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Started By
Message
re: Is a Four-Year Degree Worth It?
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:14 am to jeffsdad
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:14 am to jeffsdad
quote:
Cnra course is no breeze. The people replacing them , the associate degreed is the way to go
A breeze compared to becoming an anesthesiologist. And the pay isn’t always reflective of that disparity.
2
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:15 am to onmymedicalgrind
Pay is based on functionality.
We need fewer Nurse Practitioners if you ask me.
We need fewer Nurse Practitioners if you ask me.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:15 am to cas4t
quote:
, I agree with this notion as a whole, but I do also believe having your degree shows potential employers that you have it in you to finish what you started
I like your point, but wouldn't that mean veterans deserve the ultimate preference? They’ve faced the highest stakes possible in combat or at sea. And what about the Peace Corps?
Let’s be honest: college should be about developing the individual. Vocational trades, CS, and Engineering could all be taught more efficiently elsewhere. You don't need a $5 million gym or a lazy river to learn math—unless you're calculating the debt used to fund them.
Right now, CS grads are struggling just to find a footing. AI has fundamentally changed the career I’ve known for decades, which is why we should have cut H1-B visas to zero years ago. With 300k tech layoffs in three years, the situation is dire. If STEM is the financial engine that supports the rest of the university, what happens to the 'liberal arts' when that engine stalls?
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:15 am to Flats
quote:
Go straight to law school, get law certificate. There's no reason medicine couldn't function the same way.
Certain postgrad paths require more of a foundation and filtering.
It's THEORETICALLY possible, but wouldn't be palatable right now. The apprenticeship path would be more inclusive and I'll leave it at that so texag doesn't melt down at a higher level.
*ETA: that's for law, not med school.
This post was edited on 2/4/26 at 8:16 am
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:15 am to NASA_ISS_Tiger
If you have any desire to work in Corporate America, a 4-year degree is essential. I have been hiring employees for two decades and have never hired a single person without at least a degree. A 4 year degree is the price of entry.
Now, if you want to do a trade, work for yourself, or go the mom and pop route, you can make do without one.
Now, if you want to do a trade, work for yourself, or go the mom and pop route, you can make do without one.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:16 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
Certain postgrad paths require more of a foundation and filtering.
There it is.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:16 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
Film classes, history classes, theater classes, math, English, etc. They all form the foundation of how I look at big problems and form worldviews.
Your opinion on these things does not define what is “educated”.
Engineers take much harder course work in general than a lawyer. Yet if they don’t take the sacred theatre class they’re not “educated”.
You just sound like a pompous arse.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:17 am to Narax
quote:You are right. A lot of data is available. But it is cumbersome, and not available for each college. It should be, and colleges should be required to publish it.
Its out there.
LINK
The US Government publishes all the raw data.
If i want to see national median income data for Petroleum Engineering vs Civil Engineering, or comparisons of LSU vs GaTech in those fields, it should be very easy to do. Before I commit to pursuing a Biology BS, the college should be required to tell me that XX% of enrollees go on to pursue postgrad degrees, but of those who don't the median income is $$$$ at 1yr, 5yrs, 10yrs following graduation.
Here are some examples for LSU, UGA, GaTech
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:18 am to texag7
You have to be under 5’9” in height. The insecurity is pouring from you.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:20 am to Flats
I mean in law school, for example, I remember a few of the people who had to do the remedial summer stuff. They had college degrees, good grades, and OK (?) LSATs, but conceptually and functionally they lacked the foundation to engage in a higher level of analysis/writing.
You pluck from the same population without an undergrad education and that foundation/filtering? Some of the filtering isn't even about aptitude. The discipline or organization to graduate is important when you take the step up. You just throw in 18 year olds from a typical undergrad sample and you're going to be wasting time (For the kids who will largely fail and the school). It's not exactly a more efficient or optimal system.
Now is there a tiny population who has the analytical foundation, IQ, writing, etc? at 18? Likely, but it will be small.
*ETA: and I don't know if you saw my edit but I don't see how that would be possible for something like med school.
You pluck from the same population without an undergrad education and that foundation/filtering? Some of the filtering isn't even about aptitude. The discipline or organization to graduate is important when you take the step up. You just throw in 18 year olds from a typical undergrad sample and you're going to be wasting time (For the kids who will largely fail and the school). It's not exactly a more efficient or optimal system.
Now is there a tiny population who has the analytical foundation, IQ, writing, etc? at 18? Likely, but it will be small.
*ETA: and I don't know if you saw my edit but I don't see how that would be possible for something like med school.
This post was edited on 2/4/26 at 8:23 am
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:20 am to the808bass
quote:
Pay is based on functionality. We need fewer Nurse Practitioners if you ask me.
Agreed, but I don’t see this happening. We are too far deep and their lobby is too strong.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:23 am to NC_Tigah
quote:
If i want to see national median income data for Petroleum Engineering vs Civil Engineering, or comparisons of LSU vs GaTech in those fields, it should be very easy to do. Before I commit to pursuing a Biology BS, the college should be required to tell me that XX% of enrollees go on to pursue postgrad degrees, but of those who don't the median income is $$$$ at 1yr, 5yrs, 10yrs following graduation.
This would solve a lot of problems.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:24 am to the808bass
quote:
You have to be under 5’9” in height. The insecurity is pouring from you.
Good one “808bass”. I bet you’re a big tough guy
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:24 am to dukeg7213
nope all depends on what you want to do. For professional careers (DR, Lawyer, Engineer, architect) yes but for many careers no. Trade school is a great option to make lots of money.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:27 am to SlowFlowPro
quote:
they lacked the foundation to engage in a higher level of analysis
Again,
. You think that's not a choke point in engineering school? You know what happened to the kids who made it to that point but couldn't get to that "higher level of analysis"? They flunked out.
Your trade isn't special, it isn't more enlightened, it doesn't consist of a bunch of Ivy leaguers discussion Dostoyevsky at cocktail parties. And your insecurity about all things you perceive as intelligence-related continues to be weird as hell.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:29 am to Flats
quote:
Your trade isn't special
Especially considering he works at the bottom of the legal profession in a small market yet acts like he’s leaving in a minute to film a Suits episode.
It’s very strange.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:30 am to Flats
quote:
You think that's not a choke point in engineering school? You know what happened to the kids who made it to that point but couldn't get to that "higher level of analysis"? They flunked out.
We're talking undergrad, right?
Nobody is arguing that for undergrad.
quote:
Your trade isn't special,
I never said it was special. This applies to Engineering grad school, too.
quote:
And your insecurity about all things you perceive as intelligence-related continues to be weird as hell.
Insecurity? I'm trying to avoid going down that road, specifically.
Literally was already covered here
quote:
It's THEORETICALLY possible, but wouldn't be palatable right now. The apprenticeship path would be more inclusive and I'll leave it at that so texag doesn't melt down at a higher level.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:32 am to NC_Tigah
STEM, yes. Most of everything else, no. Sorry to all the liberal arts, sociology, English, art, etc... your degree is useless in actually improving anything. How about challenging yourself and go into chemical engineering like I did (after being a college dropout). Sure you can't party as much but once you're done you definitely can enjoy yourself.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:36 am to texag7
quote:
Especially considering he works at the bottom of the legal profession in a small market yet acts like he’s leaving in a minute to film a Suits episode.
It’s very strange.
What you (and possibly Flats) don't understand is that I didn't become a lawyer to become the best lawyer in the world. I only went to law school because I didn't want to get a job out of undergrad and got a big scholarship at a lesser school than where I could have gone, to keep costs down to almost nothing. I am in no way projecting having a JD as some major significance.
I've been able to mold a path that's largely fulfilling and +EV in terms of income while giving me plenty of time to study/analyze the stuff that I actually value and to explore other economic outputs. I'm happy, live a low stress life as a lawyer, and get to be selective in my work which leads to an incredibly high rate of happy customers...and I have other potential businesses in the concept stage at all times.
*ETA: and possibly the best part is I get to do all of that and get to be my authentic self and don't have to be a phony. Holden Caufield would be proud.
This post was edited on 2/4/26 at 8:39 am
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:39 am to SlowFlowPro
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