So clearly the cost of a college education has risen and the value has gone down. But people need to take some responsibility. “I was in a public policy program”. No fucking wonder you can’t find a job. If you decide to advance your education you are the one who is solely responsible for determining what skills will make you most competitive. Any asshole with a computer and a Saturday afternoon can educate themselves on the job market. It isn’t that difficult to determine what sectors of the job market are growing and what skills are required to earn a living. A college education is an investment in your future. Your goal should be to enhance your earning potential through advanced education. Not to incur debt or waste your family’s money to pursue some pipe dream. Perhaps the author of this letter should have considered what post grad life would be like before pursuing their bullshit major and masters program. I mean honestly, what did you think that degree was going to do for you?
I don’t think it’s as easy as “Well get a better degree.” You management and advertising majors really want your alma maters calling you and asking for money when you’re making less than $40k a year after you just gave them hundreds of thousands of dollars? It’s insulting to everyone, regardless of your degree.
The proposed solution is not “well get a better degree”. The proposed solution is, “take responsibility, educate yourself and make yourself as competitive as possible for the realities of the job market”. And those management and advertising majors you speak of are exactly who I’m talking about. Its really great that you want to become Don Draper and/or just know you’re going to use that management degree to run your future empire BUT that’s unrealistic. You’ll really just end up managing the Holister at your local mall or selling insurance.
I worked for my U. for almost ten years (student worker (BBA), grad assistant (MBA), then full time). It is amazing how much money they get from big donors, the state, and the tuition just to waste it on absolute S**T. The advancement office constantly asked the staff (especially those of us that graduated there) to give money back to the U. If I worked for Exxon, you think I would give them a donation out of the paycheck they cut me? Cute if you thought yes. Take a look at how much colleges accept each year in federal and state aid (both in the form of loans and direct payment). Then take a look at the salaries and expenses (state funded colleges are required by law to publish their ledgers…you can find them through the controller’s page on the university site).
Until universities learn to restructure pay scales, wasted resources, and the idiotic notion of tenure which gives professors that godlike complex, you’ll get nothing from me. I pay my taxes - that’s enough of a donation.
I have my university, my law school, and my national fraternity blocked on my cell phone. I’ll give to my fraternity chapter and my sports team, but those large, rich, useless organizations aren’t getting shit from me.
The bottom line is at 17 or 18 years old very few of us were actually responsible to agree to pay back 20-40k dollars after graduation. Maybe if someone would have said
“so here is the deal, we are going to let you borrow 10k a year for the next 4-5 years. afterwards you are going to get some shitty job making roughly $3,000 a month. Then there are taxes, health care expenses, and 401k (if you’re smart) So in reality you are looking to take home 70% of your salary = $2100. $800 of that will go to rent/ utilities, $300 towards a decent car, $100 towards insurance (that’s if you’re not a reckless prick like most of us are). now its time to pay those student loans we’ll take $500 a month if you don’t mind.”
I clearly wasn’t a math major but that leaves you with about $400 bucks a month to eat, drink, and drive to your shitty Monday - Friday job.
That is probably so but in my case, those dumb bastards sent me one of those letters before I was even moved out of college apartment. The letter actually beat me in the race to my parent’s house.
I agree with most of the comments here and would like to add that it’s not the fault of colleges for continuing to raise tuition (that they then ask for donations is a little insulting, but people donate so they’ll keep asking). They’re simply responding to the incentive that the government has created by guaranteeing loans for our idiotic youth. If you had a product that you could continue to raise the price on and it had virtually no effect on demand, would you raise your prices?
So clearly the cost of a college education has risen and the value has gone down. But people need to take some responsibility. “I was in a public policy program”. No fucking wonder you can’t find a job. If you decide to advance your education you are the one who is solely responsible for determining what skills will make you most competitive. Any asshole with a computer and a Saturday afternoon can educate themselves on the job market. It isn’t that difficult to determine what sectors of the job market are growing and what skills are required to earn a living. A college education is an investment in your future. Your goal should be to enhance your earning potential through advanced education. Not to incur debt or waste your family’s money to pursue some pipe dream. Perhaps the author of this letter should have considered what post grad life would be like before pursuing their bullshit major and masters program. I mean honestly, what did you think that degree was going to do for you?
I don’t think it’s as easy as “Well get a better degree.” You management and advertising majors really want your alma maters calling you and asking for money when you’re making less than $40k a year after you just gave them hundreds of thousands of dollars? It’s insulting to everyone, regardless of your degree.
The proposed solution is not “well get a better degree”. The proposed solution is, “take responsibility, educate yourself and make yourself as competitive as possible for the realities of the job market”. And those management and advertising majors you speak of are exactly who I’m talking about. Its really great that you want to become Don Draper and/or just know you’re going to use that management degree to run your future empire BUT that’s unrealistic. You’ll really just end up managing the Holister at your local mall or selling insurance.
I was an Ad major and now I work at a good agency making good money….
I worked for my U. for almost ten years (student worker (BBA), grad assistant (MBA), then full time). It is amazing how much money they get from big donors, the state, and the tuition just to waste it on absolute S**T. The advancement office constantly asked the staff (especially those of us that graduated there) to give money back to the U. If I worked for Exxon, you think I would give them a donation out of the paycheck they cut me? Cute if you thought yes. Take a look at how much colleges accept each year in federal and state aid (both in the form of loans and direct payment). Then take a look at the salaries and expenses (state funded colleges are required by law to publish their ledgers…you can find them through the controller’s page on the university site).
Until universities learn to restructure pay scales, wasted resources, and the idiotic notion of tenure which gives professors that godlike complex, you’ll get nothing from me. I pay my taxes - that’s enough of a donation.
well that escalated quickly.
I just tell them to “F off” and hang up. After about 3 calls, they stopped calling.
I have my university, my law school, and my national fraternity blocked on my cell phone. I’ll give to my fraternity chapter and my sports team, but those large, rich, useless organizations aren’t getting shit from me.
The bottom line is at 17 or 18 years old very few of us were actually responsible to agree to pay back 20-40k dollars after graduation. Maybe if someone would have said
“so here is the deal, we are going to let you borrow 10k a year for the next 4-5 years. afterwards you are going to get some shitty job making roughly $3,000 a month. Then there are taxes, health care expenses, and 401k (if you’re smart) So in reality you are looking to take home 70% of your salary = $2100. $800 of that will go to rent/ utilities, $300 towards a decent car, $100 towards insurance (that’s if you’re not a reckless prick like most of us are). now its time to pay those student loans we’ll take $500 a month if you don’t mind.”
I clearly wasn’t a math major but that leaves you with about $400 bucks a month to eat, drink, and drive to your shitty Monday - Friday job.
I believe this letter is a farce.
If you can’t get a job when you have a Masters degree that’s on you. Not your school.
That is probably so but in my case, those dumb bastards sent me one of those letters before I was even moved out of college apartment. The letter actually beat me in the race to my parent’s house.
And boom goes the dynamite.
I agree with most of the comments here and would like to add that it’s not the fault of colleges for continuing to raise tuition (that they then ask for donations is a little insulting, but people donate so they’ll keep asking). They’re simply responding to the incentive that the government has created by guaranteeing loans for our idiotic youth. If you had a product that you could continue to raise the price on and it had virtually no effect on demand, would you raise your prices?