Why do I need college?

[BurmaShave]

One of the guys in my accounting class was laid off of his job as a vice-pres of IT in small to mid size company when it was merged with a larger company. The buyer was surprised that a VP that didn't have a degree was on the payroll so they cut him. He held this VP position for 8 years. He had always planned on going back to college but then his kids came and that took care of that.

What company would hire him for a similar position of responsibility and pay without a college degree? That has got to be pretty scary for a married man with all that family responsibility and no prospect for adequate employment.

 

[Prof]

As a member of the faculty at a fairly well-known University I feel that I should at least post something here. I think that many fair points have been made and we should remember that just as in shaving, YMMV applies to jobs/education/life/philosophy as well.

1. Higher education is just that, education that is meant to be beyond (higher) than the average. Not everyone needs a bachelor's degree. That said, a college education will expand your horizons in a way that pure work experience will not. You will be asked to think critically and creatively in a way that rarely comes up in the world of business -- because it is generally useless...

2. You often meet a more diverse group of people at University than you would elsewhere. I would argue that cultural and social experiences are especially useful in our modern (and often dangerous) global world.

3. Higher education encourages our youth to consider alternative career paths, at least in the short term. Programs like Teach for America and the Peace Core have tremendous value in our society.

4. PhD's take a tremendous amount of time. However, by this time in your career if you've decided to go for a PhD it is because you really love research in your field and have made this your path.

5. There is more to life than money. I can steal money. I can't steal knowledge. I certainly can't steal knowledge that doesn't exist. The feeling of contributing something new to mankind's body of knowledge is amazing, I can't imagine such a feel is possible in more traditional jobs (of course, YMMV )