How do people afford this stuff??

No it is not. A degree doesn't necessarily mean anything. It may for some, but may not for others. Some people should never get one and we should stop teaching kids that a degree is the be all end all and the only way to be successful. It is not. Not having one does not mean you are not intelligent. It doesn't even mean you don't know about the topics of that degree - you may and you may have taught yourself.

 

I realize this, I work as an engineer with diesel engines. Degrees are not everything and the fact that people think they are is disappointing.

 

I might have put too much emphasis on "degree is everything." Although, I do agree you guys that self learning is a key part as it has been the only part when i got my degrees. There have been an over saturation of degrees where there is no validity in them.

Being part of hiring committee, a degree was the standard comparison. Our committee separates those with and those without.
I understand that we all have different upbringings but I am just sharing from my view point so far.

Hell, I may be wrong on everything. Anyways, enjoy your truck. It is what brought us all together.

 

Hey man I’m not knocking the Midwest at all. I grew up in the Chicagoland area. Spent a fair bit of time in Wisconsin and Michigan and a bit in Indiana. I’ve driven through Iowa quite a few times and I can totally see it’s charm. And yeah people in the Midwest are generally a really nice down to earth crowd. Although sometimes a bit too conservative for my taste. Definitely more affordable as well which is a bonus. I’ve lived in Colorado for 17 years and it’s definitely gotten too big for its britches.

 

Fixed that for you, may be one of my biggest pet peeves is when people say anyways haha

I'd say the opposite of this is true for me with Colorado.

 

A degree does mean something. It means you completed a program with a required amount of training in a specific subject area from an accredited university.

Why should some people not put in the effort and hard work to further their knowledge? It's not like it's a dangerous weapon that they can't responsibly wield.

I don't recall anyone saying that. But as boonjohn said "A diploma conveys the commitment an individual possess." So it shows that someone has committed at a minimum 4 years of their life to higher learning and they are being backed by a university saying they have a specific level of knowledge in that field. This is generally accepted as fact, because without that degree you have nothing more than your word that says you know as much or more than the person with a degree. It's just very hard to prove what you know without the backing of an accredited institute. This is the same reason there are ASE Certified mechanics. It's just a formal backing saying that they meet the minimum requirements to work on your truck. Now there are probably non-certified mechanics that are more proficient in every way but without that ASE backing they are going to have to work a lot harder to prove it.

FWIW- I do NOT have a degree. I have had many degree holders work under me and because I know how to leverage their specialty and training it has benefited our work greatly.

 

The hiring committee having a degree as the standard is part of the problem we now have.

I have a BS, but it took a bit to get there.

Originally I got my AS, and then I moved out of state so I wasn't going to go back to school right away - I had to get resident status.

What happened is I ended up working in a job and enjoying it and just kept working even after I got resident status. I lost that job due to the company closing several offices, mine being one of them and I didn't want to move to where they were going to keep my job.

I looked for another job but at the time it was a tough market so I felt not having a BS was hurting which I also thought was stupid. It was hard to get passed an initial review like you mention and actually get someone to talk to me to realize I knew what I was doing.

I did end up going back to get my BS first, and after that got a job just fine.

Here's the issue. I could have TAUGHT nearly EVERY class that I took because I had learned everything while working my previous job. It was extremely boring. I never even went to my graduation, I didn't care at that point in life.

I learned hardly anything, and paid a lot of money for the privilege.

 

Another issue with the degree system, is the amount of BS classes that you have to take. Out of my four years of college I only needed maybe 2.5-3 years. I don't use 60% of what I learned, but some of the stuff I learned was important and shouldn't be excluded.

 

I am a male stripper on the side, but I come out completely naked and make the women pay money to make me put my clothes back on.

 

Sure, but I've seen plenty of people skate by, do the minimum, pass around copies of tests with the answers, etc. It's not a guaranteed level of knoweldge in a specific subject area.

Because it's a waste of money for what they want to accomplish. Does a plumber need a degree? Carpenter? Auto Mechanic? Probably not. So why pay for one? Also, see my other post about my situation. I feel I paid money for nothing except a piece of paper to get me passed automated screening software or HR "committees" who use it as a filter for who moves on and who does not, and that is a terrible mindset.

So let someone prove it.

 

I completely understand that as well. There’s some real kooks out here that have no concept of reality and don’t get me started with all of the fringe characters we’ve attracted in the last few years.

 

It has had me looking at Idaho to move to lol. I like it here though but things are getting more nuts.

 

I agree. There is a lot of wasted time. I'm half way through my BS now. Some of the stupid classes are the ones I enjoy. Maybe because I've already had 20 years of work experience I just appreciate the little lessons learned where I didn't expect them while coasting through the other classes trying to see the big picture.

 

Yeah I’m considering Montana

 

i opened a Amazon credit card for the same reason and initially it did hurt my credit, but after a while it has helped quite a bit.

 

I'm in college and still have the ability to modify my truck while saving 50%. Just saved for years and flipped multiple things to be able to purchase my truck all cash. I learned that buying things outright is way easier...If you don't have to money for it cash, then don't buy it. That's just what I go by, as I know some people tend to lease or finance.

 

Well I guess as an uneducated caveman I’m at least qualified to work for a particular insurance company. More of a focus needs to be put on trades and vocational education in our schools instead of tech jobs. All the kids today, just about, want clean high paying jobs. How about bringing us tradesmen up on the pay scale where we should be and make these vocations more appealing. I’ve been n my field for 30 years and there’s not many people coming along to replace us. So hey Mr/ Mes high paid office person how about you do your own body and paint work or fabrication and welding before long you may have to. Trades are typically grossly underpaid for the work they do and conditions there bodies are subjected to. Hence my personal health issues

 

They’ll just invent robots to do it for free.

 

I hope you're not being serious

 

They have a money tree in their backyard.