The following is the main focus article.
Making it pay
Sep 18th 2008
From The Economist print edition
Is a university degree still worth the time and money it takes?
The Article from the Economist is HERE. Also there are a number of really good comments made by others, which is shocking since most comments from readers are inane, emotional, or highly political. Perhaps the Economist has a higher grade of reader. Some of the better ones are these--What People Make III, PROF, and, Market Failure. I'm sure there's more.
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1 comment:
This is an interesting article, and a topic that is debated at my work regularly. The Education system in Scotland teaches high schoolers what they need to know in order to pass tests that will get them into university. We push as many in as we can to make our stats look good, not necessarily caring if it is a good fit for the individual. Once at uni, they are majoring in subjects such as communications, media studies and psychology, which are leaving them unprepared for the job market. The alternative is make sure they can think for themselves and not just recite from a text book, but that might prevent them from getting into uni and cause lots of bother from parents.
I used to work in HR designing job descriptions, and most above average paid jobs required a degree. The subject of the degree did not matter; it was a means of weeding out applicants. As long as this is the case, students will be pushed into higher education where they will study subjects with no linkage to their future jobs, just so they can climb the career ladder in the future. Some of my colleagues struggle to get promoted because they were from a generation where university degrees were rare and do not have the correct qualifications.
I, in fact, remember little from my degree (and it was only 4 years ago!) and use very little in my day to day job. If anything, university taught me life skills such as independence and time management and gave me good memories and friends. I would like my future children to go to uni if they were well suited, but if not, I would recommend they took some time out to travel the world and gain the same independence I acquired in college before deciding what they wanted to do with their lives. I am very happy I got a degree when I did as it has made my career progression easier, but I sometimes wish I could go back and do it all over again….ahh well.
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