Korean Job Discussion Forums

[D-Man]

I remember back in the early 90's when I was a high school student,all the teachers and guidance counsellors etc,would harp on about how the "smart" students should go on to "UNIVERSITY' and get a degree and have the world at their fingertips.

The slow or "stupid" kids were told to get a trade and slave in obscurity with low wages and difficult lives.They were laughed off.

I had school counsellors tell me to go to college and get a degree while mentioning the "Mike Smiths" or "Dave Jones'" as losers who would amount to nothing.

Let them be the welders,plumbers, electricians and carpenters.....hahahahaha.

Turn the page some 16 years later, and it seems that many "smart" university educated people are struggling with huge debts and finding employment,while the "stupid" kids with trades are 12 years into retiring with new houses,good jobs and fat bank accounts.

Many of my "loser" uneducated, classmates post pictures of their new,huge houses and fancy cars and new kids on facebook,while the "smart" kids are still paying off loans and working at Wal Mart or in some cubicle with no hope for a future.

Who was right in the end?

I was sitting next to a guy on a plane recently, who told me he didn't even pass high school.He said he went back,got his GED and did a two year "mining and metallurgy" course at a community college and now earns buckets of money staring down oil wells and ticking things off charts in Norway.

He's worked in Africa,Europe,North America etc.

He told me he will retire in about 8 more years with a full pension.

[Xuanzang]

Yeah but some of those kids who went into tool and dye amounted to nothing. I know some who are still 30 year old stockboys at Bestbuy or a supermarket. There`s success stories on both sides of the fence.

[Jandar]

While you were in college they were working overtime and investing.

That's what I did then I paid for college with my investment money.

I made Engineer without an Engineering degree, made Manager long before graduating with my Business degree.

Never borrowed except for my many property investments.

It's hard work no matter how you cut it.

My top Hourly wage was $90/hour, started at $4.25.

I had three jobs at one point. I was self employed for a while.

Work hard.

"Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. "
(Desiderata)

[asams]

you definitely have to weigh the opportunity costs when thinking about college

let's say the average four year college costs about 15-20 grand a year

that's 80 grand, and assuming you can fork over a fourth or even half, you still have 40 grand in student loans

plus you've missed out on 4 years of earning potential, where you could possibly make between 15-30,000

so high end, you've missed out on 100 Gs after 4 years of college.

but it's still said that overall college grads make more in the long run - you just have to have the right major

i think now a professional degree is the only way to go after college if you want to live the good life

[D-Man]

[Xuanzang]

[D-Man]

I guess it depends on where you come from.I'm from an area of oil and gas exploration, so that could be on of the reasons why tradespeople are cashing in.

[princess]

I get so sick of how society judges people by their education or lack of it, and how much money they make or don't make. I think it is very wrong and rude to say that just because someone isn't rich with fancy homes and fancy cars that they "amounted to nothing". There are other ways to measure success. Being a successful father/mother, husband/wife, and having work ethics are also ways of measuring success.

So what if someone is 30 and stocks shelves at BestBuy? Who am I or anyone else to say this person "amounted to nothing"? Elitists suck.

[Jandar]

I was never encouraged to go to College.
My teachers didn't like me.
My parents had more hope in my other siblings.

I was directed to a Vocational High School and then the Army.

"Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time."
(Desiderata)

[victorology]

I suppose it depends on your background. My 10 year high school reunion will come in June but of the roughly 400 people in my graduating class, only one didn't go to college. My closest friends include a lawyer, engineer, financial analyst, project manager, hedge fund trader in Singapore and another is in the first year of his medical residency. They're all doing quite well for themselves.

I have other friends who went to different schools and didn't go to or graduate from college and as a whole, they're not doing nearly as well on a financial basis.

If I had the choice to do it again, I would choose going to college every time. I've never had student loans to worry about, though.

[sojourner1]

OP, you're right dead on 110% correct. This is what has disturbed me for several years. It's truly not fair. I'm happy that skilled trades can do well, but college grads need something too and companies just don't deliver opportunity as they have cut nearly all the lower and middle management where you have a flat organizational structure of only low paid employees under a few executives using police threat to keep them from stealing. It's awful.

Since they (government educators) had it all wrong, they should forgive the student loans. They sold university aggressively in positive light and it's a flop of a plan. It's a flop to think that those who are smartest and most educated will do the best, because it just doesn't work like that in today's' world.

At one time it was a meritocracy, but no longer so due to run-a-way corporate greed and severe cut backs in organizational structures as well as pay and benefits. This fantastic idea the older folks sold was true for them, but not for us in the 21st century. It's a crap sandwich for those of us who took out lots of debt to go to college and easy street for those who have parents with money. What a way to be saddled in an already financially challenging day and age we're living in. Where's my bailout???

[Straphanger]

[Mr-Dokdo]

[ThingsComeAround]

I can relate..

Took me 2 victory laps to get out of college. Don't want to get into why, but towards the end the teachers I had kept putting in my head that a Computer Science degree would be the "next wave" and outdated code (like COBOL) would be in high demand.

Fast forward 6 years, I did not get that high-demand COBOL job, maybe because it wasn't there, or didn't look hard enough. Before coming to Korea, some friends called me crazy for not seeking out that computer job, or asking why not Japan, blah blah blah. Focus kept me looking on the up and up, found different goals to strive towards and I am satisfied with my choices.

Like Katt Williams said, "You got to please your star player"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sa0FfE9XOA

[nebraska1]