Education and Your measure of success

[zoobernut]

I am starting this thread because of a discussion that came up in the Random Win thread. I am genuinely curious about this subject and I want to continue the discussion without further derailing the Win thread.

The discussion stemmed from the question of whether or not college is purely intended to train people for their future career or if college has some intrinsic value beyond that purpose.

I think that college has value beyond choosing a career. I think that viewing what you study in college purely as being your training for a future career devalues the education and becomes a means to an end.

I also know quite a few people whose career of choice is not related directly to their field of study in college. I also know a lot of people who do work in a field directly related to what they studied.

For my wife and I we have other things besides how much money we make that is our measure of whether or not we enjoy our job. We have specifically made choices in our careers to make ourselves happier that might not maximize the amount of money we make but it makes us happier in other ways.


Do you think college is purely for education, something in between, or purely to prepare people for a specific career?

What is your measure for success in life?

What makes you happy with your career?

What factors do you use when choosing a job?

Do you choose where to live then choose a career in that area or do you choose a career and go wherever it takes you?

Should people feel obligated to work at a job that is in their field of study in college?

Is it ok to choose a job that isn't related to your field of study even if it earns you less money?

[Cream Soda]

I like the idea of this thread. Interesting for me because I just graduated and I'm still at a standstill with what I want to do in life. I hope there's a good turnout.

[zoobernut]

Thank you CS I hope it sparks a good discussion too.

Lucienne to counter I don't think choosing a career that is different than your field of study in college means that you are not putting in proper effort or wasting time, money or energy. There are a lot of different reasons that different people choose the career or job that they enjoy and stick with. And lots of people achieved amazing things in this world having never been to college or doing something completely different than what they studied in college once they graduated.

[kuronosan]

Do you think college is purely for education, something in between, or purely to prepare people for a specific career?

I think college is for education/theory to back up real-life experience and to teach people how to socialize and learn how to function in overall society. Training is for a career. Internships are for careers. You don't need a degree to be good at your career, but having a degree in a particular field will enhance your potential. How you network from there is up to you.

What is your measure for success in life?

To me success is entirely relative. If you set goals and reached them, you're successful. That doesn't necessarily mean you haven't failed elsewhere. As has been said so many times before, you haven't really succeeded until you've failed.

What makes you happy with your career?

Three factors. Fulfillment of Self, Fulfillment of Purpose, and Fulfillment of Ego. You should feel as though you're making a difference or contributing, you should feel as though your compensation allows you to live a modest life, and you should feel as though your career has purpose.

What factors do you use when choosing a job?

Proximity, room for advancement/growth, pay. In that order.

Do you choose where to live then choose a career in that area or do you choose a career and go wherever it takes you?

Probably a little of both. I haven't really left where I graduated from. I'd go where the money is, but sometimes that means staying put and going where your career sends you rather than sending yourself to a career location.

Should people feel obligated to work at a job that is in their field of study in college?

Absolutely not, but then again you should not be getting a degree in a field you don't plan to grow in. Getting a degree in Computer Engineering is pointless if you're going to be a massage therapist, unless you come around later in life and decide you wasted your time and money in college. I think the better point is that you shouldn't feel obligated to go to college if you can work at a job that is in your field of interest.

Is it ok to choose a job that isn't related to your field of study even if it earns you less money?

If you're happy, sure. If you and your spouse are miserable, I think you owe it to yourself to do something different that might help you make your ends meet.

[Aksannyi]

Do you think college is purely for education, something in between, or purely to prepare people for a specific career?

I think it really depends on what you want out of it. I know a lot of people who value simply going to school and learning, even when those things they are learning have no actual value in their chosen field of study. And some people see college as a means to an end. Personally I'm there for both, the experience of learning and getting into a field.

What is your measure for success in life?

Personally? Happiness. I will consider my life a great success if I'm happy when it ends.

What makes you happy with your career?

Good people, more than anything. I don't care how much a place pays, if the people suck then the job sucks. Also, having been in a job where I was expected to be on call 24/7 and work 60-80 hours a week, being able to have a life outside of my job is key. My job right now is a stop-gap job for me to go to college but at least I can leave at the end of the day and leave my work at work. That's important.

What factors do you use when choosing a job?

Location, pay, responsibilities, hours. Location is important, fuck driving two hours for a job. The others are self-explanatory I think.

Do you choose where to live then choose a career in that area or do you choose a career and go wherever it takes you?

Up until recently, I'd choose a job based on where it is in proximity to where I live my life. But now that I'm in college I'm looking at where I might be able to go once I get my degree. So I think I'd be willing to relocate for the right position. There's also my boyfriend, and personally I will want to go wherever he goes.

Should people feel obligated to work at a job that is in their field of study in college?

No. That's what internships are for. I'm working the job that keeps the roof over my head and lets me choose my schedule. I might have more freedom if I lived with my parents, but considering they're 1100 miles away from me and I'm 33 years old (and that would be lame), that's not going to work for me. I could choose to live in the dorms as well, but also lame for someone my age. So I have no choice but to work. The only job I could get in my field would be substitute teaching, and while that would be valuable experience, it's also not a guarantee of work and I need that guarantee.

Is it ok to choose a job that isn't related to your field of study even if it earns you less money?

If it makes you happy, it sure as fuck is okay. My best friend is a dance teacher at my old high school, and she has an MBA. She's happy teaching dance though, and more power to her. I certainly do want to find a job in my field but if I find something else I enjoy doing and it makes me happy, I'll do that. You're never too old to back to college either, so there's that.

[zoobernut]

Interesting I really appreciate the answers so far. When my wife and I first graduated from college our primary goal was to work in our respective fields and we moved where we could and got jobs that made us the most money. Now we have changed gears quite a bit. Now that we have a 2 year old son our motivation on what career/job we choose is largely based on proximity. We moved to an area to be closer to family so our son could spend more time with his grandparents. We adjusted our style of living to lower our cost of living so we didn't feel obligated to look for the highest paying jobs.

The one area where I disagree with you Kuro is that I don't think it is a waste of time and money if someone goes to college and studies computer engineering and ends up a massage therapist. Yeah they could have skipped college but I think the college experience is an important part of growing up and you learn a lot more through GE classes than just what your major is. Granted I am not trying to lump everyone together. I think not everyone should feel obligated to go to college. There are some people who should go directly into internship, training, career etc. But if you do go to college I don't think you should feel like it is a waste to decide to do something else later in life.

This is assuming of course that someone is making ends meet and are living comfortably on what they are making. (This doesn't really apply for people who cannot get a job in their field like if they study computer science and end up working a minimum wage job at McDonalds and struggle to pay their bills.)

[Moss]

I think the main value of college is just the "college experience." Going off on your own, meeting new people, learning how to balance partying with your responsibilities, etc.

Personally, I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living after HS, so I chose a business major since I figured it would be good general knowledge to have. I chose marketing because it was the easiest and most interesting business major to me. No regrets with that decision at all. My thinking was always, why bust my ass for an engineering or accounting degree when I could end up hating the jobs I would need it for? You really don't know if you like a job until you are doing it, in my experience.

What is your measure for success in life?

Simple answer is happiness.

What makes you happy with your career?

Upward mobility, quality of co-workers, travel opportunities

What factors do you use when choosing a job?

I chose my current job, which will likely be my career, because of a few factors: pay, clear promotion requirements, travel, work-life balance, quality of co-workers, and how the firm treats its employees in general.

Do you choose where to live then choose a career in that area or do you choose a career and go wherever it takes you?

The latter. Unless you are already tied down because of a relationship or otherwise, I think it is best to move wherever is necessary. I will never understand people that live in one place their entire lives.

Should people feel obligated to work at a job that is in their field of study in college?

Not at all. People just need to be realistic about what opportunities their chosen degree will open.

Is it ok to choose a job that isn't related to your field of study even if it earns you less money?

Of course. People should do what makes them happy. I've worked enough soul-sucking jobs to realize that money is actually low on the list of priorities as long as you are earning a comfortably livable wage.

I have strong opinions on this topic, curious to see what others think.

[CoreyX]

The vast majority of people don't go to college to "learn", they go to college to party and get a piece of paper that will (hopefully) get them a job to make money. Most people just temporarily memorize facts for their exams by cramming and forget it the next day, so they're not actually learning anything. You wouldn't need to pay thousands of dollars if you wanted to learn, seeing as you can learn anything you want on the internet at any time for free, so college stopped being about learning a long time ago. In this day and age it's simply about money and social acceptance. People go to college to do the whole party thing and because everyone else is doing it and in society you're looked down upon for some reason if you don't get an "education" by paying thousands of dollars to have people read books to you, essentially. You could skip the whole thing and read to yourself if you really wanted to learn and save yourself a lot of time. Other than that it's just a means to get a degree that will tell employers you're better than other people so you'll get hired and make money.

This is of course just my opinion and if you went to college to learn stuff more power to you and I don't mean to offend anyone (Some people get REALLY defensive about their degrees, it gives them mini power trips that make them think they're superior to other people, even though it's really nothing special since most people have one since it's the socially accepted thing to do these days and people want to fit in desperately and find whatever they can to feel superior about)

[Dotsudoku]

Not in the offended category because I really dgaf, but at the very least, cramming/forgetting doesn't apply to most(all? I'm hesitant to sweep) STEM majors. Unless you're cramming/forgetting for the last exam of the last course you'll ever take, and assuming you have no plans of working in a related field, I suppose. Everything you do builds off of what you've already learned. This has certainly be the case for me, anyway.

Tbh I can't imagine this isn't the case for any major that has a modicum of rhyme or reason to its course ordering.

[Plow]

find whatever they can to feel superior about)

like being so much better than all those idiots that went to college

[Aksannyi]

Partying has absolutely nothing to do with why I chose to go to college. I am too old for that shit. I'm there to learn.

Maybe that's what kids go there for, but I outgrew that phase a long time ago.

[Arvin]

went to college to party, learned stuff along the way which was an added bonus. life lessons helped from those experience as well.

[Mertron]

do whatever the fuck you want

[Cream Soda]

Was never even invited to a party my entire time in college, lol

[Mertron]

with stand your ground laws being what they are, it was probably for the best

[SDSD]

Do you think college is purely for education, something in between, or purely to prepare people for a specific career?

College is about building a toolset of analytical and critical thinking skills and social experiences. Ideally someone would be able to marry all of that in support of a specific career at the same time. Although, the most successful people I know did much better building their toolset than doing well in a set of classes that were supposed to set them up for a career in a certain field.

What is your measure for success in life?

Some combination of doing better relative to the people I consider my peers, while balancing a number of personal and professional goals that I have set for myself.

What makes you happy with your career?

A strong upwards trajectory in a relatively stimulating field of work/work environment. Compensation that allows me to freely pursue the things that interest me.

What factors do you use when choosing a job?

Team I am working with, particulars of the job, compensation, "prestige"

Do you choose where to live then choose a career in that area or do you choose a career and go wherever it takes you?

My career really has a handful of cities where I could realistically follow the career path/compensation path I want. Outside of the large money center cities I am bound too, I would only want to live in a few other places regardless of what I was doing.

Should people feel obligated to work at a job that is in their field of study in college?

No

Is it ok to choose a job that isn't related to your field of study even if it earns you less money?

If you are personally ok with the amount of money you are giving up in the present, and over the course of your career, then go for it. Ultimately, being happy with the circumstances of your work is key. What makes each person happy about their job is key here.

[Rooney]

Do you think college is purely for education, something in between, or purely to prepare people for a specific career?

General education. College should provide some basic life skills like time management, prioritizing, socializing, self-sufficiency, etc. Imo it provides the theory base for starting a career. You might get some practical experience if you have an internship, but otherwise you get that after graduation.

What is your measure for success in life?

As others have said, happiness.

What makes you happy with your career?

Feeling like I've contributed/accomplished something. Good coworkers. Looking forward to going to work (not everyday, but at least sometimes)

What factors do you use when choosing a job?

Location > advancement opportunity > hours > pay/coworkers

Fuck commuting, seriously. That was one of the main reasons I left my last job. Would be willing to work for a little less if the job has good advancement possibilities and/or good coworkers. Crappy coworkers can make any job miserable, no matter the other benefits.

Also, work hours. I don't mind the occasional 50-55 hour week if a big project is going out, but screw doing that every week. Have done 60+ weeks consistently before while saving for college, was exhausted and miserable the whole time.

Do you choose where to live then choose a career in that area or do you choose a career and go wherever it takes you?

Both. Graduated into an area that tanked with the recession and tried to find something for almost a year. Ended up moving across country to an area with better opportunity and got a decent job. I've since transferred across the state and am now doing well and being promoted.

Should people feel obligated to work at a job that is in their field of study in college?

Absolutely not. Many of the skills you learn in college are useful in a wide, wide variety of work environments. No reason to preclude yourself from job/career opportunities just because your degree says "X". My degree is design based, but I'm currently working at an engineering firm. I've got a lot of opportunity in my current position, thanks in part to my skill set as a designer.

Is it ok to choose a job that isn't related to your field of study even if it earns you less money?

Yes. As several people have said, happiness is key. Not to mention that people change their minds all the time. Some will go back to college to get a related degree, some won't.

[tyven]

College is for fucking and drugs.

[Arvin]

College is for fucking and drugs.

BOTH AT THE SAME TIME

[Mertron]

don't fuck the drugs though, that's just silly