#OWS, Chew on This : Real Reason College Should Be Free

Originally posted by douglas82391
Uhhhhh 300k a year seem worth it to you?

It is only $300K per year because it HAS to be to pay off the student loans.

I never graduated college. When I went to college, my studies were in a field that has nothing to do with my current employment. I would never give up those few years and the people I met, but the experiences I have had and lessons I have learned in the real world have been much more valuable to me.

I am in a well paying job with great benefits (aside from the occasional long hours) not because I have a degree, but because I did everything I could to learn everything I could whenever I could learn it.

College should be an optional add on for those wanting to be masters at a field.. not a required mandate for those wanting to get menial entry level crap jobs. We should be able to hire people right out of high school as apprentices and train them in a field. The fact that our education system in this country has been broken past the point of repair has made that a challenge at best.

I live in France, and college is free here. I am aware we are paying for it, we all are, but I guess everyone is okay with that and figure it is better for everyone as a whole. On the other hand, I think many more kids end up going to trade schools out of high school than in the US. They are free too, though private universities and tradeschools exist, they are not very popular.

I have two kids in college right now, and I know I couldn't have afforded it if we were in the US.

There is the long term effect on the whole society of loans to consider.....
Someone who goes to medical school, for example, has a HUGE debt to pay off for years,
so to be able to pay that off, and also make enough to live, they need to charge more for their services.
You raise the price of services for everyone.
I purposely used the example of medical school, because in most cases one could argue, "yes, but I can choose to buy a service or not, taxes, I don't get to choose to pay or not"
But when it comes to medical care, when you need it, you need it- you have less room for choosing then say, choosing to hire a gardener or not. You can do your own gardening if you don't want to pay another to do it. You can't do your own surgery!

There's also the theory that with more education, the society benefits from having less kids who grow up to be ignorant, unemployed, socially unadapted.....
But on the other hand, I am not sure that US colleges really make much of a difference in that area.

What ever happened to apprenticeship? This is how things used to be done. Now, they have a "one size fits all" class that can summarize and tell you what to do if XYZ happens, but on the job training is what really matters. For instance, look at the computer industry. Had a guy walk in a few years ago with his proudly displayed MS certs. First support call he took he asked what he was supposed to do when the person on the other end was getting a "no boot device found".

Another thing college does not teach is wisdom. Yes you can learn alot and become intelligent, but that is like arguing car specs from sheets of paper... its always different in the real world.

p.s. i went to school for automotive, medical assistant, and nursing assistant... yet here I am in the tech industry (used to do level 2 tech support but have moved on) and most was from either geeky friends or on the job training.

reply to post by scoobdude


Agreed... nothing is a good substitute for the wisdom gained "in the trenches". Which is one of the reasons I *never* look at someone's resume before I interview them.