Tuesday, August 27, 2019

8 Reasons Not To Go To University






By Professor Doom



     When I taught at a community college or questionable state university, one of the things which surprised me was how many of my students did not want to be there. I don’t mean simply didn’t want to do homework, or study, or take tests…but even being on campus was a chore for them, something that was close to the last thing they wanted.

      This wasn’t merely represented in the increasing unwillingness of students to buy books, or submit work, or attend class, but in the types of excuses I’d get. At a legitimate school, the reasons for missing class were along the lines of “Grandma died,” or “car accident right before class,” or otherwise pretty ironclad, but at the fake schools? The excuses were more along the lines of “it was raining” and “I had stuff to do.” I don’t want to come across as elitist but honest, the vast majority of kids on campus who don’t want to be there…shouldn’t be there.

       A recent article lists 8 reasons not to go to university, and I’ll add some input:



1.    They just want your money.



     While the above is certainly true for most campuses (especially the for-profits), it is not, by itself, a good reason not to go.

2.    You Can “Get Smart” For Free Online or At The Library



       The above again has truth in it, but it depends on what you want to learn. If you’re all about Shakespeare, then, yes, your local library likely has everything you need. If you’re all about particular skills, then online is the way to go, particularly YouTube, which has an amazing array of skill-training videos available for free.

       Now, you can’t actually learn skills just by watching videos, you need to actually practice the skill as well. Instead of paying $10,000 a semester tuition, you can spend a fraction of that to buy the materials you need—as an insult to injury, many schools charge a materials fee in addition to tuition for the courses that require such.



3.    You May Be Tempted To Join Antifa If You Graduate And Under-Perform.



      I’m quoting the article for the above reason, which yet again has a bit of truth in it, although it requires explanation. Many students on campus are taking far too many ideology courses—it’s not entirely their fault, because they’re actually being guided into such courses (no papers! Easy A! Pizza party instead of a final! I wish I were joking…).

        They graduate with heads filled with ideology, and bank accounts empty of money. The ideology, unfortunately, makes them unemployable, and unwilling to gain skills worth anything. So, they have nothing to lose by joining a terrorist group and trying to overthrow the system, hoping to get “free stuff” from the government in the process. It not be Antifa, however, there are other lunatic fringe groups (eg, Democratic Socialists) that are quite attractive to desperate ideologues.



4.    You’re Playing Musical Chairs With Limited White Collar Jobs.



       The above is something they never tell you in the admissions process. For example, they’ll say things like “petroleum engineers make $100,000 a year,” and seeing those dollar signs, you enroll.

      Trouble is, the school is enrolling 4,000 students into that program every year…while only 300 such jobs open up every year, with a dozen other schools also having vastly oversized programs.

     It’s not hopeless, mind you, but the deck is stacked against you hard, so if you’re not exceptional (or better yet have family connections), realize you’re not getting the full story from the admissions office.



5.    Lower Market Value Of A Degree



      The above is simply a parallel to the 4th reason. Degrees were valuable when they were scarce (back when 15% of the population went to college), and are priced based on that scarcity. Trouble is, that scarcity no longer exists because now around 80% of the population goes to college, and yet the price of a degree has skyrocketed (instead of dropped due to economy of scale).

       Bottom line, even if you’re not trying to get a degree leading to a white collar job, the price of the degree generally far exceeds the value, and that’s a good reason not to get one.



6.    Joke/Cultural Marxist Courses Are Everywhere



     A college education used to mean something not simply due to scarcity, but because it was also an education. But now even if you’re majoring in a “serious” degree, you’re still quite often obligated to take ideological courses of no educational value.

      Even if you’re not explicitly taking such courses, current job requirements for faculty involve “commitment to social justice,” which means many such faculty shove ideology into courses where it simply is not necessary. Even mathematics courses can involve discussion of how Hilary is great, for example…if ideology is being crammed into mathematics, I’m sure it’s in many other courses as well.



7.    Better Long Term Security In The Trades



     Granted, the above depends on why you’re going to college, but if you’re going to college to get a job, then, yes, learn a trade instead. A recent ad for welders says they make $80 an hour…and you don’t need 4 years of college to do it. I’ve done my share of hot, sweaty work (and I wish I could still do it, rather than be carved on and poisoned by an endless array of oncologists), but the bottom line is if you can repair of build things, you’ll probably find steady employment far more easily, for far more money, than if you can recite all 26 genders we have now.



8.    You Are Still Gonna Start At The Bottom



       The days where you could get an executive position right out of college (assuming you don’t have connections) are long past. Because our universities are now gargantuan institutions with tens of thousands of students, because “average” GPA is basically an A, you’re basically going to apply for a job with a thousand (or more) other recent graduates, with the same GPA. Granted, if you can distinguish yourself (for example, by having a last name of “Clinton”), that’ll help, but otherwise your prospects aren’t nearly as great as the registrar will tell you.



        While the eight reasons given in the above article are fine, I’ll reiterate the primary and most important reason not to go to university:


You don’t want to go.



www.professorconfess.blogspot.com




7 comments:

  1. Well done, Dr. Doom! There's plenty more than 8 reasons not to go to college these days.The Pope recently said the same thing to the graduating classes of 2019!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3tEOyWGb9E

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  2. I got one of the best excuses for not coming to class that made my mouth drop open. This was from an over 21 adult: My family went to Mexico and I had to go with them.

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    1. Oh, I've had my share of those, the whole family taking a cruise or whatever. My all-time favorite is probably "My brother murdered his wife, so we all had to go to Mississippi to show support at the trial..."

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  4. Thanks for another stimulating article...

    Let me share this: I advise libertarian fans of college ability (110 IQ on up) to a)BOTH take a Bachelor AND technical degree (AS) or trade certification, and in their Bachelor be sure to b) Study the Great Books--West and other-- and c) Take several majors (or at least strong minors) with a job-ready one leading to a certification. One should not be shy about working for $$$ in gap semesters/years for real work experience as one goes along. I also advise if that if 'citified' get out there and learn hands-on basics and help the community via Habitat for Humanity, start a home and community garden, eco-project, prepper pantry, etc. Volunteering and emergency responder training has become a big thing with libertarian fans worldwide.

    The US, contrary to far-left propaganda, has many low-cost to free colleges and universities starting with Harvard. If one is disciplined and using that library as you urge, testing for credits (CLEP, AP, DSST) is no longer controversial but one can get 45 or more credits (or add them to a regular Bachelor) or more. Some lower-cost places to look into for distance learning/challenge exam credit are:
    >Charter Oak College
    >Excelsior
    >SUNY Empire State College

    Free resident colleges are not hard to find: GOOGLE still works. Here is one link: https://www.nonprofitcollegesonline.com/free-colleges/



    An interesting and low-cost option for by-thesis graduate degrees is UNISA, the University of South Africa, and again in the US for Master's with challenge tests so ( as many have) you can graduate in 6 months for $3-4K I suggest look into Western Governor's Univerity/WGU, which arose from a workshop I personally sponsored with libertarian-interested educators. WGU caters to working professionals --seeking to improve / finish credentials and move quickly --who're already in teaching, management/computers, etc.

    Finally, if inclined, in getting a Bachelor I would suggest taking an ESOL course for a state or college-issued certificate to teach abroad a year or two. Travel IS education.

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    1. Wow, that was quite a bit of relevant info to say. Thanks!

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  5. Number 5 can't be emphasized enough. I heard a podcast talking about free tuition countries(Sweden?), where the job market is so competitive that multiple masters are required for entry level jobs.

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