I've had a similar experience with my education, but not until I completed a PhD. When I had a Masters in Linguistics and BA in linguistics on my resume, I'd still have a good leg up in child-education roles.
I got a job as a swim instructor, then a job as a tutor, but my PhD is like resume HIV. I started getting calls back for swim instructor roles again after I omitted it early this year.
My theory is that employers for jobs that don't require degrees are sometimes put off by them because they suspect that the person in question has better prospects and wouldn't be a long-term employee, and they'd rather hire someone who'll be there a while than have train someone only for them to bounce in a few months.
Honestly, that you managed to rack up $100,000 in debt while commuting and on partial scholarship doesn’t tend to prove that “We desperately need a change in culture.” It means, unfortunately, you and your family were either not well-versed on the costs going in, and perhaps over-estimated your earning potential. It sucks, but it didn’t have to be that way.
College is an important maturational milestone - a college education isn’t just so you can get a better-paying job, it’s so you can be a more well-rounded and educated citizen. 18-year-olds are kids, and having an environment of learning and socialization is important. I'm not sure what state you live in, but in-state tuition for public colleges fifteen years ago shouldn't have cost more than $5,000 or $6,000 a year. I graduated college a little before you did, and commuted to a good state school with scholarship for half my tuition, which meant my tuition was between $2,000 and $2,500 a year. Today, without scholarship, tuition to that school is $10,000, but my state provides tuition-free state school for families making under $125,000. It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, especially if you work part-time (which I did on-campus during the school year, and off-campus during summers). I got into more competitve private schools, both for college and for law school, and chose the schools that left me with little to no debt. I don’t regret being educated, and neither should you.
If I had my druthers, I would make 2-year colleges tuition-free, and 4-year colleges debt-free - having that experience between K-12 and the “real world” makes you more well-rounded and hones your critical thinking skills, which in turn make you a better and more productive member of society. I’m sorry that you were saddled with such debt, and this should be a lesson both in the policies we need going forward to make college affordable for the masses, and as a cautionary tale for those otherwise inclined to sign-up for six-figures in debt for a bachelor’s degree when there are cheaper ways to get a college education.
Considering the quality of this blog, college was *very much* for you. I found the single simulation where you didn't and in it you are blogging about how to identify a mark on your used car lot.
I've had a similar experience with my education, but not until I completed a PhD. When I had a Masters in Linguistics and BA in linguistics on my resume, I'd still have a good leg up in child-education roles.
I got a job as a swim instructor, then a job as a tutor, but my PhD is like resume HIV. I started getting calls back for swim instructor roles again after I omitted it early this year.
My theory is that employers for jobs that don't require degrees are sometimes put off by them because they suspect that the person in question has better prospects and wouldn't be a long-term employee, and they'd rather hire someone who'll be there a while than have train someone only for them to bounce in a few months.
Degrees can hurt! I leave some of mine off my resume and then I get called back. Crazy
Honestly, that you managed to rack up $100,000 in debt while commuting and on partial scholarship doesn’t tend to prove that “We desperately need a change in culture.” It means, unfortunately, you and your family were either not well-versed on the costs going in, and perhaps over-estimated your earning potential. It sucks, but it didn’t have to be that way.
College is an important maturational milestone - a college education isn’t just so you can get a better-paying job, it’s so you can be a more well-rounded and educated citizen. 18-year-olds are kids, and having an environment of learning and socialization is important. I'm not sure what state you live in, but in-state tuition for public colleges fifteen years ago shouldn't have cost more than $5,000 or $6,000 a year. I graduated college a little before you did, and commuted to a good state school with scholarship for half my tuition, which meant my tuition was between $2,000 and $2,500 a year. Today, without scholarship, tuition to that school is $10,000, but my state provides tuition-free state school for families making under $125,000. It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, especially if you work part-time (which I did on-campus during the school year, and off-campus during summers). I got into more competitve private schools, both for college and for law school, and chose the schools that left me with little to no debt. I don’t regret being educated, and neither should you.
If I had my druthers, I would make 2-year colleges tuition-free, and 4-year colleges debt-free - having that experience between K-12 and the “real world” makes you more well-rounded and hones your critical thinking skills, which in turn make you a better and more productive member of society. I’m sorry that you were saddled with such debt, and this should be a lesson both in the policies we need going forward to make college affordable for the masses, and as a cautionary tale for those otherwise inclined to sign-up for six-figures in debt for a bachelor’s degree when there are cheaper ways to get a college education.
Considering the quality of this blog, college was *very much* for you. I found the single simulation where you didn't and in it you are blogging about how to identify a mark on your used car lot.