Ha.
Continuing that long-running blogger/LJ-user trend of posting articles just because they confirm their own beliefs, I give you this:
For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
Some choice quotes.
Outside a handful of majors -- engineering and some of the sciences -- a bachelor's degree tells an employer nothing except that the applicant has a certain amount of intellectual ability and perseverance. Even a degree in a vocational major like business administration can mean anything from a solid base of knowledge to four years of barely remembered gut courses.
The solution is not better degrees, but no degrees. Young people entering the job market should have a known, trusted measure of their qualifications they can carry into job interviews. That measure should express what they know, not where they learned it or how long it took them. They need a certification, not a degree.
I favor autodidactism, certification, and the essential end of the university system as we know it - so naturally, I'm all in favor of the tone this article takes, though I'd go several steps ahead of it - primarily because I don't just view the university system as inefficient and outdated, but generally nefarious and an anchor around the neck of modern society. It remains the last archaic institution whose existence and membership should be regarded with the same level of skepticism we treat political leaders, business leaders, and religious leaders to.
For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time
Some choice quotes.
Outside a handful of majors -- engineering and some of the sciences -- a bachelor's degree tells an employer nothing except that the applicant has a certain amount of intellectual ability and perseverance. Even a degree in a vocational major like business administration can mean anything from a solid base of knowledge to four years of barely remembered gut courses.
The solution is not better degrees, but no degrees. Young people entering the job market should have a known, trusted measure of their qualifications they can carry into job interviews. That measure should express what they know, not where they learned it or how long it took them. They need a certification, not a degree.
I favor autodidactism, certification, and the essential end of the university system as we know it - so naturally, I'm all in favor of the tone this article takes, though I'd go several steps ahead of it - primarily because I don't just view the university system as inefficient and outdated, but generally nefarious and an anchor around the neck of modern society. It remains the last archaic institution whose existence and membership should be regarded with the same level of skepticism we treat political leaders, business leaders, and religious leaders to.