Just curious...What are peoples opinions about

[thefloyd]

college degrees? Do you think Degrees are overated for working people or people who just want to enter the workforce? Not Doctors or lawyers or any profession. I just got a job at UPS part time and good god people there make a good wage. I am in grad school right now and thinking about just quitting and working at UPS full time.

[Maple]

1. A bachelor's degree

is an 'entry level' requirement today.

We are in the information, or knowledge age.

Don't be crazy.

It's like someone quitting high school, because they pay 'good wages' at the local garage. Short term thinking.

Do NOT give up grad school.

[ultraist]

2. I agree that you should finish grad school

You will have a lot more options should you tire of UPS. If you stay at UPS, you can move further up the ladder with a grad degree.

Degrees are often used as a weeding out process. You may be better qualified, but they wont even look at you for most decent jobs without at LEAST a bachelor's. Having a grad degree, puts you in another category in the workforce.

What are you getting your degree in?

[thefloyd]

6. I am getting a Master of Science in Finance

at Saint Louis University. Not an MBA. More specialized. Also taking the CFA examination. I know I know I am a corporate whore but I really do enjoy finance and it does fit my thinking style. Obviously if you read my other posts my grammar is bad.from my attention deficit disorder. And trust me it is real. I was fired from a job because of it. Found the right meds and doing well. One other thing. The people at UPS are just "good old folks" you know what I mean. They actually care about one another (not that all people in corporate america do not care about one another, My experience IS they do not care about one another) I have a real problem with people in power especially in corporate america. They just don't think outside the box. I guess that is why they are mostly cons. Know how to kiss ass and get power without
having any thinking skills.

[ultraist]

8. DEFINITELY finish that degree!

You don't have to be a corporate whore. You can eventually find a cool smaller business or start your own firm doing accounting/finances for small companies and hire bookkeepers to do the busy work.

My husband has ADD and he has developed a lot of systems that help him. He uses pop calendar messages, a PDA, alarm on his cell, and task lists on his computer. He does not take meds but sometimes I threaten that he needs to! LOL! HOW MANY TIMES must we lose car keys and credit cards? LOL!

We have a bookkeeper/secretary for our business which helps him a lot too since it saves him from having to remember a lot of little minor details. He is really good at what he does and has found a way how NOT TO DO what he is not good at.

Good luck with your endeavors. Smart choice.

[ChairOne]

15. This makes no sense.....

Help me where I misunderstand, plz.

You're considering dropping out of a M.S. finance program so that you can work full-time at UPS?

Hm. Mebbe this is a joke....

Or mebbe this is helpful: If finance isn't your bag, why not just switch programs, say to math, law, or econ? Something that better fits you at any rate?

Or mebbe this: Have you had a lifelong dream of working for Brown?

Apologies for my confusion....

[thefloyd]

25. Just entertaining a thought.

[seabeyond]

3. you get a higher wage just for having a degree

stay in. it is worth it

on edit: if you do stay with a company like ups and it is good and good benefits, you will be more likely considered for management and other promotions

[megatherium]

4. bachelor's degrees can help you get a decent job

but they can also be irrelevant. Some bachelor's degrees are tied to a career, such as teaching, nursing, accounting; these are probably more than worth the trouble if the career interests you.

Degrees not directly tied to a job might include philosophy, English, history, mathematics, etc. Some people get these degrees to go to grad school and become a professor in something (that's what I have done in math). But that career path can be dicey; don't go about the business of graduate study in the arts or sciences unless learning for its own sake is gratification enough.

A selling point for a good liberal arts degree (a BA in English, history, etc) is that it makes you adaptable, because you understand the world better. You can learn, write and think well. Not a big help in getting a job/career, but very valuable when you get there.

In the olden days (1960s or 1970s) many students went to college simply to learn, learn about their world, society and themselves. To "find themselves". But in today's tougher economy, I cannot blame students for being more vocationally minded if not mercenary in their college career plans. Hopefully even the most career-minded student will be able to stop and smell the roses, and take a course or two in something just because it is interesting. (Occasionally, that can lead to unexpected, deeply rewarding careers).

[ultraist]

9. Well stated!

I could not agree more that a Liberal Arts undergrad degree is primarily the route to take if you plan to pursue grad/law/med school. A Bachelor's in English, for instance, is not very marketable.

[Abelman]

12. Or one in English Writing.

I'm qualified to be a grad student or a bum.

[hfojvt]

14. I found that a BA in math

is not very marketable either. At one point I was going to make one of those signs "Will solve differential equations for food".
Well, at one point NSA wanted to interview me, and I did get a job with the Air Force with the job title "mathematician" even if I mostly worked as a clerk and wrote accounting programs. That was long ago, and nobody cares about a fifteen year old degree.

[Solly Mack]

5. Stay with grad school

It opens more doors...

always leave yourself options.

[Skittles]

7. I work with people who all have degrees

I spent those years in the military. Can I do the same job they do? You bet - many times even better.

[BernieBear]

10. DON'T QUIT YOU'LL EVENTUALLY REGRET IT N/T

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Doesn't UPS pay tuition?

I would stay in school and let them pay for it.

[hfojvt]

13. well I have worthless MA that I never really wanted

but maybe that is just my alma mater.
Let me post it on the web - the University of Nebraska sucks!!!!
I only went to graduate school because I could not find a job. Five years ago, I tried to go back to school to get a PhD, but Nebraska never admitted me. Ha. A Nebraska degree is so worthless, you cannot even use it to goto Nebraska.
So, yes I feel that college is a crock of Republican spin points, but I feel that way about life much of the time and I am probably in an exceptionally foul mood because another woman has rejected me. Well, who the hell wants to date a janitor anyway? Did I mention that Nebraska sucks? That's Nebraska with an N.

[ultraist]

18. LOL!

Bill Gates dropped out of law school, didn't he?

Don't give up! You could tutor wealthy kids in math for $50 bucks an hour. That is the going rate in my area for private tutors. SAT prep is big too. What about teaching? The pay sucks but the benefits are good and you might meet some nice women. LOL!

[hfojvt]

21. the idea of helping wealthy kids

to get another leg up over the kids of the working class does not appeal to me. Some kid ran an ad in the paper last year looking for a calculus tutor. I almost answered it, but then I thought that I would rather volunteer at the school so it would not just be rich kids who could get tutored.
Teaching would required two more years of school, and the idea of starting a new career at age 45 does not appeal to me at all. I am taking my own advice and keeping my decent job rather than expending even more time and energy and money on schooling for some imaginary future benefits. In the investment world this is called not throwing good money after bad.

[sweetheart]

20. Perhaps a Ph.D. at a european university

Its much cheaper, and the context education, combined with the
higher degree will give you employability in 2 markets rather than 1.

Myself i find university to be wanting as you say, but the problem with
being extremely smart and experienced, is that your qualitifation is
not transportable. Even if you are a "god" in your field, the
advantage of that crock of republican spin points, is that most employers
believe sincerely that its more than that.

Sounds like the "N" is the problem... understandably. The closest i
get to "N" is looking down out the airplane window. The nice thing about
the earth, is that it does not differentiate by the petty names of
mankind for plots of ground. You can aways walk about and find a
place where the earth and you can have a new and different relationship.

[Qanisqineq]

16. my grandpa always told me

"Your education is the one thing no one can ever take away from you."

Get your degree, you'll never regret it. Even if you don't use it, it is a great learning experience. I have an M.S. and plan on pursuing my Ph.D. in about a year.

[jdots]

17. degrees are a necessary evil but a very good thing to have

Underemployment in this country is rampant,get that degree it will help you in a country where upper management has become
very removed from the workers.

[sweetheart]

19. Get your doctorate

Do not get distracted by the paycheque. Corporate slavery appears
enticing, but what you don't see, is how they'll treat you when you're
50 and can't move as fast. If you get the doctorate, you'll be able
to shift your career and keep your income up in the long run.

Just when you think you've got a cozy job, the company'll get bought
out by a cost cutter, who'll cut wages and fire people... the appearance
of constancy is exactly that. The wage contract is only good for
"this" paycheque, and illusions that it will last are deceptive. Better
to invest in something that really will last.

[LittleClarkie]

22. How's your back

I heard from a sales rep here that he put himself though college working at UPS and his back has never been the same.

[thefloyd]

26. Well my back is already messed up anyways so

it really is not different. I am sure down the road it will be worse

[lukasahero]

23. Degrees, and the education they represent,

offer opportunity and choice. I don't believe they are necessary for many positions but without one, those positions are all one has to choose from.

Sh*t happens and a great job today could disappear or turn sour tomorrow. IMHO, I think you should keep your opportunities as wide as possible.

[No Exit]

24. UPS is great for the young and physically fit

but who knows whether one will not meet with some disability down the road?

Yes, a degree is worth it. Lots of sedentary jobs require one. While I know physical fitness is better, still, if you have a sedentary job you can more easily keep it. Furthermore, a degree will pave the way for grad school, in case you later want to go there.

People with college degrees are less likely to end up tied to a job where the hours are inflexible. JUST MY OPINION. (Opinion... opinion... did everyone get that?)

[porphyrian]

27. Degrees guarantee nothing.

However, not having a degree definitely limits your employability, despite your intelligence, knowledge or experience. It used to be that, in IT, say, you could get a decent job even without a degree. Now that people who have worked in IT for a decade or more are losing jobs left and right, they are scraping up all the shittiest computer jobs just to pull a check, and those without degrees are forced to either go into humungous debt going back to school for a degree or to take jobs flipping burgers with all the people with less-marketable degrees.