Surprising 5 graduate degrees that don't pay off

by Scott77 29 Replies latest social current

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  mindseye

  Band on the Run wrote: College was supposed to broaden our horizons. Supposedly, it was different from a tech or trade school.

  Yes, I agree. My favorite classes were the one's that did not have any direct 'practical' application on my future job, like philosophy, literature, art history, and religion from an anthropological perspective. These classes expanded my worldview and encouraged me to be a lifelong learner.

  And I was also grateful for those teachers who pursued degrees in fields that they loved, not just the ones who pursued the big $$$. They usually made the best teachers.
• 

  HappyDad

  My advice to any young person getting out of high school is to go to a trade school and become a plumber. No matter how technichal the world gets, you still need a license to unclog a toilet. The bottom line on the main thing that a plumber tech needs to know is that crap flows down hill and the hot is on the left and cold on the right. And yes..you will get dirty.

  Ok.....now that I made a funny.....remember that it takes a lot of knowledge to be a plumber and I am not putting the trade down whatsoever. How many master degreed idiots know all the different fittings and pipe sizes and the building codes that a registered master plumber needs to know to even get a license for his/her business?

  I know several plumbers making 6 figures a year and they are happy.

  HappyDad
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  mindseye

  I know several plumbers making 6 figures a year and they are happy.

  Yes, I know some too. And yes, they make big $$$$.

  But I would tell a young person to do whatever they love. If they love plumbing, get a license. If they love cooking, go into culinary. If they love philosophy, get a degree. Love slinging a mop? Be the best janitor around. Seriously, life is too short to do something you're not passionate about. And people that do what they love get good at it, and usually make buck anyway.
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  Band on the Run

  I stumbled upon these gems today.

  "A muttonhead , after an education at West Point - or Harvard - is a muttonhead still." Thomas Roosevelt.

  Also, even more apropos to this thread:

  "A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a univerity education, he may steal the whole railroad."-Thomas Roosevelt.
• 

  Scott77

  	"A muttonhead , after an education at West Point - or Harvard - is a muttonhead still." Thomas Roosevelt.
  	Band on the Run's gems posted two days ago.

  So what is the point behind that meaning? I do not understand whether Thomas Roosevelt was refering to no-change mantra once a person goes through those prestigious institutions.

  Scott77
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  james_woods

  Did she mean Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt? If so, he was actually right - but still, you cannot get the best jobs without a suitable degree from an accredited school.
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  Band on the Run

  I can't believe I typed "Thomas." Strange brain action. Teddy, the Rough Rider.

  When I read the quote, President Roosvelt is emphasizing that education gives you vast powers. Robbing a freight car does indicate much personal power. Being able to have the strategy and resources to rob the entire train company indicates much more power."

  The robbery part may connote moral values. I don't think that was his point.

  Modern negligence law developed as trains changed the American culture and economy. They were very dangerous. Existing negligence law at the time made it virtually impossible to sue them for negligence, despite horrific incidents around the country. Train companies were very controversial and had enormous power. It may well be why he focused on trains.

  It is strange b/c trains are rarely in any similar sort of debate now.
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  james_woods

  It is strange b/c trains are rarely in any similar sort of debate now.

  Just for what it is worth, you do not have to have a degree to be a locomotive engineer. I do not think there is even a college program to train them - they have to learn from the ground up working for a railroad and be promoted internally.
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  Scott77

  I think, the reference to the train was not mean to be real, that locamotive stuff that moves on the rail. Probably it was reference to all non technical jobs that the average joe can perform without the college or university education.

  Scott77
• 

  talesin

  The [man] with an education would know how to legally steal the railroad - that was the inference I got from that statement.

  :)