formerexpat
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 12:09:05 GMT -5
Posts: 4,079
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Post by formerexpat on Jan 21, 2011 20:22:27 GMT -5
[/size] This information is available in the BLS published figures: www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htmAs of Dec 2010, college graduate unemployment was 4.8% while high school grad with no college just now dipped below 10%. Even after taking $100k in student loan debt for my undergrad, my education was definitely worth it - not even close. The $80k in private loans was paid off 3 years ago, within 5 years of graduating, while the high income I earn will be here to stay for the next 30+ years.
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Post by readsalot on Jan 22, 2011 10:23:30 GMT -5
Our DD is a freshman @ a state-university. She is double-majoring in 2 fields that probably aren't going to make her much money, I don't know. What I do know is she is passionate about those classes and is having a wonderful experience so far. I am glad we are able to do this for her.
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zibazinski
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 16:12:50 GMT -5
Posts: 47,866
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Post by zibazinski on Jan 22, 2011 10:29:01 GMT -5
As long as you are both on board with her income potential and not loading up on loans that she will drown under, so be it. Social workers are needed, too. As are teachers. Neither will ever be paid well but both are important. Our receptionists daughter wanted to teach special ed. She lived at home and went to the local college, which as a Bright Futures recipient, she went to for free and there was money for books. She got paid the same amount of money as any other new teacher who perhaps, went into debt for it. Her parents were smart and so was she.
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Post by ummboutthat on Jan 22, 2011 11:23:58 GMT -5
My degree got me my current job so yeah, worth it. I went to a public university so it wasn't outrageously expensive, and I work in municipal gov't, so the job pays enough for me to comfortably pay my loans & bills and everything else. NO! not worth it! well depends on the field. Law, Engineering, Medical I can only guess that it would. But I've seen too many time people getting hired ONLY and SOLELY because of who they know! Absolutely positively NO experience and getting hired into $50k positions!!
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Post by stantonjane on Jan 22, 2011 15:06:24 GMT -5
I might not be qualified to answer this, since I didn't complete my degree. Got about 48 units into my required 60 for the Associates, burnt out and didn't finish. Did it help to have 'some college' marked on my application? Probably, but they were looking for more job skills and experience.
I do think that there is more of a question if now with the continued rise in tuition prices if it will pay off in terms of financial payback. I'm sure it's an individual case, depending on the person and jobs gained by having a degree. The push is to get all highschoolers into college right off, and many of them really have no idea what they want to pursue as their future career. I have the 19 yr old daughter who is doing us the favor of completing her associates degree at our insistence, she doesn't feel it will make a difference in her future career as a singer/song writer. In my first few years of working, I didn't really know what I wanted to do either, it was actually an elimination process of working in a job for a year or two and finding I didn't like secretarial, or accounting, which was what I originally majored in. So young adults are being steered into acquiring an expensive education for a career they maybe haven't figured out, many at their parents expense.
I have a friend whose daughter went thru her freshman year 'doing college'. She paid $30,000 for her kid to come home embarrassed and admitting that she was having so much fun being a student she let her grades drop to Ds and Fs. In essence, blew off the $30K enjoying the college experience. She's now at a point where her AA is almost complete, but her BA is still a term or two away, roughly $100,000 later, and her mom has finally informed her that this will be at her own expense now.
I can't afford to go anywhere near that number. My daughter was accepted into a State U, but I made her go to Junior College instead, for cost issues. Even that $1000 a semester is hurting us at this point. I have a junior in high school who wants to go to college, and we will support her the first 2 years, then she's on her own. Not that she has a major picked out, or at least one that isn't different from the one she stated the previous week. We do agree that having at least a basic degree gives them a foot up in the job market.
Someone stated to me once that advanced learning is also a good pursuit for it's own sake, to become better educated and more learned in the ways of the world is never a mistake. We to tend to forget that it's not just about the financial payback.
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Poppet
Established Member
Joined: Dec 28, 2010 15:45:12 GMT -5
Posts: 364
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Post by Poppet on Jan 22, 2011 15:13:06 GMT -5
A college degree from a real school is almost always worth it if you don't overpay for it.
Agreed. I am not against a college degree. I just hate to see young people blindly follow the herd, go to college, and come out with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and no job prospects. Sad.
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bimetalaupt
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 9, 2011 20:29:23 GMT -5
Posts: 2,325
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Post by bimetalaupt on Jan 22, 2011 21:50:27 GMT -5
My degree got me my current job so yeah, worth it. I went to a public university so it wasn't outrageously expensive, and I work in municipal gov't, so the job pays enough for me to comfortably pay my loans & bills and everything else. NO! not worth it! well depends on the field. Law, Engineering, Medical I can only guess that it would. But I've seen too many time people getting hired ONLY and SOLELY because of who they know! Absolutely positively NO experience and getting hired into $50k positions!! That is the reason for many to join clubs.. it is called networking.. Like many I network.. with those that are making things happen: not those who only see the negative. That is what the hunting group is all about.. see me on MT. It always helps to have a good hunting dog!!! Like Louie.. He is very highly trained just look at that stance. Killer!!! You should see his Blue ribbon collection above his dog bed... Bruce
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Frugal Nurse
Familiar Member
Joined: Jan 3, 2011 18:19:55 GMT -5
Posts: 988
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Post by Frugal Nurse on Jan 22, 2011 22:01:41 GMT -5
...She's now at a point where her AA is almost complete, but her BA is still a term or two away, roughly $100,000 later, and her mom has finally informed her that this will be at her own expense now. $100,000 and not even an AA That is insane! I can't believe her parents allowed this to happen at their expense! I hope they paid cash, because the payments on those student loans are going to be more expensive than any kind of job with an AA will be able to pay for! I'm truly in awe.
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