Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Hawk (02-11-2014)
Millennials suck.
Z, I was scared to read the op because it looks like a Chick tract.
I'd be in okay shape without my student loans. With the cost of student loans, I'm pretty much screwed.
The loans are part of the trap. We were mantra'd over and over again if you go to school you'll get a good job. What we weren't told was there was a finite amount of good jobs and if you happened to go to school in a field that isn't in great demand, you're more or less boned. I'm notexcusing art majors of course, if you go to school to learn film, or animation, or music, you're pretty foolish. But it's still expected of you and you build connections by going to school that you wouldn't otherwise. basically college has replaced on the job training, interning, or apprenticeship. But instead of not collecting debt, you collect copious amounts of it. I'm not in debt like pretty much everyone else who's 26, but I'm having issues getting into the field I want to get into because even though I have way more experience than anyone similar aged as myself, I don't have the specific degree. Now why you need a degree to be a sales rep, that's well beyond me.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Im glad I went to school. I'd probably be making 30k a year and clipping coupons. My student loan debt total was about 20k and I finished in the early to mid 2000s. I went to community college for 2 years where I paid as I went (5k) and then got bachelor's, which ran about 15k.
I understand you are kinda in between a rock and hard place. In order to do anything nowadays you pretty much have to have a college degree and rack up debt. It all works out in the long run though.
The internet pretty much makes college obsolete.
I'm still paying off my student loans. All of my friends had mommy and daddy pay their school for them. And they lived at home for a year out of school while making $60k+ a year. Must be nice...
Having said all that. I don't have my current job without my degree. Not that my degree helped me be good at my job, but it was simply a requirement to be hired.
Longitudinal earnings studies show that a degree does pay for itself over one's working life, but like sturg33 has said, it's often the requirement to getting into the workforce in any capacity these days. Just saw some stats the other day that showed how college grads survived the economic downturn. Folks with two-year or technical degrees tread water during the downturn. But anyone with a high school diploma or lower simply isn't getting hired. A lot of that has to do with employers having a pool of college grads who will simply take a job and be underemployed in order to pay their college debt as opposed to not having any job, but it can be tough sledding.
And Bedell's right as well. I can't believe all the emeriti still hanging around college campuses still knocking down a fairly hefty salary while teaching one course. Administration has also become bloated. Faculties now make more for teaching less than they did back when I was in college in the '70s (1970s).
In Minnesota, we have programs that let high school juniors and seniors earn college credit either through "college in the schools" or post-secondary enrollment options. A lot of kids are at least taking a chunk out of their college costs through that. It's not a silver bullet, but it's helping a number of kids.
BedellBrave (02-11-2014)
jpx7 (02-11-2014)
seriously
all things aside
the generation of always being on their phone instead of living a life
suck
Well I guess I am behind the times. I haven't started worrying about them yet.
Ivermectin Man
zitothebrave (02-11-2014)