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Is college worth it?


Fangorn

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If you don't want to read the background, you can just answer the main question. I'm just curious to hear from people who have already made that decision and seen how it panned out. I'll put more background below though for anyone who does want it.

 

 

I've decided I definitely don't want to do in-person college, but I recently was looking into online college and found one that's relatively inexpensive. It's about 1/4th of what the college my sister went to cost. They also say on the website that you can set your own schedule, which would be good for me, since I want to be able to have a job while I'm in college. I think I could get most of it covered by scholarships, but I'm not sure exactly how much I could get covered.

 

I'm still not sure if it's worth it though. Part of that is because even if it was mostly covered, I'd likely still have some loans. But the main reason is that it would take up four years of my life. I want to have kids soon (I'm younger than most people are when they have kids, but I'm still hoping to in the next few years), but I assume if I was in college, I'd have to wait until I was done with it before having kids. But at the same time, I want to be able to make enough money to support kids, and that's hard to do without college.

 

I'm hoping to work from home, and it seems like a lot of those jobs require a degree. I've recently been doing proofreading and editing, and I think that would be a good full-time job for me, but I'm not sure if that's realistic without a degree.

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Lord Jade Cross

I will give you my personal stance as a college gradute. Its pointless.

 

All the talks about GPA's and how high grades/degrees get you more opportunities in life is a load of shit. Degrees are a dime a dozen in the world today and you can be a 4.0 student, graduate top of your class and when you go to find a job, it wont be worth shit.

 

Jobs dont go "Oh I see you graduated with a 4.0 GPA, you'll be perfect here" Most wont even look at the transcripts, its all just a formality for businesses to claim they are "hiring only the most qualified people" when most will only pay you minimum wage and demand the workload of 3+ people

 

On top of that, student loans will come knocking, at best, 6 months after graduating and if youre having a hard time without the added slip of paper that says "you owe us money", it wont make  youre days (and subsequent years paying them) any better

 

I would have personally avoided college altogether, if I had known then what I do now, it would have saved me at least 5 years of all nighters, in addition to another 10 years of having to pay back student loans for something that sits gathering dust and not even worth the ink and paper its printed on. Life may have definately taken a different turn, probably even for the better

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I’m only in my first year of university, so my opinion might not matter much at this point, but I’d say the greater amounts of career opportunities that can come with a degree can be worth it if it will help you get to where you want to go in life. I’m extremely lucky to not need any loans, so I can’t speak to that part of it. 

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For my personal development it was a great experience! I did not only get to learn countless things about art, I also learnt how to move in academic circles, which means much higher circles in respect to my own social class, better. In a classist society like Germany's it's worth a frick ton to know "how to behave" and being familiar with a certain habitus. It thus also enabled me to better my social status overall which means I get more respect and are treated better than I were if I had done an Ausbildung/apprenticeship.

 

However, it's also super important to note that education alone is not enough to get ahead in life here as my generation is devided between heirs and nothing-havers and social mobility is pretty much dead. So in order to actually make something of my uni degree I need to build a network of people that can help me have a good start into a career. Without some good ol' vitamin B it's pretty much impossible to get a GOOD job. And I still have to accept the fact that the BEST jobs will go to the heirs/kids of influencial and/or rich members of society... Regardless of how diligent I might or might not be in life.

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J. van Deijck

I already have one degree and I'm in the process of getting another one in different field. I'd say it's up to you. Some say it's easier to find better job if you have a degree, but it's worth it if you like studying, too.

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It mainly depends on what you want from life.

I absolutely loved college and it was 100% worth it- despite having to work very hard to afford to go to school, it helped me figure out what career I wanted, make friends and find community among people with similar interests, and gave me the skills I needed to get my first job. However, I have always put a lot of value in my career.

If you don't care what job you do or if you would prefer a hands on profession, college probably isn't for you. Particularly if books and school aren't your thing. If you go in hating book learning or not caring about your field, college is definitely a waste of time. But for me, it was the best decision I could have made.

Life is still hard with a college degree, it's not like it made me immediately hirable. But there's no way on Earth a person who was born a poor, disabled hillbilly like me could have gotten an exciting job in Neuroscience without going to college, so it did help me transcend my class and situation, too.

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3 hours ago, Phalena said:

For my personal development it was a great experience! I did not only get to learn countless things about art, I also learnt how to move in academic circles, which means much higher circles in respect to my own social class, better. In a classist society like Germany's it's worth a frick ton to know "how to behave" and being familiar with a certain habitus. It thus also enabled me to better my social status overall which means I get more respect and are treated better than I were if I had done an Ausbildung/apprenticeship.

This is an excellent point

 

I did accountancy and now it's a requirement to get a degree to get a beginners job in accountancy. 

 

It really depends on what you want to do. To look at the options and how to get there. Society has changed. In the 70's and 80's, a college degree was not necessary for entry level/trainee jobs. Now with entry level jobs in many sectors, it's a must .

 

Another thing with distance learning, is that it may lack an element of personal development in how you work or develop personal relationship. Team work is something potential employers look at. Again the importance of it really depends on the field you'd like to get into.

 

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Oberon Jasper
8 hours ago, Fangorn said:

I'm still not sure if it's worth it though. Part of that is because even if it was mostly covered, I'd likely still have some loans. But the main reason is that it would take up four years of my life. I want to have kids soon (I'm younger than most people are when they have kids, but I'm still hoping to in the next few years), but I assume if I was in college, I'd have to wait until I was done with it before having kids. But at the same time, I want to be able to make enough money to support kids, and that's hard to do without college.

So, kind of like some of the others I'm not quite done with college yet; however, I do an online college. We have a lot of non-traditional students and many of the people who are in the online meeting group we have have kids or are working jobs. The nice thing about online is that it can be really conducive to that.

 

For me, I just have a job, but I also struggle with some 80 of the HD's in my lil brain, so I do run into some regulating myself to do my work issues, but those have nothing to do with my time available and more so to do with how my brain works.

 

For me, the reason college will be worth it is because of what I want to study that kind of requires a PhD to make any money off it. So, I kind of need college because of what I love learning about, but that's not everyone's case. Some people would be better benefitted by a trade school or taking a few business courses.

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Depends how important it is for you to work from home and what you'll be doing. Looking at it strictly money-wise, not all fields are equal, but you may not necessarly want higher education for money, it seems you are looking for more opportunities to work from home.

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Monke Jimmy

As someone who gets free tuition, I would say college is worth it. 

I do wish we could expedite the process, though, because my high school experience got me a whole lot of nothing and I'm still learning some things that I can't use. Maybe you should get a middle ages type apprenticeship?

Ooh! I would say that a practical degree from a community college or trade school is almost always worth it. Try to find like a 2-year degree in welding or electrical engineering or something. 

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Grey-Ace Ventura

I'm working out whether it might be doable with help, but for me so far it hasn't been worth it. I went to college for 2 years before I had to drop out almost a year ago because it was impossible for me to continue. My first year I was alone 98% of the time, because the only friend I made I didn't get to hang out with often, and in the second semester she had to do her classes remotely because of a situation at home. I couldn't make any other friends that entire year no matter how hard I tried, and it was really depressing. I also struggled a lot with my classes before a professional told me they suspect I have ADHD, which explained a lot of what I've been experiencing my whole life. I passed some of the classes, but the credits aren't usable in much because most of what I passed was dance and art.

 

My second year, I struggled so much that I had to withdraw halfway through my first semester to avoid getting Fs in all my classes, and the second semester my mental state was so bad that I had to go to the hospital. While I was able to get incomplete grades for that semester, they will all soon become Fs because the school withdrew me before I had a chance to attempt to make up the work. While a lot of this was due to my own performance, and the fact that I actually have several issues that made college really difficult (but mostly ADHD and very likely autism) the college wasn't supportive of my issues either. Every time I fell short, all they did was punish me instead of try to help, which only made me feel more like a failure. I had also started that college with a full tuition scholarship, but because of how expensive the school is and because of financial aid estimates that weren't quite true, I still ended up having to borrow $12000 for what the scholarship didn't cover, for experience that didn't amount to anything.

 

There were a few good things, like the friend I made, being able to start T, and getting some answers to why school and life in general has always been hard for me. But most of what I got from that experience was debt, severe depression, an even lower self-esteem, and a lot to explain if I were to ever attempt a different college that wanted to see my transcript.

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I work in data science. It is a stable job that is fully remote. I can't imagine getting my current position without a college degree.

A critique of remote degrees is it reduces the invaluable networking experience of college. Professors can help us find internship positions which will facilitate landing a job in our field after we graduate.

 

If I were in your position, I absolutely would attend college. I understand it may seem like a huge investment in the beginning but it will pay off for majors in demand.

Hope this helps you reach your decision!

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The value of a degree varies pretty widely according to what field you want to go into.  For editing/proofreading, if you intend to go freelance, advertising and networking are likely to be more important than what degree you do or don't have.  If you're hoping to look for a full-time job in that area with a publisher, well, what they want in their entry-level people should be a matter of public record—look for job ads/wanted postings.

 

One thing you might want to consider is an associate degree.  This is normally a two-year post-secondary course of study.  It isn't considered as academically "valuable" as a full bachelor's, but some universities will allow you to count the credits you earn toward a normal four-year bachelor's degree if you decide to continue your studies afterwards.  Or you can just quit after the two years with a somewhat useful credential and less debt than you would have racked up over the four years.  Again, though, check to see if a degree like this will help you get to somewhere you want to be, workwise.

 

(Full disclosure:  I have a Master's degree.  I was lucky enough not to have to go into debt to get it, and a degree is pretty much necessary in the field I'm in.)

 

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DarkStormyKnight

I go back and forth on this. Partly because I don't think college should be for everyone, but the way we have set up the job market it's really hard to get any job without a college degree these days. 

 

I don't think everyone needs college or even should have to go to college. It's hard and it's a lot of money and a lot of time. If you know what you want to do and see a path to that goal, then go for it. If you need the degree later, it'll be harder to go back, but you still always have that option.

 

Having said that, a lot of jobs require a college degree these days. Doesn't even matter what it's in, if all you have is a high school diploma they will automatically put you at the bottom of the pile. Which sucks and is stupid, there's no real difference between someone who went to college and someone who didn't. (This is probably specific to the US, I'm not sure what other countries are like. But it's the case here, I know someone who has been struggling to get through college for years and can't due to mental health issues and they're having a real hard time finding a job and supporting themselves.)

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It depends on a few things.

 

Most importantly, what field you want to go into. In my field you can't get an entry level job without a BSc, and you're unlikely to progress quickly without an MSc. And importantly it's not just a silly "we'll require you to have a degree but you won't use anything you leant" situation, I wouldn't be able to do my job without those years of learning, so my degrees where 100% worth it. But there are plenty of fields where you can do well without a degree, some where you would be better off doing an apprenticeship or just learning on the job, or there might be other options in the USA which I'm not aware of. 

 

Another factor is the personal development. It's an opportunity to be a sort of intermediate adult, living mostly independently but with a lot of support, less to worry about (taxes, etc.), and to meet people who you would never have had the chance to interact with otherwise, it really does broaden horizons. You'll also be able to socialise with people of very similar interests, by default due to being on the same modules as them.  Of course I'm not sure how relevant this is to doing college online, I suppose the benefit there is that you can do it part time and work while doing so, so finances would be less of a burden.

 

Finally there's the consideration of whether you would enjoy it, and do well at it. If you love learning, writing assignments etc. then it will be fun for you and more worth it. If you will hate every second or are not academically inclined enough to do well at it, then it might be less worth it.

 

Another thing that occurred to me is that I've heard a lot about some American colleges being complete 💩 and basically a money making scam. I'm not sure how true that is (the American education system in general doesn't have a great reputation internationally outside of the real upper crust colleges), but something to keep in mind when decided where to attend.

 

TLDR: I certainly found uni (college) extremely worthwhile, but it depends on the field, personal development opportunities, finances, enjoyment, and how well you're likely do.

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The thing about online programs is they would be much more limiting with connections you need to make for your degree to matter. I was absolutely terrible at that in university, and that's mostly why my degree didn't give me any help in finding jobs or establishing a career. Online programs may work better in some fields that don't require that many connections, like extremely technical skills, but in most cases you will need to have the social skills to interact with your instructors and jump on opportunities to work with future employers (like co-op programs or volunteering at charity events or whatever). Without engagement with the academic community and/or the industry you're majoring in, it will be useless for career purposes.

 

There are still benefits to it, of course, but if you're looking at the quantitative value of it, you'll need to be more engaged than most online learning allows.

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  • 2 weeks later...

You'll never wish that you hadn't gone to college/university, whereas you would likely wish you had.  

 

Even if your degree isn't relevant to what you want to do/end up doing, you'll be taken more seriously because you have a degree.  That may seem like it shouldn't be the case, because of course everyone should be respected as human beings no matter their education -- but it's true.  And the general knowledge and experience you'll derive from college is extremely valuable in itself.  So if you can possibly afford it or cobble together grants, do so.

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Lord Jade Cross
18 hours ago, Sally said:

You'll never wish that you hadn't gone to college/university, whereas you would likely wish you had.  

 

Even if your degree isn't relevant to what you want to do/end up doing, you'll be taken more seriously because you have a degree.  That may seem like it shouldn't be the case, because of course everyone should be respected as human beings no matter their education -- but it's true.  And the general knowledge and experience you'll derive from college is extremely valuable in itself.  So if you can possibly afford it or cobble together grants, do so.

None of the jobs I ever applied to ever even recognized the degree I had. When you dont have it its a free excuse they can use to discriminate while making it look legal by saying "we only hired "qualified" people", when you do have it its also an excuse to say "we can only offer you minimum wage"

 

Even if my field, I have lost jobs to folks with degrees that have absolutely nothing to do with the job at hand

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Ultimately it's going to be a personal matter, and vary from individual to individual based on all sorts of variables and how each person defines "worth it" among other things. For me, it was absolutely worth it (in a number of ways, from personal growth to financial to exercising my mind, etc.). For others, it may not have been worth it. For you it may be or may not be. I don't know if you can always tell beforehand either if it will be or not.

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21 hours ago, Sally said:

Even if your degree isn't relevant to what you want to do/end up doing, you'll be taken more seriously because you have a degree. 

^ This is a good point.

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Based on my own experience, I would only say that college is worth the money if you know exactly what you want to do with any degree you might obtain. Example, I went to traditional 4-year, in-person college for a major in Spanish and a minor in business. I had no fucking idea what kind of career I might eventually want, but I loved and was good at Spanish language in high school, so I had a vague idea of maybe becoming a translator someday. That 100% did not happen lol. The only value my college degree has ever had is the face value itself: the sheer right to put on a LinkedIn profile or my resume that I have that coveted bachelor's degree. I learned very few skills in college that I'm now applying to my career. Most of the ones I would say I learned are broad-strokes "soft" skills like good grammar (important for business communications), informational literacy (when I don't know something, I can most likely find the answer on my own with a good degree of accuracy and success), etc.

 

The hard skills that I now use for my career in marketing were all obtained via a year-long professional apprenticeship I did years after graduating from my formal education. I had been in a job for many years that I finally learned wasn't right for me and the apprenticeship program was my lifeline to a career pivot into the marketing sphere. 

 

TL;DR I would strongly recommend that you have a very good idea of what kind of jobs you want out of a degree before you enroll in a program. More importantly, internships and/or apprenticeships are a lot easier to get accepted into for currently enrolled students, so don't forget that a big part of the advantage of college, be it online or in-person, is the extra opportunities it affords you in the "real world". 

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7 hours ago, Lord Jade Cross said:

None of the jobs I ever applied to ever even recognized the degree I had. When you dont have it its a free excuse they can use to discriminate while making it look legal by saying "we only hired "qualified" people", when you do have it its also an excuse to say "we can only offer you minimum wage"

 

Even if my field, I have lost jobs to folks with degrees that have absolutely nothing to do with the job at hand

But none of that means that you'd been at an advantage if you hadn't had a degree, and in fact, you may have gotten a job because of your degree, even if it didn't pertain to the actual job.  That's not how it should be in society, but it is -- and as well as adding to your personal knowledge and skills base, you might as well try to gain what a degree gives you in society.  

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Lord Jade Cross
10 minutes ago, Sally said:

But none of that means that you'd been at an advantage if you hadn't had a degree, and in fact, you may have gotten a job because of your degree, even if it didn't pertain to the actual job.  That's not how it should be in society, but it is -- and as well as adding to your personal knowledge and skills base, you might as well try to gain what a degree gives you in society.  

Thing is, a vast amount of degrees are both useless and worthless. Whatever you may "learn" and I use that in quotations because I dont know if youve been to a college campus recently, but its not exactly the epitome of intelectual development. That died back around 60 years ago. Nowadays, a college is a glorifed day care center.

 

You dont even need to go to college to learn. A simple youtube search will grant you acces to information that 3 college professors put together, couldnt hope to teach

 

As for the job, its not the degree that gets you in. Having a degree is about as equivalent as having a car. It bears no connection to the job, you could literraly live next to the on site location of a job; say you dont have a car and they wouldnt pick you because you dont "qualify by the standards" You could lie and get the job. The degree is worthless

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4 minutes ago, Lord Jade Cross said:

You dont even need to go to college to learn.

No, you don't, as far as knowledge of particular subjects.  But college is an experience that you don't get on a job -- any sort of job -- and if you experience college only as glorified day-care, then you're not trying to take advantage of what it does offer.  

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Lord Jade Cross
Just now, Sally said:

No, you don't, as far as knowledge of particular subjects.  But college is an experience that you don't get on a job -- any sort of job -- and if you experience college only as glorified day-care, then you're not trying to take advantage of what it does offer.  

And what experience can you get in a college that would be so indispensable that you couldnt find it outside? 

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3 minutes ago, Lord Jade Cross said:

And what experience can you get in a college that would be so indispensable that you couldnt find it outside? 

It's a milieu that doesn't exist anywhere else, and one that you have to put something into to have it become valuable.  But I think we're just arguing now, so let's just agree to disagree.  

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On 3/26/2023 at 4:51 PM, Sally said:

Even if your degree isn't relevant to what you want to do/end up doing, you'll be taken more seriously because you have a degree.

I have two degrees and nobody takes me seriously.

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Lord Jade Cross
11 minutes ago, Sally said:

It's a milieu that doesn't exist anywhere else, and one that you have to put something into to have it become valuable.  But I think we're just arguing now, so let's just agree to disagree.  

Youre not really answering the question, but rather dismissing it entirely

 

I went to college precisely because I thought it was the next step in education as we were bred to think since middle school. And I went in giving it 120% What I found was that there was no interest in depth discussions, there were no real fields in which to debate, it was basically highschool with a added price tag. That image of a couple of kids that sit under a tree with a proffesor to expand their knowledge collectively, thats hollywood BS now

 

Many of my proffesors were complete idiots. And I dont say it in the "oh I think Im superior" fashion. I say it in the "I literraly had to quote the books they were using to teach and was still told I was wrong, just because I was the student" 

 

I could count in one hand the number of proffesors who knew what they were talking about, 4. The rest were nothing more than a stand in. Show up to class and pass. It really is no different than these scams where you pay a couple thousand dollars and they send you your "degree" so that you can cry on camera about how your so proud of yourself for having made it. The only thing I felt after graduating was that I had just gotten sucker punched and robbed

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Do you realize that that is your experience, and not everyone's?  I've lived a long time and had many friends and family members who went to college/university, and I've not heard anyone else make those criticisms in such a global manner.  

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