Why higher learing is as corrupt as politics.

Get a degree!

 

It's getting more and more crucial that you get a degree to get a decent job.  Even in the direct sales market it's becoming a requirement of many companies that applicants have a bachelors and some require a masters degree in order to be considered.  On my recent job hunt a position that truly interested me with GE required a masters degree to be even considered, mind you no experience in sales was required, just the masters degree.  Master's degree in WHAT?

 

I postulated maybe a masters in engineering as the position was an industrial equipment sales position and I could see how an engineering degree would be beneficial. Nope.  Maybe Masters in Psychology, after all sales is psychological more than anything else, will over instinct, leading questions and discerning a persons true interest?  Nope.  Mind you any of these specialty degrees would earn an excellent income in their respective fields, so why would you put yourself into a sales position?

 

Actually the ad did not distinguish the type of Masters degree needed, just simply that you had one.  Indicating that the true desire of companies is that you have completed higher education simply to weed through the pack regardless of the value or even the relevance of that education.  I guess a masters in art would prove just as valuable to the position of Industrial Cleaning Products specific to the Automotive Manufacturing Industry, that makes tons of sense.

 

I guess that's what brings me to my real point.  The value of that degree.  My wife has recently taken on the challenge of becoming a teacher and has completed her first year of school and onto the second, I'm very proud of her.  The first year she spent at University of Phoenix, sold on the idea of flexibility of schedule and expedited degree we ignored the outrageous price tag in favor of time.  Besides after rashioning out the expense of books travel etc... it seemed like a good idea.

 

Replacing in class time came at a cost, 3 500 to 1500 word essays per week with only two classes.  Resources were specified web pages and on your own studies but could not include some websites, like Wikipedia.  By the end of the first year she was so burnt out she decided to take classes at our local city college and take advantage of the transferability of her credits she was PROMISED by U of P.  Basically after working with the new college and going through the transcripts we spent 10k on Electives, I don't know how History, English, Education, and Computer classes are electives but when you're talking about money each college really just values their own curriculum.

 

And they don't stop there, her philosophy class takes the cake.  She told me today that she won't be able to recoup the $140.00 cost of the book she bought for philosophy by selling it.  "Why?"  I asked.  Well the Professor makes it part of the grade that you use all the white space in the book for personal ideas thoughts and suggestions, "Write everywhere, your grade requires it."  The next obvious question asked "What does this guy get a kickback from the publisher?"  He's the author it turns out.  OF PHILOSOPHY.  I have a deep ethical objection to a teacher of philosophy teaching their own book on the subject to begin with, the basis of philosophy to me has always been to question everything, therefore it's not possible to teach a subject on a book you wrote as there's no one to question the text, not to mention the purely greedy requirement of destroying the book to increase his own sales. 

 

Get a degree!  It won't make you smarter but it'll make your life easier.