Liberal Arts won't land you a cube in corporate america

[AussieGriffin]

Good points all. The liberal arts comes from the term book learning and used to mean studying the knowledge of the esoteric and higher mathematics, not to mention being on the fast track to the upper tiers of the legal system. These days it's debt slavery in exchange for a-grade lessons in beer-pong. (One of the finest inventions to come out of higher education. ^^)

A.G.

[natritious1]

what exactly are they studying? I took anthropology and on the first day my teacher admited she was a marxist. It sounds like a degree in worthlessness att he taxpayer expense

[lordblazer]

@natritious1

well if you do anthropology you don't expect to get a job in corporate America. Anyway with that being said I am not buying the argument that only degrees that lead people to corporate america are the only degrees worthy of being obtained. non-profit work can actually offer competitive pay. anyway my degree that I have pretty much puts me in the direction of IOs, NGOs, or IGOs. Corporate America has jobs for me, but only after I get experience and I can work as a consultant.

[cdoftx]

@lordblazer Anthropology degrees are full of Corporate America opportunities. I dated a girl studying anthropology. She was about to graduate. I asked her what she plans to do, and she shrugged her shoulders and told me that she'd probably go work at the Best Buy in her home town. She said good jobs in that field exist, but are extremely competitive and require a PhD. Sad really, spending $100,000 getting a degree and another 100k on another one for a chance to work in the field.

[j0hnwi11iams]

@natritious1 The problem with classless societies like they have in the bushes is that they do not scale.

[cdoftx]

In my experience, corporate America goes out of their way to get intelligent people. Its the government regulators and corporate America's regulation compliance departments that want trained monkeys to follow sets of rules to the T.

[lordblazer]

@cdoftx

well on the higher levels. In essence if you're starting from the bottom its rare even a miracle to expect yourself to be in upper management. Things have changed dramatically. Anyway organizations everywhere are looking for intelligent individuals. What I now understand is a lot of Americans have their priorities wrong. A lot of people think a job for a company or corporation is the only way to go as legitimate. When there are other areas that offer competitive pay

[lordblazer]

@cdoftx

I have to point it out because the attitude towards education seems to be connected to how can this benefit the business community, and if it doesn't then its considered a "useless" degree. When in fact there are no useless degrees. Just people with degrees that lack imagination on what they can do, lack initiative to take steps to find out their career options and pursue them. network with professionals in their chosen focus to find out if they need more education etc

[cdoftx]

@lordblazer Two things go in to factoring whether anything is "worth" something. Its benefit and its cost. Degrees are definitely beneficial, but whether they are worth the $100,000 to $200,000 and the 4 years of missed earnings and career advancement is a whole other story. When I graduated and had to look for people to hire, I found that many people could care less about a degree. They wanted people with skills to jump right into the job.

[lordblazer]

@cdoftx

that's definitely something I agree with, but usually you don't get up that high when it comes to student loans for undergraduate or graduate. Usually Medical School will put you in that debt. Most students in reality that graduate and can't find jobs in the US who stay in the US tend to have their debt increase up to 100k because well interest rates took a sudden hike when they took out those private loans. its something to consider cuz most come out with 25k-30k of debt

[lordblazer]

@cdoftx

as far as job hunting int he US goes. Its quite tough with a BA and being a recent graduate with only internship experience. When many employers are literally looking for people with work experience. Not just college grads, but high school grads that are 18 have ran into this problem with jobs. in my state its literally pure nepotism on how you get by not by your actual qualifications. Anyway US isn't so friendly towards young professionals, but interesting place to gain experience.

[lordblazer]

@cdoftx

anyway people need to consider wisely what degrees to get, and what will they need to do if they choose to pursue something they love. Do they need to go to graduate schools? Do they have to consider other areas for work outside of Corporate America? Can they get a competitive salary? Will they need to talk to professionals in their field with experience? Then they need to figure out how to get financial aid outside of loans. If they have to be independent.

[lordblazer]

@cdoftx

many college students don't file as independent because they can use their parent's health insurance plan, auto insurance plan, etc. And in reality many cities in the US has only 1 mode of transit. the car. Universities do offer health insurance.As far as auto insurance go, do you really need a car in college? If at NYU you really don't need a car. If at UT in Austin you might have to strongly consider buying a car.

[lordblazer]

@cdoftx

Anyway the more money they can get the better, and the less loans they take out the better. What saved me was that my state offers to pay my tuition. though that program at my uni eventually said it will cover fees, but not for people who entered in my year. so I got screwed mostly in fees and ended up in some debt, but not a lot. What saved me is studying abroad in countries I wasn't charged such absorbent amount of fees. A lot ot consider and the US sets ppl up for failure true enough

[j0hnwi11iams]

@cdoftx Corporate america is looking for people that fit into their organizations. That means more often than not have a specific set of skills.

[loveofphysics]

@cdoftx ...another anti-gov't regulation cultist

[cdoftx]

@loveofphysics Let me guess, you don't work in an industry where government regulators look at you with a strait face and tell you that you need to spend money on something that makes you just scratch your head. Then again, maybe your visits to your local DMV or filling out your tax returns give you an inside peek on what I'm talking about.

[loveofphysics]

I loved studying Physics, but the 2-year Humanities Honors program that I took for my GE opened my mind and understanding to the context of our place in current society within the larger framework of western cultural and philosophical development. I will never blow off my humanities courses as mere busy work for GE, it helps to expand your understanding.

[j0hnwi11iams]

@loveofphysics What education should do is not just fill heads with skill sets, but inspire them to become life long learners.