What does a university degree actually get you? I'm not asking just to stir the pot - I never went to university, so I don't know.One thing it does get you, unless you were fortunate enough to have it paid for by someone else - is in debt. Serious, life ruining debt. The kind of debt that can prevent you from getting a house or a car. The kind of debt that sometimes can't (or just won't) be repaid.
University gets you a degree. But I often wonder how productive that ends up being for the average person. I know a great many people that do well by their degrees. And many who can't get work in their field of study because there's either no work in that field or too many people with that kind of degree for the amount of work available. So they end up working at Subway. What's up with that? I wonder how these people feel about their degrees. I wonder how the parent who perhaps paid for the schooling feels about their degree.
Here's an article by someone who feels university is a waste of time and money (at least in the US).
I do miss one thing about University that I never got to partake in. The parties. I spent my twenties in Kingston (in the military), home of Queen's University and I have to tell ya, it was party freaking central. If you couldn't find a party in the University slum area, you were dead. That's not to say that the kids weren't doing any school work, but my Jesus - they could party like there was no tomorrow.
So what do you think? Is university worth the cost? Have you gotten your money's worth out of it (assuming you went)? Is there anyone out there that didn't go to university and feels that they've gotten along with their careers just fine? Should university be free (funded by the government)? Let me know what you think readers.....
2 comments:
I have a two year degree in health information management. My scope of studies in the mid 70's included mostly basic core studies that have proven to be very useful over the years. My one wasteful class was of all things a class on PL1 programming. Progaming language one, a computer language where in we punch holes in cards, assembled cards in a certain order in order to spit out a printed sentence. The degree I have has allowed me to travel and earn a salary that has supported me comfortably. The recession has not affected healthcare. We need more nurses,technicians, DOCTORS! Now get busy!!
I think it really does depend on the degree you choose to get. If you are smart about it, you can get one (such as the aforementioned health care) that will practically guarantee you a job. However if you choose something like a Bachelor of Fine Arts, well, you've tied your own noose unless you want to teach or move to Toronto or other large centre. Even then there is no guarantee.
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