Posted on 09/05/2010 9:34:09 PM PDT by Kaslin
Did it myself as well, but it took 8 years to finish. It’s not easy, but it’s so much better than the alternative.
I found this earlier today:
Student loan scam: http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/the-student-loan-scam/2691
Good quick overview of the debt slavery the higher education machine is foisting onto the younger generation today.
If more kids/people would. THAT may just break the government hold, in and of itself.
THAT and if a whole lot of people who just are NOT college material just went and learned a good trade.
We have way too many degreed in debt fools who have a generic business or Liberal Arts of nothing and it isn’t helping them in any way.
If a good bunch of folks said to hell with college and just spent those 4 to 5 years in a trade on on the job educating themselves, they’d STILL be making the same money as a fresh grad, but having no debt and a 4 to 5 year head start.
Just as an example: The bank for which I work, takes the “College degree or 4 years equivalent experience” very seriously. Our Senior VP of HR has worked for the bank since the 80s. She started as a teller making $2.50 an hour part time. She is now SVP of all HR. She dropped out of HS at 17, got a GED and have NEVER been to college. She makes over 150K plus benefits.
We have many managers/supervisors in dozens of branches and departments who never spent an hour in a college or university. And we hire “kids” with 4 year degrees to work in the mail room part time these days... because the market for jobs is so tight, and a degree is NOT experience. We want to see what these kids DO to help the company before we just give them the fast track opportunity their professors promised them.
In several states, Virginia among them, a person can ‘apprentice’ for a period of time under the tutelage of an attorney, then sit for the bar without having gone to law school. I knew a few people who did it that way, and another who’s working her way there now.
What path to follow is very much up to the individual students. We had one academic over achiever who went straight from high school to a four year, graduated summa cum and PBK. After a hiatus in the ‘real’ world, back for a master’s degree. Two others, equally bright but significantly less focused, are taking the community college to 4 year route. At the end of the proverbial day, they will all be equally well educated.
As to the thrust of Barone’s article, living in the Washington, DC Metro area, my sainted (J.D.) attorney spouse claims that one good, honest mechanic is worth a dozen lawyers. Who can argue? I think he secretly had hoped our kids would learn a mechanical skill instead of going to college/law/grad school.
- Frontpiece of the Penguin edition of GARGANTUA & PANTAGRUEL
Give it a try.
That’s awesome. I thought about the military. But graduated HS in 2002 and that was RIGHT after 9/11 and in the middle of the Afghan war and looking like we were going to go after Iraq and Iran too. So, I passed on ROTC and a military experience. But I did consider it, and my Dad is retired Army.
Any business will benefit if they give people a leg up. Invest in the right people, and go from there. If people see that they have a chance if they work hard when they get in at the bottom, the company will benefit in the end when those same people stick around.
So many businesses just don’t get it. All they see are the numbers. I’ve been turned down for these entry level positions because they feel I am overqualified!
How the heck am I supposed to get experience if I don’t start at the bottom?
They will be debt indentured servants and by being a good stooge for the police state they will probably get the loan forgiven.
I loathe these BS weekend and Internet MBAs which have diminished people who have real 2-year MBA degress. This nonsense has made an MBA almost worthless unless it is a top 10 school.
I am not that good, nor a millionare I am sorry to say but between corporate work and being an entrepenuer I am light years ahead of most academes.
I ran international projects involving engineering, construction, regulatory, and graphic arts all from my desk as long ago as the late 90s.
Not saying changes can't be made, but going it alone is not always the best model
My wife just completed her masters' as a clinical nurse specialist in the newborn intensive care unit. The toughest exam she took was the post-graduate certification test taken at H&R Block. She had her results in five minutes. If they can do a test that specific, they can cover most any field. True, tests of ability to work with others might be harder, but please don't tell me for a second that such things are indiscernible by examination in a world where we have so many computer games. It's just a matter of working out the details. I would far rather invest in that R&D than pay a unionized claque of babysitters.
Of my seven kids, three have their B.S. degrees (so far)....one of whom is now working on her second Masters degree. One more now has his Associates and will soon finish up his B.S.
Two more are military (enlisted) and will attend college later.
The last is only about to turn 9; he has some years to go.
I always harped on them that college was mandatory, period. End of discussion. Also, they had to pay for it....and I didn’t care how. Scholarships, military, whatever. One or two seem to resent that stance to this day; oh well....get over it, I say. That which isn’t earned isn’t appreciated.
One has managed to remain totally debt free despite two advanced degrees. The point is, it CAN be done.
One of the best approaches they’ve taken is: Go to a good community college, get your A.A. Then....transfer to a 4-year university in your State’s university system to get your B.S. or B.A.
Those first two years are pure core curriculum anyway; may as well get all that in a community college at a fraction of the price, in MUCH smaller classes, taught by real professors (vs. TA’s). You can also park your car, etc.
When it’s time to transfer, you aren’t competing with tens of thousands of graduating H.S. seniors with over-inflated GPA’s. You’re in a totally different category now: a transfer student.
When you get that B.S. degree using this approach, here’s the thing: You have TWO degrees vs. the one that your peers have earned in the same amount of time; the ones who attended that university for all four or five years. You spent a fraction of the money, and arguably have a superior education to boot. It also makes you more attractive to potential employers.
All the above really works. Hope this advice helps someone.
I feel bad for them. The public education system and subsequent major universities have done them a grave disservice that will cost them a fortune throughout their lifetimes.
Wow, that is terribly misleading. To qualify to take the CPA exam, most states require 150 hours of college credits. That's the equivalent of an undergrad degree plus one year of post-graduate work.
I would hate to see higher education disappear for everyone but scholars, if by scholars, they mean those who blow the top off standardized college entrance exams (merit scholars, rhodes scholars, etc.). The critical thinking skills taught in a four year education are extremely valuable. However, the grants and lottery money available in many states so the "everyone" can get a college education have caused a big problem. There are many college students who don't belong there, but go because it is basically free. Trade schools and technical certifications are the best way to educate those interested in certain jobs, and there should be no shame in going that route.
Ugh. I was supposed to read that book in college for a satire class. Nobody in the class got more than 50 pages into it.
Recent young thugs arrested for ‘allegedly’ committing crimes of violence were interviewed on their way to jail...a common complaint: (Paraphrased: “Gee, I was on my way to college this fall. I hope this doesn’t screw that up.” Taxpayers footing this bill as Obama and pals campaigned on college for everybody, no matter what.
This has been the case for 20 years or so by now. I support it because there was a time when "students" who ran up huge education loans for a legal degree or medical school degree would simply file bankruptcy at the end oftheir term and wipe out the debt.
You want to borrow from the government,i.e. your fellow Americans? Fine. Be damned sure you are going to pay it back.
Our son did that too...didn’t pay a penny for grad school, just worked for a prof 20 hours a week and his tuition was paid, plus he had a stipend.
His BA was also cost free, he used dual credit in high school and the state merit scholarship to pay the cost.
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