I don't know how much clearer I can make it. (or if you prefer paperback, here)
But then again, reality doesn't matter. It's what you want to do and what your heart tells you and that's all that matters. I'm sure majoring in communications will land you a job somewhere.
If you want to see denial (or just an outright lack of spine on the part of people telling Courtney the reason she doesn't have a job is because she majored in a worthless subject) just read the comments here. It's amazing and appalling the sheer ignorance these people display.
13 comments:
I agree. I noticed that through the entire article, the subject of her degree was only mentioned once, buried in the middle of the article.
I would point out that she probably IS seeing a $300 a month or better premium on her salary just by virtue of the post-secondary degree.
In the end, what it comes down to is that you rarely see the guys getting degrees in "in-demand" fields complaining about tuition increases or student debt - in 90% of cases, it's the liberal arts students who know that they won't see the ROI that many others will.
I was disappointed that under "options" they didn't include marry a rich guy who CAN pay it off. Then I saw her pic again... connected it to the woman's studies... and realized a man is not in her future. What I'm unclear about is if that is her choice or the choice of all men.
But good for her for seeking a degree in Chemistry from SF City college. That degree from a community college will pay off much better than her original from a high falutin university.
OK, seriously, WTF...Over?
"Beyond my education itself, I learned how to survive in New York City. To describe my degree as “women’s studies and religious studies” doesn’t really do it justice. I’m an alumna of the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. I created my own interdisciplinary program in collaboration with an adviser. It involved courses from a variety of departments, including religious studies, gender studies, sociology, psychology plus several interdisciplinary and writing seminars. I had to defend my concentration in front of a panel of professors before graduating."
Let me see if I have this correct.
She is responding to comments that her degree is somehow not, uhhh.... real, I guess, by stating that she made it up herself. This is somehow logical? Seriously?
Oh, and she learned how to live in NY City. Oh, OK, that's worth $100K, easy. Sure, you bet.
Then she tosses more fuel on the fire with:
"My program was by no means a vocational education, but it was academically rigorous and helped prepare me for innumerable future careers" OK, so why are you not working in one of those innumerable careers. Or, is photographer's assistant one of them? How about waitstaff? Cashier? Doorstop?
If this is the quality of the logical thought, and debate skills taught in the liberal arts programs in the US, it is no wonder that the average US adult is an idiot.
She could have learned to live in NYC by watching Midnight Cowboy.
Reading that she was in a rigorous interdisciplinary program of study while admitting deliberate ignorance of how it was financed is ... stupefying.
Well, $100,000 of debt can be $100,000 of education over a lifetime. Let's not take that from her, not a dollar of it.
after skimming the Wiki article on "women's studies", I still have no idea what specific kind of job she hoped to find with such a degree. Nevertheless- I found the Wiki criticism section pretty much on target.
You know there used to be "liberal arts" programs where you studied, rhetoric, debate, history (which is would include necessarily, "economics" if you were paying attention , "look what happened when they debased their currency" ), greek, latin, french, MATH (not advanced just calculus and what not) , music, art, and so forth.
And you did indeed emerge a well rounded, knowledgeable, civilized person.
I had have a lot less quarrel with liberals arts degrees if they still did that.
What I see though is the majority graduating in narrow ( pointless) fields of study, who thereafter seem to not have books or art in the house, and whose debate and analysis skills are hopeless.
I'm hoping she poses for a magazine.
I can't think of a better use for a "Womyn's studies" major.
I've said it before half a dozen times.
It needs to start with making sure elementary and high schools do their job correctly.
1) We need to institute a primary certificate -- i.e. "elementary school diploma". This is not to create an inflated sense of importance for finishing elementary school, but to create a clean separation between two stages of education that need to be further distinguished from one another. The primary certificate should be a guarantee that the student has learned the three R's, and should become an admission requirement for high school.
2) We grant a lot of rights to people at age 18, and that's about when someone is expected to graduate high school as well. It should be an obvious logical step from there that maybe high school should revolve around producing capable adults. People we can trust to vote and raise kids.
3) Once we are at a point when high school graduates are adults again, it will be possible to remake the university into something that is more accountable to those who finance it.
'As far as why I let the debt amass as I did: Frankly, I was uninformed. For this, I blame myself and my family for not looking beyond the school for information, and I blame the school for not offering clearer information about the differences in lending sources.'
In particular: '...I blame myself and my family...'
Sickening. Get a spine and accept responsibility for decisions you made as an adult.
Captain,
My son graduates this year (probably summa cum laude - he has a 9.5 CGPA) with two university degrees: one in Mechanical Engineering [B. A.Sc. (Mech. Eng.)]and the other in Computer Science [B. Sc.(Comp. Tech.)
He took these degrees over five years in a Co-op program. His liberal arts majors friends could not understand that most semesters he had courses and labs that consumed about 35 hours per week, plus assignments and projects, and therefore, he had no time for joining their student protests over tuition hikes or some other fashionable cause de jure, or for the endless liberal "coffee house debate" crowd. He paid his own way throughout, with his academic scholarships (which he worked like a dog to maintain) and through his own earnings in his co-op placements. He has been offered a job by every placement employer he has had.
He will graduate from university at age 22, with two hard science degrees, no debt, about $15,000 in the bank, and three job offers.
To the liberal art majors out there: "compare and contrast with Courtney Munna"
Anon,
Shoot me an e-mail at CAPTcapitalism@yahoo.com. I wish to give your kid something. One hell of an accomplishment.
Cpt.
Courtney Munna is someone see and say, "that is who I strive not to be."
I believe that people should follow their passion, but only if they are smart about it. If your passion is Women's Studies, go ahead and study it, but do it knowing that it doesn't guarantee your financial security, and don't whine about it.
I personally love bodybuilding more than anything on the planet. Did that make me pursue a "career" in bodybuilding? No.
I was blessed at a young age with parents that were intelligent enough to teach me about finances and time-value of money.
Thus, I took AP classes, got my undergraduate in accounting from a state college when I was 20, got my masters when I was 21, and had multiple job offers when I graduated, of which, I ended up at a "big 4" accounting firm.
Is accounting my heart's desire? Of course not. Anyone who loves accounting is crazy, in my opinion. However, my background helped me make the money I needed to pursue the things I do love in life, and not whine like a little bitch.
I wish people would research their job opportunities they might have before they choose a major. It rarely happens and it is a shame!
Post a Comment