out, spent all that time and nearly $150,000 of her family's money studying social sciences, but after graduating she became disappointed with the entry-level salary of her chosen field.

"I can make, like, twice what I'd make as a social worker waiting tables," she confided, "so I'm probably going to just stay here."

(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: academia; career; education; thebusheconomy; vocation; work
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To: Willie Green

bump


321 posted on 02/27/2005 7:05:47 AM PST by Boazo (From the mind of BOAZO)
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To: siunevada

For some reason, liberals think they should be paid top dollar to make themselves feel good.


322 posted on 02/27/2005 7:13:23 AM PST by Doohickey ("This is a hard and dirty war, but when it's over, nothing will ever be too difficult again.”)
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To: DarkSavant

"That equals six years for her degree. Maybe she can't find a job because she's an idiot."

My thoughts too. Or, totally unfocussed and lazy. Or maybe she's waiting for some one to come to her door and offer her that dream job, whatever it could be for
the "social sciences."


323 posted on 02/27/2005 7:20:50 AM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: Willie Green
Going to a tech school and learning how to be an electrician, heat source repair, air conditioning, plumbing, vehicle repair, welder etc. is a much better choice as many of these former low wage earning jobs now surpass the wages earned by many of those holding college degrees. That includes being a waitress.

Our niece's education cost her parents $58,000. What a waste.

After graduation she ended up as a bar tender because she could make more money. She then took a course to be a court stenographer and is still making more money and the best part is she is self employed.

324 posted on 02/27/2005 7:22:33 AM PST by Dustbunny (The only good terrorist is a dead terrorist)
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To: keats5

My brother-in-law is a state trooper and also in the AF Reserves. He uses his Montgomery GI Bill to go to college part-time. He gets the best of both worlds - relevant experience trumps college degree up to a point, so by the time he gets to that point he'll have a degree.


325 posted on 02/27/2005 7:32:39 AM PST by Doohickey ("This is a hard and dirty war, but when it's over, nothing will ever be too difficult again.”)
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To: myself6

I've had basically the same experience. Thirteen years Navy electronics, spent a year contracting and then landed my first IT job.


326 posted on 02/27/2005 7:39:30 AM PST by Doohickey ("This is a hard and dirty war, but when it's over, nothing will ever be too difficult again.”)
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To: John Robertson
John, thanks for the advice, but I interview well. The problem is getting an interview, and without experience in the networking field, your resume hits the round file pretty quickly, if you even bother to send one in. I feel free here to anonymously post my feelings, but when I'm talking to people, I'm always upbeat. I guess a lot of folks say things here that they wouldn't necessarily say in front of live people.

College is fun, but as a career strategy, well, its not always what they crack it up to be. I heard some more stuff on the TV this morning about how the "new jobs" will require technical skills, and while that's true, just having those skills will not get you in the door by themselves. It will still take the old fashioned "knowing somebody" or just being at the right place at the right time to get that valuable experience that you need to get a really decent job some days.

327 posted on 02/27/2005 9:04:35 PM PST by hunter112 (Total victory, both in the USA and the Middle East!)
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To: hunter112

Okay, you set me straight. Good luck to you.


328 posted on 02/28/2005 9:51:13 AM PST by John Robertson
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To: John Robertson

Thanks, I really do appreciate all of the folks here at FR who try to help each other out. It's not like DU where they compete to see who can make the most clever Bush-bashing joke.


329 posted on 02/28/2005 3:29:39 PM PST by hunter112 (Total victory, both in the USA and the Middle East!)
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To: BADROTOFINGER
The problem with college is that it concentrates on teaching nearly irrelevant subjects so that stupid leftists who did not want to become useful to others could have jobs teaching garbage like 'social sciences' or 'ethnic studies'.

Yeah...GWB

330 posted on 03/03/2005 5:59:50 AM PST by Sirc_Valence (I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those that threaten.. my brother)
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To: k2blader
I still think most of the kids in college these days shouldn't be there.

You were talking about the students right?

331 posted on 03/03/2005 6:36:21 AM PST by Sirc_Valence (I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those that threaten.. my brother)
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To: Nathaniel Fischer

Well, assuming economics and accounting require math then they would be in the list. :)

But couldn't those careers be taught on a vocational level as well? Why does it require a four year degree to learn economics if all you study is economics? The same with law. Sure there are classes not directly related to the field but might offer skills helpful for the student once the career starts. But I surely did not need Psychology and Anthropology to be a 3D Artist and Designer.


332 posted on 03/31/2005 10:51:12 PM PST by talmand
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Comment #333 Removed by Moderator

To: siunevada
She must have skipped that appointment with her high school guidance counselor.

High school guidance counselors are still justifying their decision to get a liberal arts degree. Probably not going to be willing to admit that there is no money down that trail.

334 posted on 04/01/2005 6:11:25 AM PST by myprecious
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To: MediaMole
Putting social in front of any word negates its meaning -- Social Science, Social Work...

LOL How true, how true. Don't forget about "Social Security", "Social Justice", and "Social Engineering".

335 posted on 04/06/2005 5:17:30 PM PDT by FierceDraka (The Democratic Party - Aiding and Abetting The Enemies of America Since 1968)
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To: Nathaniel Fischer

True, but all that stuff should be taught and learned in school BEFORE going to college. Almost all of the remedial courses I took in college I had already covered the material in high school. If it was a type of class where discussion was held then that would have been interesting but it was the same "memorize these dates because they're on the test" crap. It used to be one learned everything you needed to be a "well-rounded" person in public school. That was what it was for. Higher education is supposed to be focused on a discipline to make you better at what you wish to do as a career, if it was required at all. But as time has gone by they have dumbed down the system to the point of uselessness. The previous generation's high school diploma was the equivalent of my Bachelor's degree from college now. I have to go for a Master's to get the education the previous generation would have gotten from a proper college education to receive a Bachelor's degree. And it is only getting worse.


336 posted on 04/13/2005 11:30:36 PM PDT by talmand
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To: DarkSavant

If she had to pay full price for her graduate degree, then it means she is a mental midget and the grad school did not think she was worth funding. Anyone with brains can get a fellowship for grad school.


337 posted on 04/13/2005 11:34:34 PM PDT by flying Elvis
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To: Willie Green
I am a Machinists (Blue collar trade) at a Company and I make $45,ooo with unlimited overtime. Some people I work with make between $60,000 - $70,000 per year. I put myself through college and got an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Technology. What an absolute waste of time. I am still machining because I cannot get a decent job in this field and they all pay much less than what I currently make. I spent roughly $9,000 on this 2 year degree. I spent $150 for an 8 week certificate in machining. If I relied on my computer degree I would need to wait tables on the side to make it.
338 posted on 03/18/2006 9:31:55 AM PST by evin R. (College or Trade ?)
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To: GovernmentShrinker

I cannot get my daughter to grasp what you are talking about. She and her mother are on their way north for another 'audition' right now. It is breaking my heart to see this young lady try and try.


339 posted on 03/18/2006 9:56:38 AM PST by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS

If it's college dance programs that she's auditioning for, DON'T PAY! It would be much cheaper, and much more educational, if you provided modest financial assistance for her to pursue ballet instead of college for a while. If I was in your position, I'd try something like agreeing to match every dollar she earns for herself, so she can work part-time at whatever sort of work she can get (maybe teaching children's ballet classes if she's lucky), spend the rest of her time on ballet, and have enough money to survive on her own. I'd suggest that this arrangement NOT involve living at home, first because she needs to get a sense of who and what she really is in the outside world, and second because she needs to start experiencing first-hand what it's like to live on a meager income. This arrangement would have her living on about what a professional dancer with a position in a fairly major company makes, and spending a good deal of time getting much better dance training than she'll get at any college. Put a time limit on this arrangement, maybe two years. You'll be out some money, but not nearly as much as you'd be out after paying for two years of a college degree program in dance, and your daughter will have gotten a heck of a lot more meaningful education.

What part of the country do you live in?


340 posted on 03/18/2006 12:45:52 PM PST by GovernmentShrinker
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