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Originally Posted by rsx
I wouldn't say it's massively overrated. A lot of degrees are highly specialized and can take you straight into a career that you studied for.
I think the problem with it is, most people enter university still quite immature and fail to realize how important their studies are. I'm guilty of that. lol.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meme405
Being a BCIT graduate, I dont know about traditional universities, but I know for a fact that I gained a lot from my two year program. Which is why I chose to return to BCIT for my degree.
The thing is what they try to teach you and what you think you are learning may not be what is actually important or what you will need to recall on when you have a job.
Once I graduated and got my first job in the construction industry, I was asked a series of simple questions, stuff that anyone would not know unless they had a background. I knew the answers to these questions, but it had nothing to do whatsoever with what I studied. It was simply stuff I picked up because I had to know in order to study what I was actually required to know for tests and such. For example Abbreviations for general terms in the construction industry. I was never asked what certain abbreviations meant on a test but you kinda had to know in order to understand.
My point is that what universities focus on might not be what you actually pull away from the experience, but what you get from it is still very important.
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yea, this topic is directed more towards general social science and liberal arts degrees than vocational and specialized degrees. those are legit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yc
it's overrated because it's too cheap. If you make university 10 times more expensive then it wouldn't be overrated, because only a few would able to go and those who went will surely value it more and get more out of it;
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i argue that it is already too expensive. you're not really receiving much value in terms of what you are offered. most of the information is free online.
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Originally Posted by snails
thats such a myth its not even funny, experience in a job will get you much further than a certificate, it also depends on the job, my dad was clearing over 100g a year with just a high school diploma. It is easy for anyone to become successful at what they do with just hard work. i have done some apprenticeships and you learn 10x more on the job than you ever will in a classroom.
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the thing is, in this economy it isn't really an either or situation. almost all jobs require a good mixture of both work experience, skills AND post secondary education. hell you need to have a post secondary degree to be a manager in some retail stores!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dinosaur
The key thing university teaches you is critical thinking. its up to you to put a price tag on that.
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actually, i would argue that university actually decreases your ability to critical think due to its structure. this is why the "arts" (i.e. music, literature, visual arts, etc) should be more incorporated into each degree - these do a much better job of teaching critical thinking than a textbook