Front page article - did-i-choose-the-wrong-profession

[farley2k]

Anyone else find this article hit a chord? My wife and I talk about this a lot. She did a masters and feels it really was a waste of money. I am not sure. I wonder how many doors have been opened because of the little letters on her resume. On the other hand almost all of my opportunities have come about because of my work experience and extra training I did (certifications, etc.)

I am still not sold one way or the other but I certainly don't think college is a requirement for a career which pays a comfortable salary. What are other's opinions?

Link to the article - http://www.wisebread.com/did-i-choos...ong-profession

[moneymatters]

i tend to think that college and advanced degrees can be over-rated. I know several friends who have gotten a masters or phd, only to be saddled with huge amounts of debt, and remorse at having spent so much.

On the other hand there are some professions where you really do need the advanced degree, and the earning potential is really there. its hard to say. for me i think college was more of a time to network, socialize, and learn about how to succeed in life.. I think it depends on the person's situation as to whether it is worth it.

[rorich]

I have my degree now for almost two years and have yet to start working in my field (IT). I have student loan payments too. Sometimes I feel as though I'd be better off getting the books and read on my own. My current student loan payment is the primary reason why I would think twice about a masters degree.

[rstlne]

I think there was an omission in the article. Plumbers, electricians, and building inspectors do go to school too. Vocational school. I don't know how the costs compare to the traditional college route but it's not free and it's not as though they just decided to become plumbers at the drop of a hat and were able to start charging $75 per hour right away.

Maybe the lesson we ought to take from this is to not overpay for college. Assess your earning potential based on your chosen major and shop around.

[Ronni]

This was my comment:

Many people make the mistake of assuming that just because they have a degree, that they're entitled to make more money in the job market. All the degree shows is that they have at least four more years of schooling. To get a degree just to make more money is the wrong reason to go to college. To get a degree because of wanting to obtain knowledge and skill sets (that could be used to make more money POSSIBLY)--that's the right reason.

[The Honest Dollar]

From an individual perspective, you may have buyer's remorse about college or grad school.

But the big picture is that a college degree is becoming more and more necessary. Try asking people 10 or 20 years from now whether a college degree is an absolute must. I expect a lot more people will agree a few years down the road.

It's indisputable that a college or advanced degree will help you increase your earnings over your lifetime. Are there excepts? Non-college-degree jobs that pay more, or college-degree jobs that pay less? Of course. And if you majored in Renaissance Literature, good luck getting a job outside of academia.

One final consideration is the idea of signaling. Your college knowledge might not be very helpful to your job, but it's a great way for employers to distinguish between candidates who are dedicated to the industry and committed to career-building. Candidates signal their interest and qualification with college degrees, and employers thus prefer hiring college grads than unknowns. I'm not saying this is the way hires should be made, but this is how employers deal with asymmetric information - not knowing who's really into the job and who isn't.

Anyway, I went to a liberal arts college and I don't at all regret not getting a business degree as an undergrad. As "brochure" as this may sound, I really appreciate the experience I had at college and how a liberal arts education taught me to think critically about the world around me. I don't doubt that my critical thinking ability helped me to score a great job straight out of school.

[kav122]

I regret my undergrad. Not because I went for it. But I went for the "wrong" degree. I started off as jazz performance, and then switched to Public Relations. I moved 1000 miles away to work in a PR firm and quickly realized that I didn't just hate my job, I hated the whole career. People that had worked in the field for 20 years were not doing things that I wanted to do.

So I started working at a hospital, and realized, "HEY! I never thought about the medical field". Now I am going to school to get my master's in nursing, and one day be a nurse practitioner.

I don't think that college was bad. I think that it is hard for ANYONE to decide at 18-22 what they want to do for the rest of their life. In my case, I didn't know anyone in the public relations field, so I had really no idea what the job was like, except for what my professors told me.

And as for HAVING to have a degree: I disagree. I think that many people are successful without a college degree, but I do think that it depends on the job.

[gt0163c]

I know very successful people who do not have a four year degree. My brother-in-law is one of them. He does have an associates' degree, but he makes significantly more than I do, with my four year degree. My auto mechanic makes a very nice living, but has no degree. But he's great at fixing cars and that's his passion. And there are a trio of sisters in my church who are amazing fiddlers. They haven't gone to college and have no plans for college (although I think one of them may be seriously thinking about taking some business classes, just to help with figuring out all of the financial side of being professional musicians). And they're doing very well.

I also know people who have a four year degree and even some advanced schooling who have struggled greatly. Some got degrees that have turned out to be useless. Some decided they wanted to take some time off to get an advanced degree or pursue and alternate career that didn't pan out and then they weren't able to get back into their major field.

That said, I also know people who are more stereotypical. I know people who don't have degrees who have said that has held them back. Despite having the knowledge and experience, some employeers just won't look at candidates without a degree in something. And, for a couple of guys who have been interested in full time pastoral work, they can't get a seminary degree without first getting a bachelors in something.

And I know a lot of people who are actually working in their major field and have jobs which require their degree(s).

I think a lot of it depends on the field in which a person is interested in. Something like teaching, engineering, medicine, scientific research, etc do require at least a bachelors degree. Many are getting to the point where they require at least a masters as well.

I volunteer with the high school kids at my church and I've often told them that if they're unsure of what they want to do, they should plan on getting a college degree in something. They might not want to go to school right away, but in most cases, they will be better off with a degree than without one. If nothing else, it provides a lot more flexibility. That may not be the way that the working world should work, but it's the way that it does. And, it's similar to the advice I give the kids who are interested in "engineering" or sciences but not really certain what exact field they want to get into. I tell them to start out in mechanical engineering or chemistry. From what I've read and learned being in the engineering industry and talking to many people, those majors offer the most flexibility.

Personally, I have a bachelors of aerospace engineering and am working in my field. I work with a friend who I did my degree with. He stayed on and did his masters. He entered the workforce about a year after I did and has gotten "growth" promotions roughly a year ahead of me. So, I figure that I've only "lost" a year by not getting my masters. And that's fine with me. I'm happy with the way my career is progressing and I got some great experience that I wouldn't have gotten had I started a year later (based on where the program I started on was at the time I hired on).

[jkuo13]

Whether a degree is worth it is highly dependent on individual situations. Overall, a college degree is worth it. Having a bachelor's degree offers you more flexibility and opportunities for getting a job, even if you aren't making as much as you would pursuing a vocational route. The worth of higher degrees depend on the field you're in. The more technical or academic the field (ime), the more the higher degree matters for your job prospects.

Also, getting a degree isn't all about setting yourself for a higher paying job. Maybe I've been hanging around academic types too long, but I think the biggest thing you get out of a college (or higher level) education is expanded knowledge, critical thinking skills, exposure to new ideas and modes of thinking, etc. If your career and life are only about money, then getting a degree is probably a waste of time. You don't need a fancy education to make a lot of money; just drive, determination, savvy, and the ability to adapt and learn skills are more important for just making money.

One last thought I had about vocational jobs is that while the hourly rate seems really high (and probably is slightly inflated), do they work continuous 8 hour days (i.e. steady work through the day/week)? Do they work regular 9-5ish sort of hours or are they on call at weird hours? Even if they are working normal 8 hour days, the work isn't particularly stimulating in a lot of cases. I wouldn't say fixing pipes and wiring stuff all day is my idea of an intellectually stimulating job. Then there's the issue that some vocational jobs are physically demanding. Ever met a mechanic without a super strong grip? Plumbers and mechanics often have to contort themselves and use weird non-leveraged positions to get to things they're trying to fix. It's pretty easy to sit at a keyboard and lament at the high hourly rates of vocational jobs vs. white collar jobs. Those jobs may not be all that rewarding and might involve more work than you might first think.

[pastorjezer]

The fact of the matter is that we live in a credential based society. A degree creates a threshold of expectations and pay, but what happens to individuals without higher education, when they get laid off. The chance for those individuas to return to their former high pay is slim to none. A degree is sort of like a safety net. One that is needed in today's global economy. The days of having that job for twenty-five years with pensions and excellant benefits are gone. Ask the states that used to rely on manufacturing, they'll tell you about slumping economies and the end of golden era. We have to realize we're not just competing with each other, but an entire world. A world that is hungry for the things we've taken for granted.