Is a College Degree Really Worth it?

[Moranis]

All Universities are the same.  They are designed to make money and be profitable.  Just like the rest of the world. 

Hahaha what?  The vast majority of universities are non-profits.  Here's Wiki's list of for profit universities and colleges:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_for-profit_universities_and_colleges

Not a lot of big name schools on there; a lot of vocational/specialized schools and fly-by-night online operations, though.

"Non-profit" doesn't mean they aren't trying to make money - it just means that they need to spend all the money they get on fancy new buildings and administration salaries.  Same basic racket as the NCAA; for all intents and purposes you're earnings millions and millions of dollars, but as long as you manage to spend it you get to keep your "tax-exempt" status.

Using that definition, what organization (that takes in $ from any source) wouldn't be considered "for-profit"?  Watering a term down to the point that it could apply to almost anything may help support some rhetorical point, but it doesn't really accomplish anything but stripping all meaning from the term.

Universities aren't charities and they aren't in the business of losing money.  They just raise tuition prices to cover their costs and in years where they have extra money they spend it.  The goal of a university is in fact to make as much money as possible and the way to best do that is to get the best students.  You see those are the people that will make the most money and give it back to you, will have the best jobs and push other "best" students to your school, etc.  With more money you hire better faculty, have better facilities and perks, etc. all of which is designed to get the best students and more of them. 

Universities are about making money just like every other business out there.  They just don't have share holders to keep the money they make and are required to spend it.

No, it flatly is not.  If you have any links to non-profit university charters or mission statements saying so I'm all ears, but I have worked in universities and colleges my entire career and not once have I heard anyone at any level state or imply such a thing in any capacity. 

Funding is treated as an essential means to the university's goals, and there are a lot of mixed feelings about the implications of that, but money for money's sake is never the goal itself.   As expensive as higher education has become, most institutions could absolutely still make more money or more "profit" if that was their only priority.  I don't know if you're projecting your own value system or just making a cynical reading of their motivations, but what you're saying is not a sentiment shared by the vast majority of people who run and work in these institutions.

Context my man, context.  You have to read the whole post, not just pull out one sentence. 

[JBcat]

I'll try be quick with opinion.

It's hard for many people to decide what they want to do at ages between 18 through 22 especially without any working experience.  I wish more schools have co op programs like Northeastern as i helped several of them when they did their co-op at the company I work for.  It gets you a little taste of what it's like out there.

Anyway I'll say if you are a little unsure of your direction continue on getting that degree.  It shows that you are capable of learning.  One of the hardest things to get your career going is getting your foot in the door in a company.  Use all resources family, friends, friends of friends to help make that happen.  Once you get your foot in your door don't get complacent and explore.

Yes if you have a certain technical background with a clear direction it can help, but don't just follow what you think will make you the most money as you could wind up miserable. Follow your desires along the way, and more likely you'll make enough.   Hell my sister with a communications degree started off her career more successful than my brother in law with an engineer degree before she became a stay at home mom of 3. 

It's been a long time now since I've been out of college, and many of my friends are very successful in areas they didn't concentrate on at a young age.  So don't be afraid to change gears.

[jpotter33]

First: GOOD ON YOU for thinking about WHY you are going to college. Answer: to get a J-O-B. Communications will not get you a job. Communications might just as well be a degree in drinking beer, studying abroad, and trying to date girls who will like you better when you're 30 anyway.

I absolutely think you should switch majors to something requiring an understanding of math. Accounting/IT, etc. The reason those jobs pay more is because majoring in communications is not that difficult. Those fields require some level of technical expertise. You will struggle to find employment (probably, ITE) with a communications major.

Most of my technical friends came out of school making $70s/$80s, while the liberal artists make doodly squat, and their careers never recover.

That said, dropping out to work as an assistant manager at a retail establishment is a bad idea for the same reason. Lots of people can do that job. You want to make money? Do a job that one cannot do without some level of higher ed.

In short: change majors. Do extra time if you must.

List of unprofitable/financially foolish majors:

1. communications
2. history
3. English
4. political science
5. sociology
6. unless you want to be in the mental health field: psychology
7. visual art
8. music/music performance (including especially any kind of singing)
9. journalism
10. dance (of any kind - even knowing a lot about dance)

You forgot one: philosophy. I literally - not figuratively, LITERALLY - had hundreds of people tell me that I was wasting my life studying philosophy during my undergraduate career, and it only got worse when I got my Masters in philosophy, too. It got so bad that I ultimately turned down the philosophy PhD program at Marquette to join a PhD program in health care ethics at Duquesne. It's definitely not a useless major, and studies actually suggest that philosophy majors are the most ready students coming into graduate schools due to high analytical skills and a superb writing ability. However, a BA in Philosophy is pretty much useless by itself. Hell, I was teaching college courses though a teaching assistantship last year, but as soon as I got my Masters and graduated from the school, I couldn't find a job outside of fast-food and mowing lawns. I ended up mowing lawns during last summer to support myself before starting the PhD program. 

[TheTruthFot18]

Reading this thread has really made me realize how "lucky" I am to be able to attend college (in Europe) without having to pay a penny (besides my books which cost me around 400 dollars per semester).
Personally I think it's ridiculous that they make you guys pay around 30.000 dollars for attending college..

No one goes to school for free unless its a scholarship. While i'm not against it, your taxes cover that. We have more disposable income than Europeans so we can choose to go to school or not.

Also, American universities are held in a much higher regard than almost any other country. Considering we have such a small % of the world population, out schools dominate almost every category for world rankings. See below:

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2014-15/subject-ranking/subject/physical-sciences

If schools in Europe are so great why are so many Europeans on American campuses paying dollars to attend? 

[TheTruthFot18]

Reading this thread has really made me realize how "lucky" I am to be able to attend college (in Europe) without having to pay a penny (besides my books which cost me around 400 dollars per semester).
Personally I think it's ridiculous that they make you guys pay around 30.000 dollars for attending college..

I think you misspelled "please help me i am trapped in a socialist nightmare".

hahaha TP. Thanks for the laugh (out loud) 

[KungPoweChicken]

I'll weigh in on this because I was in a similar situation what feels like not so long ago. The difference is I studied social science. But, honestly, what's the difference? Once I graduated, I couldn't find a job that I liked or a job that paid me diddly squat.

I started at a community college and then transferred. So, granted, I probably did not accrue anywhere near the amount of debt that you did. But I was still unsatisfied and felt like my college education was a sham. It did not prepare me to live a life beyond school. Maybe that was my own fault, but I had to deal with it.

At the time when I was in my early 20s, I was consumed with that whole "expand your knowledge" and "don't worry about your career" and all that super liberal stuff. It seemed far away anyway.

Fast forward to that job I was working at after graduation. I think it paid $10.50. I worked there for a year and a half. Here I was, working along side ex-cons, high school grads, and I had a near 4.0 in college undergrad. Yet we all pretty much had the same skills.

I realized I had to train for a career that "not everyone could do." So I thought long and hard about that while I slaved away at this job I hated. I wanted to like my new career and I wanted it to pay me $100,000 starting salary.

There weren't many options available that could do that. Time was an issue as well. I wasn't looking to go back to school for any more than three years. Anyway, I found exactly what I wanted, and that's where I am now. But I couldn't have gotten to where I am now without those years of struggle as the impetus.

Figure out what you want first. It took me a while, but I found out I wanted a respectable career and money. I wouldn't waste your time in communications if you want similar things.