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Zero Hedge: "What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College"

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:03 am
by mediatechnology
It appears that young folks are paying attention to the wisdom of Mike Rowe, the American television host who has highlighted the benefits and importance of trade schools and blue-collar work – he has also made headlines for poking fun at man-babies and so-called Starbucks shelters.
Over the last decade or so, the college experience has turned into a circus. At Evergreen College, the inmates ran the asylum. The University of Missouri staff requested “some muscle over here” to suppress journalists. Harvard University has turned into a politically correct institution. What do all these places of higher learning have in common? They’re losing money, whether it’s from fewer donations or tumbling enrollment.

Not only are these places of higher learning metastasizing into leftist indoctrination centers, their rates for graduates obtaining employment are putrid. And parents and students are realizing this.
"What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College" https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01- ... ip-college

I skipped college and got electronics education in High School.

My oldest step-daughter got her Fine Arts degree and has crushing student debt. She's a blues singer and telemarketer.

My youngest step-daughter skipped college initially, worked, then got an Associates Degree which she self-funded. Not yet 30 she owns her own home. In her job she reports directly to the CEO and COO and manages about 5-6 people. Her employer has a dedicated career coach for her.

Fortunately for my first daughter the indoctrination didn't work. What she did get from college, a BFA and debt, do more to harm her than if she'd just gone to work. She'd still be a singer but without the undischargable debt.

Re: Zero Hedge: "What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College"

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 7:33 am
by billshurv
I wonder how this is 'new'? Thirty years ago it was known that you would not break even on lost income of going to university vs going straight to work until your 40s unless you needed a vocational degree. Over here we had Phony Tony in the 90s who decided everyone should be able to get a degree so there are swathes of useless degrees that only quality you to be a Barista. I agree that young people should have this explained more clearly though.

Re: Zero Hedge: "What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College"

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 7:55 am
by mediatechnology
I wonder how this is 'new'?
I suppose what's old is new again.

I was lucky to have been involved in a new Dallas Independent School District vocational program in the early '70s and went half a day to a different high school to learn electronics in 10-12th grade.

In tenth grade we were using college-level EE text books.
In my senior year of high school I interned (for pay) at a company that made oil-field "down-hole" instrumentation.
That half-day provided me both high school credits and money a double win.
Even better, the company was only a few blocks from my home.

After high school I tried community college to get my prerequisites for a EE but ended up going to work in audio where I was doing EE work and getting paid.

I've worked with a few freshly-graduated EE's who knew how to solder: Most I had to teach.

Re: Zero Hedge: "What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College"

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 9:28 am
by JR.
This is an old theme with me... It took long enough for the "customers" to figure out that college degrees are not as valuable as advertised.

I turned on, tuned in, and dropped out.... (not really but it is a cute saying, and I dropped out in the 60s when a lot of turning on was happening.) Actually I was bored silly by schoolwork, always was... I was thrown out of one (physics) lecture for yawning... I used the opportunity to catch up on my homework when all the Hollerith keypunch machines were not busy (my fellow classmates were all in that physics lecture). :lol:

There are several trends going on... Not only the obvious missing payback from taking a big bite of the education apple (student loan debt) and still being unemployable, but companies today are desperately short of competent, skilled trades workers. Mike Rowe is absolutely correct and AFAIK is an advocate for hard trades like welding, carpentry, machining, etc. I just read in the newspaper about a military vehicle manufacturer who had to build a new factory in another state (to hire welders), because they were poaching too many new hires from their local support vendors.

Another new successful career path is computer programming schools. An intense short course programming school can prepare one for a decent paying career for a fraction of the typical college degree cost.

I am kind of a throw back... I learned welding and machining while working in a machine shop (illegally underage) for two high school summer vacations. I enrolled at Northeastern a co-op school that mixed school with actual jobs for work experience. I dropped out in my sophomore year but not before completing two coop stints. One as a draftsman (yes old school with pencil and paper), and another as a QC inspector. Both were valuable for exposure to real world businesses. I just couldn't let my mother fund my education when I was not taking the classes seriously. After I started working, I had some senior engineers that mentored me along the way, but I am mostly self taught for decades. Likewise I taught myself embedded programming after I left Peavey.

In hindsight I have no regrets, well one small one... I probably wouldn't have been drafted into the army if I remained in school for the full 5 years, but that is life. 8-)

Despite no formal degree, I managed an engineering group at Peavey with multiple degreed engineers reporting to me. I managed a mix of degreed and non-degreed engineers. The engineers with degrees were not my best (most creative design engineers) but the degree established that they had the discipline (I lacked) to attain the formal degree, and could understand the vernacular of engineering. My single best engineer had a degree but his skill was not learned in class. It is a way of thinking and approaching problems, to come up with elegant solutions.

JR

PS: I wholly expect and have been predicting free web delivered education soon. There is little real benefit from attending destination schools except for the frat parties. :lol: When I was in Boston a lot of the girls attending the many junior colleges in the area were pursuing MRS degrees. :lol:

Re: Zero Hedge: "What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College"

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 9:53 am
by Gold
I think there is too much emphasis on college degrees. Not everyone needs one. That said a liberal arts degree never was and never will be a job training program. It’s to open the student to the breadth of human knowledge.

I like autodidacts and the music business is full of them. The arts in general is fairly egalitarian. No one cares where you went to school. It’s about doing the job.

Re: Zero Hedge: "What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College"

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:54 am
by JR.
Gold wrote: Mon Jan 07, 2019 9:53 am I think there is too much emphasis on college degrees. Not everyone needs one. That said a liberal arts degree never was and never will be a job training program. It’s to open the student to the breadth of human knowledge.
True, and university education was a luxury enjoyed by the wealthy class.

BUT... and a big but, is that politicians have promoted government backed student lending based on the premise that a college degree is worth millions in extra lifetime earnings. A classic case of confusing correlation with causation (something politicians do all the time).

Just like too easy borrowing drove many people into buying homes they couldn't afford, too easy college lending has helped many attend college where the benefit is marginal or negative.
I like autodidacts and the music business is full of them. The arts in general is fairly egalitarian. No one cares where you went to school. It’s about doing the job.
Life is generally about results not titles (except for military service which is still strict about rank and authority).

JR

Re: Zero Hedge: "What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College"

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:41 am
by mediatechnology
Debt slavery and indoctrination are the end game of the current university cult.
It's worked brilliantly but consumers are figuring it out.

Re: Zero Hedge: "What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College"

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 12:18 pm
by JR.
mediatechnology wrote: Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:41 am Debt slavery and indoctrination are the end game of the current university cult.
It's worked brilliantly but consumers are figuring it out.
They don't appear to be figuring the entire scheme out, but lots of buyer's remorse after the bill comes due.

I resist buying into massive conspiracy theories but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, maybe it is a duck. :roll:

Devos is making some progress with education but there are decades of mismanagement (or worse) to try to repair.

JR

Re: Zero Hedge: "What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College"

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 9:16 am
by Gold
The only hard rule I had growing up was get good grades and you must go to college. My father was a college professor and administrator. There is no one I can think of in my extended family who didn’t go to college on my mothers side. I don’t think my fathers father went to college. He was a typesetter at the New York Times. One of his sons became a rocket scientist and the other a professor. I would have been happy just working in studios.

I’m not a formal education kind of guy. If you would have told me or anyone else in high school I would study electronics or metalworking and gain some proficiency at them I would have said you have the wrong guy.

For instance a good friend and ME has a mechanical engineering degree and a graduate degree in acoustics. He had the math skills to complete the degree. He didn’t have a big interest in a lot of it though. So he’s happier being less techie than me.

Both skills are starting to pay off. I may have a job putting external PSUs in a pair of Sontecs. No one will do it. I think because it’s more of a metalworking job than an electronics job. I’m going to ask the studio rate. If I can do tech work at the studio rate I’ll do it.

Re: Zero Hedge: "What Gen Z Learned From Millennials: Skip College"

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:12 am
by mediatechnology
Gold wrote: Mon Jan 07, 2019 9:53 am I like autodidacts and the music business is full of them. The arts in general is fairly egalitarian. No one cares where you went to school. It’s about doing the job.
I had to lookup autodidacts to find out I'm an autodidact.

I tended to go less to books for answers and went to the work bench instead.
Sometimes its easier to measure than calculate.
I would suck at IC design.