A quote for Pat to live by..."When all else fails Paste."

If Chicago is Islams Paradise where are they gona find a virgin let alone 72 of them... I think that about covers them both with one bold statement.

All things considered, my degree in philosophy was tougher than chemistry but a chemistry degree will always get you a job while a philosophy just gives you training in forming an argument not to so.

I'll have to take toothpaste off "ignore" again to watch this one develop.

I got a C note on Tabs....

sorry Wayne, but you're wrong. Cultural anthropologists are a hot commodity right now.

The US has lost the manufacturing battle, and is about to lose the design/creative battle as well. We need to teach people how to be life long learners, not strictly "facts and skills."

I've made the prediction in recent public talks that in 25 years 50% of the colleges and universities will be out of business unless they radically alter their approach. The value proposition is no longer there and will be replaced by more innovative and relevant institutions. And I'm aimin' to build one or more of them...

Exactly.

Someone in here has a quote about RIAA and the dinosaur in their sig line.

Same could be said for the current college education model.

What might some main stream jobs in that fied look like?

Fourth, most chinese and indian engineers are not engineers by US standards, a large chunk are comparable to US associate's degrees or "technical" degrees. Supposedly China graduates 500,000 engineers per year, yeah right.

It's easy to undermine the value of arts degrees, but I think it depends what you want from them. I know a few people with degrees in sociology, philosophy and history who complain incessantly that they can't find decent jobs... as though their degree would guarantee employment. Others get a degree in subjects that interest them, without employment as an objective.

I have a good job at one of the larger corporations in my region, but I haven't finished my degree yet. I started in 1995, and have been taking courses at my leisure. I take them when I have the time & enthusiasm.

My reputation at my job has been build through performance and hard work; my lack of a degree hasn't held me back yet. I'm majoring in french & history, so it's not like it's going to give me a "leg up" in website management. ;)

Not in the physical sciences. Many fields do require payment.

Ask Tabs.

A lot of those Indean degrees are general science degrees that cover a lot differant areas but will need more training in the area they end up settling in. Also Todd the USA leads in productivity and our manufacturing prowess is second to none. "Life learning" comes from the home not the professional teacher. It does not take a community, it takes a family.

I think we all know people with seemingly worthless degrees that have turned them into great careers. So I'm not discounting an eduction in anything proving you can be educated to an employer. That being said, I can't picture a cubicle farm filled with Cultural Anthropologists pounding out the days work:D

In my 20s, I managed a Domino's Pizza on Chicago's north side. Two of my delivery guys were engineers (India, Iran), one was a dentist (Russian).

Coming generations will also see the growth of the current small monied elite for whom education will increasingly play a role similar to the role it played in classical times.

These people will not go to school to learn a job. They will go for an education in the classical sense. For enlightenment and betterment.

a colleague of mine is a cultural anthropologist. She is way overbooked as a consultant by Intel, Nokia, Microsoft, etc. She studies cell phone use by teens, and issues of gender related to digital media. I know plenty of other social scientists looking at issues related to technology and the sector now realizes that they know how to make chips but know *zip* about the cultural aspects of uptake, the history behind other technological advances, and social science in general.

most of you guys are thinking way too narrow. But at least you're in good company...along with the lionshare of corporate America and educational institutions.

My phd was in chemistry (for which I did not pay tuition, and was paid a stipend to live on during my full run...that is typical in the hard sciences), but today I use ZERO of the technical knowledge I received. Hell, even if I was still in chemistry my tech knowledge would be outdated. What I did learn was how to learn, how to think critically and analytically, and how to understand data. Turns out those are applicable across almost every field. Part of the work we're doing is trying to understand issues of creativity and leadership, and how to train *that* as opposed to memorization of facts. Difficult stuff, but the one area where we still maintain a competitive advantage over the rest of the world. For now...

Cultural anthropology?

My wife retired at 55 as a VP in HR from a fortune 100 company with just a BA in cultural anthropology. Many people in HR and similar fields have these so called useless degrees.

We may not churn out many engineers but we turn out more lawyers than the rest of the world combinded. What's wrong with this picture?

Wonder how many other people on this board ended up not employed in a field having anything to do with their degree?
I have a double in microbiology/chemistry ended up as an applications programmer and partner in a software firm. Who knew?

I think we are on the same page. A degree in anything (even moreso in a difficult/challenging field) proves to those that would employ you that you can learn and your willing to work at it.

Point this one out to Tech

A post highschool degree improves your chances of getting to the upper middle class. But there are plenty of self made people doing quite well. I'd hazard a guess that the pretty wealthy ($5-20 mill) have a large contingent of non-degreed peope. How about the Girls Gone Wild guy?;)

I agree. However, when I enlisted in the USAF in 1968 right out of college I seriously doubt that whoever decided I should go to programmiing school was thinking along those lines. A guy I was in basic training with and had a similar degree was sent to weapons and mutitions school to learn how to load bombs on
F-4s?? The military works in very mysterious ways. :D