Do you study for a job or for the sake of just learning?
I am in the midst of preparing myself for a Master's program, and the process is quite tedious and expensive, and there is no saying that I'll even get in. But I've been contemplating about this decision for a while now, and have been complaining about the "what-if's" (usually negative) to John. Yes, I know I haven't even submitted my application yet, and here I am already doubting if the effort and payoff is worthwhile.
A lot of my professors and my seniors have told me that they think a Master's degree is definitely worthwhile, and would help me nail a job that much faster than just a bachelor's, which made me wonder...do we do study for the sake of learning or do we study for a job?
In the past, aristocrats went to college because they have too much time on their hands, since they didn't need to toil and labor like peasants do, so they spent most of their time expanding their knowledge on a vast number of topics. Whether or not their degrees propelled them any further in their wealth, I have no idea, but I do know that a good education that challenges our everyday thinking leads to more breakthroughs and advancement. Today's super efficient technology were built, in part, based on the theorems and discoveries founded by these highly intellectual and educated aristocrats, giving us compelling reason to believe that education is necessary for the human population's advancement. As such, we required young children to go to school. Eventually, we encouraged them (especially the bright ones) to seek higher education in hopes that we can make even more discoveries.
But somehow, we have shifted from wanting to make more discoveries to wanting to get a higher paying job. How in the world did higher education evolve from a yearning for learning or improving society to a standard or protocol for the interview process? Yeah, yeah, I know that if we gathered data, we'll find that college graduates tend to have higher paying jobs than non-college graduates, but I am quite baffled at the absurdity of requiring a bachelor's degree for some menial data entry position. And yes, I know that if there is an increase in smarter people our society will improve as a whole.
But if education is so important FOR society, why in the world are universities charging an enormous amount in tuition fees? Because we can make that money back from our future jobs? What about people who just want to LEARN? E.g. people who want to edify themselves about cultural behaviors or how sociological patterns are formed? Why do they have to pay anywhere from $10,000 - $50,000 a year just to learn? And then when they graduate, we don't even have job positions that will enable them to pay off the amount of debt they accrued from acquiring the degree. It is as if we are punishing them for wanting to learn and to become better people.
I am all for getting an education for a job, but if our main concern with education is merely for jobs then why not have universities teach only lessons for jobs that are currently needed in the market, and not penalize people who want to learn other subjects like arts and humanities. Not saying this is a solution, but a nice thought. I've heard counter-arguments like "well, if you're not rich enough for education, then perhaps just work regular jobs like our ancestors did back in the day and leave education for the aristocrats. It's your fault for getting a 'worthless' degree that isn't STEM." If only it were so simple! With companies "requiring" that you have at least a college education to even get a clerical position, which by the way, pays you peanuts (good luck paying off your loans), how are young people supposed to find jobs? And is a passion for learning exclusively for the elite?
I don't buy the "education is expensive because it's an investment to future high paying jobs" argument. There are so many people with PhD's who are still jobless or working in a way less prestigious position than their degrees allow them to. This is precisely what bothers me. I love learning. I love statistics. But I am broke and there is no guarantee that getting my Master's eduction will earn me my tuition money spent back.
And what if I wanted to become a mom halfway? Die can. My kids will suffer the consequences of my pursuit in education. Student loans debt galore. I can already see me apologizing in my will for not passing on an inheritance of money but of debt.
Education is pointlessly expensive! Universities shouldn't be allowed to charge such ridiculous amount in fees unless they can guarantee me a job dammit. Where got can tell people "come, I 'educate' (I find UC schools lacking in the educating department but that's a topic for another day) you and 'brand' you as smart because I am a popular and expensive university, but no guarantee you'd get a job, 'kay?" Sound so scamming, can? Sigh. Here's to hoping that I'll get a job that will allow me to live comfortably (with all my debt paid off) enough to have kids.
-Rant end-
A lot of my professors and my seniors have told me that they think a Master's degree is definitely worthwhile, and would help me nail a job that much faster than just a bachelor's, which made me wonder...do we do study for the sake of learning or do we study for a job?
In the past, aristocrats went to college because they have too much time on their hands, since they didn't need to toil and labor like peasants do, so they spent most of their time expanding their knowledge on a vast number of topics. Whether or not their degrees propelled them any further in their wealth, I have no idea, but I do know that a good education that challenges our everyday thinking leads to more breakthroughs and advancement. Today's super efficient technology were built, in part, based on the theorems and discoveries founded by these highly intellectual and educated aristocrats, giving us compelling reason to believe that education is necessary for the human population's advancement. As such, we required young children to go to school. Eventually, we encouraged them (especially the bright ones) to seek higher education in hopes that we can make even more discoveries.
But somehow, we have shifted from wanting to make more discoveries to wanting to get a higher paying job. How in the world did higher education evolve from a yearning for learning or improving society to a standard or protocol for the interview process? Yeah, yeah, I know that if we gathered data, we'll find that college graduates tend to have higher paying jobs than non-college graduates, but I am quite baffled at the absurdity of requiring a bachelor's degree for some menial data entry position. And yes, I know that if there is an increase in smarter people our society will improve as a whole.
But if education is so important FOR society, why in the world are universities charging an enormous amount in tuition fees? Because we can make that money back from our future jobs? What about people who just want to LEARN? E.g. people who want to edify themselves about cultural behaviors or how sociological patterns are formed? Why do they have to pay anywhere from $10,000 - $50,000 a year just to learn? And then when they graduate, we don't even have job positions that will enable them to pay off the amount of debt they accrued from acquiring the degree. It is as if we are punishing them for wanting to learn and to become better people.
I am all for getting an education for a job, but if our main concern with education is merely for jobs then why not have universities teach only lessons for jobs that are currently needed in the market, and not penalize people who want to learn other subjects like arts and humanities. Not saying this is a solution, but a nice thought. I've heard counter-arguments like "well, if you're not rich enough for education, then perhaps just work regular jobs like our ancestors did back in the day and leave education for the aristocrats. It's your fault for getting a 'worthless' degree that isn't STEM." If only it were so simple! With companies "requiring" that you have at least a college education to even get a clerical position, which by the way, pays you peanuts (good luck paying off your loans), how are young people supposed to find jobs? And is a passion for learning exclusively for the elite?
I don't buy the "education is expensive because it's an investment to future high paying jobs" argument. There are so many people with PhD's who are still jobless or working in a way less prestigious position than their degrees allow them to. This is precisely what bothers me. I love learning. I love statistics. But I am broke and there is no guarantee that getting my Master's eduction will earn me my tuition money spent back.
And what if I wanted to become a mom halfway? Die can. My kids will suffer the consequences of my pursuit in education. Student loans debt galore. I can already see me apologizing in my will for not passing on an inheritance of money but of debt.
Education is pointlessly expensive! Universities shouldn't be allowed to charge such ridiculous amount in fees unless they can guarantee me a job dammit. Where got can tell people "come, I 'educate' (I find UC schools lacking in the educating department but that's a topic for another day) you and 'brand' you as smart because I am a popular and expensive university, but no guarantee you'd get a job, 'kay?" Sound so scamming, can? Sigh. Here's to hoping that I'll get a job that will allow me to live comfortably (with all my debt paid off) enough to have kids.
-Rant end-
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