I taught college for 33 years, don't regret my career choice, and I'm not about to knock the profession that served me well. If I had it to do all over again, I'd chose another occupation, especially in this day and age. A college education is too expensive these days, and I don't like the direction higher education has taken in recent years. It's still a smart move to get a college education, but in some ways it's a ripoff. I blame that mostly on poor administration, planning, and competition.
Ask a high school senior what college they want to attend, and they'll usually name a big university. Here in Texas, we've got some big ones, and by big I mean colleges with fifty thousand students. The University of Texas in Austin is at least that big, and Texas A&M and Texas Tech are probably close to being that large. We've got other large universities, some of them private, but in my opinion chosing any of them is a poor option for most high school graduates. Personally, I think large universities are to education what McDonalds is to food. The only choice you can make that's worse than the large university is going the distance education route - education without ever seeing a college campus.
The quality of education has been in a downward spiral for years now. During my 33 years of teaching, I watched it decline year by year. Kids coming to college just weren't prepared to do real college work, and that left the colleges with choices to make - either turn them away, or lower standards. They opted for lowering standards, and I'm not talking about just entrance requirements. Those standards have actually gone up some, but the on campus quality of education is now much less demanding than it was during my days in college. We've got too many colleges and universities competing for students. It's a money game, plain and simple.
We've over sold the idea that everyone should go to college. Some occupations require it, but both of my kids have college degrees, and neither of them worked at occupations associated with them. My daughter got a biology degree but ended up managing restaurants. My son has a graduate degree in art, but he's a bartender. I could offer a decent agrument that going to college to get trained for some occupation is somewhat self-defeating. What about going for the purpose of enrichment of life? I can promise you that living life as an educated person beats hell out of living one as a dumbass. But all college graduates aren't smart, and all people with just a high school degree aren't stupid. To assume that would be to ignore individuality.
I had a conversation recently with a young Mormon missionary out doing his two year duty to the church, and he talked about being confused as to what he should do about education. He went to college a year, then dropped out to do his missionary duty. Now he doesn't know if he wants to go back to college or do something else. My advice to him was that college isn't for everyone, not even some smart kids who could easily graduate. I also offered him a little more advice, something I've always believed in. Even if you do go back to college and get a degree, you're still wise to develop some skills. It's sad to see someone with a Ph.D. who can't even drive a nail into a board, has no idea how his car engine works, and can't even mow the lawn. You should never get to the point where you think you're above something, especially a little hard labor.
I once knew a college professor who tinkered with old cars, and he turned into a wizzard mechanic. Another professor friend got into restoring old houses and ended up making more money doing that than he did teaching college. Don't be one dimensional, and don't be a snob. That's never smart. So going to college is still a good idea, but keep other things in mind. You can't change the system as it now exists. College might not be as good as it once was, and it might be too expensive, but that's what you've got to deal with . . . if you want that. The degree you get won't be cheap, but it won't be cheap when it comes to looking for jobs either. And if you don't want that, think about high skill level training. Regardless of what you do, you're going to have to study something. Nobody is born automatically knowing how to do something.
If I hadn't gone to college and graduate school, what would I have done? I don't know for sure, but I think I would've been a mechanic. My buddy Richard dropped out of school without graduating, ended up being a hotrod builder . . . and he did well at it. He even became an inventer of mechanical things, and he did that on his own. But like everyone else, somebody had to show him how. It sure helps if you're a really bright kid like he was. Regardless of what you do, don't waste your best asset.
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