Is college/grad school a necessity, or is it a waste of time?

[Dreday906]

I am currently making a career transition. I will be joining a teacher's residency, which allows me to work as a teacher full time but requires me to attend a grad school of their choice. I'm dreading the grad school aspect because I honestly hate school. I've hated it ever since I was a kid, even when I was getting good grades. It's the reason why college was such a drag for me. Now, I'm about to attend a school that'll probably give me a torturous experience. Sometimes, I wonder to myself if I'm wasting my time; if there are realistic ways for me to establish financial security and take care of a family without a college education. Other times, I'm thinking about the fact that it seems as though most people don't make liveable wages without a decent education. Well, let the torture begin.

[Qdbrown]

Sounds like you opted for the torture. If that's what you want, then you do the time.

As for my views of college? As a person with a degree, I wouldn't send someone to college unless absolutely necessary. It's often a waste of time and money for most young people. Unless you need for some kind of license or special certification, is it barely acceptable.

A lot of young people go into life long debt that is a house payment level payment for 20 or more years. That's dumb. Many degrees are absolutely worthless and many profs use college as a way to push their dumb political platforms. There little contribution to try to change the world and have their students pay for it.

There are so many other vocation programs that can have that student graduating in less than 2 years, a fraction of costs, and many come out making around $100k a year. Many of the college kids are graduating with all kinds of debt and a $60k salary. Many assume they will be making way more money later on, but many are still 20% of their starting salary 5 years into their career. Is it really worth it?

Most grads have to get new jobs every four years to get a real promotion. That is okay, but in all those years they never get well vested in a 401(k) or get vacation time racked up bouncing around. It usually takes 10 years before you get better 401(k)'s, and often 20 years before many get a full four to five weeks of vacation.

[Xoxocutekitty]

Been in the working world for 2 years, already switched jobs 2x, and 4-5 weeks of vacation is so inconceivable, rip.

[EmbraceThePain]

It depends on what you want to do in your life. I have a bachelors degree in criminal justice because I thought that would make sense for someone to have who wants to become a law enforcement officer. Also, I’m interested in the subject matter so the initiative to learn more about the subjects on my free time was made easier. I think if you are interested in something, naturally, you’ll become better at it due to more and more exposure and interaction with that something. I can’t say I liked let alone LOVED going to school in any part of my academic life, but at the same time I didn’t find it necessarily torturous and knew for what I wanted to do a degree would be a good decision. Of course, in law enforcement, you don’t need a degree, as things like certificates and job experience can suffice. At the time though, my college was already paid for by my parents and it just made sense to seamlessly go from high school to college instead of other avenues. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but at least I can think about that while I’m talking my general education/associates degree which all undergraduate majors need to take.

[fantasticass]

I remember as a child my dad teaching school all day, and then attending night school to improve his career as a teacher. He hated night school, but he knew he had to continue night school to provide for his family. My dad eventually became the Director of Education, and made a really good salary. My mother didn't work, because my dad made enough money to support the family. Therefore, grad school is worthwhile. Education is the only way out of poverty, and miminal paying jobs. Good luck to you. 🇨🇦✌

[Dreday906]

I appreciate you sharing this story. It gave me a much needed perspective. Thank you.

[vipinnair73]

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[Not_Average]

It depends on what your goals are. I earned a MS in Mechanical Engineering and I feel like I wasted a lot of my youth considering my goal was financial stability. I make more money off of my entrepreneurial ventures than my W2.

Being a W2 debt slave is a trap and the working class are taxed the heaviest. If you want to become wealthy, then you need to invest into assets. Creating a strong base of capital, and then moving into passive income strategies has been my approach. Real estate gives you the ability to leverage with minimal risk, so it’s a good start.

[exitseven]

It depends on what you want for a career. It took me three tries to graduate from college and then I went to grad school immediately after. I wanted a career in IT and probably taken a quickie certificate course but I wanted to differentiate myself from everyone else by having a Master Degree.
I was hired to be the technology director at a school district and later my boss told me that there were other people that interviewed for the job that had more extensive resumes and more experience but he was impressed by the fact that I went to grad school and saw it through to the end.

[Vietnemin]

I am enrolled in a masters program but will drop it because I already have a high paying job and decide the rest of the classes are not worth it for me.

[Dreday906]

That's good. I wish you well with your current job.

[Vietnemin]

Thank you!

[vipinnair73]

Bengaluru (also called Bangalore) is the capital of India's southern Karnataka state.
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[Vietnemin]

@vipinnair73 You're reported

[JDavid25]

There are only a few careers were you actually need college.. That's STEM fields Lawyers, and Doctors.. And maybe some other professions.. But for most careers you don't really need them.. They are literally just trying manipulate people into thinking college is needed for most people.. There are plenty of careers that make good money that don't need bachelor's degrees..

[Redstang88]

Depends what you wanna do. I’m in a career that pays upwards of 200k a year without it, but that’s rare

[Dreday906]

Damn. You're fortunate. I wish you well in your career.

[zagor]

Wait, you hated school but are choosing a career that requires you to spend a significant chunk of your adult life there?

[Dreday906]

Yeah, it seems strange. I know. It's a long story. But here's the short version: through my experience working in the academic field, I have learned skills that make me competent at teaching. However, I still hate being a student lol. Once I finished my undergrad work, I wasn't sure if I was going to bother pursuing a career as a teacher anymore. But time past, I got a little older, and I realized I need to get my life together. So, here comes this new teaching opportunity. It offers a decent starting wage with growth potential and benefits. But, I have to attend grad school, which I'm unsure I'm mentally prepared for. Plus, while I'm competent at teaching, I'm still not really in love with it.

[zagor]

Is the grad school for a teaching credential, or is it in a non-education subject matter?

[Dreday906]

It's for a teaching credential. Teachers in NYC are required to have their master's even if they have a teachers certificate.

[Dreday906]

If I were only going for the certificate, then that wouldn't be too bad. But the grad school aspect is the killer.

[zagor]

Do they allow you some time so you can do it PT? If you only take a class or two at a time it might be more tolerable, though spread over a longer period.

[Dreday906]

Well, this is a part of a teacher's residency program. So I have to do things according to their timing. They will set it up in a way that will allow me to finish in two years. But I don't know how many courses I will be taking per semester yet.

[Dreday906]

Plus, I'll have to juggle that with teaching full time, which means lesson planning and grading.

[zagor]

Yeah I taught a community college class once and I think I was getting about $5/hr by the time I figured in all the prep time and grading and such.

Good that they require the additional education education though. I have a Master's in the subject I was teaching but had 0 teaching experience. Didn't go smoothly.

[Dreday906]

Yeah, teaching really takes a bunch of skills. There are a lot of smart people in this world, but not all of them are good teachers. I'm glad that at least I'll be receiving mentorship and training throughout this process. Maybe that will ignite a much needed fire inside of me.

[Vietnemin]

I don't know in my opinion school can be fun sometimes too. You get to meet people and joke about the teacher or the speaker after class at a bar or something.

[asianfreak]

Waste of time under these situations: undecided for too long, only interested in partying, selecting majors with lowest employment prospects, and the like.

Necessary under these conditions: if a job you’re after requires such a thing, if it’s anything STEM, if you’re more into book smarts, and the like.

[YOLOIFIC]

Depends on what you want to do. Going to college and coming out with a useless degree that can’t get you into a high paying job is a waste.

[Joshua0213]

Depends on what you want to do, many things you could just go to trade schools to learn and its much cheaper but some although not many things require college

[007kingifrit]

48% of college grads never use their degree to find work. its only useful if you pick a very specific set of majors and only then if you can do it without loans

[YOLOIFIC]

Good luck going to college without loans unless you got some serious scholarships. Even Dave Ramsey who hates debt says the two things you borrow money for is an education and a house.

[007kingifrit]

@YOLOIFIC have you ever heard of an income sharing agreement? its like a reverse loan. you only pay if you make money

[YOLOIFIC]

That’s a loan, no different than a federal student loan with an income based repayment plan.

Plus unless you make almost nothing after college this is going to cost you a LOT more than a student loan since it’s based in your income and you have no way to pay it off faster like a loan.

Plus I’d bet my last dollar the number of colleges doing this is small.

[007kingifrit]

@YOLOIFIC well like i said 48% of students don't use their degree to find work. so for 48% of people the income sharing agreement would be a better goal

its also much more market savvy because it implies your degree is worth something. if you can't get an ISA that's a warning sign your degree isn't profitable

sure you might pay more but in reality that's fine because you would need to be making bank for that to be relevant

[YOLOIFIC]

So you think that 48% works for free then? 🤣

Also no it still wouldn’t be because if your have low income you’re paying nothing on federal student loans unlike an ISA 4.25% or $20,000 isn’t zero.

Also no, paying more money than you have to on your debt isn’t fine. It’s a stupid, you’re literally wasting money that could be used for retirement or investments in increase your wealth.

Only an idiot would use an ISA and again an ISA is still a loan so you’re wrong to act like it’s not a loan and pretend it’s a way to go to college without loans.

[YOLOIFIC]

Let’s just agree to disagree and chalk this self contradictory up to you having really bad math skills.

[007kingifrit]

@YOLOIFIC i think 48% of college students do not benefit from their loans

if you can't do college with an ISA, you shouldn't be in there at all. so what if it costs more? it only costs more to people who can afford it. it provides a safe way to do college with no downsides if it doesn't work out

you NEVER get out of federal student loans no matter how low your income is

[YOLOIFIC]

Why do you think you don’t have to pay if you don’t use your degree? That’s not correct, it’s a percentage of your income regardless if you work in a career related to your degree.

You should never pay more on your debt for any reason ever. Alway take out the cheapest loan possible. You’re not a charity unless you want to work till you die.

You still have to pay back an ISA if you don’t complete your degree fool. It’s not like they say, oops you dropped out okay have a nice life.

Yes, you can get out of federal student loans; no matter what any balance in an income based repayment plan is forgiven after 20 years per federal law.

If you work in the public sector for 10 years it’s forgiven without any tax penalties.

Anyone on the standard repayment plan is paid off in 10 years.

I’ve had student loans since 2005, haven’t paid a dollar on them since 2014 due to my income as my family size and my income. As a public sector worker for 6 years in another 4 years my remaining loan balances are forgiven.

Don’t tell me I don’t know how my student loans work idiots. SMFH

You must be some college admissions worker trying to rip of vulnerable teenagers who don’t understand anything about money or loans.

[YOLOIFIC]

Only possible time I could see one of these ISAs being helpful is if you the amount of federal student loans can’t cover all your expenses. An ISA would likely be less expensive than a private loan but it will never under any circumstances be better than federal student loans.

But point still stands a loan is a loan, you you’re wrong to say you can go to college without loans unless you’re wealth.

[007kingifrit]

@YOLOIFIC do you not know how dangerous federal loans are? you can't default on them. there is no way to get out

if someone won't grant you an ISA its a sign your career isn't profitable and a student loan is therefore not a good idea either. that person should NOT attend college at all

[Hispanic-Cool-Guy]

Strictly depends on your profession. College is a must if you're aspiring to become a doctor, lawyer or any career that demands a College degree.

[kkirk4442]

It depends on what career you want.

[Avicenna]

Necessary for some people, yes

[Aquariusmystery]

It depends on what you want to do

[taboomaster]

Depends on what you're planning on going into