Take away all the BS classes that are pointless and get right down to the nuts and bolts and a 4 year degree could be obtained in 2 years or Less. But it's not about learning or application of knowledge, the University/College is there to make $. If you have to take more unless classes, they make more dough.
College is what you make of it. What you put in is what you take out.
I went to Hanover College in Indiana and earned a BA in chemistry and biology. It was a liberal arts school and we were required to take a variety of courses outside our major. Theology, philosophy, foreign language, psychology, business, and many others. Not one was a waste. And yes, I even took an elective in bowling... and wouldn't you know it, I learned how to bowl. I have enjoyed that sport ever since. What's wrong with that?
1994 201 Champ re-powered with a 250 HO G2 E250LHAFA 05438419
I believe what you used was trigonometry.Originally Posted by donpilot
A lot depends on the quality of college/university people go to. You go to "Fred's College" you're get a degree worthy the name. The more competitive University, the more you will be tested against the best of the best. I can clearly see the difference between the two classes of people in my work place. You cannot assume people understand words above High School level because their vocabulary is so limited-they never got into the habit of reading at length.
That being said, I learned a lot from my electives in my undergrad. A couple I had were Welding and also Country and Western Dance. This was in the mid 80's and believe me, knowing how to swing dance and the various 2-steps came in very handy at the bars around town! That carried through in grad school as well when the other options for the women were a bunch of biochemistry geeks in our department who had two left feet and just sat and drank.
I believe a lot of kids are not yet ready for college right after highschool and just end up wasting a lot of money on a degree that is useless in the real world of making a living.
If you don't know how that helped then did you really learn anything?Ok so yes I graduated from college but did I actually learn anything useful - I say NO or not much!
One of the best interviews I've ever went on the guy asked one question about college and then proceeded to say "All a degree tells me is you can start a project and finish it."
I somewhat agree but TONS of needless CRAP required for a college degree. I have a BSA and took Intro to Bowling, Intermediate Bowling, Golf and Fencing. Yea that helped.?.?.?.?
Did you learn anything of value?
Similar experience here when I majored in environmental bio. Learned a lot of interesting stuff in the required electives although I'd say anthropology was probably the least helpful in preparing me for life. I've always been into sports so I tested out of golf and then took karate for a semester. That's when I learned I'm too slow and too adverse to pain to be a fighter.
World History was brutally boring due to the prof. Stats, logic, and econ were some of the most useful courses and I try to put that material to use every day. It's frustrating to see that the rest of society doesn't place much value on those things these days
Quick story, when filling out course registrations, I'd abbreviate my major "Env Bio" which worked to my advantage senior year. I was surprised that I got into a senior level English class with the best English prof on campus (also the dept head). I was doing fine but halfway through the semester, the prof asked for a meeting. I was a little worried as to why but when we sat down she complimented me on my work and then she told me the class was already full when I registered. She only squeezed me in because she couldn't understand how a senior English major could have escaped her notice. I looked at her for a second before it dawned on me, "I'm not an English major or even a dual major. The Env stands for environmental." She laughed and told me that I easily could have been dual and I thought to myself "But why?" Cool lady though. We had some good talks and I earned an A for the semester.
Some people are so judgemental. You can tell just by looking at 'em.--Some random meme
I guess I did learn to bowl a Hook. It was a requirement of intermediate bowling!
Also bowled a perfect 300 but it was on the Wii.Real high game ever was 272! NO Way I could get even close to that now.
If professionals who's careers depend on catching fish use FFS then that's what I'm using. Might be too simple of a philosophy but makes sense to me.
I have a building science degree and I work in the industry. There are a few people who work in construction management with other degrees, but not many. As far as classes go, the majority of mine were field related - electives, golf, etc were not part of it.
Traditional college is also about much more than academics. It can teach maturity. How to fend for yourself. How to manage and live on a budget. Make decisions on your own. Manage fun, school, work, and relationship time appropriately. How to work in a group. How to live or work with someone very different from you. All positive things the we all learned one way or the other. College offers these things in a relatively safe environment. Cause most 18 year olds aren't ready for the school of hard knocks. Not to mention i bet the majority of folks who went to college have a few positive lifetime memories. Maybe even met a spouse at school. I consider all this when writing that check for my kids college.
I didn't graduate from college but still use advanced math and physics from the classes that I did take..
My wife is a Nurse and she says she uses alot from college..Of course she had clinicals and internships..
"Historically the most terrible things-war, genocide and slavery-have resulted not from disobedience but from obedience"
Zinn
I would guess I use algebra at least once a week, maybe more on average, and I'm a dairy farmer.
To the OP, I learned a lot in college. I graduated with a soils science degree, with lots of crop and animal science classes as well. Some classes were a waste when they could have been great (ag econ taught by a professor who went bankrupt a few times), some were just a credit I needed (bowhunting class for a gym credit).
I think I could have easily done what I'm doing, a lot is on the job training. I don't think I would be as successful without it though. Even just the network of people from school and, more importantly, my fraternity.
I guess it depends on what your employment field requires. Many jobs are specialized and the degree is necessary. Many are not, but a degree gives one a leg up on the chance to advance. I did not get a degree and it took me much more time to move up through the ranks than it would have otherwise. I was told a degree shows you are more willing to learn, not that you are smarter than the competition. Believe me, I worked with several college educated people who couldn’t rub two nickels together.
I agree. I got a BS in Wildlife Biology. At the time, at that university there were 3 sub majors to choose from: wildlife management (the terrestrial side), fisheries management (the aquatic side), or wildlife conservation, which had a little bit of both and was recommended for those going into the LE side of wildlife management. I took the terrestrial side with major courses like mammalogy, ornithology, range management, wildlife management, biometrics, public speaking, and a writing course that was required of every student. I would have liked to have taken all the aquatic side like ichthyology, limnology, fisheries management, etc., to be more complete as a biological professional, but couldn't make that work in 4 years while completing all the hours of humanities electives I was required to take. I took sociology, psychology, intro to philosophy, History of the Indians of North America, and War in the 20th Century among others. The only "pud" course I had was Music Appreciation for 1 credit hour. I would have much rather had the aquatic courses I named before, plus herpetology, more soils courses and advanced ecology courses.
Later, working in the field, I attended a wildlife organizations annual meeting and was talking to a couple of professors from my alma mater and told them about how I would have liked to have taken even more biological courses instead of the humanities electives and they about crapped their pants. "Oh no! When setting degree requirements, it is our job to make sure students are becoming well rounded members of society." I'm like, "Really? I believe that was my parents' job." If college was free (paid for by taxpayers) I would agree with them, but when I'm paying for it, I figure I should be able to pick additional courses that are tightly focused on the profession I have chosen. It wasn't like a I was trying to slide by with easy courses. Instead, I was trying to take more advanced level biological courses so I would be more "well-rounded" within my chosen field of study.
Even so, I have to agree with ECobb that a BS is just getting you the fundamentals to get started in your career and you still have to acquire most of your knowledge from on-the-job experience. There is always more to learn.
Last edited by Cliffprocraft190; 03-09-2024 at 06:11 PM.
I agree with most of this, except the college wanting more money by forcing the electives. The Feds and Department of Education dictate 120 sem hours. The university/ college is offering what them and the accrediting bodies approve. College was a lot more reasonable before the Feds mandated affordability for everyone with their regs and loan schemes.
I got a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and I can honestly say that I couldn’t have gotten or done my job without the knowledge I gained at my college of choice. Yes, I also had to take some electives that didn’t do much for my knowledge base or my life, but it probably accounted for less than 10% of my total hours.
You would think a Masters degree would mean more but I hired a guy that had a Masters in the specific field we worked in and he's the only person I have ever had to fire due to incompetence. And I mean ZERO ability or knowledge. Any college freshman, and even a lot of interested high shcool kids, would have been more qualified than this guy. LOL
Bruce
2019 20 TRX Patriot
Mercury 250 ProXS Fourstroke
HDS 12 Live - Console
HDS 9 Live - Bow
So, I have two bachelors degrees in unrelated fields. I would not been considered for employment in either field without them. Full stop. First career ended up not being for me so I went back to school for the second degree and that was a great decision. I do understand that college is not for everyone and people can be happy and successful with out it but to often people swing way to far in the other direction on this issue and say college is useless. No, that is not true at all. There are still many fields where it is a hard requirement for being considered. Denying that is just putting ones head in the sand.
Useless electives or other course? Well, I don't know anyone that had 4 sports and leisure electives like someone above did. I think I took one in my first degree and I did it with a buddy just for kicks grins.
But what about all that other stuff? More of the requires courses that don't appear to related directly to your main field of study. Math, science, humanities, etc. I do think in some instances it is over done and appears to only be a justification for keeping some departments open. But, I would not do away with all of them. I may not sit down to solve a problem and think, "OK, not I am going to apply what I learned in my college history class", but there is value in have at least some exposure to these other topics. They broaden your understanding of the world around you as well as the people and how we all got to were we are today. On a daily basis I see so many people (no, none if you I promise ;) ) that lack an understanding of very basic math or science that it seems to me most should have paid way more attention in these classes.
Why does that matter? Well, at the other end from knowledge is ignorance which is defined as the lack of knowledge. Ignorance leaves you unable to understand the things you experience and unable to make intelligent decisions. I see that leading to people just doing, and thinking, what others tell them they should.
Bruce
2019 20 TRX Patriot
Mercury 250 ProXS Fourstroke
HDS 12 Live - Console
HDS 9 Live - Bow
Exactly. I would say you could cut it down to a year for most degrees.
What job were you preparing for with your degree?Ok so yes I graduated from college but did I actually learn anything useful - I say NO or not much!
One of the best interviews I've ever went on the guy asked one question about college and then proceeded to say "All a degree tells me is you can start a project and finish it."
I somewhat agree but TONS of needless CRAP required for a college degree. I have a BSA and took Intro to Bowling, Intermediate Bowling, Golf and Fencing. Yea that helped.?.?.?.?
Did you learn anything of value?
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