Quote:
Originally Posted by scottmandue
Just to qualify,
I'm 56, my friends went to college and ended up costing $20K, WTF happened?
I worked 10 years in construction so I am not against blue collar work, however I would bet most of you posting here are college grads with white collar jobs.
And I notice that most of you are falling in line with the recent notion that college is all about getting a job and $$$.
I will reiterate that 100 years ago college was about WAAAAY more than $$$, it was about being a better (more intelligent) person. Everyone wants to piss and moan about how ignorant/uneducated/uncouth the new generation is... but then we trot out the old "well rounded college grad that can't get a job."
When I got out of high school (30 years ago) a bunch of students got engineering jobs... and graduated to find no jobs.
So college should all about making money? Really? Is that all life is about? Chasing money? Is that the future we want?
|
More kids go to college today than ever before. A masters today is what a bachelors was 50 years ago. Yet kids are less well-rounded than ever?
I'm afraid I never bought into that argument, the pursuit of knowledge does not require a classroom. I have a BS in engineering and am working on my MBA, but do not attribute much of my success to college. A degree is to get your foot into the door of a great career in my mind, nothing more. Spending $100k to become "well-rounded" without any payback via a career is idiotic. Books are free at the library.
Bottom line - you work to make money. Many try to romanticize their career, but that's the bottom line. I went to college because it allowed me to have a career in which I could not only be satisfied, but also sufficiently support my family.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gprsh924
I would love to know what he does...that seems way above the market value for that job, even here in Chicago.
You don't go to college to make money today, you go to make money tomorrow. What's his upside potential on threat $70k? It's a good amount of money at 23, it's no good at 33.
I graduated making $40k, headed toward $80k 3 years later. 3 years from now, 6 figures minimum.
|
He drives a semi delivering food commercially in the DFW area, which is a cheap place to live. Many of the more senior drivers make low $100k range. There's huge demand for responsible CDL drivers with clean records, he's a rarity in that world as he doesn't drink/smoke, is on-time, clean cut, etc. It's hard work and long hours, but the pay is great for someone without a degree.
Again, good wages don't require college. It helps, but there's a lot of trade related jobs that can still provide a good wage. Back to the trucking thing, over the road truck drivers make $100k+ easily but are away from home for days at a time.