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0 sats \ 18 replies \ @Undisciplined 2 Sep \ on: Is college (university) still worth it in the era of AI? AskSN
College, at least in America, hasn’t been worth it for most students for a long time. Hence declining enrollments.
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When I worked in education my boss used to rant about how the system in California was designed many years ago. It kinda made sense.
- UC system was for the intellectual class - IE, not practical.
- California State System - More practical / Career oriented
- Community college - skilled trades and things like that. More for the masses.
What do we have now? The UC and CS Uoverlap a lot more and most kids really wanna get into a UC over a CS. The UC and CSU are more alike than different. Community colleges are all about funneling kids into the two systems.
She really hated how it morphed over time. She hated how every kid is pushed into the system and discouraged from skilled trades. Over the past 20 years I think skilled trades have made a comeback to some extent but its not nearly enough. Its gonna take a cultural shift before it gets aligned.
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How are you thinking about talking to your children about college/university?
(Understanding it may still be a ways off)
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My philosophy is that early age education (formal ed. in school setting or/and at home) trumps university education. By far. This is why I send my little one to a Montessori school. It's not cheap, but it's definitely worth it, in my opinion.
I'd rather spend $$$ on a Montessori school than take a loan for a university degree, especially in this AI era. Very bad deal, imo.
He's convinced he'll become a professional football player at 16, and therefore won't need to go to university anyway, which he thinks it's a waste of time anyway (I think he's picked that up from reading the Tuttle twins books 😅)...
But tbh, when the time comes, we'll evaluate the options and decide
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big fan of the Tuttle twins also lol
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I think it's still worth it, but only for certain majors. And you can't just go to college with a passive attitude and expect the degree alone to open doors for you. It's better to think of college as being part of a startup incubator... you're immersing yourself in an environment of people with bright ideas and a desire to execute... but you still have to put in the work and be proactive about yourself.
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I should have put “worth it” in quotes because I was only talking about financial returns. There are lots of non monetary returns to college.
Also, to your point, there’s potential for gains but students have to take it upon themselves to realize those.
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the network effect is real, i suppose. a girl i knew who graduated Stanford was getting constant offers to join this or that start-up being set up by her friends, and was able to network at embassy parties and things.
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Whenever I heard people complain about college I always just want to ask: how did you spend your time in college, and what courses did you take, and how did you decide on those courses, and what extracurricular activities did you involve yourself in?
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This is a great point. I spent almost all my time reading and writing. I took English courses, deciding on them in a fairly naive way (I want to be a writer, therefore I will be an English major), and my extracurriculars were mostly centered around writing...and I do feel like I could have made much better use of my college years.
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So you didn't feel like it was a good use of time? Were you able to translate your college experience into your goals with regard to writing?
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No. I would have been far better off trying to build a company or working construction for a few years. The reading and writing could have been done while doing those things, and they have the advantage of not feeling like artificial life.
On the other hand, I met my wife in college. And that has certainly been a major benefit to my life.
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This will never happen, but college departments of fields that don't have as much immediate market demand should communicate more clearly to their students how they should view their education. I think learning to read and write, both creatively and technically, is a very worthwhile endeavor, but students need to be told realistically that those skills alone are unlikely to translate into stable jobs, and they should be taught how to pursue writing ( or any other artistic endeavor) alongside other work. Not sure if that's done enough, and these fields have every incentive not to be realistic with their students about job prospects.
If my daughter wants to go to college, we’ll certainly help her do so.
Before we get to that point, I’m going to try to make her more aware of her options than I was.
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Here's some options you may not have considered:
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No doubt that’s true.
I think you’re on the right track with teaching your kids how to monetize their skills.
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