Are college/bachelor's degrees nowadays a compulsory?

Yes, the quality of education in general has decreased over the past few years. It is sad that colleges have to resort to teaching freshmen algebra (or "college algebra") and trigonometry, "english composition", etc., because the US government keeps lowering the bar to make it seem like good things are happening.. Going to college used to mean something, but the curriculum has been dumbed down. I talk to a professor of mine regularly and he always bashes on the US education system (it's hilarious). Foreigners take advantage of the good parts of the college system to get master's degrees which are equivalent to bachelor's in many other countries. They get master's degrees and/or doctorate degrees no sweat and find themselves jobs easily.

It is all about making money. You graduate from high school, get a remedial job, get a shit salary, and a small portion of the population increases their profit. You go to college, you acquire loans, you put yourself in debt, you graduate, you make just a little more than someone with a high school diploma, you pay your loans, a small portion of the population makes more profit. College used to mean something.

 

If College keeps going like this, next Generation wont take it, If I ever have kids, I would prioritize teaching them to code, martial arts and multiple languages at a young age.

The Student loans are also going to be over very soon.

 

Dont mind it, live in Europe and we are in the middle of Covid hysteria anyway, they oursource worldwide, yes, you´ll be competing worldwide, but the price is worth it, case if you can land one of these jobs, when you are young a lot of oportunities can open up down the line, if you already have a steady job + base of income, you dont really have to apply to those jobs, it depends a lot on your social standing assets, plans, vocations, etc...

In my case (deteriorated middle class), I wanna invest and get a motorhome so I´ll go looking for the jobs, but I do warn other people trying to look out for them, that there are a lot of scamsters out there (particularly so called Indian Ceos (who try to make you work for free under the promise of "it´s just a entry test" or "you´ll be paid next month if we like it")).

 

Btw I wanna ask another thing, pertinent to another thread I made about Santander bank, but what do you guys think of college stationed banks? Are those any good or a long term scam, for Student loans? Never got into student loans myself but I opened a Santander account and they updated my card without my concent should I be worried? I havent deposited money in a while and my mom had to pay to close her account a while back case she stopped checking on it, while the fees piled up.

 

There are two views to this: how it is, and how it should be.

University should be for those who want to go into research, medical, or law. Everything else can be learned in a vocational school. That's how I got into data science and programming.

University does not build you up. It shows your employer that you've evolved far enough from a chimp that you can regurgitate facts and factoids onto a piece of paper. People put themselves into massive debt just to show this. Of course, this assumption's not true for every major as I stated above, nor for every university, but it's too prevalent.

I'm still quite young. I've been working in the USA for the past year, and I cannot count the amount of times coworkers my age ask our boss how to do something, when they were hired *for that job*. I knew someone with their Master's in Statistics who didn't know how to do a basic regression or ANOVA. I never had that issue, other than to ask SME-specific questions.

 

Correct me, if I´m wrong, but if you are given the job, to establish those "self-serve order" automation machines at McDonalds, dont you get paid handsomely?

 

Have to disagree. Most engineers need uni too and those who don't can still gain a LOT from it.

In your area of expertise, if you're a high school grad you can freelance or get good work flipping bits for a web shop for example. But mission critical systems or big data analysis? No company will let you touch those without an MA or a PhD.

 

And IT is by far the most non-college worker friendly field. I can't imagine a mechanical or electrical engineer with a high school diploma.

 

Do you mean linear regression? I have a hard time believing that.

 

Much of those guys wont care if you have a MA or a PhD, they´ll just demand you have prior work experience beforehand and know what they want you to work on.

If you nail to get a Junior Dev job, afterwards you can move up the ladder, diploma or no diploma.

 

You´d have to Freelance yourself, if you have a highschool diploma.

 

Okay. Engineers too. But the other 90% of jobs don’t need university.

That’s how ill-equipped the university students are, at least here. They aren’t used to applying skills to real world environments.

 

Case they arent taught, and coding wise a lot of college courses need a complete overhaul to avoid obsolescense in the future.

 

so are they freelancers or different company workers?

 

I think we should all see those academic degrees for what they are - Theoretical education, that's supposed to prepare you for practical work. Yes, you'll probably be able to get into the job you want with just the practical knowledge, though from my experience with Bsc, it gave me the initial confidence in my affinity to the profession I've chose. It really intrested me and I felt I was good with it. I actually enjoyed very much from my previous years in the academy, and I'm actually planning to start another Bsc next semester. That being said, academic is not for everyone. Not everyone like this lifestyle, and if you feel like you're wasting your time there, then you should quit, because doing something just because you're told you is a waste of time. The cost of a degree is also a valid reason... Maybe I'm not that hateful towards the academy because in my country a year at a university costs about 3000$.