Comment on If college is a scam, where do you go to get better education?
lasta@piefed.world 8 hours ago
In what way do you consider it a scam? I’m guessing you live somewhere where the cost of education is so high that you think it doesn’t justify the risk of not finding work.
If your goal is just to learn, there are plenty of free or affordable resources online for many subjects.
If your goal is to find work, there are alternative types of education and programs with a lower cost or barrier to entry (trade schools, industry certification courses, coding boots camps, etc.) but unless you are getting a job through connections, it will be in your advantage to have some work experience, either in the form of a portfolio of things you’ve done or volunteer work since the chances of finding good work without either a formal education or experience are small.
The additional benefits of going to college/university is that you form connections with people who can help you professionally and it gives employers who have never met you a way to verify that you are capable of committing to something if you don’t have any work experience.
If your only barrier is cost, perhaps you can look into scholarship opportunities or programs for studying abroad where tuition is cheaper.
klankin@piefed.ca 7 hours ago
I think its more just the pay to enter a raffle for the job market 4 years down the road can really read as a prediction market these days (Or enter a raffle to make friend with a nepo baby in your class).
Its entrenched in law that (and tradition) that many high paying jobs/projects require a signature from the owner of a specific sheet of paper. This creates a situation where the supply never actually has to cater to an artificial demand, which will always open the door to the abuse of power.
Funding research education is incredibly important, but at some point you wouldn’t be crazy to feel youre funding your move up an MLM administration department instead of actually funding any research.
Also I think its important to note the inherited accessibility concerns in postsecondary institutions. For example if its a massive benefit to network and its a large part of the reason to go to post secondary, do we just accept introverted people are systemically repressed? Its a small thing and far from the most egregious, but I don’t think things are as black and white as you make it seem.
lasta@piefed.world 6 hours ago
I get the sentiment of “entering a raffle” when costs are high and job prospects are low, but no one is guaranteed success whether they pursue a post-secondary education or not. We can only do what we think will improve our chances given our current circumstances and the information we have available.
If you’re applying to a job where no one knows anything about you, you have to stand out in some way, whether that is a formal education, an impressive personal portfolio, or someone who can vouch for you.
So when I say connections, I don’t just mean that you should go in the hopes of “befriending a nepo baby in your class” but just interacting with classmates and professors who you can learn from, who could become references, or get you hands-on experience in an environment you wouldn’t have access to like a studio or lab. Sometimes employers will also look among students for new talent. Is all of this necessary? No, but many people seem to think it gives them better chances than the alternatives.
I’m not trying to persuade anyone one way or the other and this comment isn’t about what I think is right or fair. If you believe you’re better off following a different route, then I truly wish you the best of luck with it.
AskewLord@piefed.social 6 hours ago
Pragmatic and practical advice and perspective.
This is what people don’t get. And to be truthful, I didn’t understand it either when I was 20 years old. Because nobody told me any of that stuff.
What people don’t really acknowledge is the ‘institutional knowledge’ is far more important than grades and degrees. And what people miss that wealthier folks teach their kids that stuff, because well, they have first hand knowledge of it. And that matters way way more than ‘connections’ and ‘wealth’ per se.
klankin@piefed.ca 5 hours ago
I just think like making hard drugs and pyramid schemes illegal, its important as a society to support those vulnerable, as ‘fend for yourself’ individuals we only stand to lose. Especially when they’re children making massive financial decisions.
Its a moral failing in my opnion to not critically notice the current market, and adjust your opnion accordingly, otherwise your lack of effort will be abused, even though you won’t have to feel the damage.
So when the only connection required to get a job are explicitly befriend people who inheritly have access to money, because experience costs money, its not surprising that valuable connections are correlated to nepotism proximity (as it’s more common to inherit wealth than achieve it).