<p>Your degree isn't a vocational license. Its not a sure fire entry into a specific field. Its the representation of a higher level of education. Actually, that's partially wrong. A degree should mean (as with all education) that you are now better at learning how to learn. The things you learn in college today will be outdated in 10 years. I am tired of people going to college for a job. Universities are institutions of higher learning, you come here to "get smarter" (just a phrase, its more complex than that) and use that new-found intellect to be well rounded human being with specific skills and strengths who can market themselves and land a job.</p>
<p>It does not matter what you major in as long as you yourself as a person knows what sort of impact you want to make with your education.</p>
<p>Life isn't about the highest earning job, and some degree certainly won't give you that. You will most likely end up with an average life no matter what degree you get if money is your goal. Just be yourself, learn what you love, do what you love, and in 60 years if they ask if it was worth it, you'll probably say yes regardless of your financial situation (again, average).</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> if more people thought like this the world would be a better place.</p>
<p>I may as well spoil the surprise: work is not fun, it is not ‘what one loves’, or any of that other propaganda. Work is called ‘work’ instead of ‘fun’ or something that connotes love or passion because it is something people do not like doing, otherwise why do they have to pay people to do it? </p>
<p>Some work is less toilsome than others, and some work pays more than others, so one may as well find the least onerous and highest paying position possible so one can retire early. That is what I intend to do; I don’t want to work after 50.</p>
<p>Not everyone has the luxury to not care about their paycheck. If you are not privileged/affluent and are going to college, you better be studying something useful and getting a job-benefit out of it. Otherwise, the rational choice is to rather go to trade school or another such option.</p>
<p>"I may as well spoil the surprise: work is not fun, it is not ‘what one loves’, or any of that other propaganda. Work is called ‘work’ instead of ‘fun’ or something that connotes love or passion because it is something people do not like doing, otherwise why do they have to pay people to do it? "</p>
<p>I loved virtually every job I’ve had, and would have done them for free except that I needed to pay for things like rent. Having an education means that you’re more likely to be able to work a job that you love instead of gritting your teeth and working just for the money.</p>
<p>Which is why you should never take out large loans for a degree that doesn’t immediately lead to a job. I don’t care how much you like studying race relations in the 1960s, taking out a loan to do it is absolutely irresponsible.</p>
<p>Erm. I love every single one of my jobs. You need to get over it and accept that sometimes- people really do enjoy what they do and do what they enjoy. </p>
<p>My father also gave up a 6 figure salary to go be a master plumber. I had a very happy childhood and he was also happy to go to work every day. We were never rich, but we never starved, and I didn’t have parents who hated their jobs and therefore took it out on their kids. I had parents who had decent jobs in fields they liked- so <em>gasp</em> it is VERY possible :rolleyes:</p>
<p>The full cost of an American college education is an extremely inefficient way to “get smarter”.</p>
<p>Will Hunting said it best when he said that you could learn the same thing for $1.50 in late charges at your local library that you could for $150 000 at Harvard. As great as some American colleges are, let’s not pretend that they have some monopoly on knowledge. Truth and knowledge are free, available to everyone who wants to know it. </p>
<p>So why do people pay that much money for a degree? It’s gotta have some kind of return on investment. The exception is if you’re very wealthy and can afford to live a life of intellectual leisure.</p>
<p>I think people would be happier if they realized that college is, for the most part, career training, and that work does not define you. Your passion does not have to be your work, and your work does not have to be your passion. Seek a career that will most aid you in continuing to do what you love best, if you’re not one of the very few who do not get to combine pleasure and work.</p>
<p>I agree with silence_kit. There is something to be said about learning things in a technical sense. That is, in english you must learn the mechanics of writing styles, in physics you learn the mechanics of the universe, in history you learn about …history. This is the result of thousands of past ‘experts’ in the field putting together curriculum for the future success of students who want to specialize in that certain field. Some fields, like engineering, require a heavy amount of knowledge while other majors, say philosophy, don’t need as much knowledge but rely heavily on techniques of formulating ideas in a rational way, for example (not saying that ‘thinking’ isn’t required for engineering, but you can get away with it easier if you’re an engineer as opposed to a philosopher or scientist).</p>
<p>In the end, it’s foolish to say that you only learn one thing. You learn many things in your academic career, including social, intellectual, emotional, and practical knowledge that will help you in life. People must recognize all of these aspects …lest we begin to annoy each other. 8)</p>
<p>At the moment i’m learning three things instead of one. And guess what, my field is something i like and will enjoy and is something the government needs badly. I have no desire to become richer then snot, but i don’t want to be dirt poor either. I want the middle, as such i go to school to achive that.</p>