'My students make twice my salary'

CNN Money ^ | Nov 1, 2011 | Blake Ellis

[thackney]

[Nifster]

A job is terrible thing to waste.....

[JohnBrowdie]

then change professions . . .

[cripplecreek]

"At some point they decide, 'Well, college will always be here ... but the oil boom won't,'"

Actually, there's no reason to believe that college will always be there (at least not in its current form).

[SandRat]

Reality Slaps College professor in the face.

[Thane_Banquo]

"At some point they decide, 'Well, college will always be here ... but the oil boom won't,'"

Sound like his students are smarter than he is.

[vetvetdoug]

I have a nephew that is turning 26 and makes $110K per year as an oilfield welder. I have a PhD and three undergraduate degrees with a minor and make half that. More power to him. MD’s with similar education make six times as much as an average veterinarian. Its just the way the cards fall.If I was a bedwetting handwringing liberal I’d be out protesting.

[isthisnickcool]

I was speaking with an older gentleman this morning who holds numerous patents on catalyst cracking. He knows the oil and gas industry as well as any living human. He says it was well known 20 years ago that we had least 1.5 trillion barrels of known US reserves. And we have much more now.

Our salvation is under our feet in America. All we need to do is go get the energy...

[detective]

The professor’s former students in the oil industry are doing useful work that contributes to the economy and benefits society. While society needs good teachers, most of the college employees probably do little or nothing useful and are just parasites sponging off the taxpayers.

[cripplecreek]

Not that we don't need some english professors, but it sounds like changing the school to more oil industry related teaching like geology, metallurgy, etc, might be a wise move on the part of the school.

[QBFimi]

>> All we need to do is go get the energy...

Fat chance of the Dimmocrats allowing that.

[SampleMan]

At some point they decide, 'Well, college will always be here ... but the oil boom won't,'" he said.

I guess that makes them intelligent.

Compare that to the Occupy crowd that are crying that no one will pay them $100k a year to make use of their PhDs in Afro-transgender-underwater-basket weaving.

[MNDude]

my roommate in college worked on the oilfields and it sounds like it’s totally dangerous.

During his short time working there, he

1. Got his teeth knocked out by some machinery that springed back
2. Dislocated his arm
3. Broke his leg.

[thackney]

It doesn’t pay well because it is simple and easy.

Lessons come hard for those that don’t pay attention to the safety orientation films.

[cripplecreek]

There are lots of dangerous jobs.

I worked in a hardwoods sawmill and had a few scary moments and injuries myself.

[MNDude]

probably true. He was never the brightest guy around.

[nascarnation]

Sounds like a serious problem for academia.

Any way the Baraqqis can shut this down?

[ken21]

whud’d be funny would be the professor leaving the classroom for the oil patch.

[albie]

Most of Americas more successful businessmen, entrepreneurs and inventors have no college. Some have no HS. That should speak volumes to this whiny professor. Working on an oil rig is 20 times more constructive than brain washing college students with liberal jibberish on a daily basis.

[MIchaelTArchangel]

I would pay an oil field worker more than I would pay an English professor. After all, the oil field worker produces something of value.