Thoughts about college/university.

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The basis of the college education is to give you a little information about a lot of things and a lot of information about one thing. You take a bunch of unrelated course because the information is general knowledge that most college educated people should have. It also helps people decide what they want to do. I have many friends who went to college with what they thought they wanted to be only to be in school for 6-7 years because they changed majors. You may know what you want to do, but many think they do and are wrong. Once you are through the entry level course you will start on your major.
 
costs a hell of a lot but definitely worth it. got a degree? you'll get a job. BUT choose carefully because if you don't, then its a waste of time. so many universities out there offer rubbish courses just so they can get more money but then students can't get a job with it when they graduate. there is a lot of scope out there for languages, science and medical degrees.
 
I am a university senior now and I have mixed feelings on this. The courses that I have taken that pertain to my major have been excellent, with a lot of valuable information/knowledge. However I feel that a good portion of my lower level courses were poopie toward my degree (granted they were such easy courses it boosted my GPA). The crap courses don't have to be bad though, you usually get to pick most on your own so I always picked something of interest to me just so I don't gouge my eye balls out at something 100% useless and uninteresting. To the University these crap courses make you "Well-Rounded" which is the reason (at least for my University) they require these non major related courses. While I do feel it's a waste of time to take classes that are not related to my major, I did find some of them to interesting and a nice mix into the basic repetitive sciences courses I was taking. I don't feel the random courses helped much as far as my field of study goes, I have found instances in random conversations where information I learned in a random class was useful. Once you get through all of that though and into your major classes it is worth it. I actually would like to take another language course and try to seriously learn another language (unfortunately it's not part of my degree so its not covered by the money I get for school and I cant afford it. I already met my requirement with the nothing I learned in HS language class). While it may not directly pertain to my degree I think its useful. It really just depends on the view you take of it. In the end that piece of paper you pay so much money for helps you get a job and make money so you can support yourself without having to live off minimum wage or a little above.
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Hello; I once informed the students of a college level freshman physical science course that I would be including problems on the exams that required the use of math skills. They were to choose the proper equation(s) (formulas) for the problem and were to show all the steps involved in solving the equations in writting. Having the correct answer alone would not yield full points. I wanted to see evidence of understanding the problem and mastery of the math involved. I wanted to see the equations written out step by step so that they simply did not copy the answer from a calculator screen. I did allow them to use a printout with all the possible equations and conversion tables that would be used during the entire course, they would have to select to correct ones.

It was not a required class so much as one of the few available for students to check off a necessary science credit. A lot of the students were not going into the sciences. Some had never had to solve problems in writing in public school. One student told me that he/she ( my ploy to avoid naming the sex of the student) had been in special classes and should not have to do math. I suggested that perhaps he/she should not be taking that class in particular and that I could not see how he/she would be successfull in college without some extra math courses.

I was soon summoned to the deans office to answer a complaint from that student and perhaps others. Fortunately the dean took my side and even appeared in front of the class to back me up. They had math problems on the exams. I spent a lot of extra hours in the evenings working with students, on a voluntary basis, on the math. Often nearly half the classes would show up for the extra help. Should non science majors be required to do math in a class just to check off a course requirement on a sheet?

More to the point of the thread. It appears to me that a lot of people go to college or allow their parents to push them into college because it seems to be the thing to do and a lot of funds are wasted. Going to college just to have a diploma should not be the goal. An education in a particular field should be in mind before you start. It seems to me that a lot of folks have degrees in stuff that is pretty worthless on the job market.

Sounds like being an arson investigator is likely to require a degree. Have you checked the actual job requirements with a fire department or city? Is a degree actually needed? Can you work as a fireman and work your way into the arson position?
 
skjl47 said:
Sounds like being an arson investigator is likely to require a degree. Have you checked the actual job requirements with a fire department or city? Is a degree actually needed? Can you work as a fireman and work your way into the arson position?
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Hi there. Yes arson investigators are required to have a degree. I have checked actual job requirements at the fire department I volunteer for. A degree is required now even if you want to become a firefighter. Most department say you just need a high school diploma or a Associate degree to get in, but in reality almost all departments take people who have a bachelors degree or higher. Surprisingly my Lt. has a masters degree in fire science. He is a firefighter, arson investigator, and a college teacher. Teaching, being a firefighter, and arson investigator gives him a three way income and he has a really good salary. I want to do what he is doing minus the teaching. I do plan on getting my master degree in fire science. Every arson investigator has to be a firefighter. This is because as a firefighter they will learn how fire should and should not burn. When firefighters becomes arson investigator they can use their experience as a firefighter to pin point the origin of the fire, if any accelerant was used in the fire, and determine the cause of the fire. You can not work your way up and become a arson investigator. It takes years of schooling in fire science and criminal justice to get the position.
 
Hello; Perhaps you can become a firefighter and work on the degree on the side. Since being a firefighter in required, it might be prudent to do it for a while to be sure that you actually like it and can do the job. It would be a shame to put in the time and expense for a degree only to find that fire fighting is not really you cup of tea.
 
skjl47 said:
Hello; Perhaps you can become a firefighter and work on the degree on the side. Since being a firefighter in required, it might be prudent to do it for a while to be sure that you actually like it and can do the job. It would be a shame to put in the time and expense for a degree only to find that fire fighting is not really you cup of tea.
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Yea, I want to get a job as a firefighter first then start on my arson investigator career on the side. Firefighting is my cup of tea :). Like I stated above I am a volunteer.
 
You get out what you put in. Sliding through is possible, and can be fine. But if you want a job you need to make connections and get out of classroom experience.

Being young and depriving yourself of a college experience is stupid IMO. I met tons of people i'm friends with to this day, and have an education. I'm not putting my degree to use, but i don't regret it in the slightest. What would you rather be doing for four years out of high school? Living at home, being a townie and not meeting new people? No brainer...
 
Hello; Yes , I forgot that you stated being a volunteer. You are indeed fortunate to know what you want to do. A lot of folks cast about for some time before hitting upon something they want to do.
 
Know what you want out of a college degree before investing in it.
Where I work every Director, Vice President, President and CEO have a degree. I currently have someone working for me that cannot be promoted to the next level because of the lack of a degree. This person is not happy and will probably quit, especially when we just hired someone that just got out of college making $20K more. Doing the same thing!
It's not just about the money but where you want to be in life. I truely believe most people want to climb the ladder of success and I can't see how it can be done without formal education when companies require it. Again, know what you want.
On a side note, my son graduated from high school today and will be attending UCLA next month. I'm paying.
 
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