Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The myth of Big Ed.

And why it's a lie.
I'm sure everyone reading this blog has grown up hearing that "without a college education, you won't be able to get a good job."

I didn't do much more educational wise than Naval courses after I graduated from High school. Some of them were college level, but probably not accreditable.
Right now I'm out of work. I've been offered a job whenever the Navy gets off it's collective @ss and finishes my background investigation, but I'm still applying for jobs.
There are quite a few that I could fill with my knowledge of electricity, construction, heavy equipment and background in the Natural gas industry- BUT I'm not eligible because I didn't spend two years going into debt so someone could sell overpriced textbooks to me.
Now that tuition is skyrocketing and Pefezzer 0bama has his .GOV claws in the student loan scam, the only people who are going to be able to pay off their loans will be working for the government. Because everyone else will be working for not much more than minimum wage because of the dilution of those useless degrees.

In construction, we have QC engineers that we have to call for compaction tests when we backfill. They come out with a machine that measures density via radiation. They also do slump tests on concrete pours. I learned how to do both when I was a Sea Bee. I can't even apply for an entry level position at $12/hr because I don't have an engineering degree- besides I'm used to making a lot more.

Because the time I would have wasted making rich professors even richer in college; I learned not only a trade in the Navy but just what kind of a sh1thole the rest of the world is- and how well America stacks up.
No wonder Liberals hate the military.

4 comments:

  1. Something that was pointed out about this issue (and I wish I knew who the person was) is that there are no folks without a college education in the conversations about the validity/usefulness of a college education--it's a meme that has instant bias.

    Would you mind if I expand on this on my blog in the next couple of days?

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  2. As a recent recipient of a college engineering degree, I am still going to agree with you. I went to school because I want to be an engineer, but most of the students I'd run into on a daily basis just seemed to want a degree in...something, and that school was in a convenient location.

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  3. No problem Midwest, be my guest.

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  4. It works both ways. I've got a BSEE, been out of work for over a year now.

    I am a skilled machinist and mechanic, but as soon as a prospective employer sees that degree, and my work record of engineering jobs, they don't bother to ask if I can do their job - I'm overqualified.

    My son has been working at a production job for several years - after dropping out of engineering school. He's on the road to becoming a plant manager.

    The modern trend toward everyone getting a degree has warped the job market. There's no way everyone can have a professional job - somebody has to run the machines and keep them going.

    I remember a mailman I met back in the 1970's - he had a PhD in anthropology, and no one was hiring for his specialty expect colleges - professors - and the occasional museum. He had been in the USPS for five years. Probably is still delivering mail.

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