We've all heard the stories. All the people going to college, why? "Well, if you want to get a good job, you know you have to go to college." My big beef with that is that when people like me want to come in for the sake of learning (go social sciences!), that you get screwed over because every time you mention the fact you're a liberal arts major, everyone looks at you like you've just said you scored below a 50 on an IQ test.
I would love to go back to the days where college wasn't used as a fast track to success, to a time when people went to college not because it was requried to succeed, but because it was something they wanted to do. I'd love to sit in a room full of people who want to learn about Economic Geography because it's so cool, I want to have a class with people who get as excited about trends in migration and suburban development, even culture, as I do. Where have all the other people with sincere academic interests gone?
It's wonderful that you want to continue your education, but wanting to continue your education just so you can earn more money in the long run? Yeah, that's the 'smart' thing to do. You should invest in education to make it work for you---productive learning. I get the idea, but at the same time I don't like it.
I like learning, because it makes me feel smarter. And espescailly the social sciences, ebcause they expalin so much about human behaviour that you've always asked. I want to learn with the hopes of being able to better understand the world around me, not for the sake of harnessing it and bending it to my will, but rather for the sake of simply understanding. Yes, I've already heard, it's stupid and pointless, but my goal isn't to make money, my goal is simply to understand.
And if I find a job along the way that uses that (Cross my fingers, right?) then I will go for it.
Not to say that it takes a liberal arts major to be a good person, what you need is the intent. You're going to business so that you can open up the coffee shop you always wanted to? Grand. You're not there because, "I want money." You're there because, "It's what I want."
College shouldn't be seen as a way to make money, rather as a way to enhance whatever it is that you'd like---that's why it's education. But we view it as such, hence people look at you like you're crazy whenever you mention a 'fluff' major so to speak. Rather than viewing college as that means of enrichment, we percieve it as a money making opportunity and requirement.
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Very good point. I am going to college because I know that even though I will most likely end up marrying and staying home with my children and "wasting" my education, I will feel better about myself if I have a degree of some type. But, on the other hand, if for some reason I need a long-term job... that piece of paper will help things there, too. Goes both ways for me, I guess...
It goes both ways for me too. I've never questioned whether I'd go to college or not. It just seemed like the logical step. Learn more about what I want to do so I can do it well.
But I do understand that someone would go to college just because it would help them get jobs in the future. Wanting money and comfort isn't a terrible goal. I know I want to be comfortable when I'm older and I want my kids to have luxuries. That's not why I'm going to college, but knowing it may help me get a job certainly isn't a point against college.
I agree---wanting money isn't a bad thing, but I just don't like the way people treat college. People do see it as a way to earn money quickly, as a means to an end, so whenever you mention that you are majoring in something that won't earn a lot of money, people just look down on you.
It's the cultural perception of college that I think needs to change.
I agree with you, I love the sciences, so I am a science major, BECAUSE I LOVE SCIENCE, not just because I want to make more money, interesting post!!!
I am what people call a "non-traditional student". I am going to college for a degree in Colonial History. I usually get asked "Aren't you a little old for that?" I always answer, no...just more street wise then you. I have worked many different jobs in my life. None of them, except the post office, have made me a rich person. I know that college for me won't lead to a six figure income but I love the learning process itself. While my past jobs "dumbed" me down, this past semester has reactivated brain cells which have long been asleep. I hear all the time in the hallways of the buildings that many people are just there for their government checks. It angers me that there are people who have a desire to go to school, can't because there aren't any slots available. They are taken up by those who don't give a lick about an education...just money.
A single voice among many.
i TOTALLY agree. i dont understand when kids go to college with a "business major" spend 99.9% of their time at school partying. and their only there cuz their parents either made them or so they can get richer one day or something. i'm truly going to college next year JUST because i want to.i wasnt' going to i graduated with intents of not doing much with my life. solely because i didnt' know what i wanted to do with my life yet and i didn't wanna waste time or money. i DEFINITELY wasn't one of these high school kids who dreamt about college all their life. i was sure that i would never go but then about a year ago i had a great desire to go. i want to use my brain and learn and feel like i'm doing something. yes i got tired of fast food and other low paying jobs and felt like i needed something more but i most of all want to learn i want to do something about the desire in me to learn. i know i wont be making much money after school. and i'm not even sure what sort of opportunities are going to be available to me because i'm majoring in 1-Christian education with a concentration in childrens ministry and 2-christian missions. but i'm still excited my parents. only one of which works (my mom stays at home) and having 3 children starting college this year its going to be sooooooooo hard financially. i wouldn't waste that money and stress my parents out that much unless it was something i truly believed in and was passionate about and wasn't just a bigger check years down the line.
Great couldnt of said it better myself all of you. Material things only last for a life time. But knowledge and the progression of, last forever. Its the only way to gain some truth in the superficial world we live in today.
My story is a little off topic but related at best. When I was a freshman in college, I decided to check out greek week and meet some of the girls of the sororities. Most of them seemed like really nice that wanted my money to make friends, which I didn't fall for b/c I have no problems making friends on my own for free. But anyway, I went out with a group of girls from one of the houses, and I decided to make small talk with her. At the bar, I asked what her major was and she replied"I don't have a major". and I said, "Well, you are a senior in college...how can you not have a major?" That is when she told me one of the most shocking statements I have EVER heard in my life. She confided in me that her and a lot of the other girls in the house only come to college to find rich men and that is exactly what they do too! They do the wildest, outrageous things to get the attention of men that appear as if they have money. One of the girls even told me that her mom did the same thing and that she was following the tradition!! Can you imagine??