Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe on the high cost of college

[Lancie1]

Were you told that your only chance in life was to get a degree?

No, my mama told me the opposite, that I should get a job at the box factory where my uncle worked. Neither of my parents went to high school or even finished the 6th grade, so college was low on their list. In rural middle Tennessee at the time, college education was so rare that there were few that I could ask about it. I knew that I was not physically strong enough to spend my life working in the woods as a logger or in the fields as a farmer, and that was about it as far as local vocations.

My daddy said he couldn't help me much, but gave me what he could and put me on the Greyhound bus for the 400 mile trip to the university. I arrived late at night with 3 suitcases containing everything that I owned in the world, and did not go back home (working on the cooperative work/school program) until I had the BSEE degree.

 

[strantor]

No, my mama told me the opposite, that I should get a job at the box factory where my uncle worked. Neither of my parents went to high school or even finished the 6th grade, so college was low on their list. In rural middle Tennessee at the time, college education was so rare that there were few that I could ask about it. I knew that I was not physically strong enough to spend my life working in the woods as a logger or in the fields as a farmer, and that was about it as far as local vocations.

My daddy said he couldn't help me much, but gave me what he could and put me on the Greyhound bus for the 400 mile trip to the university. I arrived late at night with 3 suitcases containing everything that I owned in the world, and did not go back home (working on the cooperative work/school program) until I had the BSEE degree.

Your story is an inspirational one Lancie1. Sort of reminds me of "October Sky." It is interesting how things have shifted so much so that many people of my generation have a polar opposite story. It is natural for anyone, that when they hear a story like yours, to feel positively toward following in the same path. An example to model your life after, like Carl Brashear - I know he is a role model to many. But anyone who may wish to live out a life like his; a life of continual triumph over hardship, finds that the world that created his story has changed, and so must the story change. When I read your story, for a second I doubted my stance on college; for a second it felt like packing my bags and going off to college in the big city would change my life and make my parents proud. But then reality came back and I realized, that's not my life. your story comes from a different place and a different time. I couldn't live that out if I wanted to.

 

[Lancie1]

Strantor,

You are right about it being a different world and a different job situation. I would think twice now about going directly from high school to university. Maybe some experience working at different jobs now would be best for the majority of present-day high school graduates

 

[Timbert]

I'll admit that the currency has been cheapened by diploma mills and students in school just to shut up the folks.

The schools themselves have cheapened what a degree means. I always use the example of my father; he went to high school in rural West Virginia, when he graduated he could read and speak Latin. (OK not that useful but that was expected of him). In my day, it wasn't required to even study a foreign language. Today high schools graduate people who can't read or speak English. So, a high school diploma becomes nearly worthless. About all it can show an employer is that you can at least stick with something long enough to exhibit mediocrity.

Universities are spending their time teaching remedial classes. Stuff that a student should have already learned, but they don't mind because it is more money for them.

At the university level, Grade inflation has continued unchecked over the last couple of decades. I don't think kids are any smarter than when I was in school but somehow their GPAs are 0.3 higher.

I don't think a diploma today means as much as it did twenty-five years ago and to be honest, those twenty-five years ago didn't mean as much as those from fifty years ago.

I'll also agree that a lot of HR twits don't know the difference between ability and credentials.

I think this is the bigger problem. It's much easier for an HR person to have the computer examine a checklist, than to actually have to sort through the applicants and understand the needs of the company itself. Blame also has to fall on the person doing the hiring, they need to be more active rather than just have HR give them a handful of the 'qualified' applicants.

I absolutely don't understand what classes I took (or didn't take) nearly thirty years ago are a better indicator of my ability to do a job, than what I've actually been doing the last five years. Yet time and again I'm asked about my degree when applying for a job. I understand that makes sense when you are hiring for an entry level position but for a mid to late career employee?

Think about our field. How much of the technology we use today even existed two decades ago? Yet the first question HR will ask me, is what degree I have. How could we have studied about it, when it didn't even exist?

 

[Paullys50]

However, an education is more than a trade school. Knowledge, and a well rounded education, are valuable for their own sake. Money isn't the only thing in life that counts, after all.

Completely agree with Tom. To expand on this point a little further, for me the "intangible" eduction I received while in college is priceless. These are the lessons that cannot be graded on a report card, nor can they be included in any curriculum. Nor are you forced to learn them, some of these are sub-conscious lessons, others are obvious. The late-night card games in the residence halls that lead to very deep conversations and personal connections. The sheer diversity of the people on a college campus hones your communication skills. The years of group work, clubs and participation in various organizations prepares you to interact with people in a "work" environment. The keg parties and nights of karaoke a the local bar constantly improve your personal social skills with a diverse set of people. The comradery when cheering for your college teams during homecomming week. The sense of family you create when you move off-campus with 3 friends. All of these "intangibles" are missed in conversations like this. This is what can really separate people. Not everyone in college becomes part of that community, and that is really unfortunate because you miss half of your "eduction" if you become isolated. Anyone that I talk with who is about to enter college, my #1 advice is to become a member of the community.

If you want to compare dollars and cents you certainly can do great with a 2 year degree or in a trade. But the true experience of college can never be replaced. They were some of the best times of my life.

I am a better engineer because of those experiences, I have yet to work with anyone in this industry who has a non-college degree that can match my interaction skills with the customer. I can relate to just about anyone involved in a project, and gain instant respect. Granted some of that is a personality trait but I am an introvert at heart. My "intangible" eduction is constantly at play.

EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not trying to put myself on a pedestal, just stating my experience and what I feel I have gained beyond the obvious definition of college or university.