Higher Education
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Sometimes intuition alone isn't enough to grasp all the concepts of any discipline. All though I agree that you can learn to use photoshop without any classes, I doubt you will learn more or faster than students who are taking classes that deal with all aspects of photo editing, including PS.Trey Parker said:
dorian gray
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good thread <crimson>. college is good but is very expensive. as far as i know higher-education is perhaps *the* most inflated cost during the past ten years. housing and transportation costs arent far behind. while you're in college, it's important to get an idea of what's important to you. what you come up with will invariably change but hopefully you can make the most out of every paradigm that you can. it's important to decide what part of town you want to live in, where you want your kids to go to school, what kind of house you want, whether your spouse is going to work when you have those kids, whether you care about going to work or having time off, those sort of things. i know that sounds boring, but, in making your educational decisions, you are setting a precedent for the rest of your life. i could go on and on but heres some key points that 20-somethings in America should know: on average, technical positions make more money than liberal arts jobs or business jobs. housing is very expensive. most positions, regardless of your degree, are learned OTJ. marriage and children arrive much sooner than you would ever anticipate. and, im sure alot of you will disagree with this one: most of what higher education (keep in mind, it's a business, trying to make a profit) promises can be learned at your local library.
the_3_toed_sloth
Massive member
dorian gray said:
Thats the thing though; if you take uni at all seriously, you will learn far more far quicker through uni than you would on your own. Lecturers are actually incredibly knowledgable, and direct you towards what is important to a subject, leaving you to fill in the blanks with extra reading. And they actually push you! It does cost far too much, ill agree with that in a heartbeat, but you do actually pay for a reason.
Ironically, it can be of most benefit to someone like Trey, someone who doesn't seem to like hard work done a certain way. And someone who doesn't like to accept the wisdom of others. Im not saying you should always do this, but it IS a good thing to know how to do.
Oh, and nice Immortal ps once again.
cthulufhtagn
Went Out for Smokes 13 Years Ago
dorian gray
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i completely agree with you. lectures are almost indispensible as a learning tool. however, i remember many a lecture where i felt like screaming, "*you* need to take this fucking class!". also, alot of profs are required to research and publish. those works one can get at the school library for free. haha! in a cost-benefit analysis, getting your education at the library for free and maybe missing a few points versus racking up 50 grand in loans at 5% interest over 30 years so you can maybe get *all* the info, the former always wins. and like i said, almost everything is OTJ. the sad truth is that you are paying for a diploma - a sign to potential employers that you can hack it.the_3_toed_sloth said:
haha you're right and the more i read your comments, the more i want to not go back this upcoming fall, after the summer. i registered for classes, that..aren't even leading anywhere, they just sounded "interesting." i'm thinking i should just stop..hmm i dunno, it's a tough decision, cause i'd be working at my job for $9 an hr, and i dunno where the fuck i'd go from there..what kind of better paying job, and better yet career i could get into, that i'd like.
dorian gray
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^ack! i didnt mean to lead anyone astray. unfortunately our society has reached a point where you must go to college if you want to live comfortably. so, stay in school. i was merely commenting that college is a fucking waste of money when you get down to brass tacks. the "education" can be had for free by going to your local library or ordering used physics books from amazon.com or whatever. you get the idea. for technical jobs, you would get just the basics at college. the rest would be OTJ. thats just the way it is. *however*, that diploma is necessary to get your foot in the door. the economy is competitive. sure, joe average could *probably* do job x but wouldnt the employer rather hire joe college who he *knows* can do the job?
if i did it over again, i would go to the cheapest college i could find. i wasnt one of those rich kids whose parents pay for them to drink and fuck. nothing i have to say applies to those guys. i couldnt care less about them. they were and always will be in a socio-economic strata that i will never understand.
like i told you before, you need to take a year off. then go back. get your degree in a tech field, math, chemistry, engineering. whatever. youll be better off. no offense to any liberal arts majors, but the economy is going nowhere near those fields. you wanna high-paying job? double major in physics and diplomacy. i guarantee youll retire by age 40.
if i did it over again, i would go to the cheapest college i could find. i wasnt one of those rich kids whose parents pay for them to drink and fuck. nothing i have to say applies to those guys. i couldnt care less about them. they were and always will be in a socio-economic strata that i will never understand.
like i told you before, you need to take a year off. then go back. get your degree in a tech field, math, chemistry, engineering. whatever. youll be better off. no offense to any liberal arts majors, but the economy is going nowhere near those fields. you wanna high-paying job? double major in physics and diplomacy. i guarantee youll retire by age 40.
dorian gray said:
yeah, after i knew i didn't want to continue with math, i was considering physics. it is actually really interesting, and it's all around us. it explains nearly everything, and i can see an incredible amount of jobs steming from it, sure.
how do you think a year off would benefit me though?..i don't see anything happening in that time that would help dude..thoughts?
dorian gray
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that doesnt exist, my friend. the economy evolves to provide goods and services, not to make us happy. the idea is to find a job you can *tolerate* - one that doesnt make you want to kill yourself while, at the same time, provides you with the lifestyle you seek. towards each end of the spectrum, one or the other will yield more and more (obviously. picture a bell cuve). making shitloads of money might mean you become a hitman. while being very happy might mean you work at WAWA for 9 an hour. it all depends on what *you* want. just remember there was a time when one didnt have that option.<crimson> said:
i want to be happy, is all. that is it. and of course, make enough money to live comfortably. i'm not one of those ridiculous greedy asshole business men who live to see the benjamins in their wallet. i just want to have a little extra cash to do some things, rather than have every penny go to bills, etc..
dorian gray
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youre smart. if you think you can make it through a BS in physics, by all means, go for it. talk to profs though. make sure you can get a job with just a BS. many position require advanced degrees. however, those are actual physics jobs. a degree in physics can probably get you in any door though, based purely on your ability to succeed in a physics program....also, check out those career books at the local Borders. the top jobs are *always* things like physicist, chemist, etc, but they are extremely competitive.<crimson> said:
as for the year, you *shouldnt* be seeing anything happening. just keep working and doing your thing. read lots of books. ask lots of older people lots of questions. something will come to you.
dorian gray
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i dig. you should figure out a dollar amount for how much you would need. that would help you. youll be amazed at how much shit costs though. inflation is going up too. transportation costs are skyrocketing. opeth are putting out a new album this year though.<crimson> said:
dorian gray said:
well i'm definetly not going to grad school, fuck that.
what kind of books? haha..you mean like educational books, that would aid in my decision, or you mean just like books in general, fiction, etc?
dorian gray
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everything. not too much on the education stuff though. they start going in circles. just read some quality stuff. no fucking daniele steele. i know you like that kinda thing. it's gotta stop.<crimson> said:what kind of books? haha..you mean like educational books, that would aid in my decision, or you mean just like books in general, fiction, etc?
dorian gray
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^haha! i think she writes real bad romance-myteries or something. speaking of sleep.....im out.
the_3_toed_sloth
Massive member
dorian gray said:
Well im aiming to get into diplomacy (though in NZ we pay shit all to our diplomats), but dont let dorian trick you into thinking its easy. In fact, dont let dorian trick you into doing it at all. There's not many jobs as it is, and they're mine, MINE!
ps. Do you guys have entire degrees for 'diplomacy'? Over here it is just a post-graduate thing, something you get accepted into through doing other degrees
Botfly
"I Am"
You know, if you want, it's not very hard to make ALOT of money on the side. If you get into government auctions for something like real estate, you can be set for life. I've got a 17 year-old buddy who's already making an average $10,000 a month, and in a few years will be a millionaire. If you need a Real Estate lisence, it's nothing 2 years of junior or community college can't take care. It's what I plan on doing part time so I can have more free-time for music or general laziness.
I also have a friend that works as a locksmith. The guy makes over $100,000 a year just for poking at some keyholes for 20 minutes a day in all (excluding driving maybe an hour or 2 to get there).
I also have a friend that works as a locksmith. The guy makes over $100,000 a year just for poking at some keyholes for 20 minutes a day in all (excluding driving maybe an hour or 2 to get there).
