tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post2736974881167728260..comments2024-03-25T15:17:04.488-07:00Comments on Captain Capitalism: The "Real" Freshman OrientationCaptain Capitalismhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05620212946121617985noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-10453689738664081742015-03-12T09:22:53.968-07:002015-03-12T09:22:53.968-07:00@Evyl Robot Michael
It really is that bad. My ki...@Evyl Robot Michael <br /><br />It really is that bad. My kind of friend (a CPA) said she once had to host a lunch & learn to new CPA's on MS Excel.<br /><br />I mean, really. Excel. The point and click replacement for real data analysis. <br /><br />I majored in Mathematical Sciences (concentrated in financial mathematics, that was a sweet concentration to have in 2008 as the market crashed), and Excel usage was smashed into my brain in college because I went to an actually decent business college that featured professors who had actually worked.<br /><br />So it begs the question, what the hell are these finance/accounting majors actually learning in college, if they can't utilize a tool used by accounts payable clerks? Even a few marketing/business development coworkers I've had were able to learn enough Python to ask questions about certain chunks of code. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-83627241140241389332013-09-27T20:01:12.275-07:002013-09-27T20:01:12.275-07:00One bit of insight on major selection - look what ...One bit of insight on major selection - look what fields are being sought for patent attorneys. That's where the action is now, and likely will be for at least a few years.<br /><br />Right now, a patent attorney with a PhD in electrical engineering or computer science can write their own ticket.ruralcounselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09193188081686431709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-45727980591858394102013-09-27T17:59:32.114-07:002013-09-27T17:59:32.114-07:00I'm printing this and filing it away in the &q...I'm printing this and filing it away in the "if, 18 yrs from now, my son decides he wants to go to college, this is info he needs" file.<br /><br />yes, long name. You get the point. This is excellent stuff, Cap. Some of your finest writing.<br /><br />Tertiary! That's bonus vocabulary there.Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02887726976835609577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-50687037675155306662013-09-27T12:49:20.445-07:002013-09-27T12:49:20.445-07:00the education bubble is so overblown at this point...the education bubble is so overblown at this point that I would not in good conscience recommend anyone start into a five or six year program, as any degree they earn will likely be worthless by the time they graduate. In a previous entry, you cited CPA requirements creeping from taking a test to an actual four-year program, and correctly labeled it as utter BS. Jennifer didn't have quite enough work experience when they changed the requirement, unfortunately. Now, she tells me stories of telling CPAs at work how to do accounting 101 stuff, because their eduction was no more than tuition collection.Evyl Robot Michaelhttp://evylrobot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-3607793409671883722013-09-27T12:38:57.359-07:002013-09-27T12:38:57.359-07:00Blackwing1,
That is the most sound advice and com...Blackwing1,<br /><br />That is the most sound advice and comment on this thread. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-85184074266858999492013-09-27T12:35:33.040-07:002013-09-27T12:35:33.040-07:00"with silly things like the laws of physics (..."with silly things like the laws of physics ("Who wrote these laws? We can have them repealed", an actual quote from a Obama-era govt. lawyer)"<br /><br />As a matter of fact. YES WE CAN repeal them. If you hire me, I know how to effectively rewrite them.<br /><br />If those laws of physics are in the way of your big government empire expansion and you want to do something about it, I am the one to call.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-70518423261646833292013-09-27T12:29:07.813-07:002013-09-27T12:29:07.813-07:00@Iceman,
"Next to all of this, it needs to p...@Iceman,<br /><br />"Next to all of this, it needs to pointed out that a like for mathematics and physics is actively shamed by the female sex. "<br /><br />I thought that colleges were places to study for a career, not a place to find dates.<br /><br />Otherwise, why don't they move the math class to the nearest bar.<br /><br />Instead of a college campus it could be a college brewry.<br /><br />Aaron Clarey said that the number 1 cause of poverty is children. Staying away from women helps a lot in not having children.<br /><br />Staying away from women, studying math and getting a high paying career is a good way to become wealthy.<br /><br />There was the DINKS. Dual Income No Kids.<br /><br />Well, lets see the SINCkS, Single Income No Chicks and No Kids.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-23741002055991101772013-09-27T12:23:57.103-07:002013-09-27T12:23:57.103-07:00I only need to borrow another $100,000 to finish m...I only need to borrow another $100,000 to finish my master's in Social Work, so I can get a government job. After ten years, the balance of my student loan debt will be forgiven (Obama promises, cross his heart!), and in 25 years I'll be retiring on a government pension. What could possibly go wrong?Davenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-70979715284400968832013-09-27T12:07:51.848-07:002013-09-27T12:07:51.848-07:00Captain Clarey,
By advising students to major int...Captain Clarey,<br /><br />By advising students to major into STEM subjets, you are falling into the same trap as those who are advising the young to go into college in the first place.<br /><br />For example:<br /><br />If everybody has an electrical engineering degree, what do you think will happen to the value of those with such a degree ? It will go down and will no longer be helpful for the job hunt.<br /><br />In the meantime, there will be a shortage of electricians.<br /><br />The whole "college as a way to prosperity" gimmick is a pyramidal scheme following the same curve as the solvency of social security. Look it up you will be shocked at the similarities.<br /><br />There is one thing about economics that even you cannot understand because after all economics are a soft science more akin to humanities than true physics and engineering. Just because math is involved doesn't turn this hocus pocus into real stuff.<br /><br />Math is also involved in advanced astrology readings and it still doesn't make it into a hard science.<br /><br />Economcis are NOT deterministic. Your constant attack against the liberals, the left and the government as the sole supervillain in the room, while fully deserved by them, distracts you and the rest of us from the built-in contradictions, paradoxes and non-computations of economics itself.<br /><br />Majoring in STEM will only work as long as those who major in them are scarce. It cannot be a sound advice for long term and besides there are already plenty of STEM graduates and experienced workers who are turned down by companies because they either outsource this mind work or hire H1B workers.<br /><br />If you are going to bake a cake then following a procedural, metrologic and deterministic step-by-step approach works.<br /><br />But if you are going to cook a peaceful and prosperous society then there is no such thing as a recipe.<br /><br />You are being a con man even conning your own self whenever you peddle to that if only we follow your economic procedure then everything will be fine for everybody.<br /><br />There is no such thing. There is vast amounts of irrationality and unpredictability in economics and there is nothing that can be done about it. If we all major in STEM it will change nothing about it.<br /><br />Those who copy the success of others get poor results. There is only one Elvis Presley and all the immitators fall short.<br /><br />Same thing for the management of an economy. There is no 100% logic because it is not mechanistic and is highly dependent on emotions, looks, demand and irrational factors.<br /><br />I have given up trying to understand and I decide to just fool around.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-27650693440038477182013-09-27T11:19:49.764-07:002013-09-27T11:19:49.764-07:00If you are going to college and are not majoring i...If you are going to college and are not majoring in a traditional (not dumbed down) version of engineering you are wasting your time. Completely. mina smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12771791855450303425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-32489362356930352472013-09-27T08:22:56.084-07:002013-09-27T08:22:56.084-07:00At my engineering school, freshman orientation con...At my engineering school, freshman orientation consisted of the president of the school telling us, that 3/4ers of us were going to be dissapointed (addmission required being in the top quarter of one's HS class, which was no longer possible for everyone to maintain), but if we stuck with it, we'd become engineers and make the future. He also offered some encouragement and advice like more ceos have engineering degrees than any other broad catagory and to take some time to get to know the other students rather than studying alone all the time.blutonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-66222477058485856802013-09-27T06:40:08.057-07:002013-09-27T06:40:08.057-07:00Also, if you happen to have the opportunity an edu...Also, if you happen to have the opportunity an education (especially at an Ivy League school), don't waste it like this: http://jezebel.com/ivy-league-students-apply-liberal-arts-training-to-bein-1404017509Anthonynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-8346621949178315782013-09-27T05:59:57.244-07:002013-09-27T05:59:57.244-07:00da man is a genius!da man is a genius!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-1759632578777726272013-09-27T05:20:13.628-07:002013-09-27T05:20:13.628-07:00Cap'n:
I'm afraid I'll have to disagr...Cap'n:<br /><br />I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you on the value of a degree even in the sciences. You said:<br /><br />"If you are going to drop $80,000 on a degree, you need to major in something that is going to pay off. These degrees are largely found in the “STEM” fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)."<br /><br />I've been working as a design engineer for around 30 years, first for a small (family-owned) company, and for the last 20-some at a large mega-corp. When young folks ask me if I can recommend getting a degree in engineering today, my answer is an unqualified "NO!!". Why?<br /><br />Major companies are every-increasingly outsourcing their engineering staffs. Design engineering (and to an even worse extent, design drafting on CAD systems) is seen by management as "overhead" rather than a long-term investment. Why bother having a bunch of cranky, nay-saying engineers bothering you with silly things like the laws of physics ("Who wrote these laws? We can have them repealed", an actual quote from a Obama-era govt. lawyer) when you can hire a bunch of "engineers" from India and have them do the work at a quarter the labor cost? Same thing with design drafting; heck, you don't actually have to be HERE to punch the keys on the keyboard.<br /><br />We'll neglect the fact that the QUALITY of the work might suffer; heck, warranty costs come out of someone else's budget.<br /><br />My recommendation to anyone with technical talents or math skills is to find a profession that requires ACTUAL, PHYSICAL presence. Take a two-year course at a technical college and learn HVAC repair. After a short time as an employee, you can open your own company, and fix people's furnaces and A/C. Learn small engine repair...in the coming economy, knowing how to FIX things is going to be more important, since people will not be buying new stuff, but will be forced to "...use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without".<br /><br />Network administrator? Forget it, easily outsourced. Computer HARDWARE installer? Sure, because some $5/hour guy in India can't physically replace a blade on a server.<br /><br />Any job that requires a physical presence rather than a virtual one is going to be much more valuable in the coming collapse. Ignore the bullshit, avoid college entirely, and go actually LEARN things.Blackwing1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-59644404805492671132013-09-27T05:19:31.329-07:002013-09-27T05:19:31.329-07:00Er....ahem....
Captain, I wonder if our erstwhile...Er....ahem....<br /><br />Captain, I wonder if our erstwhile friends at the Glob and Snail aren't having problems with their idiot journalists plagiarizing bloggers again...<br /><br />http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/new-graduates-have-skills-not-fields/article14558219/Glen Filthiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256741311142364722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-6412786434436125802013-09-27T04:21:50.972-07:002013-09-27T04:21:50.972-07:00As a side note, IF you really are a great artist w...As a side note, IF you really are a great artist what the hell are you doing wasting time being taught about art by a failed artist?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-43852880422857466452013-09-27T02:15:05.010-07:002013-09-27T02:15:05.010-07:00I agree that STEM is probably the best choice, jus...I agree that STEM is probably the best choice, just because it's STEM, but understand this: there is a massive and growing glut of STEM graduates also. These days, there are many, many, physicists, mathematicians, engineers, and chemists who have trouble getting hired. There is no shortage of STEM graduates. That's a big lie on part of the establishment. <br /><br />Any native STEM graduate is going to have to compete with entire H1B armies. Armies that get larger with each passing year. Well, good luck with that. The entrepreneurial route is probably the only sane option that remains. <br /><br />Indeed, it's like choosing a minefield to walk through with the least amount of mines in it.<br /><br />Next to all of this, it needs to pointed out that a like for mathematics and physics is actively shamed by the female sex. You like quantum mechanics? Nerd! You think reading about Gauss, Einstein, and the like, is more interesting than watching Miley Cyrus? Boring loser! <br /><br />It really doesn't help. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Icemannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8358039.post-90715784950987389392013-09-26T21:14:41.405-07:002013-09-26T21:14:41.405-07:00Word of advice, especially to returning students b...Word of advice, especially to returning students but it could also apply to first time students. I'm a returning student myself, so I know what I'm talking about.<br /><br />If you're going to a 4 year university for something worthwhile, you'll inevitably be doing math. Typically, you'll have some placement tests. For this, I have several bits of advice.<br /><br />If you're rusty on your math skills, Don't take the placement tests right away. Find the class you would realistically test into. Then, ask if you can audit the class (you can typically audit classes without prerequisites for free). Get the syllabus (and make sure it's the right level for you), and drop the class. You could still go to tutoring sessions and use self study. Also, if you can drop a class without notifying the instructor, you may be able to sit in on it without them noticing. The reason that dropping it is important is that you may not be able to take the placement tests if you've completed coursework. <br /><br />Learn the material on your own, test out of the class, deny big education the extra money. Anthonynoreply@blogger.com