What is the point of going to university/college?

There are constant news reports of unemployed people with university and college degrees. If there is so much unemployment out there, what is the point of getting a university/college degree? There are news reports of about the need for skills trade workers. Maybe, I am being very pessimistic.

 

Well Yahoo has written an article about the richest undergraduates like Bill Gates (I forgot the other ones) so it's really not necessary to have a college degree in order to be successful in life. It does look good if you have a degree, but I think that it's not necessary to be able to succeed in life.

 

Like most things, there is no 'one answer.' College in a nutshell is more
trade or career oriented for the most part. But if you come out of a good university with a
law degree or medicine, that is pretty much career oriented and a pretty fair start on success. Both are of course very demanding careers and programs.
If you come out of a university with a B.A. in say philosophy, well the job prospects might be
a little less positive. I got a university degree then went for a year of college, took journalism and then worked in reporting and newspapers for 20+ years. Did having a B.A. in English hurt that career? No but the journalism program is what really got me work. But of course college is not a guarantee either these days. At one point a graphic arts program looked really good but then there were too many grads. Or for example forklift training at one point was a ticket but then . . supply and demand. Of course the situation changes constantly.
So like I said no simple or single answer IMHO
Ryder13

 

There are corporate jobs that require a degree and there are low paying jobs that don't. When you get a degree and try to get a low paying job it doesn't happen. You will be overqualified for it. I would recommend people to get a degree and get a safe job that would have a regular schedule.

 

I went to college and it really annoys me that employment is hard to get despite qualifications. Here where I live employers seem to greatly value experience much more so over qualifications, so I can see where you are coming from with the notion of what's the point? I regret leaving college personally though, I may be able to be in a better financials position had I stuck it out, but the thing with experience over qualifications is really annoying and quite ridiculous I think.

 

It really, really depends on your major and how marketable the skill set is, so you have to do your homework ahead of time. If you pick the wrong one, you've more less wasted four years and piled on a mountain of debt. However, the reverse is certainly true in that a degree can help launch a successful career.

 

I agree. I don't think that having a degree is not necessary to be successful in life. It just depends on the dedication you have in order to succeed. A lot of people who didn't went through college were very successful in their life. So I thought that it's on the person's willingness to do the things to become successful. Even if you are a degree holder but you aren't doing anything, so what's the point of having a degree right? I am not actually stopping people not to earn a degree because I am a degree holder myself and a Professional Nurse. But I am just talking about reality. Not all people but there are some who don't succeed in their life even if they graduated in college.

 

I never had a degree and did pretty well in life, but when I was hiring people and had a choice of two equally qualified applicants the position would usually go to the one with a degree only for the reason that the person stuck with it.

 

It is very sad to get educated and not have a job. However, in college, you might meet your future marriage partner. Most of the people that I know met their current spouses in college. There is nothing wrong in getting a little extra knowledge.

 

It's not sad for me but it's quite frustrating and discouraging knowing that you earned a degree but you don't have a good job. But if you graduated in college, it would be an advantage on your part because there are more opportunities for those people who graduated and earned a degree.

 

Yeah, I think that's when the problem starts for qualified but undergraduate applicants, they are always beaten by the person who has the degree, because it looks better too in all aspects if a person has a diploma.

 

Yes I think I have seen this a lot. When I want to get the same job as someone who is more educated than I am, I never get the job at all. My only fear is that the more educated I get, the more the employers ask of me.

I believe that the surest way to get money is not by getting a job, but making a job not just for you but for those around you. This way, you will earn a lot and other people whom you have employed will also be earning money for you.

 

I guess it all depends on the individual and what you are going to college for. If there is a concrete opporutinity to get a job right after college, then that would be not useless.

 

Nowadays, for almost every good salary job a degree is the minimum required qualification. It's true that there are so many degree holders whose skills are below par. These days corporates want highly educated skilled employers.

 

In many ways it's something to make employers feel good about their hires, even though a degree can be deceiving. I've met plenty of people with degrees who didn't know a thing about what they were doing. I knew what I was doing well before I even went to college; I wasn't taught much that I didn't already know in some capacity. It was all about getting that piece of paper at the end that said I knew it, though. If that was the only acceptable proof that I actually knew how to do what needed to be done, then I had little choice but to get it.

 

I think your career choice has a lot to do with whether you really need to go to university or not. Take for example, a doctor, he certainly needs a degree. Also, If you are doing, say a management course and you intend to go to the highest level in your job, you may need to have a degree to lead others but if it's something that you can achieve with certification only, then going to university may be a waste of time.