I just read a census figure

[Renee]

I loved college. Couldn't get enough of those required humanities courses that have no "use". (My husband and I watch lectures from The Teaching Company instead of TV every night.) I teach western civ at a community college, and I gotta say it's the best job on the planet. It doesn't pay much, but every day is like a holiday. I love my job!

I worked my way through: took me five years to get an AA. Two more to get a BA. Three for an MA, dropped out to work, two more advanced to PhD candidacy, dropped out when tuition went up... it's hard to get through.

We are the first generation of middle-class people to have access to college educations. We may be the last. This makes me sad, since I want everyone to have the opportunity to find out if they enjoy academia.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I've never really been too interested in college. I am covered by Post 9/11 GI Bill, plus the State of Wisconsin GI Bill, but don't have any plans to use them in the near future. There is a possibility that I may be able to pass the Federal GI Bill benefits to my two sons. The State GI Bill provides me 128 credit hours in the University of Wisconsin or state tech college system. They'll pay for any courses I want to take and I don't even have to go full time or follow a degree program.

Currently the only thing that interests me is a couple of the ag courses at the tech college.

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
Why - so we can turn the greatest higher education institutions in the world into American Public Schools?
_________________________

I think that statistic is low - but it really depends on what area you live in. If you live in a college town, or a big city with 3 or 4 colleges and universities, then you will have a higher percentage.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Average Annual Earnings for College Graduates and Non-Graduates

Average Annual Earnings
Professional Degree $109,600
Doctoral Degree $89,400
Master's Degree $62,300
Bachelor's Degree $52,200
Associate's Degree $38,200
Some College $36,800
High School Graduate $30,400
Some High School $23,400


Average Annual Earnings—Different Levels of Education.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Surveys, March 1998, 1999, and 2000.

Making a Lifetime of Difference.
By the time you comfortably retire, you’ll look back and see that your earnings increase, as figured by your level of education, has compounded over your lifetime.
A person with a Bachelor's degree will earn, on average, almost twice as much as workers with a high school diploma over a lifetime ($2.1 million compared to $1.2 million). This is a result of not only higher starting salaries for people with higher education levels, but also the sharper earnings growth over the course their careers.
Work-Life Earnings for Full-Time Employees, Including College Graduates and Non-Grads

Work-Life Earnings Estimates for Full-Time Employees (In $ Millions)
Professional Degree $4.4
Doctoral Degree $3.4
Master's Degree $2.5
Bachelor's Degree $2.1
Associate's Degree $1.6
Some College $1.5
High School Graduate $1.2
Some High School $1.0
Average Lifetime Earnings—Different Levels of Education.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Surveys, March 1998, 1999, and 2000.



Everyone I know knows exceptions to these numbers. My non-degreed husband makes much more than I do, but the difference is that his job is very physically demanding and dangerous.

I also know PhDs who are still in school because they don't know what they want to do and are postponing adulthood. I also know PhDs who work construction.

But, on average college pays off not just in money but in lifetime opportunities. It also teaches a broader world view. I teach Sociology - one of those "BS requirements that have nothing to do with my degree'
the very first day I have everyone tell me their majors and I tell them how this course will help them do their future job better. Usually, I win them over.

I can spot students whose high schools do not teach critical thinking right away. Critical and abstract thinking skills are necessary in today's job market.

Unless of course the economy totally deteriorates and we are left to subsistence farming!

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Of course in the end garbage collectors and farmers are WAY more valuable to society than college professors. You just need to look for those who know that!!

 

[LittleYellowOne]

I think in the scale of my ENTIRE family... only my Aunt went to college. None of my grandparents, parents, cousins, or my 5 other Aunt's and Uncles went, and it breaks down to the fact that my Aunt was the only one with the "opportunity" (she had a different father from my mom, who helped pay).

No one else in my family could afford it; my stepfather didn't finish highschool, and I was an inch from dropping out myself.

It's not practical either, at least not in my household; my mom's always said, "why waste four years of your life when you can start making money right away?" Unforunately, we can't even afford driving school, so in my house there's a 19 y.o. (me), and an 18 y.o. (sister), without our license.

My parents work all the time, so I can't get a job, 'cause I have no way to get to it, and I live a mile or two away from any civilization. My sister works, but only Saturday or Sunday, the only days she can get a ride, and that leaves me high and dry.

If I can't get to work, I can't get to college~

Not that I could have gotten in anyways; I hardly ever showed up to school to begin with, and never in a million years could afford it!~

 

[mountaintopchicken]

I also don't count a higher education as that much of an advantage in many ways either. I also don't think those in education are the movers and shakers of the world. Education is one thing. Knowledge and wisdom are another.

Well, that depends on what you want to do in life. In order to get the job I used to have in agricultural research I had to have a Master's degree. And I loved my job. Loved it. I really love research. But I left that job to move to my husbands rural farm, which I also love, but oh I miss using my mind in that particular way.

And the education I got really did teach me new ways of looking at the world. If I hadn't gotten the education I did, I wouldn't have been able to appreciate some of the really cool research that was being done, because I wouldn't have been able to understand why it was cool - what it meant in the larger scheme of things.

And I do think these guys doing the research are movers and shakers. A few of the PHDs in agricultural research that I worked with were just farm kids who were not going to inherit the family farm, and wanted to stay in ag and help other farmers to stay in ag any way they could. So they do research and ag extension outreach in order to help farmers find new ways to combat pests and diseases and stay economically afloat. That makes them huge movers and shakers in my book, because most farmers need all of the help they can get.​

 

[Shared Acres]

I think you have a lot of people who start to go to college, but don't finish.

I'm the eldest of 5. I'm the only one with a BS Degree. My sisters are in college, my brothers aren't.

Neither of my parents have degrees, although my father should be getting one soon.

My husband doesn't.

My grandmother and aunt on my mom's side do.

My grandparents on my dad's side, I'm pretty sure they don't.

Of my 4 closest girlfriends, 2 do, 2 don't. I think maybe one of their spouses has a degree.

I know more women with degrees than men, which is an other interesting trend.

 

[LuvinMyPeeps]

Quote:
You got THAT right! My sister has an MBA with honors. I have a BA in Graphic Design from a 'lower college' (as she would think of it). She is book smart, but that's it. NO common sense. I like to think I have at least some common sense!

I know soooo many really smart people that just didn't have the money or the time to get a degree. Unfortunately, in the larger corporations, most want at least a BA. Some corporations are also beginning to check your credit score. Did you hear about that? If you have delinquencies on your credit cards, or a really low score they'll make you explain it before (if) they hire you. I think that is absurd! It is none of their business...grrrrrrr...

Sorry for the vent....

 

[Oblio13]

I shared a table in a crowded restaurant yesterday with a brand new American citizen, and we had a fascinating conversation. The gentleman was from Columbia, and he'd just passed his citizenship test and finally realized his boyhood dream of becoming an American. He told me he was very disillusioned about how poorly educated most of us are, and shocked that we're content to remain that way.

This is how he summed up the typical American life, and unfortunately he has a valid point:

"Squeak through high school, make a few babies, eat junk food, watch TV, get cancer."