tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post2178039371196842362..comments2024-03-22T01:06:23.845-07:00Comments on Confessions of a College Professor: The first of many things to do to fix to higher educationDoomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04528555392898760692noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-58064260968258932362014-12-15T17:59:28.473-08:002014-12-15T17:59:28.473-08:00Over to the right, bottom of the column, hopefully...Over to the right, bottom of the column, hopefully, is a contact form. :)Doomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04528555392898760692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-23727217796886666432014-12-15T17:49:15.875-08:002014-12-15T17:49:15.875-08:00 Why dont you include an email address to sen... Why dont you include an email address to send you ideas for education? danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17664347943915648592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-91290908629736860072014-06-13T19:56:11.302-07:002014-06-13T19:56:11.302-07:00Well, uh, read the whole sentence...certain poster...Well, uh, read the whole sentence...certain posters need to be torn down and replaced with more accurate posters.<br /><br />I'm pretty sure there's more than one post in my blog...I'll have to look into that.Doomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04528555392898760692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-73099886735509766812014-06-13T19:47:54.561-07:002014-06-13T19:47:54.561-07:00Actually, in the original post you said - as I hav...Actually, in the original post you said - as I have quoted earlier - "people that work hard to get degrees in engineering, accounting, and some sciences make a million more dollars over a lifetime."<br /><br />In your reply to my post, you have modified this to say "in certain fields a college degree can add to a million more dollars over a lifetime in some instances." And, these certain fields, according to you, are "engineering, accounting, and some sciences"?<br /><br />If yes, this is contestable. I agree with your second statement, but not your first. And, yes, I have read your entire argument - at least as it appears in the original post. kristalsoldierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12825914772213308953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-48260707040600558822014-06-13T17:55:15.693-07:002014-06-13T17:55:15.693-07:00You may wish to read the entirety of my argument, ...You may wish to read the entirety of my argument, as I mention Steve Jobs and others.<br /><br />In any event, my argument applies: in certain fields a college degree can add to a million more dollars over a lifetime in some instances. In many fields, a college degree is useless, and should not be ridiculously expensive on the basis of "earning more money".<br /><br /><br />The fact that some people, somewhere, make money without a college degree is irrelevant to what I've said above.Doomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04528555392898760692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-491174673971804494.post-61353394482025175762014-06-13T17:05:10.991-07:002014-06-13T17:05:10.991-07:00"Higher education, particularly liberal arts ..."Higher education, particularly liberal arts education, needs to no longer be identified as a source of great wealth." Instead, according to you, "people that work hard to get degrees in engineering, accounting, and some sciences make a million more dollars over a lifetime.” Of course, if you consider the case of the super-wealthy like, for example, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Marc Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, Evan Williams, Hiroshi Yamauchi, among others, who are (1) without any formally acquired college degree or any sort, (2) billionaires to boot, and (3) who are all active (or were active) in the high-tech space, then your argument cannot really be sustained. Remember, we are talking of the super-rich here! Imagine what the numbers (of people without formal degrees of any kind) would be for mere millionaires (and, just to clarify the point, possessing a million dollars does not make one a millionaire - one would need at least 1.5 million dollars to be classed as one. Why? Because there is a cost involved in maintaining the original million dollars that guarantees one that status!).<br /><br />No one actually needs a college degree to be able to do a job that can provide enough to keep one's body and soul together even in this hyper-competitive world that we live in today. Hard-work? Yes; College degree? Not necessarily. That said, a college degree - and I mean this in the classical sense where working towards and achieving a degree was a true accomplishment for it was never an easy task unlike what is in vogue today - is an indicator for an employer of two basic attributes of a potential employee : (1) that the possessor of a college degree has the self-discipline to be able to undertake and finish a long-term project (the achievement of the degree) and (2) the class of the degree (1st, 2nd etc.) demonstrates how well the person was able to do in his or her performance of the project. Moreover, a college degree is not the only thing an employer looks at - this is something that I am sure you are aware of.<br /><br />The core point, however, pertains to a very different question: Why get a degree in the first place? If the objective is to get a job, then a sustained period of vocational training is perhaps the best option. Business studies, in my opinion, (and yes, that includes whatever nonsense that is taught in MBA programs) fall within this category. Basic levels of reading, writing and the ability to work with numbers are (or should be) part of such vocational training programs.<br /><br />A college education, on the other hand, (something that results in the achievement of a degree) should be geared towards the production of knowledge - and that includes not only the hard sciences (I note not without concern your biasness in this regard which comes through clearly in your post), but also the arts, humanities and social sciences.<br /><br />Last words: While skills are necessary to live in this world, knowledge is what expands our world - indeed, makes it liveable.kristalsoldierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12825914772213308953noreply@blogger.com