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AmericanBornKorean
Joined: 08 Oct 2010
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 Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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Personally, I think that you're throwing away your money unless you get one of the following (BA only) ranked in no particular order:
Mathematics - All variants and specialties
Economics
Business - All variants and specialties
Computer Science
Natural Sciences - All variants and specialties
Any other major that requires a certain level of mathematics
These degrees would yield the most monetary value, in my opinion, or at least make it easier to make money, all else equal. Everything else would require a high level of personal talent, drive and salesmanship for the same benefit. Again, this is all just my opinion.
I would also argue that getting an English or History degree would be easier than any of the above majors. |
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AmericanBornKorean
Joined: 08 Oct 2010
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:22 pm Post subject: |
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| bucheon bum wrote: |
Hmm, I don't know about that. I'm not familiar enough with Mathematics to comment on that one, but econ? I'm skeptical about that. Law, certainly, but in order to get a JD, one needs a BA first (at least in the USA). And what do many lawyers get that BA in? The humanities or social sciences.
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At many of the good law school statistics I've come across in the past, Econ majors were #1-2 for number of applicants.
Interesting article about the subject:
http://www.wsbe.unh.edu/node/13830
Econ at my school is classified as a liberal art. Unsurprisingly, it had the lowest average GPA of any of the majors within its college.
Edit: If you're highly versed in math or have a degree in it, that probably automatically means you have a very high degree of reasoning skill. At the least, you are highly logical. You can't not be and pass a math degree at any ranked institution. |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:28 pm Post subject: |
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| UknowsI wrote: |
In my experience, the guidance of an expert in the field during my undergraduate studies could easily be replaced (and often was) by simply reading the textbook. In theory a professor should be able to give you more perspectives and understand the subject better, but in my experience they are usually just rephrasing the book (This might be different at other uni's and in other fields). |
Nothing about my philosophy education resembled this. If an expert is just citing a textbook and doing nothing more in any way, I agree they aren't very useful. I don't think most professors do that.
| UknowsI wrote: |
| Peer interaction from focused student clubs is in my experience much more valuable then your regular classmates. |
In a department like philosophy, discussion sections essentially are focused student clubs.
| UknowsI wrote: |
| What I was trying to point at here was that taking a degree in a more employable field while reading books and attending student clubs for your interests can often give you both employable skills and fulfill your interest. |
I still don't see any reason to believe that reading books on your own and attending "student clubs" is equal to extended interaction with experts. You're essentially attacking the entire idea of expert mentorship here. Why ever learn anything from anyone if reading books and chatting in volunteer student clubs teaches it equally or better? The answer is that for almost everyone on the planet, it doesn't, especially when you're an 18 year old kid fresh out of high school.
| pangaea wrote: |
My point is that, regardless of what one person thinks that a university should or should not be, people go to college so that they will be employable in the future.
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However, having a job is still the point of getting an education in the first place. |
I know that's what you think. I don't understand why some people here keep saying, "Nuh uh!" and then reaffirming my words. |
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Leon
Joined: 31 May 2010
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Perhaps this is a function of university being so open to everyone that it has diluted the value of the degreee. Many teachers colleges and two year colleges have been turned into universities, and some schools have very lax enterance standards. Also it ignores the fact that having connections is the primary way of getting a job. Because of my family I have accseess to certian places and things that others may not, and that is not really a function of a degree. Many people in this thread are thinking, I have a degree so I should have a job. Think of the degree as the bare minimum for consideration, not as some sort of golden ticket. Having a degree simply means that they might actually look at your resume rather then throwing it out. Also if you look at the current job market people with degrees are doing better than thoose without, even if it's still bad. |
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AmericanBornKorean
Joined: 08 Oct 2010
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Leon wrote: |
| Perhaps this is a function of university being so open to everyone that it has diluted the value of the degreee. Many teachers colleges and two year colleges have been turned into universities, and some schools have very lax enterance standards. Also it ignores the fact that having connections is the primary way of getting a job. Because of my family I have accseess to certian places and things that others may not, and that is not really a function of a degree. Many people in this thread are thinking, I have a degree so I should have a job. Think of the degree as the bare minimum for consideration, not as some sort of golden ticket. Having a degree simply means that they might actually look at your resume rather then throwing it out. Also if you look at the current job market people with degrees are doing better than thoose without, even if it's still bad. |
Yep. As an adviser once told me, "a degree gets you a foot in the door. Your GPA is a 'gauge' of how you are able to learn. The rest is up to you."
In finance, a BA is more like a 2-year degree now. The 2nd tier folks in research are basically modeling monkeys, yet most require at least an MBA or CFA and make 200k their first year (250k+ on the sell side), or an Ivy league degree at the very least. Unless you have family connections, of course. |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Leon wrote: |
| Think of the degree as the bare minimum for consideration, not as some sort of golden ticket. Having a degree simply means that they might actually look at your resume rather then throwing it out. Also if you look at the current job market people with degrees are doing better than thoose without, even if it's still bad. |
This 1,000 times over. |
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Koveras
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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| AmericanBornKorean wrote: |
Personally, I think that you're throwing away your money unless you get one of the following (BA only) ranked in no particular order:
Business - All variants and specialties
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Really? I actually feel bad for people who took business degrees. |
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AmericanBornKorean
Joined: 08 Oct 2010
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 4:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Koveras wrote: |
| AmericanBornKorean wrote: |
Personally, I think that you're throwing away your money unless you get one of the following (BA only) ranked in no particular order:
Business - All variants and specialties
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Really? I actually feel bad for people who took business degrees. |
Well, maybe not all variants and specialties. Maybe just accounting. |
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Bill2K
Joined: 16 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 5:33 pm Post subject: |
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My degree allowed me to study in Japan for one year, which I'm glad I did. I just regret the large loan (like the OP, $30k), for a degree I can't really use (1/3rd was my for study in Japan) .
I tried to get a job in Japan, but the ESL market is too flooded for English teaching jobs. I'd like to work for a company, but my Japanese is not good enough for business work, so I'm here in Korea. If I could do things differently, I'd go back and major in computer science and minor in Japanese. Useful skills plus language ability would have been a lot more helpful for my future, but all I can do is try to re-educate myself during my desk warming hours and after work. |
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Livewire
Joined: 27 Feb 2011
Location: BI-WINNING!
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 7:15 pm Post subject: |
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Did Drama and film.
11,000 pounds in student loan debt.
Worth it? Sure.
Now able to appreciate so many films I never would have been able to before and get so much more from films now I've broadened my mind and am able to really 'experience' them fully. Cinema is one of the joys of my life.
Generally being able to critically apraise or analyse any subject from varied sociological, psycological, philosophical viewpoints etc - see the bigger picture.
Met friends at uni I wouldn't have been in the same social circles as before which in turn changed me a lot for the better from an angry young wanna be tough guy to a more reasonable, more sensitive, more rounded and laid back individual, succesful with da ladies, more philosophical and helped me discover my creativity. Literally helped me find the person inside who I genuinely was or wanted and had potential to be rather than the person limited by accident of where I was born and grew up, going from 2d to a 3d personality - and that is priceless to me, priceless.
Not only got me jobs back home that I wouldn't have been able to get without my degree (media sales gigs with decent bonuses etc and a civil service job at junior management level with foriegn travel) at higher salaries than non grad jobs but also hey - I made it to Korea and have broadened my horizons in that sense, become more independant and adaptable and again, made some great friends for life, something I wouldn't change for the world.
And of course - the kimchi. Who of us would ever have experienced the kimchi without having done our degrees?
And Uk student loans? Default, default, default and let em take little bits out of your salary if and when you ever get a full time job back home. |
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shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 8:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Livewire wrote: |
Did Drama and film.
11,000 pounds in Uk student loans? Default, default, default and let em take little bits out of your salary if and when you ever get a full time job back home. |
Well, looks like the pundits who had it that the Emron bigwigs should have done liberal art degrees got it wrong. |
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shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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| bucheon bum wrote: |
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| Degrees in Economics, Law, Mathematics etc give the same reasoning ability of a major in English or History, I believe. |
I'm not familiar enough with Mathematics to comment on that one, but econ? I'm skeptical about that. |
Be a skeptic no more!!!
I can personally vouch for econ....both micro and macro will do the trick for you. |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 3:17 am Post subject: |
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| ESL Milk "Everyday wrote: |
| silkhighway wrote: |
| Who has the luxury to do 4 years worth of study and not at all worry about how it will afffect their means to provide a living? |
Kids who want to put off dealing with the real world for another 4 years and would feel silly staying in high school.
That's their target market. |
Exactly! I'm better off with the degree than without it. I learned some stuff, most of which was not directly applicable to the real world, but it was better than the alternatives. (Working a minimum wage job, failing out of a more difficult degree program from lack of motivation, for two examples.) |
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NYC_Gal 2.0
Joined: 10 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 4:07 am Post subject: |
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| In NYC, it's hard to get a even a receptionist job without a BA. Trades are totally different, of course, and completely respectable. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 8:20 am Post subject: |
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| NYC_Gal 2.0 wrote: |
| In NYC, it's hard to get a even a receptionist job without a BA. |
-1 for gratuitous reference to NYC. If receptionists require a BA in NYC, its one more reason why the rest of the country should shun the work culture of the Big Apple. |
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