Worthwhile article that, for me, puts focus on the different kinds of value that people have for education --speaking of formal schooling. One comment by a reader says something that strikes me as crucial -- "...the author's concept of higher education is a little narrow, as for me, my university degree has enriched my whole life in general, and not just opened doors in my career." This is the crux of the matter ; the article seems to assume that there is only one possible way to value education , economic payoff. For sure, there has to be some payoff, majoring in a field for which there are close to zero employment opportunities doesn't make much -or any- sense. But economic "underemployment" --less money than in other occupations-- may make excellent sense if you achieve goals that fall under the heading of "education for a mission." That is, sure, a foreign missionary will earn far less than an MBA or someone with a degree in hard science or computer science, but under what circumstances can someone say that the missionary is a fool, stupid, crazy, etc, ? Only if money is regarded as the only valid yardstick to measure value. "Mission" can mean many things, devotion to an art, for example, like the desire to write a world class novel and nothing will stop you, and you intend to learn everything feasible necessary for the task. Mission can also mean strong desire to gather as much intellectual capital as possible in order to achieve something significant in some position of leadership, anything from politics to journalism, knowing full well that others with comparable degrees may earn some multiple of your income. What IS your goal ? To become richer than anyone else ? To do as much social good as your potential allows, as a missionary or an executive at a non-profit ? To become smarter than anyone else and create an intellectual legacy ? To find something worthwhile to do with your life at a time when jobs are scarce and grad school allows you to explore far more options than would otherwise have been possible ? Plus grad school might offer all kinds of "social opportunities." All of this said, the article does tell us that in terms of lifetime earnings and the burden of student debt, there is a serous problem in the realm of higher ed. A VERY serious problem. Billy =============================== from the site : The Motley Fool Educating Ourselves Into Shackles?
By Brian Stoffel April 17, 2012 There's a cancer that threatens to poison the global economic recovery, and it's not _Europe_ (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/11/02/fear-frustration-and-the-eurozone-crisis.aspx) or the _housing market_ (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/03/05/all-fingers-point-to-housing.aspx) . It comes, in fact, from the very thing that's supposed to elevate our populace and our economy: graduate school. Dr. Deborah Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, points out that there's a well-defined pattern that has taken hold: "Both historically and in recent years, there's an inverse relationship between the economy and graduate student enrollment." Could this trend be a sign that we've lost our creative edge in America? Indeed, a case is being made that, recession or not, advanced degrees -- in fields outside of medicine, the sciences, and engineering -- fail to add the type of value needed to justify their costs. Below I intend to show that the inclination to pursue a graduate degree during -- and because of -- difficult economic times is often counterproductive, and it has left millions of students with little to show for their efforts except crushing levels of debt. Debt, debt, debt Just how bad is the _debt situation_ (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/03/13/the-next-bursting-bubble.aspx) for college students? Consider the fact that it far outpaces credit card debt and is hovering around $1 trillion today. It wasn't always such a problem, but student loan debt grew by a cumulative 511% between 1999 and 2011, outstripping average household debt by a longshot. Sources: The Atlantic, the New York Fed, and Bureau of Economic Analysis. You'd think that with a growing problem like this, lenders -- and schools that are _consistently raising their tuition_ (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/01/06/surging-tuition-more-than-meets-the-eye.aspx) -- would start to worry. But they're not incentivized to. You see, student loan debts are some of the "safest" bets around. Borrowers, or the indebted students, can't shed the loans even if they declare bankruptcy, and collectors are given extensive powers to make sure they get their money. This means that every year, more and more graduates have to put off buying a new suit, car, and, most importantly, a house, because they can't afford it with their student loans. These decisions affect all of us. Come to think of it, the "college for all" battle cry that we hear so often sounds awfully similar to the "homeownership for all" mantra that began in the late '90s. And we all know what a mess that misguided venture _brought us_ (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/10/06/creative-destruction-in-the-housing-market.aspx) . Diminishing returns As Fellow Fool Travis Hoium _has shown_ (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/03/14/education-isnt-the-slam-dunk-investment-it-used-t.aspx) , the returns on a college education have diminished markedly. In fact, the return on investment for a bachelor's degree in 2009 was 20% to 25% lower than it was in 1995. Just as a bachelor's degree has become the new high school diploma, so the master's degree seems to be the next undergraduate certificate. Extrapolated out over time, one can only wonder where this escalation might end. So why are students willing to play along with this game? The answer is pretty simple: Those with higher degrees get paid more and are unemployed less. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Is graduate school even worth it? But here's where things start to get really insidious. The stats above indicate correlation, not causation. It could just as easily be the case that lurking variables (socio-economic background, IQ, professional ambition, etc.) account for the differences in wages and unemployment. What if graduate schools, especially in the humanities and business realms, don't add one iota to your educational or career prospects? What if all the benefits you gained through years of graduate studies could have been had -- for free -- by interning, volunteering, finding a mentor, or starting your own business? Creativity crisis? There's a growing chorus out there that believes we've lost our creative touch. They believe that instead of putting ourselves out there during tough economic times, we're retreating to the safety of graduate school to "open up new doors," even if we could find our own way through at a fraction of the cost. Indeed, _recent studies_ (http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html) have shown that Americans' creativity quotient, or CQ, has been declining steadily since 1990. Think that's not important? A poll of 1,500 CEOs found that creativity is the most important "leadership competency" moving forward. And childhood CQ is three times stronger at predicting lifetime creative accomplishments than childhood IQ. Maybe that helps explain why, when push comes to shove, so many are paying graduate schools huge sums of money to teach them what they need to know, instead of learning through experience. Granted, there are some experiences you just can't get anywhere but graduate school, but those tend to be the exceptions, not the rules. When it comes to getting your MBA, for instance, studies have shown the degree to have little to no effect on your future salary or position in an organization. And The Economist recently demonstrated that some graduates take a steep pay cut after getting their MBA. Source: The Economist. In the end, it's not hard to come up with examples of wildly successful people who excelled without a college degree. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Henry Ford, and Steven Spielberg are all examples of individuals who were able to hone their creative energies by learning how to succeed from life experience. But you don't have to be one of these titans to be successful without a graduate degree. You just need to be willing to take what many consider to be an unconventional path to finding your niche. And when you get there, you won't be saddled with debt. Not only will that provide you with the financial flexibility necessary to get on with your life, but it will allow you to make the basic purchases you need -- and help keep our feeble economic recovery moving forward. ====================================== Selected Comments : Dr. Gary North (_garynorth.com_ (http://garynorth.com/) ) has long advocated a sort of self-education degree, whereby a student finds the requirement for a certain college course, or studies clep notes and then cleps out of the course and a local college. This is a much cheaper way of obtaining college credits. One of his "students" in fact got his BA on his 18th birthday (at the same time he graduated high school) and it cost his family under $12000.00. This has saved him (and his family) a huge sum of money and enabled him to get a jump on gaining experience in the job market. But, I believe he actually opted to start a business. I believe many kids opt to stay in college because the job market is so bad for non-experienced workers. But many students never finish their degree objectives. They just quit, leaving a huge education loan that will follow them for many years. ------------ I'd argue that debt and graduate degree should not even be used in the same sentence. Almost all graduate schools offer teaching/research assistantships and/or fellowships, especially in the science and engineer majors. If you can't get one - you are not good enough and should consider an alternative career move - it's as simple as that. The fellowship would not get you far, you will be living a life of a working poor, but it is enough to get by for 5 years (been there, done that). If you need to get a law degree or an MBA I suggest finding a real job in the field first and then making your employer pay for an evening program. ------------------------------- The problem with this article and many others like it is that it asumes that anything that does not add to the GDP is of no value. Humanities is a discipline that is often put into that category. Where the STEM disciplines are being crammed down our educational throughts, all they really do is teach us to follow procedures. While this often leads to new, often profitable ways to produce pratical solutions, it is the Humanities that fosters creativity and the ability to reason, the true sources of problem solving. Yet, in a society that values entertainers and athletes more than teachers, is it any surprise that we place the greatest value on material culture? ------------------------ As someone who graduated with a degree in the humanities, I have to take issue with an assumption you're making. I agree that humanities fosters creativity, but...so does life. It would be silly to think that without an advanced degree in humanities we would be bereft of creativity. It's something that's FREE for those that apply themselves. --------------------------- ^ I don't think this is a problem with the article. It's almost a corollary. Do not do a degree unless you genuinely want to learn more about the subject. And if you think that a graduate degree in one of the "STEM" disciplines is only about following procedures, with no creativity...I'm sorry, but I don't think you understand how science and engineering research works. ------------------------------ As a current MBA student I have had a very different experience in grad school than the one described (may be more exception than rule). I left a well-paid job in 2010 to return to school because I wanted to switch careers and found that leaving work gave me the time and opportunity to explore many opportunities that had not occurred to me previously. Unlike just leaving my job to try new things, which ultimately would have looked somewhat flakey to prospective employers, I was able to gain this experience and build much needed skills (networking, presenting, finance and accounting acumen) while gaining perspective that is much harder to come by when you can't remove yourself from the day-to-day tasks of life and work. --------------------------------- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
