My education (liberal arts BA from a large, prestigious state university) has not helped me overly much in my career path(s), but it added immeasurably to my awareness of history, the sciences, the arts, and the world in general. It also helped me greatly in critical thinking/reading, civilized discourse on issues, and an understanding of democracy (and its alternatives).
I have a BA and an MA and have plans to get a PhD, but that’s because I love academia and my field of study (literature) and ultimately wish to teach at the graduate school level some day. I wouldn’t be able to work in my field (teaching at the college level) without my degrees, so for me it was necessary. Plus I loved the experience. I think there’s something to be said for experiencing being a freshman at a tender age - it was a crazy year, but a good one. And all my best friends are those I’ve met as a student. My university education is a huge part of who I am.
I got a BA in Chemistry, which is basically a requirement for most jobs in chemistry. Then I got a MS and another company said basically, 'Here’s 20k more a year, welcome to management." So I can see the tangible benifits of education.
I went to University in 1971 :eek: and dropped out a year later. 
Basically my school had given me no help whatsoever in choosing either a course or a university. They had also conditioned me to learn by rigidly following instructions and I was unprepared to set my own work schedule.
I joined British Telecom as a programmer and have done well ever since.
Note that 1972 was the last year that people without degrees were accepted at programmer level. Also I now teach chess, computer games and roleplaying - no degree course for that!
I just graduated this year with a BA in Spanish Literature. This makes me college educated, but I don’t really consider myself done, since I plan to go on to grad school and may even go for a doctorate in… something.
I absolutely do not regret my education. There is no question it’s raised my household income and multiplied my job opportunities… not to mention all of the cool random shit I got to learn. Thanks to college I know a little bit about Heian Japan, a little bit about astronomy, a moderate amount about philosophy and a buttload about Friedrich Nietzsche. Also I had a course on homosexuality in the Caribbean and its diaspora. College rocks my face off. It is a festival of weird learning opportunities.
I’ve got one but it took awhile. I skated into University right after high school, and, a few semesters later, the University skated my lazy ass right back out. It took a wife, a kid and a mortgage to convince me to go back and finish 18 years after I started. Worked out fine though. I’m still working at the same laboratory doing the same things but making twice as much.
I’d recommend getting your college education when you are young and have fewer obligations. You may not think so at the time, but trust me, it is a lot easier that way. Even if you don’t use your degree right away, you never know when that sucker will come in handy.
I’m probably overly biased in my opinion that college is overrated. Probably because of the people around me and where they are in life today.
Me: 4-year architecture degree. Never found a job after college for 2-years even after offering to work as an intern for free. Stuck with the retail company I worked for throughout college, worked my way up through management, got exceptionally good at the inventory/accounting side of the business, now work for a huge biomedical company as an inventory analyst making good money.
My wife: 4-year costume design degree. Got a job out of college as the resident designer for a dinner theatre with no benefits working 70+ hours a week making $20K/yr. She quit, got a job temping at an international insurance company, they hired her on permanantly where she has worked her way up as a business process analyst learning all that six-sigma black-belt stuff, teaching it, and making great money.
My best man: Left college 3 credits shy of his architecture degree to accept a district position at a retail company making $40K/yr. Suceeded greatly and worked his way up to a corporate position and now makes $300K+ a year.
Wifes Maid of Honor: Got a theatre/drama bachelors and masters degree. Graduated 4 years ago and has since worked a desk job at her local LA Weight Loss.
Sister #1: Teaching degree. Taught a couple years at a catholic grade school making $17K/yr. Quit and works for an insurance company making over twice that.
Her husband: Never went to college. Got into a metro area shreriffs department. Makes decent money with outstanding benefits.
Sister #2: Nursing degree. Was a nurse for a couple years. Quit to be a stay-at-home mom.
Her husband: Never went to college. Grew a small 3-man paving business into a 100+ employee company. Makes $300K+ a year.
Can college get you to where you want to be? Yes. Is it a guarantee of happiness with a great paying job? No. Can you get places without one? Depends on where you want to go and your ambitions.
No. Not even the first class, though I’ve considered trying to learn some sort of vocation.
Yep, I’m university-educated, even overly so. BS in Computer Science from a well-regarded engineering school, and a MBA and MS in IT Mgmt from a well-regarded (i.e. 54th ranked MBA program) business school.
The way I see it, is that the degrees are more of a sort of credential more than anythign else. I.E. one guy may have a MCSE, but I have a MS in IT management.
Many employers won’t even interview candidates without certain degrees for certain positions or for positions above a certain level. Many companies have a sort of glass ceiling for non-degreed employees, that degreed ones do not have to deal with.
I think that if you’re looking to have a career in something that doesn’t require a degree, then getting one is probably kind of a waste. But if it does, or tacitly requires one above a certain level, then it’s probably well worth the trouble.
I mean, my grandfather started in the bank as a teller in the 1930’s, and ended up Senior VP and chief loan officer, but try and do that these days. It’s almost a certainty that if you start as a teller, you can work your way up, but only so high. At some point, they’ll overlook you for some guy with a MBA or finance degree.
All my success came before my degree. I got my degree in my 30’s to get a monkey off my back.
Get your degree, just to cover all the bases. Of course there are success stories w/out degrees, but the data says that college educated people in general are healthier, make more money and live longer.
Happiness? Well, I’ve seen reports that poor and rich are about as happy. YMMV.
I is. But didn’t complete it until I was 32 and already established in a field unrelated to my degree. It’s done very little for me professionally but I’m seriously considering going back and getting one in computer science, primarily for job security. I suspect I’m not going to go much farther around here without a relevant degree, although any number of people in much higher positions than myself don’t have one.
Personally, finally getting it over with after 13 years of screwing around was an amazing feeling. That lasted up until my boss looked at me and said - “What does Environmental Science have to do with anything?”, assured me that the company didn’t care and I’d see no financial benefit.
It may be still possible to get a heck of a good future without one, if you excel at what you do. But it’s much easier to get your foot in the door and the opportunity to prove yourself with one. And I got more out of each class at 30 than I did at 20. I was too immature at first, but a wife, mortgage, children, etc. truly enhance the experience.
I’ll have all the hours I need to graduate in two weeks, but since I don’t have all the prereqs for pharmacy school, I’ll be in school until May. So I sort of am. I live in a shitty apartment and work two jobs, if that helps.
I have a BA in English and just completed my MS in industrial organizational psychology in August.
The master’s has helped a lot in terms of providing credibility for the work I do (change management and organizational design/development). And I was astonished at how well regarded the English degree is when job hunting. I’d heard all the oh-so-funny liberal arts jokes but the reality I found was jobs asking for a highly specific degree or a BA in English.
I will add that I did not go to college right out of high school, I joined the Army instead. After being all I could be, I started college at 29. I agree with others who’ve posted about the advantage and motivation level associated with NOT being 18. For me, the other motivational piece was the money–it was entirely MY money so you better believe I was a bit fanatical about how well I did.
I am, and I am glad of it. One of the main reasons is that I love living and traveling abroad, and having the degree has enabled me to get a job that allows that. So far, I have lived in Austria, Lebanon, and Hong Kong, and have traveled to probably close to 30 countries; now I am thinking of moving to either Turkey or Egypt soon. For a lot of people, this wouldn’t be much of a draw, but for me it is huge. Without a degree, I don’t see how I would have been able to do this.
Yeah, my stepmother’s daughter’s husband (okay, kind of distant, but still, I know the guy) is super-bright and very talented, and has worked his way up in a pretty big financial firm, but he never got a college degree and so has hit a glass ceiling. If it weren’t for that, he could easily be a VP. And now that he has a wife and a bunch of kidlets, it would be very difficult for him to go back and get a degree. Not impossible, but very very hard. This argues in favor of getting it right off the bat.
I never finished my degree. I recently started a job that I love and that’s a perfect fit for me. However, it was both a matter of being in the right place at the right time and my working my ass off to get the job. My resume got roundfiled a lot because of the missing degree, even though I had everything else they were looking for. Not having a degree has definitely held me back from where I want to go, and I hit that “no degree, no promotion” glass ceiling at my last job. I’m going back to finish my degree this coming year.
College really isn’t for everyone, and there are quite a few jobs that don’t require it. However, depending on your chosen career, you need to be prepared to be passed over at least once for a job/promotion/opportunity for someone with a degree. I think the bottom line is that you need to work harder to prove yourself without a college education, and there will always be people who look down on you for not having one. Some of those people will be bosses or potential bosses.
OTOH, you **can ** go back later if you decide it’s necessary. It’s harder (this will be my third attempt to finish my degree), but it can be done.
I have an undergraduate degree from a good university. I went to an Ivy League grad school as well but didn’t finish that part. Having a college degree is very important for my self-image. I am pretty sure I would feel incomplete without one.
However, I think too many people go to college just by default. I have a lot more respect for someone that works hard to become a great plumber or electrician than I do for someone that struggled through a mediocre school with a ‘C’ average. The blue collar person will probably make a great deal more money as well.
College is not for everyone. In fact, the U.S. Government released a report concluding that a college education is not necessary for a significant number of jobs in the workforce. Unfortunately, I read this document on paper and neither recall the exact title or find an online site.
I went to a college prep high school, where over 90% of the students attend college after graduation. At least a third of them attend big-name schools (Hardvard, Yale, Standford, U.C., etc.). As such, our curriculum placed an emphasis on academics over trade-school courses. (I still can’t change the oil in my car, doggoneit.)
That last point is important. I attended college but was a dozen credits short of a degree when Life Happened and I had to work full time+ (more than 40 hours a week) to pay the rent. I can safely say that I got the jobs I had and the current job I have is due to what I learned in college. I can also say that I haven’t gotten as far as I would like because I don’t have that degree. As such, I’m now in that uneviable position of being neither fish-nor-fowl: I don’t have a college grade degree nor a trade certification.
The Blue-Sighted Shadow’s words are the story of my life. More than one co-worker/mentor/supervisor/director has looked at me with those Eyes of Pity and basically said, “I would love to promote you, but you don’t have that sheepskin.” As a result, I am working much harder to compensate for my lack of degree. And if my Wonderful Managers (yes, my bosses are competent and I respect them) should retire (which they will well before the end of the next decade), I will be screwed…because the new managers will probably insist on bona fide college graduates working for them. (And thus ends my lucky break.)
It’s incredible how many jobs require Bachaelor Degrees…and often it doesn’t even matter what kind of degree it is. Managers use “college degree” as shorthand for “I want someone who understands directions and won’t embarrass me”, even though there are plenty of people (like yours truly) who can do the above two things despite the lack of credentials.
Shagnasty has a point: you don’t want to be that guy who ‘struggled through a mediocre school with a ‘C’ average.’ You’ll get your degree, but you wouldn’t learn anything. With that kind of shaky background, it’s only a matter of time before your customers and supervisors give you “WTF” looks. In that case, you’re better off either getting the equivalent of a two-year degree (Associate’s Degree in the States) or taking a different route.
No I do not. However at my yearly performance review the other day it was strongly suggested that I start working on it. My boss had to calculate my % raise carefully because I’m near the very top of what they can pay my job category. He flat out told me that I’d be making $30K a year more if I had my degree. While that may be a bit of fluff, I did catch a glimpse of the print out that he had with everyone’s new salary on it, and most of them were significantly higher than mine.
I can state for a fact that I am the only person without a degree that holds the level of position that I do within my building. Probably within the entire directorate in which I work. In fact most people I work with assume that I have a degree. And while I make good money…it’s much less than just about everyone else here makes.
However I’m going to chime in with the other advice and say that a degree is something that is important to have. Especially since a lot of applications for positions happens online. Most of the time when I browse the job opportunities offered by companies in my field, they want you to fill out an online form for your resume. Well guess what? They tend to search based on that “degree” field a lot. Sure my experience in this field off-sets that a bit, but they rarely do an “or” search…it’s almost always an “and” search. I make a good living, but I could make a better one, with more security and a better sense of hire ability if I had a degree.
I went to and graduated from college. For me, it was just a 4-year extension of high school. I was “good” at high school and “good” at college. I don’t think it made any huge change in my life.
Then I got a job that had nothing to do with my degree and now, with my job experience, could get another job without even mentioning my degree.
I think I make as much as, or maybe less than, my cousin who is 6 months younger and went to trade school (during his jr. and sr. years of high school) to be a mechanic.
I also don’t feel college is for everyone. My mom keeps begging my 30-year-old brother to go back to school but I think if he didn’t fare well the first two times, he’s not going to fare well this time either.