I for one am glad I went to University. I was exposed to topics and classes I would have laughed at earlier (philosophy, for one), met a lot of interesting friends, and had a really, really good time in general. In fact, I'd say that those years were some of the best in my life.
My only regret is that I didn't go on any exchange program. Really should have done that.
I think that if you only view higher education as a ticket to a better paying job, and nothing more, college could suck. But that's also under the assumption that you actively avoid social activities, and only go there to get your degree.
I really miss the youthful naïveté - all my peers were really motivated to do things.
Am I the only one that gets nostalgic for university while reading this? Ah, I think back to university many years ago and it almost makes me a little sad. A time when I spent so much of my time learning that these techniques would come in handy. My brain felt so much more limber at that period. I am certainly faster and productive now at my craft, and am very happy with that. But, oh, to be a student again...
Thanks for sharing a different perspective! I liked not communiting to University but the lack of socialization with fellow students and professors was a drag.
I'm saying that my life as I know it would be dramatically different, and probably worse, had I not gone to university, but all of the benefits I assign to having gone are peripheral (friends, spouse, weak employability marker) rather than direct (I learned something in class, related to my area of focus, that I was able to apply to my benefit in life). So it was worth going, but not because of The Great Education I Got There.
University was a wonderful time that shaped me in many ways. Technically, because it gave me the time and freedom to branch out as much as I wanted, and socially because I had a fantastic time with friends I made there, at a time where I was still unencumbered by commitments.
Cutting that short would have been the last thing on my mind.
For me, only about 25% of going to University was about education. It was about growing up and becoming independent from my parents, having fun and getting really drunk.
You will learn more from it than just the courses & modules you take so keep that in consideration.
Attending university was extremely valuable to me: I got to escape my parents, hang out with other people of compatible interests, experience broadband for the first time, and best of all, meet my wife.
Oh, and employers sometimes filter on 'has degree' vs 'no degree' when selecting who to interview. It hasn't seemed to matter that my degree (music, specifically music performance) was completely irrelevant to my chosen line of work, and has contributed nothing to my career. I should've just skipped class.
Though it does suck to skip out on the experience of being a freshman in a major university without the crutch of returning to mommy's house every night. Nice to be thrown into the deep end.
The crazy costs of university have made us look at university through the lens of job training, but there's a lot more to university than that. It just not worth it when you're going to be $100k in debt.
University didn't go super well for me, but in retrospect the experiences I treasure the most are the ones I never would've sought out on my own. If you see college as a long form of `#import book`, sure, but that's exactly what it shouldn't be.
I went mostly for the social aspects (to make friends and party basically) and to get me the piece of paper that helps getting a job. Some of the courses at university interested me, but most of what I learnt that benefited my career I did outwith my courses.
It was still some of the best years of my life and would recommend anyone to go, but I dont think a thirst for university prescribed knowledge is the only valid reason to go.
the value of attending college and completing a four-year degree at an accredited university comes from the environment you're ingrained in for that time. The people you meet, the conversations you have and experiences you expose yourself supersedes the raw material in the curriculum.
Don't get me wrong, the stuff in the textbox are important but I think you get your real value from the experiences and the relationships you make with your peers and instructors.
This is an extremely romanticised view of university, IMO. Maybe you went to a particularly good one.
I studied computer science. My experience was nothing like that at all. The vast majority of the people I met had no real interest or passion about the subject. They took no interest in anything outside of the course work, and certainly weren't up for any interesting discussions about our field. The motivations seemed to be purely financial - jump through these hoops and get a job.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I just hope people considering attending university consider that their experience may match mine. You may walk into a lecture full of shy people, who have divided themselves along ethnic lines, who are not interested in the subject, or stimulating discussion, or being friends, or anything outside their grades. The lecturer will pick up on it and be appropriately unmotivated.
YMMV, but for me it was literally just getting a piece of paper that stopped recruiters and HR deleting my CV. I learned far more chatting in IRC than I did in my courses. I'm 3 years out from university and no longer speak to anyone I met there.
looking back at all of the things i most appreciated about going to university, classes are near the bottom of the list. you cant put a price on the relationships you form, the labs, the teams and companies that you spin off, the hands on activities with tools and technology and artifacts you could never access otherwise, even simply being away somewhere you didnt grow up. you dont just put that on the internet anymore than you can expect cybersex to yield offspring
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