The world needs ditch diggers too ya know...

[Icemaster]

Is it possible, that maybe - just maybe, even though you went to school and learned what the letters TCP/IP stand for, that you're just not cut out for that career choice?

Doesn't make you a failure, maybe you got bad advice, maybe you were sold a bill of goods - I don't know, not in his position but the premise really irritates me. It just strikes me as another in a long line of "it's not me, its the (insert villain of choice here) fault."

Profile of Corinthian student Michael Adorno - Business Insider

Discuss.

[HardDrive]

I have mixed feelings.

I used to be a manager for Kaplan, the huge private education company. They were certainly greedy SOBs. They would promise you the moon to get you to sign on the dotted line. However, in general, the courses they offered did live up to their claims. Not always A+, but on the whole I think there was a reasonable focus on quality control. If Corinthian is making claims that their training will guarantee employment in your field of study, or even strongly suggesting that, then I think the guy may have a point. Also, if the technology they were teaching him is not up to date, he may also have a point.

But that said, I should also mention that I'm an MCSE/MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer). I've taught thousands of students over the years in MSFT training courses. These are official courses offered at MSFT partner organizations. The fact is, at times I was training people who had zero chance of making it in the field. But what exactly was my companies obligation here? If a guy walks in with cash, or he's being paid for by some government 'job skills' program, are we supposed to turn him away because we have a 'gut feeling' that the guy isn't going to make it? I don't think so. People surprise you.

A private college or training facility is selling you a product. If the product they are selling is faulty, then you as the consumer should have some recourse. That said, if the company is providing a quality product, its not their fault that you don't have the skills (i.e. your freaking moron) to use the product.

[Rick Lee]

That guy should have become a ditch digger long before he got to age 28. Now he's 33, living in the DC area and can't find a job? There's no easier place in the US to get a well-paying job than the DC area. None. What an idiot. What took him until age 28 to decide to not want to work in a pizzeria? Sheesh.

Mrs. Lee went to a similar school, which has since lost its accreditation and been shut down. She's never spent more than a few days looking for a job. She landed her current job with the very first resume she sent out after five yrs. with another company. No one cared where she got her degree and no one knew that school was basically a visa factory for Chinese kids.

The kid in this article is destined to be a ward of the state unless he marries well or wins the lottery.

[recycled sixtie]

Any time a person signs up for something like this they commit financially(or not!)? Did he do his research about how good this college is? Did he compare it to other colleges?From what I see universities can be considered a business and the product they promote can be questionable. Buyer beware. He was not wary enough.

The owners of the univ. are smarter than its students so they extract maximum return on investment. The univ. is protected by legal fine print even though their 'product' is questionable. There are many companies like this too.

Guy

[GH85Carrera]

Many years ago when DOS 3.3 was the king (33 years ago) I was looking into a local college to see about getting a degree in computers and really learn something more than my poking around.

I walked in and they gave the royal treatment and the high pressure salesman threw his pitch. I cut him off and told them I want to SEE what equipment they have and the facilities. They showed me an old System 34 IBM machine that was already out of date. They did not have one DOS computer.

Then the real pressure started for me to sign up with a student loan. I was smart enough to laugh at them and walk out.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

The fact is, at times I was training people who had zero chance of making it in the field. But what exactly was my companies obligation here? If a guy walks in with cash, or he's being paid for by some government 'job skills' program, are we supposed to turn him away because we have a 'gut feeling' that the guy isn't going to make it? I don't think so. People surprise you.

My local indep. BMW bike wrench moonlights at the Motorcycle Mechanics Inst. down the road. He showed me a paper written by a student, which you would swear was a prop from a live-action Beavis and Butt Head movie. I insisted it couldn't have been real, had to be a hoax. He said it was not only real, but that the kid would never fail out because he had gov't. loans and the school would keep taking his money. Nevermind the kid would never be able to read a work order, let alone a repair manual. It was an eye opener.

[legion]

I took a welding class at the local community college a few years ago with a friend. We were paying cash and were only interested in one class. We were given the third degree, had to meet with the dean to be admitted, and so on.

My friend and I got the only A's in the class. The next-highest grade was a C. We were the only people who studied, did homework, and showed up for every class. One person didn't show up until the 5th week into class. Our classmates were all trying to be professional welders, we were hobbyists.

[HardDrive]

I'm going to stop paying the loan on my Porsche. I've been driving their cars for years, and paying through the nose, and I'm still a schitty driver.

[911dean]

Coworker of a freind used to teach at a college. Was told never to fail a student, keeps their money coming in. In matter of fact over the weekend I told my wife I find it hard to believe the validity of grades earned in school anymore. It seems there're only interested in maintaining numbers.

[legion]

Originally Posted by 911dean

Coworker of a freind used to teach at a college. Was told never to fail a student, keeps their money coming in. In matter of fact over the weekend I told my wife I find it hard to believe the validity of grades earned in school anymore. It seems there're only interested in maintaining numbers.

This. And it goes for public, private, and for-profit education. The grades at the top are pretty valid, but the grades in the middle are now a blend of the average and those padded-up not to fail.

[dennis in se pa]

Kids need to be taught early on that the guy on the other side of the desk ALWAYS has his best interests at heart, not yours. I believe they send all of these "admission counselors" to used car sales training classes. None the less, this particular guy is no dumber than most, and he did make a commitment. Sticking to your commitments is another thing that needs to be taught.

[ckelly78z]

You know, if you could dig ditches for some of these construction companies who do the highway work, there is big money running heavy equipment. 25 years ago when I was first married, my wife was office manager for two Doctors who were doing the employment physicals for a company that would be doing a long trem local work on Interstate I-75. The starting pay for first year employees back then was $25 an hour and $35 an hour for veterans. 25 years later, I would think that the pay scale should have nearly doubled to $50 and $70 an hour....pretty good money for not sitting behind a desk.

[flipper35]

Anything involved in the industry is going to be out of date aside from the basics of how protocols are set up. Even a certificate like A+ is really meaningless in the grand scheme of things as it only shows you can study well enough to know how things worked 5 years ago. They still teach a PS/2 connector is still the most common for a mouse.

I wonder if the kid would get the joke about the physical layer in the random pics thread.

[legion]

Originally Posted by dennis in se pa

Kids need to be taught early on that the guy on the other side of the desk ALWAYS has his best interests at heart, not yours. I believe they send all of these "admission counselors" to used car sales training classes. None the less, this particular guy is no dumber than most, and he did make a commitment. Sticking to your commitments is another thing that needs to be taught.

My ex brother-in-law, in the four years he was married to my sister-in-law, was a diesel mechanic, an admissions advisor for an online college, a bike mechanic, a performance-shop mechanic, and a diesel mechanic again, but mostly unemployed.

[sammyg2]

He's the idiot who picked that college, thinking "hey this will be EASY".

He's the idiot who sat through the BS classes, not learning a damn thing, thinking "hey this is EASY".

He's the idiot who kept going to those classes even though they were BS, because it was EASY.

He's the idiot who is too lazy to crack some books and try to LEARN so he can get a decent job, because that would be too HARD.

He should go back to the pizza parlor, have his wages garnished until his student loan is paid off, just to send a message to the rest of the stupid people that the EASY way through life is not the BEST way or the RIGHT way.




Case in point: many moons ago, a company i was working for had a very good education reimbursement program and for some reason they were pushing the university of Phoenix.

I checked into it, and I could get an MBA from them for free.

So I signed up for three classes. I paid for them out of my own pocket, and then after completion the company would pay me back.
What a frigging joke UO Phoenix was.

Based on the classes I attended:
If you pay but do nothing else, you get a C.
If you pay and show up to at least half the classes, you get a B.
If you pay and show up and turn in some work, no matter how bad it is, you get an A.

Every class meets only 5 times, once per week. There is already an assignment due at the beginning of the first day, usually a 3 page paper based on the books and study material. In two out of the three classes I attended, I was the only one who had actually written and turned in that assignment.

In one class a woman was assigned to my study group (which never actually met outside of the classroom). She was "sponsored" due to her "disability" claim.

Back to the study group:
I did all the work and wrote the 10 page term paper, gave the other members scripts for the final presentation, and did the slide show etc. They all agreed it was just easier that way.

That particular woman who was assigned to us was half-way through the degree program and hadn't bought any books or supplimental study materials. She had never turned in any work and she had a B+ average.

She got an A in that class after doing nothing, but she did call me a racist crakka because I had put her name last on the credits page.
I tried to explain but evidently she could not understand the concept of ALPHABETICAL FRICKING ORDER.

One course I attended was a marketing class. The first day, the instructor (NOT a real professor) looked up from his solitaire game and asked if anyone waned to go itno marketing as a career.
No one raised their hand.
So he said good, i don't want to waste your time and I don't want you to waste my time, so just be cool and we'll get this class over with.

Every week he played solitaire, every week we showed up and signed in, hung around for a while and then left and 5 weeks later we all got an A.
no books were opened, nothing was discussed, nothing learned.

After the third class was over I did not sign up for any more. I told the company I worked for what a waste it was and they eventually removed UOP from their approved schools list.

[Rick Lee]

I can almost understand schools like Kaplan or U. of Phoenix being a little easier on grades, attendance, coursework, etc., since most of their students are working adults, often with families and all kinds of obligations your typical 19 yr. old college student hasn't ever imagined. But still, if you've been out in the working world for a few years, you should have some maturity, time mgt. skills and understanding that you need to do more than just phone it in. Then again, it's not like anyone will call you a doctor if you got your PhD at U. of Phoenix. Some folks really do just go through life with a card to be stamped.

[legion]

My understanding is that University of Phoenix is largely for teachers to get advanced degrees because most districts' contracts require extra pay for advanced degrees.

[wdfifteen]

I'm all for personal responsibility and all, but I've been sold a bill of goods by a slick salesman in the past and I know it can happen. The kids may have a point if they owe the money to Corinthian. If they borrowed from a third party, they shouldn't be trying to make the lender pay for their decisions.
This doesn't sound like a credible business to me.

"But numerous investigations and lawsuits alleging wrongdoing against the company rapidly decreased its size. In July 2014, an agreement with the US Department of Education forced Corinthian to sell 85 of its schools and close another 12."

[Baz]

From the article:

The only job that Adorno said Everest could get him was working in a call center administered by Xerox. The role was a customer-service position that didn't require a college degree.

Sometimes you have to start in the mail room.....I know my first job out of college was dragging hoses in a nursery but it got my foot in the door in the green industry and I ended up getting a better job within' a year overseeing 5 others who were dragging hoses under me.

I also got a second job as a night clerk at a convenience store to supplement my income from my day job.

Point being - the world is full of those who hustle...making lemonade out of lemons....beating the bushes...getting their fingernails dirty.....networking.....paying their dues.

Pic of me in 1979 at my second nursery job as the "Head Grower!"

[mdj930]

Wouldn't that be head "grower". I don't see any heads in that picture.