i''ll tell you something strange...

[Dancing Fire]

half of the friends that i grew up with are HS dropouts and the other half went on to college. a couple of them that went on to college are struggling financially today. couple of the HS dropouts went on to open up their own business became more successful financially.

 

[anyname]

i believe it. sign me up in the over educated currently unemployed category please

Formal education isn''t for everyone, sometimes its to cookie cutter like for those who think more outside of the box. Good for your friends though, especially in this economic climate.

 

[LaraOnline]

Date: 1/10/2009 12:13:19 AM
Author: popcorn
i believe it. sign me up in the over educated currently unemployed category please

Formal education isn''t for everyone, sometimes its to cookie cutter like for those who think more outside of the box. Good for your friends though, especially in this economic climate.

My husband is a highly educated professional, I also have my share of university education...
he is pretty adamant that uni is a waste of time for most students...
he says that he would encourage our children to consider NOT going to uni... I am concerned that for a woman choices outside uni are more limited, but I do think it would be great to combine uni with a ''proper'' job...

 

[Elmorton]

DH and I were actually talking about this recently. Thanks to social networking websites, I now know more about people I went to high school with than I did when we were in high school. A lot of people who I wasn''t friends with (I was in the nerdy honor classes crowd and as much as I hate to say it, I didn''t really branch out much) went on to go into vocational careers (which are more well-paying than the starter jobs that we college grads "nabbed") and now have families with three or four children, houses, mini-vans, etc. Since all of my close buds went to college and grad school, most of us are just now settling down at age 25/6 - and by settling down, I mean contemplating marriage and figuring out where to live for awhile. I think it''s ironic that we''re the crowd that is now playing catch-up in terms of becoming an established adult.

Also, I teach at a community college, and sometimes I feel like I''m going batty when I realize that many of my students will be making more money than me and have better job security when they''re done with their 1 or 2 year certification/degree as a nurse, dental hygenist, mechanic, massage therapist, etc. Oh well, it keeps me humble.

But I will say that I think this may be sortof a short-run thing. Many careers that require a college education (or grad school) are ones where you start low and move up, whereas other career paths top out early. At least that''s what I keep telling myself...

OH - and DFire along the same lines, I''ve always held a theory that when you see a major beater car is will have a "Yale" sticker on it, while the Ferrari will be displaying license plate frames from "Southwest North Wheretheheckisthat State University." I''d like to think it has to do with the amount of the debt the driver has, but who knows...maybe you''re on to something...

 

[Dancing Fire]

and think about this....
out of the top 10 riches people in America only Warren Buffett has a college degree.

 

[mia1181]

Ugh! That is depressing! I went to college to be a teacher. I come from a very blue collar community so teachers were looked up to in the community. In fact, in the small town I was raised in the teachers were the ones who owned the best houses in the neighborhood! Well I remember my professor explaining to us that since we were going to school to be teachers chances are we were "middle class." He went on to say that the middle class values education more than lower or upper class. Well given my childhood I was like

. I always thought the richer you were, the more educated you were. Wrong!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 1/10/2009 2:07:35 AM
Author: mia1181
Ugh! That is depressing! I went to college to be a teacher. I come from a very blue collar community so teachers were looked up to in the community. In fact, in the small town I was raised in the teachers were the ones who owned the best houses in the neighborhood! Well I remember my professor explaining to us that since we were going to school to be teachers chances are we were ''middle class.'' He went on to say that the middle class values education more than lower or upper class. Well given my childhood I was like

. I always thought the richer you were, the more educated you were. Wrong!

IMO...teachers are way under paid.

 

[777_LDY]

Date: 1/10/2009 2:14:00 AM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 1/10/2009 2:07:35 AM
Author: mia1181
Ugh! That is depressing! I went to college to be a teacher. I come from a very blue collar community so teachers were looked up to in the community. In fact, in the small town I was raised in the teachers were the ones who owned the best houses in the neighborhood! Well I remember my professor explaining to us that since we were going to school to be teachers chances are we were 'middle class.' He went on to say that the middle class values education more than lower or upper class. Well given my childhood I was like

. I always thought the richer you were, the more educated you were. Wrong!

IMO...teachers are way under paid.

Ditto.

I find the workload unreal that my son's fifth grade teacher has to deal with. I am fortunate enough to be a SAHM and help my child with projects and homework etc but I know it is much harder for other students. I tell my son that if he has any questions about his work he needs to talk to his teacher before he leaves school because I want him to be independent, but he is constantly saying "she didn't have enough time to go over it again". I have no problems helping my son, but if other children are in that situation and they have just as busy parents... I am sure that must be hard! My son's teacher has a class of 25 students, 2 of which have autism. That may sound like a high number but our district was rated in the top 10 in our state. I don't know how she does it, but she is a wonderful teacher and I give he sooooooo much credit.

ETA: I didn't even answer the question...

I won't speak for myself, but my husband is well educated and gave up what he went to school for to help with the family business... He has done well for the company but didn't need his degree for it.

 

[Tuckins1]

Hmmmm... Guess you never know what someone''s life has in store. Also, education doesn''t matter if your work ethic isn''t there... (Not that I know exactly what happened with those specific people, but I know some people that don''t have a college education who work harder than anyone else I know!!)

 

[steph72276]

Date: 1/10/2009 2:14:00 AM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 1/10/2009 2:07:35 AM

Author: mia1181

Ugh! That is depressing! I went to college to be a teacher. I come from a very blue collar community so teachers were looked up to in the community. In fact, in the small town I was raised in the teachers were the ones who owned the best houses in the neighborhood! Well I remember my professor explaining to us that since we were going to school to be teachers chances are we were ''middle class.'' He went on to say that the middle class values education more than lower or upper class. Well given my childhood I was like

. I always thought the richer you were, the more educated you were. Wrong!

IMO...teachers are way under paid.

Amen to that DF!

 

[steph72276]

I am a teacher by profession...SAHM for the next year or so until my son goes off to elementary school. While I value education for reasons beyond the academic, I have to agree that in a lot of cases, it goes beyond the education a person has. In order to move up and become successful in most cases, the person has to have a great work ethic, a network of friends, and some common sense sprinkled in. I know quite a few people that are "book smart" with absolutely no common sense.

 

[mia1181]

Date: 1/10/2009 9:07:16 AM
Author: steph72276
I am a teacher by profession...SAHM for the next year or so until my son goes off to elementary school. While I value education for reasons beyond the academic, I have to agree that in a lot of cases, it goes beyond the education a person has. In order to move up and become successful in most cases, the person has to have a great work ethic, a network of friends, and some common sense sprinkled in. I know quite a few people that are ''book smart'' with absolutely no common sense.

I think this one is a biggie! DH is super book smart (scientist), ridiculously common-sense smart, and has the most amazing work ethic I have ever seen. He has been successful at every job he has ever had. But it''s really hard to get into starting a business without a bit of luck or knowing someone. Right now DH is developing a business plan and he is trying to get the networking part going.

I the richest person I know (owns a private jet with an on-call pilot) was not a good student in high school/college (although did end up getting his MBA) and honestly he doesn''t strike me as an incredibly intelligent or even social person. He worked for someone who ended up giving him money to start a company. I don''t think it was even his idea, but now he is so successful. Obviously he must have the right traits to build that business to what it is, but I know there is definitely that "in the right place at the right time" element to it.

 

[HollyS]

That''s not so strange. Ever read "The Millionaire Next Door"? If you haven''t, you will find it fascinating -- if I know you.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It doesn''t surprise me either. Most people can''t get rich working for someone else. It is entrepreneurs who get rich. They are the creative type with vision and the college education is not all that essential for them. Although I certainly think that for kids between 18-22, there aren''t that many better places to be than college. But most jobs are actually learned on the job, unless you are majoring in something specific like nursing or a subject that you need to prepare you for grad school. Most of the people we know who are really wealthy own their own companies.

 

[VegasAngel]

Date: 1/10/2009 2:14:00 AM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 1/10/2009 2:07:35 AM
Author: mia1181
Ugh! That is depressing! I went to college to be a teacher. I come from a very blue collar community so teachers were looked up to in the community. In fact, in the small town I was raised in the teachers were the ones who owned the best houses in the neighborhood! Well I remember my professor explaining to us that since we were going to school to be teachers chances are we were ''middle class.'' He went on to say that the middle class values education more than lower or upper class. Well given my childhood I was like

. I always thought the richer you were, the more educated you were. Wrong!

IMO...teachers are way under paid.

Yes very underpaid for the work they do. Teachers in Nevada are some of the lowest paid & now their pay may be cut by 6%-ridiculous.

 

[trillionaire]

college is not worth 90-200K in debt that kids are leaving with today.

 

[pennquaker09]

It''s good to see teachers getting some love here.

 

[~*Alexis*~]

I am with ya...

However, half the kids I graduated with were either pregnant or already had kids. I had 62 in my graduating class....

I went to college and I make less than 40k a year, with 2 college degrees. FFI did not go to college and has worked at his job for 18 years, he makes 6 figures.

 

[AprilBaby]

My husband has a Phd and we are constantly getting laid off! He is over qualified and too old for most employers.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 1/10/2009 12:39:03 PM
Author: trillionaire
college is not worth 90-200K in debt that kids are leaving with today.

yup, sometime i wonder is it worth sending a kid to college. i feel sorry for the kids that are graduating today with this kind of economic climate out there.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

College education does not automatically equal intelligence or creativity. It''s just like the people on Jeopardy. They know tons of facts, but only proves they are good at memorizing information (much of it being useless!).

 

[movie zombie]

sometimes i think the more educated one is, the more one thinks ''in'' the box.....while those that aren''t as educated think ''outside'' the box and therefore 1-don''t know something is supposed to be impossible and/or 2-hasn''t been indoctrinated to think in only one way.

movie zombie

ps and those in the trades will always work: plumbers, especially!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

That doesn''t surprise me, because that is me...

I dropped out of community college in the middle of my Sophmore year...it was a surprise because academically speaking, I was doing very well.

I never wanted to attend college, and always wanted to be a stylist...but, to appease my parents went locally...hated it...and quit....

Long story short, I am now making far more money than any of my friends who went to college, I work for a larger company than most, and certainly am higher up in "title" than all of them. I have worked hard to open doors that generally wouldn''t be open to someone without a degree, and I know I''m certainly not the "norm" (which makes me all the more thankful).

But hard work = hard work with or without a degree and while I value education and regret that I didn''t go if for nothing else than the "experience"...I am very happy over all with my choices.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Date: 1/10/2009 12:15:16 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
It doesn''t surprise me either. Most people can''t get rich working for someone else. It is entrepreneurs who get rich. They are the creative type with vision and the college education is not all that essential for them. Although I certainly think that for kids between 18-22, there aren''t that many better places to be than college. But most jobs are actually learned on the job, unless you are majoring in something specific like nursing or a subject that you need to prepare you for grad school. Most of the people we know who are really wealthy own their own companies.

Amen to that! Now if I could only think of something to get rich off of.............

My DH has 2 bachelor''s degrees and does not work in either realted field. I say it''s a waste but he appreciates the time (and $$$) he spent in school. I have a bachelors degree and work in the same field that I studied. We''re probably "poor" compared to how much the average PS''er makes, but we''re about middle class in our neck of the woods so I guess we can''t really complain too much.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 1/10/2009 10:15:56 PM
Author: DivaDiamond007

Date: 1/10/2009 12:15:16 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
It doesn''t surprise me either. Most people can''t get rich working for someone else. It is entrepreneurs who get rich. They are the creative type with vision and the college education is not all that essential for them. Although I certainly think that for kids between 18-22, there aren''t that many better places to be than college. But most jobs are actually learned on the job, unless you are majoring in something specific like nursing or a subject that you need to prepare you for grad school. Most of the people we know who are really wealthy own their own companies.

Amen to that! Now if I could only think of something to get rich off of.............

My DH has 2 bachelor''s degrees and does not work in either realted field. I say it''s a waste but he appreciates the time (and $$$) he spent in school. I have a bachelors degree and work in the same field that I studied. We''re probably ''poor'' compared to how much the average PS''er makes, but we''re about middle class in our neck of the woods so I guess we can''t really complain too much.

do manicure and pedicure for the rich ladies here.

 

[icekid]

A lot of times it''s the luck of the draw! Oh well, I have 8 years of post-HS education under my belt, and another 4.5 years of training to go! And I don''t make that much money. Maybe someday I will. But probably not when we socialize healthcare.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

I am too tired to write a dissertation over this but I do have very strong opinions on the subject [I'm way over degreed - I was even an adjunct university professor - and have made my money as an entrepreneur in a field that I never studied - LOL!]. However, I would like to suggest a book which will shed some light on this whole issue: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Read it and you will see why one must focus on getting themselves to the B/I quadrants in order to create wealth. Getting good grades so you can get into a good college so you can get a good job is BS that went out with my parent's generation [I'm 55].

ETA BTW, what you noted is not strange at all once you understand the underlying factors that dictate a particular person's success.

 

[snowflakeluvr]

Ironically, my 20yr old daughter(college student) and my 13yr old son just sat here with me and watched "Accepted" a more or less silly pg-13 flick starring Justin Long(Drew Barrymore''s recent ex) about just this...a kid who can''t get into college so he "creates" his own-a little far fetched, some potty mouth humor, but overall a message like the one being discussed here. thinking outside the box, as the main character creates a pseudo-college to appease his parents, ends up with a campus full of kids, they create their own curriculum, no profs(other than this nutty comedian-can''t remember his name) but it makes you think...i am degree''d but generally have been a sahm raising a large family. however, before we added to our family again in our 40''s, i went right into the work force making a decent wage for a part-time teaching gig(my degree''s in business so i believe that my degree held some value since i was well paid. dh has his master''s but all is computers and information science related so his field is very specific. he does get paid very well, more for being in upper management (now) than for utilizing his college learnings in IT....i think the world is changing faster than our parents generation could ever understand. no certainty, nothing is predictable or assumed anymore. we are going to need more forward thinking "out of the box" people imo!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 1/10/2009 11:23:54 PM
Author: DiamanteBlu
I am too tired to write a dissertation over this but I do have very strong opinions on the subject [I''m way over degreed - I was even an adjunct university professor - and have made my money as an entrepreneur in a field that I never studied - LOL!]. However, I would like to suggest a book which will shed some light on this whole issue: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Read it and you will see why one must focus on getting themselves to the B/I quadrants in order to create wealth. Getting good grades so you can get into a good college so you can get a good job is BS that went out with my parent''s generation [I''m 55].

ETA BTW, what you noted is not strange at all once you understand the underlying factors that dictate a particular person''s success.

Blu, it sounds like you have a story to tell! I''d love to hear more about it if you could tell us sometime! (I did read Millionaire Next Door a few years ago, but I never picked up RDPD. It''s a little late for us, but I might pick it up for our older kids who are just starting out.)

 

[anyname]

sometimes i think back and get a little angry on how conditioned i am to think inside the box. And now i have studied myself into a small, very specialized, niche, which makes finding a job nearly impossible right now. It would appear my only other option would be to continue my studies towards a PhD or scrap it all and start all over....utterly depressing.