Unemployment is worse than reported, and
college graduates face a grim prospect. People are loading up on debt, and roofers are going back to school to learn to code java, and java coders are going back to school to learn to roof homes.
Coming from a family of academics, I was the black sheep who went into business. I do teach on the side, so I guess I did get some on me... but since I went into business I approached teaching as an entrepreneurial challenge which resulted in achievements most academics would kill for.
I do think an education is a good thing, and I do believe all kids are primarily "home schooled" for better or worse. My expectations to my daughters was that they would all get at least a BA, and in no circumstances should it be in a "voc tech" program, like business, journalism, pre-med, law or some sort of waste of time and opportunity. Also, under no circumstances were they to get student loans.
So starting with the eldest, who has a comparative religion degree, my middle is finishing up a classics degree with a concentration on Latin, and the youngest is going after a double major English and Humanities. I could not be more proud.
I must confess the middle one did bang out an AA in apparel design, essentially before she finished high school, but that was just because she wants to go into fashion and was advised she better know how clothes are made. Done.
The benefit of an liberal arts education is to have an alternative universe that you know about, into which you can escape and reflect when things are too tough, and where you can compare and contrast when you need to make decisions. If you are in business and you have a business degree, where can you go in your mind to get some perspective? We solve problems on a different plane that we experience them. We have physical, mental (emotional) and metaphysical dimensions to our lives. When we have a physical problem, say paralysis, it will not be physically dealt with, it is dealt with in philosophical or metaphysiscal level. The paralytic may say "suffering has meaning" and is able to cope. He is still paralytic, but he has dealt with his physical problem on a mental level. A unfortunate spouse may be experiencing mental abuse, and the problem is solved by physically moving away, and so on. If you have a business problem, and your education is business, where do you go when you have problems? If you plan to be in business, get a degree in something you love, like botany. Discussing botany with other botanists will give you separation and perspective on solving the business problems. That will be worthwhile.
My eldest is a producer at a rock solid media company, when her peers are unemployed. Here comparative religion degree allows her to keep a perspective. The middle has standing offers from the largest corp in the world and from some leading apparel people to come aboard. Latin not only gives language roots connections, but cultural roots. She meets people "where they come from" because she has toured their history and cultural roots. My youngest loves to cook, and not out of her teens, when most culinary programs produce graduates who must work for no pay (they call it
staging) she turns down paid work.
Personally I have the gift of ADD so my college transcript are a bit of a hash. Since I had more than the required 180 credits to get a BA, the bewildered advisor came up with a unknown degree, "asian studies," whatever that is. But most of business is discussion about the world around us, and because of my college degree I can carry my own in a conversation.
Now this is not to say you must have a college degree. Some of the smartest people I know have never graced a classroom above the grammar school level. You do need to read, and if you cannot read, then there is endless free help with that. Get some.
But if for whatever reason, college is in your future, and you want to do well, get a liberal arts degree, and get
one without going into debt. Coming from an academic family, I already knew about what Dr. North outlines in that link. I would just stress, never waste an opportunity to get a liberal arts education, and never take college time to get a voc tech degree. (Sure, get one if you want one, they are probably the best educational value around, but don't let it interfere with a liberal arts degree.)
So here is the acid test: are you pursuing a bachelors degree to be happy, or to make money? if to be happy, go. If to make money, don't do it. College is not for you. Go straight to business start up.
Feel free to forward this by email to three of your friends.
