[Snickerdoodle]

Im returning back to college this September for Computer Science. I finished my summer break and now I'm starting my second semester.

I also wrote an interesting thread about formal education vs hybrid education

"Is the traditional path right for me?"

How many of you are heading back to college or school and if college, what is the degree you're pursuing and what semester? If it's school, what year are you in now?

[Oni]

I thought that was SEO spam. If I was recommending something to someone now, it would be to get into a "tangible" trade. Right now, a developer with decent experience has to compete with foreigners/AI. There's a lot of jobs that do not require a degree and have good salary, with less threat from externalities. AI hasn't replaced electricians, welders, or HVAC. Plenty of trades require training or certification, but not a degree.

If you do go to college, go to an affordable community college for pre-requisites and maintain a high GPA. Transfer to a state school for the last 2 years. Be aware of what your job prospects are and what the likely ROI is. If you can't see yourself with a job that requires the degree within a couple years after graduating, you're just burning money. If you have the foresight, a 5-year plan and a 10-year plan are excellent.

I got a degree with honors originally, but my current job didn't require it. Half the people I talk to today either don't have a degree or didn't need it.

[rangatang]

I thought that was SEO spam. If I was recommending something to someone now, it would be to get into a "tangible" trade. Right now, a developer with decent experience has to compete with foreigners/AI. There's a lot of jobs that do not require a degree and have good salary, with less threat from externalities. AI hasn't replaced electricians, welders, or HVAC. All sorts of technicians or certifications that do not require a degree.

If you do go to college, go to an affordable community college for pre-requisites and maintain a high GPA. Transfer to a state school for the last 2 years. Be aware of what your job prospects are and what the likely ROI is. If you can't see yourself with a job that requires the degree within a couple years after graduating, you're just burning money. If you have the foresight, a 5-year plan and a 10-year plan are excellent.

I have a liberal arts bachelors degree in a field that has no application and a masters degree in bizness admin from well known schools in the east coast.


My liberal arts degree made the world more interesting. I think it made me, as a person to have a coffee, a person you’d like to have coffee with. That degree also gave me a frame of reference for and appreciation of the little things that make this world tick, and at what speed.

The MBA, purely transactional - purely relationships. You don’t get an education with an MBA, you got the network. That’s how it was pitched it to me then, and that’s how they are struggling to pitch it now.

Notice I didn’t mention or feel a need to factor in the “degree” into the proposition. It doesn’t. It didn’t. And I don’t seee that changing anytime soon specific to an MBA.

Student debt? Real.

The pedigree? Real. And diminishing.

The commoditization of the skills I acquired to to justify my earnings potential? That’s now a click away and for free. 24/7 availability.

You know what valuable skill that isn’t available to me, that I can’t do and holy hell need badly and will pay out the nose for and do so happily?

A plumber.
An electrician.
The AC Guy.

If my goal in life was simplicity, predictability and to provide something useful and meaningful to others? Then I chose wrong the wrong path and should have gone with the 3 above.

I chose the right degrees and education but just chose the wrong generation to pursue them.

- warez

[Oni]

I thought that was SEO spam. If I was recommending something to someone now, it would be to get into a "tangible" trade. Right now, a developer with decent experience has to compete with foreigners/AI. There's a lot of jobs that do not require a degree and have good salary, with less threat from externalities. AI hasn't replaced electricians, welders, or HVAC. All sorts of technicians or certifications that do not require a degree.

If you do go to college, go to an affordable community college for pre-requisites and maintain a high GPA. Transfer to a state school for the last 2 years. Be aware of what your job prospects are and what the likely ROI is. If you can't see yourself with a job that requires the degree within a couple years after graduating, you're just burning money. If you have the foresight, a 5-year plan and a 10-year plan are excellent.

I have a liberal arts bachelors degree in a field that has no application and a masters degree in bizness admin from well known schools in the east coast.


My liberal arts degree made the world more interesting. I think it made me, as a person to have a coffee, a person you’d like to have coffee with. That degree also gave me a frame of reference for and appreciation of the little things that make this world tick, and at what speed.

The MBA, purely transactional - purely relationships. You don’t get an education with an MBA, you got the network. That’s how it was pitched it to me then, and that’s how they are struggling to pitch it now.

Notice I didn’t mention or feel a need to factor in the “degree” into the proposition. It doesn’t. It didn’t. And I don’t seee that changing anytime soon specific to an MBA.

Student debt? Real.

The pedigree? Real. And diminishing.

The commoditization of the skills I acquired to to justify my earnings potential? That’s now a click away and for free. 24/7 availability.

You know what valuable skill that isn’t available to me, that I can’t do and holy hell need badly and will pay out the nose for and do so happily?

A plumber.
An electrician.
The AC Guy.

If my goal in life was simplicity, predictability and to provide something useful and meaningful to others? Then I chose wrong the wrong path and should have gone with the 3 above.

I chose the right degrees and education but just chose the wrong generation to pursue them.

- warez

I had originally gone in for Computer Science and swapped for BBA simply to tick the box for a degree. I was always interested in business and curious about accounting, so it was easy to finish off.

I wouldn't recommend someone do that if their goal was purely financial, though. The degree might teach you basic business principles and make you more interesting "to have coffee with", but if you're in hardship it can also make you broke. It wasn't an issue for me, but I watched other people drop out and have to pay the debt after they realized a degree wouldn't solve their problems.

I agree though, trades will never be replaced. You might have a ceiling, but you will have a much lower entry-point and much less debt. I'd recommend it for anyone that's lost and needs a job, because I've seen people have a really bad time with degrees. Some jobs absolutely require a degree and it can still be valid.

However, when I graduated highschool, there was this fictitious narrative that anyone that didn't move on to university either wasn't successful or wasn't living up to their potential. People spread the idea that these people "missed out"... Even with the degree, I would say that's entirely untrue. Life's what you make of it, degree or not.

[rangatang]

Totally right on the certain fields necessitate a degree, I didn’t mean to be so sweeping.

I should clarify - my interesting personal to have a coffee with - was referencing specifically my undergrad liberal arts degree. Meaning to say - I like history and like learning the classics - literature or theory abstract or very tangible things etc yada yada.

However I have to clarify this. I didn’t mean to give the impression an MBA makes me an interesting person to have a coffee with - it doesn’t. I’d choose the undergrad liberal arts version of myself vs the MBA.

Oof. It makes me cringe to have given that impression. Tldr MBA me way more boring. Liberal arts guy more fun and engaged. But also privileged to be in such a situation but diminishing overall from a financial perspective.

[Oni]

Totally right on the certain fields necessitate a degree, I didn’t mean to be so sweeping.

I should clarify - my interesting personal to have a coffee with - was referencing specifically my undergrad liberal arts degree. Meaning to say - I like history and like learning the classics - literature or theory abstract or very tangible things etc yada yada.

However I have to clarify this. I didn’t mean to give the impression an MBA makes me an interesting person to have a coffee with - it doesn’t. I’d choose the undergrad liberal arts version of myself vs the MBA.

Oof. It makes me cringe to have given that impression. Tldr MBA me way more boring. Liberal arts guy more fun and engaged. But also privileged to be in such a situation.

Not at all. I enjoyed some aspects of my degree and the history I did study. They're both good things, but I would not advise most people "lock in" financially on those purely for money. More so because of the financial strain and the fact these textbooks are readily available online.

Most important thing is to do what you enjoy. If you enjoy what you're doing and it adds value to other people's lives, that's the most important thing. If you enjoyed what you learned, nobody can take that. I can't speak for everyone, but I found Business degrees teach a certain way of thinking. Concepts like return on investment, sunk cost, cost-benefit analysis... Not talking about Statistics or Economics but there's a long list of principles that can be applied to life.

But I also believe there's more to life than that. You could learn the same things, albeit under less formal circumstances running your own business (without a degree). So if someone was broke and asked if they should go into $70K debt today, for the same degree... I might consider telling them to seek alternatives.

No wrong answer there.

[Snickerdoodle]

I thought that was SEO spam. If I was recommending something to someone now, it would be to get into a "tangible" trade. Right now, a developer with decent experience has to compete with foreigners/AI. There's a lot of jobs that do not require a degree and have good salary, with less threat from externalities. AI hasn't replaced electricians, welders, or HVAC. Plenty of trades require training or certification, but not a degree.

If you do go to college, go to an affordable community college for pre-requisites and maintain a high GPA. Transfer to a state school for the last 2 years. Be aware of what your job prospects are and what the likely ROI is. If you can't see yourself with a job that requires the degree within a couple years after graduating, you're just burning money. If you have the foresight, a 5-year plan and a 10-year plan are excellent.

I got a degree with honors originally, but my current job didn't require it. Half the people I talk to today either don't have a degree or didn't need it.

I really agree. My first degree honestly was for fun, it was a bachelors in vet science, and then I did an absn for 1 1/2 years. When I joined the military and came back (i got medically separated) I started to do comp science because I was hoping to have a cool job that utilized my security clearance.

I do agree tho, trades are a solid stable to great careers that wont be getting replaced anytime soon. I also say the same for medical careers because there's so many things still that require the expertise and hands of real humans rather than AI or machines.

[Refusal]

Im 1 month away from completing my MBA in IT Management.

currently doing my capstone project.

After I complete this I plan on earning my CISM Certification, and im also exploring doctoral programs. The doctoral is more for the title, historically the ROI for doctorates is a bad investment, but I plan on getting my company to pay for it.

[Snickerdoodle]

I thought that was SEO spam. If I was recommending something to someone now, it would be to get into a real trade. Right now, a developer with decent experience has to compete with foreigners/AI. There's a lot of jobs that do not require a degree and have good salary, with less threat from externalities. AI hasn't replaced electricians, welders, or HVAC. Plenty of trades require training or certification, but not a degree.

If you do go to college, go to an affordable community college for pre-requisites and maintain a high GPA. Transfer to a state school for the last 2 years. Be aware of what your job prospects are and what the likely ROI is. If you can't see yourself with a job that requires the degree within a couple years after graduating, you're just burning money. If you have the foresight, a 5-year plan and a 10-year plan are excellent.

I got a degree with honors originally, but my current job didn't require it. Half the people I talk to today either don't have a degree or didn't need it.

I really agree. My first degree honestly was for fun, it was a bachelors in vet science, and then I did an absn for 1 1/2 years. When I joined the military and came back (i got medically separated) I started to do comp science because I was hoping to have a cool job that utilized my security clearance.

I do agree tho, trades are a solid stable to great careers that wont be getting replaced anytime soon. I also say the same for medical careers because there's so many things still that require the expertise and hands of real humans rather than AI or machines.

Also no, it wasn't SEO spam 😭🥀💔 It was something Ive genuinely been contemplating because there's so many students that are doing the traditional path of education just to be screwed over in the end. I have a friend who finished his bachelor's in psychology just to realize he's introverted and cant handle talking to people smh. He resigned immediately from his job right after and then switched to HVAC (which he also flopped due to his personality).

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Im 1 month away from completing my MBA in IT Management.

currently doing my capstone project.

After I complete this I plan on earning my CISM Certification, and im also exploring doctoral programs. The doctoral is more for the title, historically the ROI for doctorates is a bad investment, but I plan on getting my company to pay for it.

That's very cool, you're in that final stretch to achieve something you've been working long on. It's great to hear as well that you have a goal in mind after you complete this major milestone.