Degrees Provide Maximum Value to Societies - Don't Drop Out Of College

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3 years ago

I’ve read lately many claiming that education is not important and that people shouldn’t be in college but drop out instead as they will waste their valuable time.

A piece of advice, mostly said by those too lazy to educate themselves. Still, there are always differences. Theory is often illustrated with a novel approach to reality.

Having a vast and solid theoretical background is unquestionably advantageous for any field of our society. Maybe the nepotic state of our society is helping some achieve far more than what they deserve, but eventually, when the difficulties happen, there will be a lack of required education to handle different situations.

The same is with investing. It becomes gambling when there is no scientific approach when there is no academic knowledge and you just “hope” prices will go up and feel that you are so intelligent to drop out of college, but in fact, you just got lucky for a moment.

Being Lazy is Obvious, Just Don't Try to Justify It

Sometimes I meet people challenging logic with their failures to understand basic human concepts. How wrong is the perception of some people and how much they will suffer to find a solution to the first minor problem they will face in their life still amazes me.

Other than in academia, degrees hold almost zero value in the society. People are interested in what you offer and not what diploma you have.

Source: A Hive user

I completely disagree with this point of view. How exactly ar edoctors, phycisists, technicians, accountants, etc. going to perform without having vast background knowledge of their field? This is not even a question, academic knowledge provides thousands of percent value in societies.

My response.

There was no further response because it is obvious this guy would never bother answering, as he knows he was wrong.

“People” are interested. A vague sentence that means nothing. When we don’t have a valid argument, we will often refer to “people”, or perhaps some people.

Let’s find out what “people,” think about this, though.

I would never hire a plumber to fix my bathroom unless they have a vast understanding of the problems they can cause to me with the slightest error they make. And you know what? Those that have no degree in their field don’t have the required knowledge. They will 100% mess up and make a lousy job that will make my life more difficult and will also cost me extra.

This has nothing to do with intelligence. Someone just decides to become a plumber but is too lazy to study all the concepts required to perform the job correctly? Do you think that any technical job is easy and only requires experience? I’ve met technicians with 40 years of experience, and they were completely clueless about the basics of their work. I hired them and they induced more damage because they weren’t properly educated. Instead of providing value, their incompetence and ignorance caused more damage.

Incompetence and ignorance cause costly mistakes. A misreading by a technician can induce fatal accidents or increase the chance of infrastructure failure. These mistakes will always happen, but it is academic research that diminishes the odds of happening.

Source

Accumulating knowledge and achieving a spherical understanding in our field eliminates the odds of failure.

And yet, the author of this comment, just as many more, are just ejecting nonsense out of their mouth that degrees hold zero value to society.

What has a tremendous risk for our societies is an incompetent and uneducated workforce. Degrees are a requirement, except for just some fields of manual labor. So unless you plan to just dig holes in the ground with a shovel for the rest of your life, get educated and finish college.

95% of jobs require i) knowledge, ii) skills. If knowledge comes just from practice, then it is incomplete knowledge.

And incomplete knowledge is dangerous. It can lead to increased cost, terrible outcomes, and more than often is a cause for an accident.

Now, hire someone having no theoretical background to fix your plumbing, electrical circuits, service your car, helicopter or airplane. Without having a valid degree that proves vast knowledge on the subject of their job. And wait for the results that will definitely be catastrophic.

Would you trust a “self-taught PHP expert” to run your crypto exchange or prefer someone with vast computer security knowledge having a degree from an esteemed University? How much better are the odds of having better security with the latter?

I keep reading about this claim that degrees don’t matter, and even worse, advice to skip the education process and drop out of college. This is a piece of terrible advice to give and an opinion that seems to be mostly expressed by Americans.

Opportunities in the USA are nowhere to be found in the entire world. It is probably just the US, Canada, and Australia that give so many opportunities to everyone. Those that make it wouldn’t stand a chance in the conditions they would meet in other countries, even in Europe.

Maybe you don’t need a degree in the US, but just read a PHP book to become a PHP engineer and get a great job. But that is just in the US. Chances are that in Europe you will achieve to get hired and get paid the minimum for the same job for the rest of your life.

You might be lazy enough to study and spend 3-4 years to grow a solid academic background. This will always be reflected in your work, though, and your potential will always be limited.

Exact sciences

When it comes to exact sciences, how vastly ignorant can one comment, like this one, be.

The comment I used in this post (and sadly too many more I’ve found) is claiming that mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and any other science has contributed nothing to our society...

Literally, he writes “a degree offers almost zero value to our society“. And got a few upvotes at Hive for this comment (possibly bots upvoting though).

Well, if you completely lack intelligence and have had absolutely zero education in your life, having barely finished high school, brought up in a society/economy where everything was going the right way no matter what approach you take, and had a government paying you taxpayers money for all your business failures, then you can come to such a conclusion.

The US offers genuine opportunities - Still, you limit your chances by dropping out

Looking at the world in the last 5-6 decades, the USA has created a strong economic model that works for the benefit of the overwhelming majority.

It contributes to this the fact that it has an army that makes it the top superpower in the world and helped it open access to cheap resources. This has helped corporate America and Musk explained it well with this Tweet:

Source

In Europe, having no degree is similar to going to war without holding a weapon. The population growth has stagnated for decades due to various reasons, but mainly because of the average wage decline compared to productivity. This is the increased wealth distribution inequality gap and the increased cost of living.

A rise in inflation could further increase this gap and create more issues, especially for the nations that don't follow the production model of industrial Germany. However these economies have no ability to change since the economic model of the EU has specifics for each country's production, thus it has doomed several states and reinforced the German and satellite states economy.

Basically in the EU, you don't just require one University degree but a Master's too and perhaps even more. Equally important is the knowledge of at least one foreign language (possibly two), and even more academic knowledge validated by approved degrees.

In the US the unemployment level is about 2%, meaning only those that don’t need a job are unemployed. Unemployment reached 10% in 2008 and the effects this has on an economy were only then visible.

What about the 20% unemployment that the EU and IMF decisions brought to Eurozone countries like Portugal and Greece? How can you say to anyone to drop college and find opportunities when there are only chaotic reforms that destroy innovation and economic progress?

Being ignorant when everything is perfect and you are living the dream doesn’t mean you are right.

Counted in numbers were those of us that knew what happened in Argentina since 2000 and we were expressing our concerns openly on the EU's foreseeable failures in its economic design back then and until 2008.

It was the EU that was accommodating enormous debt for the Mediterranean countries. GDPs were rising and government spending was increasing at a higher rate in anticipation of better results. All with the EU’s approval, until chaos arrived, and then the blame game started. The German (Merkel) led EU blamed the countries with high GDP and started a campaign accusing the citizens of these nations.

And there were these suspicious comments you would find everywhere about what the German news called: “PIGS” (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain) and how much “people” had to hate these nations for their misfortunes.

Comments like “Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Greece, we want our money back” appeared out of nowhere. But were these comments were coming from? Who in their right mind was asking for money when nobody owed them anything? The fund managers that bought debt from these countries appeared suddenly in forums and online chat rooms asking for their money back? What was this all about?

It is what will happen when there is a financial event. It is bots and paid spammers that we also notice today acting with a similar approach inside the crypto communities. These are the lowest life forms, paid in bulk by the decision-making centers. Divert attention, find a scapegoat to accuse of everything, and keep ruining the lives of millions. This is how this game is played.

Without academic knowledge, you can’t reach this conclusion. You will just be the sheep that will fall in errors of judgment. You will fall into the composition fallacy, thinking that private lending is the reason for government debt, and think that the “people” create the government debt because they lent too much with their credit cards.

Just an example of all the mistakes you will keep making in your life, being ignorant about topics you think you understand, but you don’t.

Without academic knowledge, you will always be the sheep that will need a government to lead them.

If you are too lazy to exercise whatever brain functions, the evolution process has inherited to you, then you will always be also keeping your possibilities to a minimum.

To End With This Absurdity

How can you tell someone not to acquire the required academic supplies and just ask to become an entrepreneur without any real understanding of business administration and the risks undertaking? Especially when unemployment is at 10-25% is this a mature response? How can you ask others to drop out of college and tell them this is a waste of time?

"People are interested in what you offer, and not what diploma you have"

"People", may not be interested in what diploma you have, but people with education and intelligence understand even the details between different diplomas, and how one may have managed to achieve getting one.

The educational system in the US may contain favoritism to those capable of paying for top universities but I also don't think this is happening extensively. In Europe, we have to pass exams with high scores to reach the top institutions. There are private colleges too that may or may not (usually they don't) provide the same depth in educational terms. While typically degrees are considered of the same value, this is for "people" only, and not for those that understand the differences. So not just a degree is important, but also the foundation (institution) is.

There is a thin line that gets crossed when I read advice like this. Yes, you didn’t need a college degree to get a better life. In my position, without a college degree, I would be far worse financially, though.

Odds suggest that all those that dropped out of college and think they made a great decision would probably have done a lot better for them if they got that degree instead. Something that you also learn in “academia” is the opportunity cost. Look this up.

Society values degrees, and academic knowledge provides thousands of percent of value to our societies.

You can’t be forced to get a degree, but you should also not listen to anyone of those telling you to quit college.

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3 years ago

Comments

It is an excellent piece of article on the need for education in life. I fully agree with your views.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Degree doesn’t mean only to get job all the time, but it teaches us resilience, patience, manners and most importantly, it earns you respect ! So everyone should have degrees :)

$ 0.00
3 years ago

A mi me parece extraordinario este artículo porque está tan bien estructurado y ejemplificado. Definitivamente tener un título es importante para la sociedad, para la persona, para la vida, para el mundo, para el desarrollo de todo el universo. El conocimiento es la base de todo. El que tiene conocimiento tiene el poder. Pero, ¿Qué pasó con todo esto luego de esta pandemia? Que por cierto aún no ha terminado. Es interesante analizar que piensa la gente de obtener un titulo universitario luego de estos tiempos postpandemia donde todos los proceso se aceleraron y crearon nuevos conceptos en la sociedad como por ejemplo: trabajar en línea, buscar cómodas y rápidas maneras de sobrevivir, entre otras alternativas que no se veían a simple luz antes del covid. Sin duda, los estudios universitarios liberan al hombre y dan la universalidad a la sociedad. Gracias por el escritos. Éxitos

$ 0.01
3 years ago

I agree a lot with you on that a degree is important, and might even become more important. As more people become highly educated, the ones that do not have the degree will be passed for someone that does. That said I see a lot of people sticking with studies they really don't like just to secure a future, I personally switched studies after 6 months and it was the best decision of my life. Life is too short to do something you don't like for at least 8 hours a day..

$ 0.10
3 years ago

I think people who don't understand how to get a college degree will credit other ways to train and educate themselves. I have a friend who left Venezuela many years ago. She asked me why I stayed so long in my country and why I was going through so many difficulties. I once told her that I am waiting for my son to finish his university studies so that we can take his degree with him. To which she replied that it didn't matter if I went there with my degree or without it. When she told me this of course I could not add anything more to the conversation and left it at that. How can it be the same if I arrive in a country with job opportunities and I have a university degree, than if I am there without any degree. Can a professional choose to do menial jobs while getting his degree approved. But if on the other hand I do not have a degree I must work all the time in whatever they offer me. for life. I may be very good at side jobs but I am better as a professional.

$ 0.25
3 years ago

Having a degree and a diploma is a big plus especially with big companies, and it also a key to choose what kind/nature of work you are capable of, and they can't pull you down immediately because you have a weapon to fight for your right

$ 0.05
3 years ago

As much as I want to agree that other "people" are more interested in experience, and all other out of the book stuff about you, I also must say that educatiom should NOT be discredited. Companies would trust people with edicational background more, it's even part of a job-screening process.

$ 0.05
3 years ago

I am going to somewhat disagree with this. I have no college degree, but I am proficient in my profession. Most people do not come out of college with the necessary skills to actually perform the job they studied for. That takes on the job, hands on experience. But it also depends on the profession. Lawyers and doctors, for example.

What's more, MOST college degreed jobs do not offer more than non-degree jobs in the way of wages.

The average plumber makes $80,000 a year. An HVAC technician makes about the same. While these jobs require certifications, they do not require a college degree.

Some of the most brilliant and richest businessmen we have known either never went to college or dropped out.

Henry Ford, the inventor of mass production never went to college. Richard Branson never went to college. Richard Schulze, the founder of Best Buy not only never went to college. He dropped out of high school.

Other famous names of guys who never went to college or dropped out include Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerburg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Michael Dell. Add one of the richest men in American history to this list as well, John D. Rockefeller.

I am not one of these billionaires of course. But what I DO know is that financially I surpassed ALL of my college bound friends and family. Every single one of them. Part of that is because what I studied was investing and money management. I did not need a college degree for that. What's more, college saddles people with massive amounts of debt that takes decades to pay off.

I am not saying DON'T go to college. If one is interested in a certain career path of course it makes sense. But some of the most prominent contributors to society did not learn what they knew from college—they INVENTED what was ultimately TAUGHT in college. In other words, much of the curriculum in college was WRITTEN by people who never stepped foot in a classroom.

$ 0.10
3 years ago

I didn't say you can't make it. I even explained that in the USA you get better chances to succeed in an environment with 0% unemployment and high salaries.

But some of the most prominent contributors to society did not learn what they knew from college—they INVENTED what was ultimately TAUGHT in college.

As with every rule there are exceptions that verify it. There are always bright individuals that achieved success, or even managed to create something useful for society. I did not exclude the fact that this happens. What are the odds though?

What I disapprove with this article is the notion that because someone made it, everyone else will also make it, which is completely wrong since most will have lower chances by skipping college.

$ 0.01
3 years ago

I hear what you are saying, it just defies what I have personally observed in life. I have seen more people devastated financially by going to college than have benefited from it. Again, I think it depends on what one goes to college for. An architect, an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer...hell, I'll even throw teacher in there.

There are just too many professions one can get into that do not require a college degree that earn very high salaries. And let's face it, most college grads don't even step into the professions they went to college for in the first place, and others soon discover there is more money to be made if they DON'T use the degree and just work somewhere else. And many do.

Some of the professions not requiring a college degree that pay the highest wages? Transportation and distribution managers ($94,000). Police detectives and police managers ($89,000). Mechanics in the utility industry ($75,000). Manufacturing jobs ($60,000-$80,000).

I could cite many. Granted, some of these jobs will require at least some sort of vocational schooling, but that is very different than college and way less expensive. Hell, even OTR truck drivers which takes virtually no skill at all make $70,000-$120,000 a year.

I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not DISCOUNTING anything you said in your article. Simply disagreeing on the NECESSITY of college to be successful or to obtain wealth in the world. I also disagree that degrees are as valuable to society as you suggest. In fact, many of the jobs that do not require a degree are arguably MORE valuable to society—like plumbers and police officers and construction workers and so on and so forth.

I also dismiss the premise that just because one does not have a college degree that one is uneducated. I also can tell you that I know a ton of people with degrees who happen to be complete idiots. lol

Either way, I enjoy the debate. So thank you for having it with me. :)

$ 0.10
3 years ago

I also dismiss the premise that just because one does not have a college degree that one is uneducated.

100% I didn't mean it this way and forgive me if I made it seem like those that don't have a degree don't have chances or education. There are many people that seek knowledge outside of institutions. And many may just hold a degree without deserving it, I've also met plenty of them and sometimes there is something fishy going on. I think that a bright young person having a lot of potential should stick to college when there is this option available. Of course it is also a choice to quit, but I think this is personal matter. Maybe an opportunity appears that makes college look like kintergarten. It is still personal matter but I think those that succeeded by quitting college they shouldn't make this recommendation.

$ 0.05
3 years ago

I did not take your statement that way. Only pointed out my own observation.

My take on college is quite simply that it is often times overrated and overhyped as to its opportunities, and equally think that people put too much emphasis on it as a means to an end for their children.

There are MANY opportunities in this world, especially in the United States, to provide for one's family and be successful and even highly paid without spending potentially $100,000 or more for a piece of paper that may or not provide for any real advantages.

Granted. The end goal when it comes to college is not always just about the money, but rather about fulfilling one's personal goals, or having it be an achievement that actually motivates them in life beyond what they do with the degree.

It may be that I was one of the "lucky" ones who was able to be successful without a degree. I put the word lucky in quotes because I don't consider luck to necessarily be the root of my own successes in life. It took hard work, determination, and a relentless quest for information (all of which was available outside of a classroom).

A person's choice to attend college should not be made on the basis of what they THINK it will do for them, based on societal pressures, or what people tell them it will do for them, but what they want to get out of it.

For a parent to suggest to their kids that they cannot be successful UNLESS they go to college seriously undermines their own kid's intelligence and ambition to succeed in life despite shortcomings.

Just my two cents. :)

$ 0.20
3 years ago

Interesting,well researched and educative article i must admit. But personally i think it actually depends on the individual,one can finish from college but still be unable to perform his/her profession effectively while another might not have gone to college and performs really well at his profession. So educational knowledge as well as technical knowledge cannot be overemphasized when it comes to the kind of person an individual is.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Somehow I keep reading the same argument, although I can only partially agree with it. You get a degree to have a vast background on your field. You don't get it to become immediately experienced at anything.

Maybe I shouldn't have brought this subject up at all.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

A topic that stirs one's thinking is a good topic,dont water down your choice.Its an interactive one.

I actually understand your stand point,experience and knowledge works hand in hand,you are right experience is gained technically while knowledge is gained educational.

One cannot do without the other,they both merge for greater results and i totally agree with you.

One needs to attend college to gain knowledge about the field and then he goes as far as learning it practically,i honestly understand you.

What i wouldnt want you to do is hold back from thinking of controversial subjects such as these,it spices things up...let the debate go on,we learn more.It might even serve as a survey too😉☺😊

$ 0.10
3 years ago

I do understand your perspective and reasons for the college hype. To me, I would put all types of education on the scale of equity and treat all with the same respect though some appears to overpower others especially degree acquisition in education. Sometimes we make it sound as if degree acquisition is the only way to survive in life and without it one have no value in life which I oppose. Though degree education is good and I don't object to that but we should not make it look like it is the only way to achieve the success since we have others who made it big in life without a degree in education. We shouldn't belittled all other forms of education but rather should value all of them since they all play a major role in economic development.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

I don't say that without a degree you can't make it. What I write is that a degree gives more value to society in general by having the educated in their field people understanding in details often how to approach a situation. I brought up a subject of a plumber having just the general idea but when it comes to finding a solution to a problem he will not manage without having knowledge of the subject.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Though you have a point here, but sometimes the solution to such problems is not all about getting a degree in education, being a degree holder is valuable, I cannot doubt that. At other times how and where a person acquire the knowledge from also counts. Talking of "how", maybe the person himself/herself didn't learn well from the field of choice. Talking of "where", it may happen that the person didn't get his/her education or training from the right source. So for a person to fail in fixing problems when it comes to reality could not be based on only one reason but rather have other reasons to be the cause.

$ 0.05
3 years ago

100%. I had the same conversation with Powerst before. There are people that no matter the degrees they didn't acquire enough knowledge in their field, and they lack behind other scientists/professionals. It is also a matter of the institution. There are some institutions that are more strict, and have higher requirements. Meanwhile there are degrees that one can just acquire with the minimum effort. Although even the latter, there is at least the general idea given to the student. It is better than nothing.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Acá en Cuba amigo mío el estudiar es lo mas priorisado si. Pero que pasa q los universitarios al terminar. Muchos no encuentran trabajo. Pero cuando lo obtienes no es acorde el salario con tu conocimiento en materia

Sin embargo un albanil q es todo trabajo de un oficio q no lleva estudiarlo en universidad gana mucho más que por ejemplo un médico o abogado profecional.que estuvieron años quemándose las pestañas frase q usamos en Cuba para cuando describimos alguna dedicación a lo máximo.

Por ende son tantos los médicos y profecionales q obtan por dejar su trabajo y dedicarse a estos oficios. Como la juventud también ve esto y ya no desean estudiar sólo los oficios

Felis día te deseo

$ 0.10
3 years ago

I understand my friend. Thank you for this comment. I translated the article in English to read, because I don't speak Spanish. It is understood that in some places even with a college degree not many opportunities appear.

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Que bueno que a través del traductor nos podamos entender amigo mío. Me disculpo por las molestias causadas hacia ti al tener que usar el traductor. Te deseo feliz día. Mis respetos hacia usted. Saludos virtuales. Te leo desde Cuba

$ 0.05
3 years ago

It is not a problem! Any time you want you can comment, it takes only seconds to change the language. Greetings to Cuba!! Much love and respect!

$ 0.00
3 years ago

Oh my! I have to get on my soap box and start preaching again.

My son dropped out of college. I vehemently disagreed. But your children have to live their own lives. Only 3 of my children actually stayed in college and got their degree.

I get that it's expensive. I get that some people graduate and can't get jobs these days. I get that some folks can make a fortune. I get that David Karp dropped out of school, created Tumblr, and sold it for a ridiculous amount of money when he sold it to YAHOO!

Nevertheless, if anybody asks me? If you have been BLESSED to be able to attend an institution of higher learning DON'T EVER THROW THAT AWAY!!

Besides the value that you add to society … you might meet your soul mate for life in college or at university. That's worth more than money!! 💗

I can sum up getting a degree or a college education with one word. PRICELESS! 😄

$ 0.30
3 years ago

You are right my friend, most of the successful people do not already have certificates, but the certificate is very important for jobs and others

$ 0.00
3 years ago