The Higher Education Bubble

[Peace]

What if I told you that college degree you are getting is completely worthless? What if I told you that you just bought into one of the biggest scams in history if you decided that getting a college education was a good investment? What if I told you that you would be better off going to work at a farm right now than you would be going into student loan debt to get a degree?

If you think I am full of bullshit then that is fine, but watch this video.

[video=youtube;VpZtX32sKVE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZtX32sKVE[/video]

Question everything in this video and go check into the facts yourself. The internet is full of crazy conspiracy theories, and it wouldn't be wise to buy into something just because you saw a compelling video. Think for yourself and challenge the arguments being made, but if you find that the facts collaborate with what is being said, then seriously consider it.

Let's discuss an America in which the college industry collapses under its own weight, drives the US dollar into hyperinflation, and turns that college degree that herd mentality is driving you to get into a huge waste of your time and money.

Please don't make the same mistake that I made.

 

[Kanamori]

I would agree that a lot of it is overblown and unrealistic, however there are many vocations where a degree is necessary for getting a job. Obviously, a degree never makes anything a sure thing. It's also I think obvious that focusing in many areas on very strict curriculum is detrimental to development overall.

 

[This]

I think it depends on what you want to do. If you want to be a doctor or a lawyer than I'm sorry but your degree is not worthless. It is something you will need in order to break into your field. Now I will say this, university is not for everyone, I do think we make a mistake in trying to make it seem as if it is the only logical path of progression when that's not necessarily true for all people. However it is important in many fields and to dismiss it completely would be whole heartedly unwise. Keep in mind this is coming from someone who dropped out of community college to run an already successful self made business, so I have no bias towards the system of schooling itself.

 

[the]

I agree that a college degree is mostly useless. However the government pays me to keep learning and there are no other jobs that pay as much as Im making right now in my area. Im a professional grant acceptor.

 

[Kaia]

I'm not going to watch the video (ENFP, attention span = miniscule xD ) ... BUT... I'm aware degrees are worth less and less as time passes. Needing A levels gave way to needing a degree, and now the new degree is a Masters, which is now a PhD, and etc and etc...

I'm aware the debt has mounted up, I'm aware the promise of having a degree / MSc originally held has now dwindled... no need to rub it in x'D

 

[Blind Bandit]

College is not useless its the amount of debt that is often required to obtain a degree that is the problem. If everyone could go to college for free or cheaper (a lot cheaper than now) that would be reasonable or better.

 

[the]

If places still offered business apprenticeships in the manner youd do an electrician apprenticeship, I feel that would be ideal.

 

[Norton]

I don't believe it. For the enlightened, college (i.e., university for Brits and Aussies) is a way of enriching oneself and developing one's critical thinking and communication skills. Beyond that, a college degree is a ticket without which you're unlikely to enter the middle class. I started three companies. The only people we hired without degrees were janitors. Don't think of yourself as the exception that proves the rule.

 

[bamf]

The problem with the idea of education in America is that our system reflects a time come and gone. It's time for a paradigm shift. It used to be seen as a promise that if you worked hard in school, you'd go to college, and if you got a degree in college you were essentially guaranteed a job. College was seen as a promise for at least a stable life. This is hardly the case anymore, which is why we see the education bubble about to burst, as debt-laden students graduate without any job opportunities. College was once the exception, now it's almost the rule, but the promise of a better life is broken.

 

[Peace]

For those of you who didn't watch the video...which it appears to be most of you...I will sum up the arguments.

The government has long been subsidizing college through artificially low interest student loans and grants.

The result of this subsidization is that the costs of college have actually gone up exponentially.

At the same time, more and more people are actually enrolling in college creating a surplus of people with degrees.

There are not enough jobs for people who have degrees. You heard that old saying "If everybody is special then nobody is special"?

It is becoming an increasing necessity to have a degree just to get a job but the cost of attaining one is quickly growing greater than the additional wealth one would receive from having one.

Hence why a lot of people who are graduating from college now are realizing that their peers who didn't go to college and who went to work for McDonalds are making significantly more money than they are and probably ever will.

Colleges have increased their infrastructure to meet the artificial demand of students who are having their education subsidized by the government.

Once students no longer see the value in the degree, the enrollments will begin to drop.

This is when the bubble will burst and we will have a chain reaction exactly like that with the housing bubble. The colleges will begin to shut down or will bring in more foreign students to replace the Americans. Americans who have degrees will not be able to find viable work and will default on those government student loans. The tax payers will be left with the bill and it will inflate the American dollar to the point that it becomes worthless. Finally we will enter a Depression fueled by hyperinflation.

 

[barbad0s]

Mm... In terms of making money, narrowing your scope to only being able to see higher education as an option is unwise, I would agree with that.

The thing is, you can't possibly prove your elligibility to work in certain fields without higher education. Yes, the system is messed up, and has set itself up for collapse. But what can the people do about that? Well, maybe people can stop entering college for the wrong reasons so that the cost will lower. Aside from that, idk though.

Btw, of course nobody's going to watch the video - it's >1 hour long.

 

[mochi]

Please don't make the same mistake that I made.

I am interested. Please elaborate.

As for the video, I will admit I didn't watch it... (I am lazy ). My opinion on this goes either way... A lot of it depends on the degree/field/era. I have a couple of friends who know master's degree students who cannot find a job. On the other hand, I know some with a bachelor's degree that are finding excellent office jobs. It's all relative...

Edit: I also understand, a while back I had difficulty finding a job with my undergrad degree.

 

[bamf]

We're at a point in time where the people may finally realize that getting a college degree probably won't resolve in a job. Previously, getting a college degree set you apart from the "blue-collar" jobs. Now, a college degree cannot even afford you a "blue-collar" job. As 'mind-expanding' as I see a liberal education can be, it no longer promises anything. We are at the tipping point where people may finally realize that a degree means nothing at all, only proving that previously a college degree only proved by the "higher ups" realized the importance of dividing the people. If a college degree was the difference between the "working class" and the "middle class", then education would reflect it. As an educator, I realize that this is not true. My goal is to show my students the same. Higher education is a fraud, until we reflect it in our society. Granted, I do not believe that college is for everyone, or that everyone needs an education (we need trades and trade-schools), but I do believe that a college education reflects greatly on a society. If a majority of our society was college educated (or educated in trade school), then we would dispose of many social problems. The road-block sits with the "higher-ups" and the corporations. They used to higher college graduates because there were so few. Now that the market is saturated with college graduates who refuse to think for anyone but the people, they want nothing to do with us. It's definitely time for a change, and education only begins to shows the cracks in the foundation of the world we live in.

TL;DR "Viva la revolutcion!"

 

[invisible]

people started saying "money makes the world go round" because of a song in an amazing movie called cabaret. the song was satirical on a couple of levels, one of these levels reflecting the preexistence of a much older english saying that "love makes the world go around". but people usually don't realise that and they just go on repeating "money makes the world go round" as a mantra justifying their belief in the ultimate importance of cash.

 

[the]

A problem is that middle class is now the working poor class. Might as well get a job as a salesman and use your natural talents and hope and pray for some OJT to make a living. Join up with the 99%.

 

[Annabreher]

I never graduated from college and I have two jobs, both of which have a high chance of advancement. I work shoulder to shoulder with some great individuals, and quite a few of them are graduates. People used to act a little surprised when I said I didn't have a degree [okay, more than a little, they demanded a answer: "WHY DIDN'T YOU GO TO COLLEGE!?"] My line of work is specialized, and while it IS helpful to have a degree, it is not going to give you the experience you need. That can be applied to several professions, not just mine. One cannot expect instant knowledge after graduating. It does not make you better than the person who decided to work instead, and I'm glad people are starting to realize that.

-Anna

 

[this is only temporary]

College is many things, but one of the biggest things it is, is a badge of socioeconomic status. It is what it is. I am not saying I like it that way, and I certainly didn

 

[Peace]

I am interested. Please elaborate.

Short story, I obtained a degree in a relatively high demand field and found that the field was occupied by many people who didn't have a degree and the wages have been stagnant for two decades.

As for the video, I will admit I didn't watch it... (I am lazy ). My opinion on this goes either way... A lot of it depends on the degree/field/era. I have a couple of friends who know master's degree students who cannot find a job. On the other hand, I know some with a bachelor's degree that are finding excellent office jobs. It's all relative..

.

Fine, I'll provide a visual to demonstrate the point.

 

[Resonance]

I don't want to work on a farm. I want to work in a research laboratory.

 

[Peace]

I don't want to work on a farm. I want to work in a research laboratory.

Given that universities are where most of the research is funded and conducted, I hope that you have place to work.