Once a Leader, U.S. Lags in College Degrees

Originally posted by Styki
reply to post by slane69

 

Could you let is know which degrees were doing the best financially? I am kind of interested.

Engineering (PhD), biology/earth science (Masters), computer science (Masters) are doing best. Interestingly my PhD buddy seems to match the trends and his PhD has not put him above the masters grads in terms of salary.

reply to post by airspoon


I saw Judge Matthis on a program last evening and he made an excellent point...it costs the taxpayer much more to house a criminal in jail for any length of time than it does to provide the same individual with a college education.

We don't mind the expense of incarcerating someone but we are reluctant to spend to educate.

Originally posted by desert

Your assessments re lack of Americans in those certain grad and PhD programs and re advice as to funding/school selection are correct. It seems that for about 30 years now, the popular degrees to get, at any level, were in business and law.

Indeed, I am currently working two jobs. I had lost a job not long ago but in the end entertained several job offers in the middle of this recession. There is still a need for highly trained engineers and skilled technicians.

However I know someone who has a law degree and a masters in psychology who lives in his car and is receiving unemployment. He will probably never work in the US again, being somewhat older.

Parents are doing their children a disservice by racking up huge debts to receive useless humanities or liberal arts degrees. If you do have a passion for one of these pseudo-sciences, at least minor in IT or something that may prove useful later.

reply to post by ~Lucidity


Well I can say I did not know that.

But again, what can we do? There are more college graduates in India than the entire US population.

Everything should be considered at scale. That said, the US does have to get its act together. By God, how ridiculous is it when half the US population is not college educated. None the less, look at it half full. Hlf the US population does have a degree.

Oh well. Good news is that higher educated China and India won't desire a war, and as the P5+1 have more and more educated citizens, the chances of a world war go ever more downward.

reply to post by airspoon


How much education do you need to be a jailer?
This is the wave of the future here. Private prisons. What a vision for America. I am sure we will jump right in and take the lead on this growing and profitable enterprise.

Education could stand in the way and be bad for "business."

The foolishness of politicians and education officials to want all students to attend college is also born out by the bell curve...an academic degree was never meant for the left HALF. I think the "college for all" rhetoric has been toned down, with more times now being said college/technical, or even the basic idea of education beyond high school, which would include more students.

I got the following anecdotes when my sons were in high school and had classmates from other countries. The exchange students couldn't believe that all levels of students were in the same class.

In their country's system (as in most of the world), students are tested for academic ability at around 12 years (6th gr), then every to years after that, to ensure that students get into a course of study appropriate for them. In the US, a classroom's IQ could span 65 to 165.

US education is "comprehensive", and high schools do not usually offer certification for completing a technical program, which is unfortunate. Instead, everyone gets a "diploma".

IMO American officials want their "comprehensive" system, not change it, and expect it to give the same outcomes as the rest of the world. OTOH, unlike the rest of the world, students who drop out/change their studies can always drop back in at a later time.

Oh, and the US school system incorporates sports and social activities to a great degree (equal to academics?), whereas in other countries those activities are community based.

The cost of college, and what is taught, is a function of what the controllers need and nothing more. If you want a degree, or education for yourself, you are irrelevant to the process, but what is relevant is what is needed in the labor pool.

Currently the top 10 job needs in America are service sector jobs; walmart, truck drivers, clerks - nurses are the only jobs that need an education of some sort in the top 10. The controllers structure the system to fill the jobs they want filled. They raise the price of higher education to discourage folks from using the system, AND to make sure the high end jobs are kept for their previously educated friends and family. They make sure that our kids are not educated enough to demand the jobs they want kept open for themselves.

Education is a system used to fill a predetermined labor pool that has nothing to do with you and your "hopes and dreams." If your kids are in high school, the are to be service sector folks, with a handful picked out for other jobs depending on their inherent skill - which is determined by their tests and not your desires.

The controllers plan these things well in advance, making minor adjustments in the moment. We don't see the plans because it seems crazy that men in suits in 1970 determined the fate of your child's education 40 years before they became and issue. But this is true, 40 years ago it was determined that the kids of today would be swamped in debt and given jobs at the GAP for their income.

reply to post by crankyoldman


Pretty smart for a cranky old guy!
Love your comments and think they ring true.