Is a college degree really worth it anymore???

[artoo93]

I never said there weren't and I never said you can't get along just fine without a degree. I did say that it is not possible to get to the higher ranks a technical field, and by technical I really mean engineering, with just "life experience". Sure, you could have done that in the late 80's and early 90's. But, despite what year it is in the forests of Montana, it is 2016 in the real world. You can't walk up to an aerospace firm in Seattle and just willy nilly into a job right out of high school. Even if you do manage to land something, you're going to reach a salary cap that, as you have found out, requires a degree to surpass.

And in this lies the stupidity of what our culture has become!! I will take someone with experience over a piece of paper that you paid thousands of dollars for which is way more than what it is worth.
The college education has become what the high school diploma was to a lot of us. SNAFU!!! The biggest problem that I see is that getting that college degree means thousands of dollars in debt with nothing to show for it except a piece of paper.
College is not for everyone. I went for a little over 2 years and hated every minute of being there. Finally realized I was throwing my money away and dropped out. Have taken a few courses since then but no real interest in finishing at this point in my life. Think I have done fairly well without having a degree so I really don't think I will ever finish either.

OP: If you truly enjoy what you are doing and can see yourself continuing to follow that career path, you will find a way to make this happen for you. Face to face always goes a lot farther in accomplishing your goals rather than through an in-personal email or phone call. I wish you all the luck in keeping yourself happy. Do it for yourself because no one is going to do it for you and simply to piss off those that tell you that you can't!!!

[Gerta]

So I have read most of these threads but not all. I will say the degree depends.

For 90% of the people, yes you need one since most companies these days consider it a non-starter to not have one.

That being said the actual degree you have really only matters during either your first job, or if you are in a specialized field like Legal, Accounting, Medical, etc.

I know plenty of Liberal Arts majors who became high level execs in engineering firms. Technical knowledge while important and it helps is not necessary to actually run a business. Some of the best brightest technical minds couldn't run a company to save their life.

Also I say if you are going to be an artist or a musician etc its a lot of money for technical knowledge that will help but probably not worth it. Although I am of the theory that either you are a talented Artist/Actor/Musician or you are not and schooling will get you better but it wont make you great, that's just something in you.

If you are going into a complete labor type role and you never want anything else, a degree will probably cost you more then its worth, but you are also at more risk if those labor jobs ever go away.

I have an undergrad degree in computer engineering as well as an MBA. I technically do not use either in the field I am in, but what I do use is the knowledge of how to think through problems and understand business.

Here are the main things you gain from school besides the degree:
1) Social and networking skills (yes you have them in high school but its much different), dont underestimate this! Is Harvard's CV that much better then other schools, sure its a bit better but the contacts from Alumni you gain at that school is a big part of the cost.

2) The ability to learn on your own, college is very open and its up to you, unlike high school the teachers are not on you as much and you have a lot of freedom especially if you are away from the parents so you need to be self motivated.

3) The ability to rationalize problems.

So my two cents its worth it if you ever plan on being in any kind of corporate job. It is also worth it if you have ambition to expand your knowledge and grow in a career.

If you want to own your own small business you are probably better off learning from small business owners in the field you want to be in, it doesn't hurt to have the degree but may not be as important depending on what you want to do with that business.

If you want a 9-5 job where you just clock in clock out and gain a paycheck its probably not worth it either.

I think this is spot on. OP is in finance with a larger firm ... its a requirement for advancement in that firm. Unless your name is on the building, then it might be optional.

[Gerta]

And in this lies the stupidity of what our culture has become!! I will take someone with experience over a piece of paper that you paid thousands of dollars for which is way more than what it is worth.
The college education has become what the high school diploma was to a lot of us. SNAFU!!! The biggest problem that I see is that getting that college degree means thousands of dollars in debt with nothing to show for it except a piece of paper.
College is not for everyone. I went for a little over 2 years and hated every minute of being there. Finally realized I was throwing my money away and dropped out. Have taken a few courses since then but no real interest in finishing at this point in my life. Think I have done fairly well without having a degree so I really don't think I will ever finish either.

OP: If you truly enjoy what you are doing and can see yourself continuing to follow that career path, you will find a way to make this happen for you. Face to face always goes a lot farther in accomplishing your goals rather than through an in-personal email or phone call. I wish you all the luck in keeping yourself happy. <B>Do it for yourself because no one is going to do it for you </B> and simply to piss off those that tell you that you can't!!!

I just had this conversation with my 17 year old son.

[Bmwdayz]

I always wonder what college would of been like if I had gone. But I think the most I'll ever do is take some business classes for piece of mind.

[Gerta]

I always wonder what college would of been like if I had gone. But I think the most I'll ever do is take some business classes for piece of mind.

What do you do now?

[nando]

I always wonder what college would of been like if I had gone. But I think the most I'll ever do is take some business classes for piece of mind.

You might want to start with English. 101.. ;-)

[bmwman91]

Is it worth it? Yes and no. That all depends on what you major in, what you want to do and the condition that the economy is in when you finish school. College costs have gotten completely outrageous, and someone needs to think damn hard about what they plan to do for a living before going and (most likely) borrowing tens of thousands of dollars to get a degree.

I know plenty of people with degrees in all sorts of things that are either working in a field that has nothing to do with their degree, or are barely scraping by because their degree did not have a career path that actually paid a living wage. Then add in a LOT of student debt, and in their case it was probably not worth it. Even when I was in school almost 15 years ago, I swear that half of the kids were there to party and fuck, while signing up for the easiest major that they could find. Others took studies fairly seriously, and while they loved what they were doing, their liberal arts degree sent them out into the world without any real earning potential. "Just do what you love" is a terrible lie that is sold to kids, because while I agree that you should find your passion, you will have a hard time enjoying life when you cannot afford groceries and rent. Most of the reasonably happy people that I know now work a job that they are not super duper enthused about, but it pays well and allows them to pursue their passions outside of work with disposable income. Life is a compromise, and while it does not sound glamorous, it is the truth that kids should be told.

Simon, I also majored in MechE and spent a LOT of time partying and chasing girls the first couple of years. My GPA tanked and it was a long, hard slog to get it back up. That cumulative GPA is a real bitch...so easy to tank, and nearly impossible to bring back up. I had a bit of a wake-up call when I lost a GPA-based scholarship 2 years in, and then I focused in on the school work and eventually got it back up to reinstate the scholarship. Partying cost me $20K + interest in student loans, and of course I was too young and dumb to realize this until it was too late! Anyway, the past is the past, and I probably have somewhat of an idea about how things went for you in school since I put myself into a similar boat.

It sounds like you should keep doing what you have been doing. Maybe a business degree would help you get in the door at a big company since the HR department is usually a bunch of robots looking for paper credentials and buzzwords. Even with the right credentials, a lot of the time you get a job somewhere because you know someone, so networking is probably a better use of time than a degree at this point. As far as getting in to a school, you would probably have a reasonable chance if you told them that you plan to pay cash and take no financial aid, but at the same time that is a LOT of $$$!

[2mAn]

After seeing another thread about this, I figure I should update ya'll and those who actually care ...

What Ive done since I started this thread:
-Got married in July 2016, still happily married :)
-Just bought a place and finished moving in this last weekend
-Switched from the Independent Firm and moved to the Home Office of the Parent Firm in 2017. Took a role as a Supervisor, did that for a year. I just started a new role as a Compliance Analyst. Im making about $20k more than I did when I first posted.
-Still no Bachelors degree

BUT

I also decided to give half a peace sign to the CSU school system and at the advice of my wife (and what I believe to be a sign from God) I applied to a private school that has a weekend/ evening program for people just like me. Im entering my Senior Year now, Ive been on the Deans list the 2 semesters Ive attended and plan to graduate on the Deans list as well. Grad date scheduled for May 2019, exactly 20 years since I graduated High School lol

The biggest thing Ive realized is that this entire experience has taught me more than the piece of paper will give me. A lot of life skills, but also a lot of professional skills. Do I wish I would have graduated much earlier, absolutely, but Im happy with my life as it is.

I think the biggest thing Ive learned about myself is that I may not get everything that I want, but if I put the effort in, I will get everything I need.

My new boss has already openly stated that she is retiring in about 4 years and that basically her job is going to be up for grabs. Ive assumed that the other guy who has 2 years more experience than me will be the front runner, but she has already seen something in me, that she doesnt see in him and almost came out and told me that I would be a better candidate for the job.

I will try to update this again in 2020 LOL... BTW My school has a 15 month MBA program that I can roll right into, but I know that its not worth the $40k it will cost me. I will owe around $30k when this is over and Ive gotten several scholarships to help me keep it under $40k for the two years.

Whatever you're thinking about doing, Just do it

[Kershaw]

15 months for an MBA is not a lot of time and totally worth it. Ask your employer for tuition assistance.

[2mAn]

The time... maybe... but for another $40k, not really ... plus Im totally over it all. I spoke to the CEO of our company and he said that the Investment Licenses are much more valuable here than a MBA. The licenses cost me nothing, but are more critical for advancement in the Investment/ Financial world.

Currently studying for a Series 24 license

[z31maniac]

Interesting point, I keep thinking about going back to get my Master's in Technical Writing, but at this point I've been doing it for 11 years.

I'm not sure a Master's is going to do anything other than open up the option to teach college courses.

[Staszek]

I think Masters depends on what industry you are in and how much value it has in that industry. If you are in a large public company, continuing education helps a lot. I already have an MBA, and my company is sending me to Harvard for another executive MBA, so they obviously value it. Conversely, a smaller firm, financial or others tend to care more about accreditations and life experience. You need to do that equation on where you think or want your life to go and where you want to work.

If you plan on starting your own business, while I believe the knowledge is helpful, I think an MBA is only worth it for the contacts, and only if you are making a large national company.

I have seen plenty of street smart people with less education become millionaires because they are just dynamic and take great risks.