Benefits of Education

[Auld Phart]

 

[DGS49]

Well...

Those of us who live in the Real World might make a few observations on the juxtaposition above:

• Desirable apprenticeship positions like the one portrayed on the right are rare and in high demand, and often are reserved to young men (and women) with "connections" to those already working in the trade. In many geographical areas People of Color need not apply.
• The job market generally for young people graduating from high school is abominable. While employers universally abhor the majority of young hires as lazy, entitled, unreliable, and woefully ignorant of the Basic Facts of Life, even those who are willing and capable often face nothing but fast-food, landscaping, and low-level service jobs at or near minimum wage.
• The culture disdains those without "higher education," and those who do not go to college often face real prejudice and discrimination, as "everyone" presumes they are stupid, since they didn't go to college.
• The number of Working Class college kids who study worthless majors is actually quite small. Those majors are dominated by kids whose life will generally be cushioned by "Middle Class" parents who will cover their college expenses, give them extravagant gifts as young adults, and do everything possible to get them cushy, little-work jobs in foundations and government after they graduate. Working Class kids are majoring in subjects that are intended to get them a job when they graduate.
• The majority of college students are, if you will pardon the expression, young women. These students tend to take subjects that lead to "soft skill" jobs like teachers, social workers, and retail buyers.

When I graduated from High School (1967), ANY college degree was a ticket to some sort of a management training position or equivalent. You were presumed to be smarter than your peers, if only because you had proven yourself to be "college material."

But along came Vietnam, the Baby Boom, and the destruction of Academe by socialist activists, and the value of a generic college degree crashed. And it has never recovered.

 

[Auld Phart]

Well...

Those of us who live in the Real World might make a few observations on the juxtaposition above:

• Desirable apprenticeship positions like the one portrayed on the right are rare and in high demand, and often are reserved to young men (and women) with "connections" to those already working in the trade. In many geographical areas People of Color need not apply.
• The job market generally for young people graduating from high school is abominable. While employers universally abhor the majority of young hires as lazy, entitled, unreliable, and woefully ignorant of the Basic Facts of Life, even those who are willing and capable often face nothing but fast-food, landscaping, and low-level service jobs at or near minimum wage.
• The culture disdains those without "higher education," and those who do not go to college often face real prejudice and discrimination, as "everyone" presumes they are stupid, since they didn't go to college.
• The number of Working Class college kids who study worthless majors is actually quite small. Those majors are dominated by kids whose life will generally be cushioned by "Middle Class" parents who will cover their college expenses, give them extravagant gifts as young adults, and do everything possible to get them cushy, little-work jobs in foundations and government after they graduate. Working Class kids are majoring in subjects that are intended to get them a job when they graduate.
• The majority of college students are, if you will pardon the expression, young women. These students tend to take subjects that lead to "soft skill" jobs like teachers, social workers, and retail buyers.

When I graduated from High School (1967), ANY college degree was a ticket to some sort of a management training position or equivalent. You were presumed to be smarter than your peers, if only because you had proven yourself to be "college material."

But along came Vietnam, the Baby Boom, and the destruction of Academe by socialist activists, and the value of a generic college degree crashed. And it has never recovered.

You do realize this is in Humor Forum, dont' you?

 

[Confounding]

 

[Auld Phart]

 

[harmonica]

college grads make more $$$
Pay gap between college grads and everyone else at a record
at a LOT of schools, the student debt is NOWHERE near 100k
my niece's debt is only 30,000--she'll pay that off in a couple of years
apprenticeships don't cost $$?