I don’t usually do this, but I read an article on Fox Business that just reaffirmed that some people don’t get it. Whatever “it” may be, they just don’t get. Life isn’t designed to be fair. If it was fair, it wouldn’t work, because everyone would have everything they wanted, and nothing would get done.
So, to begin, I give you the article.
Hopefully you took a second to read it. It’s not very long, and definitely not very thought out. This woman, who, apparently, is a life coach, makes her primary point using rhetorical questions:
The kid who thrives on Chaucer and couldn’t give a hoot about a molecule is going to be steered to an entire career in science because we need to fill those jobs? This is as opposed to finding a way for the science-inclined to afford to get the education to fill that gaping void? Does passion for the subject or talent for it even come into play? Are we looking for mediocre scientists and engineers or people gifted and wide-eyed over the marvels of the field?
I know that rhetorical questions are supposed to be left alone, but let me just start by answering those first and last questions with a NO!!! The “kid who thrives on Chaucer” will most likely still get a literary degree. He will just have to pay more for it. Passionate people will still do what they are passionate about. This is, indeed, “a way for the science-inclined to afford to get the education.” It’s the other people, who aren’t so passionate about anything, that they are trying to persuade into the science fields.
I may be in the minority here, but when I was finishing high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was very interested in science, but what kind? I had no idea. I enjoyed biology, physics, computers and IT, and even chemistry to some degree. I was also very fluent in American and European history, and I loved literature. Okay, put those things together and you get a bunch of hobbies, but nothing that points directly to a career. So, what did I do? I chose Accounting. Why? Because I was working for a CPA at the time, and he taught me a lot. Not only about working, but about life. He was a role model for me. I thought, “Hey, maybe I can follow in his footsteps or something.” Well, I enjoyed accounting for a couple years of community college, but I found out that I enjoyed economics more. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it was because anytime my teacher explained something, he used examples from Gilligan’s Island. So, when I moved to big kid school (A four-year university), I switched my major to Econ. Econ was a lot of work, and by applying the very laws I was learning to my life, I realized that I obtained more satisfaction from doing less book work, and while the business school was still very intensive, the kind of work didn’t feel as much like work to me, and there was much less book work, so I changed my major to Marketing and Advertising. The work was intensive, but fun. Had I known what it was like before I started Accounting three years earlier, I would have probably never went to Accounting.
My point with this story is that many people, like myself, have no idea what they want to be when they grow up. They are interested in everything. Many of these people follow in their parent’s or role model’s footsteps, as I was in the beginning. Others what to pave their own road.
So, back to these tuition rates based on supply and demand. This is brilliant. Had someone told me that I could go to school 15% cheaper if I went into engineering, then I would have done that in a heartbeat. I was always interested in science and design. On top of that, I would have had a better chance at finding work upon graduation. Double plus!!!
Now, the big question, would I have enjoyed it as much as I enjoy what I am doing now? I don’t know. But if not, teaching English overseas definitely doesn’t require Business degree. I could be doing this with any degree. So, “happiness” is really just a moot point.
“The message from Tallahassee could not be blunter: Give us engineers, scientists, health care specialists and technology experts,” Alvarez writes. “Do not worry so much about historians, philosophers, anthropologists and English majors.”
YES!!! EXACTLY!!! Having studied both business and econ, I have a fairly decent understanding of the law of supply and demand. That is exactly what Florida is practicing now. If you don’t need bread, then you probably won’t buy bread no matter how cheap it is, but if you’re starving, then you’ll pay nearly any price for bread, so why shouldn’t universities offer perks for fields that are in demand? Don’t get me wrong. I am a full believer that diversity of skills is essential for a working economy, but if you have too many English majors, then raise the price of tuition for the English field. If you need engineers, then make it cheaper for them to learn how to do their job!
Bryan Ogden is NOT a life coach, but tends to have common sense. His web site is www.bryan-ogden.com and you can follow him on Twitter @tuoggy.
I agree wholeheartedly. While I appreciate the Arts, Science and Engineering are where technological progress and problem solving occur.
We have a plenitude of folks with degrees in the Arts and Humanities, and if you can believe the talking heads, most of them are saddled with tuition debt and working in jobs that neither require a degree nor pay a wage on parity with their education.
I do believe there are definitely places for folks with degrees in the Arts and Humanities, but without funding for the arts or a thriving demand for what folks in those fields produce, they should know full well that they will have to work harder than most other graduates to find their niche.
My wife’s undergraduate degree was in English. She lived below the poverty line for a year either teaching or trying to find a job to match her degree. Then she moved back to Oklahoma and got her Master’s of Social Work while working full time. Her work ethic and aptitude far outpace most people I know, and she’s now gainfully employed, but she wasn’t able to do that on the degree on its own.
I guess my point is that you have to work hard to cut a position for yourself to make a living if your degree is outside of the hard sciences. I spent all of 2 weeks sending out job applications before I had 5 bites back in 2008. Granted most of them evaporated because of the economy, but I still had a position.
I don’t know… Its all a big mess to me, and with the anti-science anti-intellectualism that has taken hold of the country’s culture, I find it hard to believe that anyone with a real solution or path would ever get taken seriously.
Yeah, perfect example. I think that English is a wonderful degree program, but let’s face it, there just aren’t any jobs available in America for those who pursue an education focused on a language that most Americans speak.
With science, on the other hand, you can never stop making new discoveries, products, higher efficiency, etc. There will always be a demand for the sciences.
I feel the same way about business, but a degree really isn’t required for that. In fact, many people without degrees are successful business people. So, after being in the real world for a few years, I would argue that most degrees, as far as searching for jobs are concerned, have little value. The only ones with true value are in the world of the sciences.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that they’re not worth getting. I am very happy I went through the marketing and advertising program. I learned a lot of life lessons in that program that aren’t learned in the engineering school. I also made a lot of connections. I don’t think that any discipline can only be learned in the classroom, but science (or any of the skills dealing primarily in math) is one of those that is very difficult to practice on one’s own, especially the more specialized sciences.
Not to lessen the English degrees further from what I already have, but anyone can get a library card and analyze the writing styles of authors from around the world. This can also be said about my degree. Anyone can buy a bunch of products, or think of services, and go sell them.
First off, I miss you Oggy! And happy belated birthday.
Now to topic. As one of those frivolous Arts and Crafts majors, I think there are a lot of larger problems with this entire situation. I’ll try to avoid being verbose:
– Primary and secondary American science and math programs significantly lag behind other countries. From my own personal experience, teachers are trained as teachers, rather than hiring people passionate in the subject to educate. I would probably be much more interested in science if I learned from someone who cared about it and its applications to everyday life.
– Despite sporadic employment in jobs that do not require a Bachelors or Masters degree, I am happy I majored history.
– Were I prospective student with science and math majors being a cheaper option, I guarantee most adults would pressure and guilt me to major in those fields. And as an easily guilted person, I probably would have.
– College was never an option–it was always an assumption and if you didn’t go, you were a failure. It has become much more of a cultural and personally developmental stepping stone, rather than career preparation. Based on the ridiculous cost of most universities, this is probably negative trend.
– Now at a Tech school that is entirely job focused, I am surrounded by people who care little about what they study but because of financial incentives offered by Georgia to study Industrial Technologies, they trudge into class and off to a job they hate. They would not be there without those incentives.
There are some serious flaws in the US’s overall education system and how that translates into jobs, that I do not feel can simply be solved by making certain majors cheaper.
I agree in many to many of your points, but I gotta say that supply and demand should be the main factor were talking about here.
Yes, people will be pressured into doing science degrees by other people (parents?) because it’s cheaper. But the fact remains, that America is currently making more science and medical discoveries than any other country in the world, and if we want to retain that title, we need to show that it is important.
I’m sorry, I’m not trying to say that a history degree is not important, but as someone who majored in a dramatically over-saturated market, I realize that I would be just as happy doing something like engineering. In fact, I might have liked it better. I’m not unique. I did marketing for many reasons, but none of which were becaues it was more difficult. Furthermore, as an engineer, I would have probably had more opportunities available, and maybe I would have had the opportunity to really help the world.
Reading this article made me realize that you and I had the same professor for econ. He still uses Gilligan’s island to demonstrate examples. And I agree with the idea of raising the price if the job is needed less. I think it will also save people a lot of grief if they didn’t research the market to begin with, only to find themselves fresh out of school with no job prospects. Anywhere. New grads already have a hard time finding a job, might as well lead them to one.
It’s awesome that he’s still talking about Gilligan’s Island. Did he also show you his performance on Jeopardy?
He sure did!
I’m glad you’re still doing well. I hope Japan is treating you wonderfully! Cody and I miss you!
Yes, I miss you crazy kids too. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it back this year again, so hopefully we can catch up!!!