The Case Against College (Part 3)
I continue to make the case against going to college in part three of the series.
This is part three in a series of posts where I make the case against college. There are better uses for most young people’s time and money than going to college. You can read the first two parts below.
Read Professors’ Books And Outdated Books
The first problem is that when you go to college, there is a high likelihood that you will be reading your professors’ books. There is the additional problem that many books will be outdated that you are required to read to pass your tests in your class. College professors often make their student purchase and read their books for their courses. They would not get book sales otherwise because professors often write boring books on a dry subject that an ordinary person does not want to read. Do you want to read dry writing about history? How about boring writing on how to write a proper sentence for English Majors? Or a book summarizing the works of modern philosophy? For most people, those would be a hard pass. Those are the types of stale books young people have to look forward to in college.
You will likely be paying thousands of dollars to attend a class to read a professor’s dull and dated book.
It could also be a book no longer relevant to modern society. The book could be behind on technology or another critical skill you need to know, but you are reading about Windows 95 when Windows 11 is the newest program. Why not buy a book on that topic and learn about it yourself? It will save you thousands of dollars, and you will still retain the information that you find interesting too. You don't need to read a boring book by a professor.
Learn Outdated Programs
The second problem is you will need to learn updated programs. This will likely be the case, even with a STEM degree, putting you behind your peers. Even if you are learning a current program, you won’t do enough labs for it to make a difference for you to compete against people who have expertise and experience using those programs.
I did six labs throughout my graduate career while trying to get a cybersecurity degree. Are you going to be proficient in a technical piece of software or hardware if you only do six labs? The rest of the program was about the theory behind cybersecurity. The most critical part that would help students get a job, labs, was focused on the least in the program. It is no wonder why no employer wanted to hire me.
The technology you will be using at a university will probably be dated and slow because a university does not spend the resources to keep everything up to date as private companies do. Students are there to study, and you will likely have to pay a technology fee to use the technology you must use for a STEM course. The library is associated with universities for a reason.
You have better options to learn about technology if you are interested in an area in the tech field. You can find modern online alternatives that will help where you have more updated technology. You will often receive a certificate or sign of completion after completing the program. TechTarget lists some of the online courses here for cybersecurity. You can find something similar in another tech field. Solutions like this will likely continue to happen in the Internet Age to compete against the traditional higher education system model.
Some employers now want a degree or enough work experience to interview for a job. If you had actual work experience in the tech field and one or two certificates from a program or two, that would be a better use of your time than going to college. You can later study to get the approved certificates your employer may need to advance in your field.
Pay-To-Play
The third problem is the higher education system is pay-to-play. Your official education must continue after you receive your overpriced piece of paper from your university. That is because the educational industrial complex consists of many parts. All of the parts are pay-to-play. You pay to attend college to network and get recommendations for your first job after college. You must continue to get certifications to move up in your chosen field. You will also be encouraged to join membership organizations to network with other professionals in your field. All of these things cost money. You will find yourself paying hundreds of dollars a year if not more, to maintain your standing in a field. This is especially true in some very litigious fields like medicine.
With the Internet and sites like LinkedIn, there is no longer any need to go to a university to network and meet others. You can build up your reputation within your niche and become a master in your field. You can then contact other people on the site if you like, and others can connect with you too. The Internet, with professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, has now made the concept of going to college to network outdated.
Summary
The bottom line is that you will be learning ancient information by today’s standards, where you must always keep on top of the latest changes to algorithms and online strategies. That is the polar opposite of what professors do. Professors are concerned with academics and teaching students a subject they paid too much money to take their course. The educational system is pay-to-play. You will continue to pay to participate in it after you graduate and start a career in your chosen field. The best choice is not to play and find ways to succeed outside society’s traditional system.
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Thank you for sharing.