Blind Squirrel wrote:I don't believe there is one course of action that is optimal for every child. I do not have a position on this beyond that. I'm just providing some personal info and some of the random related info I've encountered over the years. I have done no research in this area. I have 2 kids (late 20s), they both graduated from college, they are both employed and neither is working in their field of college study.
1. I have heard it said that jobs that used to require a HS diploma (or GED?) are increasingly requiring a college degree. I don't know the extent that that is true.
2. I believe that both my kids benefited from their college experience in a number of ways that have little/no direct impact on their employment prospects. I cannot quantify those benefits with any precision but that does not mitigate their value. This particular benefit is a bit less tangible than some others and seems more family economics related than some others. How much is personal enrichment from the college experience worth?
3. These days internships in college can be the difference between being able to get work in your field of study after college and never getting a job doing what the kid spent years studying for. That is based on what both my kids have seen happen with some of their college peers. (trivial sample size) Some worked as interns without pay but are now employed in their chosen field. If, for whatever reason, a kid simply can't both play a sport in college and work as an intern then which activity will likely be more important to their lives as adults?
4. College enabled me to get opportunities that I would never have gotten without my college degree. An engineering degree was required for this type of work. These were opportunities that were as good a fit for me as I could ever hope for. I strongly believe that my quality of life at work for years and years could hardly have been better as a direct result of college and hard work. Engineering has been an extremely important dimension of my life. It was only a year ago or so that we made my last student loan payment. It was well worth it to me.
5. I believe the most important way college prepared me for work as an engineer was teaching me how to think about problems. I estimate that I've used less than 5% of what I learned in college beyond that. I have never needed to use a differential equation at work. Or an integral. Or recursion. I don't draw any cosmic conclusions from this except I think a better job can be done in this area. I think such an effort should begin with recognition of this condition that results in a reorientation of our high school and college curriculums to better prepare our kids for whatever career choice best fits them.
Fun Facts: How much of what you folks learned in college have you actually used on the job?
This is such an important topic. As with so many things with parenting I don't believe one size fits all. While I don't doubt the seriousness that HB folks routinely attach to this issue I think this is one of those areas where delusions about one's kid's capabilities can result in suboptimal guidance with potentially significant negative consequences, intentions notwithstanding.
I cannot encourage others strongly enough to provide opposing views/information.
John
1. that goes with the higher degrees as well. My mom is a Physical Therapist. She only has a Bachelors, now you need a Masters or a Doctorate.
As another Engineering grad, the two classes that I used the most are not engineering classes, they are Public Speaking and Technical Writing. If you can present an idea or solution with some intelligence, it's not going to get anywhere.