The Segway.

Anyways, what that article seemed to say (though in much more moderate language) is, if you were dumb in high school don't bother with college, you aren't going to get smarter.

Sadly people with bachelor degree's have made 23% more than people 25 years ago (with inflation). People with only a high school degree made 2% less. So consider that when deciding if you should go to college or not.

Worth the attempt in my opinion. Needn't go to an expensive school even. A technical college will be just as good as long as you put in the effort.

where does the 21% loss go? people with professional degrees? If that stat includes inflation, the overall change should be 0%

I think college, be it a 2 year or 4 year program is about more than the degree and how much you get paid afterwards. Sure.. everyone says "you're here to learn" but I also think it's largely about the experience.

A lot of jobs you'll see advertise will also mention that the job requires skill sets that it takes to get a college degree. Meaning the fact you put in the effort to go to college shows you have the skills necessary, it's not always about the degree but showing that you worked towards something.

im 6 + into a 4 year degree and have to basically start over with a new course catalog i found out today. thank goodness my university is only 3k per

Interesting read. Speaking from experience I can say that higher education is over-rated. I went in the Navy 5 months after High School, got some great training in work related things as well as life lessons. Went to College for a couple of weeks and decided 'Pfft'!!!

Life experience is greater than any classroom schooling in the real world. As a hiring manager I will take a high school educated person thats done the job for 2 years over someone that has never done it but has a 'degree'.

Even in the Military this holds true. On the battlefront, you may have a Lt. fresh from the Academy that knows things "by the book" - well, guess what... the "book" doesn't hold water in cases like these.

My advice to all young men and women is decide what you want to do for the next 40-45 years and get in as soon as you can for the experience.

Traditional schooling is not what it should be. You can't learn how to make split second decisions, or how to react to something "not in the book" unless you have "seasoning"

Quit school - Get a job!

Not everyone needs to or should get a college degree. However, most probably should. It takes a very motivated and intellegent person with excellent networking skills to make it in this world without one.

You can put a price tag on college, but the journey towards your degree is what makes it priceless. I always say that my college learning experience was only 50% about the classroom, professors, assignments, projects, tests, etc. The other 50% was about the people I met, the discussions we had, the activities we participated in, and beliefs and opinions I developed as an independent thinker.

I would recommend some sort of degree for most people - whether it's an associates, a bachelors, or a technical degree. But you have to go about it intelligently. Some things I've learned from myself and friends along the way:
- Pick a school and stick with it. Classes/Credits rarely transfer in the way you think they should. You will end up spending more money and more time if you risk transferring.
- Do an internship. At all costs - this is the most important thing you can do during your college career. This is what puts your classroom hours and life experiences into practice. You can have a 4.0 gpa that will get you an interview, but the Internship will get you the job.
- Don't go in debt. Yup, I have some and Phil has some. Most people will pick up a little debt along the way - but don't go to some outrageously expensive school and get into ridiculous debt for the sake of having a degree. You can get just as far in life with a low cost, public school education as you can with a higher cost, private education.

My brother has an engineering degree from berkeley and now works as a traffic engineer. He says he uses nothing he learned in school. However, you cant do his job without a degree.

lots of my professors have told me it doesn't matter at all what you learn in college. It's what you can put on your resume. i.e., your degree and extra curricular stuff like internships.

plus, dont expect that you can jump right out of college into a job in your hometown making the big bucks. Sometimes it happens, more often it doesnt. Around here (since it's a college town) a college graduate with a bachelors in computer science looking for a job can expect to make $8-9 an hour part time. There are around 200-300 graduates each year that want to stay local, and maybe 150 jobs in total. In fact, most computer employers around here dont look for degrees, they look for experience and certifications. That's why i always said i was in a dead end town... there are just way more graduates each semester here than jobs, and the people that stay around (like my best friend Adam who has his MBA) end up working for a place that doesnt require a degree, doesnt use the degree, and doesnt really make all that much.

ps, i blame warcraft.