|
There was some discussion in the bad with money thread about the perceived value of higher education, and whether going to a prestigious Ivy league school or small private school was worth it or not compared to other cheaper local/state school options. Now, we have an entire thread to poo poo up instead of continuing to derail in the BWM one! Feel free to share as much or as little as you want about what school you attended, the overall cost, the pros and cons of your decision, and whether or not you'd make the same choice again or do something different. This thread also applies to those that went to some kind of vocational education or other skills training program. For me? I went to a decent sized division 2 GLIAC school (Go Lakers!) that was essentially just an extension of high school. I still vividly remember writing a check for my first semester of full time tuition for almost $1,500 because up until that point, thats the most money I'd ever spent at one time. I managed to get lucky and get a job at a hospital halfway through my freshman year and one of the benefits while working there was tuition reimbursement. I think all-in for my undergrad education, they picked up 70-80% of it. When I graduated 7 years later, I had less than $5k in student loans because I lived at home for a while, or was working part/full time and paying for all my other expenses. Even though I started with the intention of majoring in finance/accounting, I couldn't escape computer nerd poo poo, and ended up majoring in Information Systems (because gently caress programming, seriously), and got a B.S. degree. Was it worth it? Yup, especially since I didn't really pay much out of pocket for my degree. I missed out on most financial aid and scholarships, but got EXTREMELY lucky to find a job that offered tuition reimbursement. I have a decent job now not directly related to my degree, but having a degree has helped me get where I am. Would I do anything differently? Some things yes, some things no. I would get more involved with school if I could go back and do it again. By going to a local school as a commuter, I missed out on "the college experience" I guess. I don't regret not living in the dorms, but I was also pretty removed from any kind of campus life or activities going on. I also wouldn't take 7 years to graduate. Working full time and going to school full time sucked, but I would have done more of it to not drag out 7 years for a Bachelor's degree. I wouldn't change schools though. I was accepted to and almost went to Northwood University, but couldn't afford it without a lot of student loans which I didn't want. Looking back I don't think that would have really changed any career prospects or connections for me though.
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2018 13:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 10:21 |
|
|
I will defend private liberal arts colleges to the death. The details are probably region/state specific but I went to one in Minnesota, which has a strong selection and tradition of liberal arts schools. Though the sticker shock is high, nearly no one pays close to that price. I don't know what its like in other states, but programs like the Minnesota State Grant apply to both public and private schools, and pay out significantly. Without something like this I would've been unable to attend this type of school. Most of the liberal arts schools in this area are quite concerned with recruiting low-mid income students, and are very willing to work with applicants to ensure that their education is affordable, and in this state there is a general political sense that whatever school you choose should be as broadly affordable as any other. Problems arise when they get into pricing wars with each other. Full-pay students will still be able to do it, and those with significant aid packages will have those increase proportionally, but those in the middle can end up getting squeezed. I left school with a significant, though not overwhelming level of debt, pretty much in line with the national average. In my mind this is more of an issue with the system than anything else. Worth it? Absolutely. I'd pick my school again gladly. You do not get the same education or community everywhere, and being in the right environment really helped me click and be successful with my education. As far as connections are concerned I don't have any fantastic business world connections, but personal connections have been very beneficial, including friends to help me relocate to a different area and a very engaged alumni network.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2018 14:49
|
|
|
Oh man, networks are so important. I graduated from a 4 year large urban reasonably esteemed state school and a derided for-profit school for my Masters and somehow managed to make no network connections in either one.  I’m trying to help my 17 year old not make my same mistakes and strongly encouraging her to look at small rural campuses where it’s easier to not just be one rando kid in a 75 student lecture hall. It helps that her boyfriend just started at my alma mater and is already going to a mental health counselor because he feels so adrift and isolated on campus.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2018 15:48
|
|
|
Krispy Wafer posted:I’m trying to help my 17 year old not make my same mistakes and strongly encouraging her to look at small rural campuses where it’s easier to not just be one rando kid in a 75 student lecture hall. This was really important to me for many reasons. For example I was in a seminar course with a total of 6 students in my senior year and it was made very clear that with a class size that small we're all responsible for helping each other learn and understand the material. I don't think I would've been as diligent a student without that kind of responsibility to others. If you're interested in info about rural colleges in MN feel free to pm me.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2018 15:57
|
|
|
epic bird guy posted:This was really important to me for many reasons. For example I was in a seminar course with a total of 6 students in my senior year and it was made very clear that with a class size that small we're all responsible for helping each other learn and understand the material. I don't think I would've been as diligent a student without that kind of responsibility to others. Thanks, but that would be very cold. Fortunately she qualifies for free tuition in our nice warm home state and already has a small public school about 2 hours from home that’s her first choice. My alma mater was her second choice, but I’m hoping going down to see her boyfriend has swayed her from that even though she otherwise might want to follow her beau.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2018 17:54
|
|
|
I went to Tufts University (Go Jumbos!). It was a really good fit for me in that it had a strong liberal arts tradition while offering some decent research opportunities and mid-size classes. Some big lectures were 100 ish head count, but most classes were 20-40 and upper level seminars were like, 6-15. It was big enough to give some anonymity and autonomy and avoided being stifling. I was able to take a lot of interesting classes in diverse subjects, which were still academically rigorous. I was also able to get a fairly well regarded degree with good employment prospects in a subject area that I was interested in. The school's flexibility and rigor in different disciplines allowed me to go in as one prospective major and change my mind fairly completely with no negative consequences. There is a very strong alumni network and a lot of my peers are well regarded in their fields and very well connected. Funding was a mix of sources but the generosity of my family definitely allowed me to go to school there without worries: roughly 10% my own cash, 5% inherited money from a great aunt, 20% from grandparents, 65% from parents. In that sense, going to an at least top 50 school with no debt was both a privilege and a very good move. I also didn't have much of a real choice - if I went to a lesser school, my parents weren't going to turn around and give me the difference in cash, so in a money-no-object environment of course you'll pick the thing that is the best, and also maybe coincidentally the most expensive. Would I do it again? Tough to say. I think it was the right move for me. I probably would have struggled to "find myself" in a bigger environment and gotten in to a lot more trouble than I did, and a smaller environment would have been too constricting. It allowed me to get well established in a lucrative and fulfilling career. My current firm recruits out of there, so I passed at least the "name of school must be X good or better" bar, which was probably worth it. On the other hand, the opportunity cost of what is now roughly $280,000 in total cost for a four year degree cannot be understated. I'd like to eventually put my kids in a position where they at least have the same opportunities and money is not a barrier to them getting the education they desire, and I am currently well on track to do so. Of course, I think it's probably good for there to be some sort of arrangement where saving money can return a direct benefit to the child. It all depends on the kids and how they work, though.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2018 19:47
|
|
|
If I had to do things again.... I would go to community college for 2 years, maybe pick up a trade, maybe not. But focus on STEM-ish classes. Then transfer to a 4 year state college.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2018 01:07
|
|
|
I did two years of community college right after high school and I loving hated it. It was literally just high school except all my 'peers' were 30 years older than me, and I had no idea what I wanted to do or why I was even going other than that I should. Ended up with nothing. Honestly the 'not knowing what you want to do when you grow up' part is probably the biggest problem for most people and also the easiest to handwave with 20/20 hindsight. And the hardest to fix. Almost like it's kind of stupid that the entire
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2018 07:11
|
|
|
I'm going to a posh name-brand university and my parents wouldn't have it any other way. But I'm afraid I'm not getting anything out of it career wise. I had a couple of bad years of school, so I'm not competitive to do anything in finance or consulting at this moment. I feel like I'm not really in those networks, so it would be hard to get a job even if my grades were better. If I want to go to grad school, no one's going to care about the name on my diploma. I am getting good financial aid so it doesn't make sense to transfer anywhere. But I can't see how it's worth it to pay full tuition here. My friend's family is paying full tuition when he is in the engineering school, which is honestly not that great. That just baffles me a lot.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2018 10:48
|
|
|
hailthefish posted:Almost like it's kind of stupid that the entire yeah this is a lot of why my post-secondary educational system worked out well for me - I had no idea about that poo poo and was in an environment that embraced it
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2018 11:44
|
|
|
I don't live in a turbo-capitalist shithole so yes it was entirely good to me and is for most people. In 2004-2007 I paid ~$5800 per a full semester of engineering, for 8 semesters of study, totalling $46,400. Other degrees paid more ($6800 for dentistry, med) or less ($4100 for nursing, science, etc.) depending on the tuition costs and perceived national priority to attract graduates. They also lasted more or less (3 years in most undergrads, more for med where you do undergrad then another 4 years of med). Though I paid upfront and thus got a 20% discount on that, most do not. Instead, most put it on the government-supported loan called HECS, which is entirely interest-free and cost-free except for CPI increase. HECS is then repaid only when you earn over a certain threshold, and is deducted out of your pay as tax would. Back then, it kicked in with 4% of your gross salary at $38k and scaled up to 8% once you earned $71k. Since this was taken out as part of your paycheque before it hit your bank account, you barely noticed it in reality. Critically, this also means that if you graduate with a philosophy degree, you don't immediately have to meet repayments if you keep working in a cafe and indeed you could go through life entirely without earning over the threshold and never repay it, at which point it's fully discharged and the government accepts their investment in you learning to make a pretty mean coffee by the end of it. It also means people can pursue degrees which enrich their lives rather than force them into something that they hate just because it's employable. If they then flail around for a few years before landing some unrelated office job, so be it - they'll still repay it eventually. We also obviously observe higher taxes for this privilege, but I'm not uncomfortable with that because it affords society a broader range of experiences and people. To put all these numbers in perspective, when I graduated, i got a job earning $49k so the total cost of the degree cost less than my first year gross salary, though engineering was in stupidly hot demand then (perhaps the most of any degree). After 4 or so years that was $80k, because engineering. Nowadays, the numbers are: $4430-$8860 per semester depending on your degree 10% discount for upfront payment 2% of gross salary repayments from $52k, up to 8% for $107k Here's the wiki article on how all this poo poo works in detail In summary, the US is a really punitive system, particularly because it penalises the 18 year olds who have no idea what they want to do with their lives and railroads people into careers they hate just because it is in demand and makes financial sense. This is amplified by the bizarre way employers there fetishise the need for a university degree - often unrelated - to do a job that really doesn't need it. Nam Taf fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Sep 4, 2018 |
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2018 14:50
|
|
|
Holy poo poo, $49k with an engineering degree? Makes me glad I'm in a turbocapitalist shithole. Is that in Australian dollars?
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2018 15:30
|
|
|
I went to Brigham Young University, the main one in Utah, for a degree in CS. I think the tuition ranged from $1000-1500/semester while I was there, the rate is higher if you're not mormon but still pretty cheap. My parents paid for my college and then I was able to get SMART grants and financial assistance on top of that because I was married most of the time, which I think is kind of hilarious. The quality of the education itself was largely good. Obviously goons would take issue with the mandatory religion classes (as would I, now), but the secular classes were pretty normal other than usually starting each class with a prayer, and the professors were all very nice and cool people. In fact just in general, people at BYU were substantially nicer than average, and also very honest. I lost poo poo all the time, including laptops a couple times, and always got it back at the lost and found. The culture is obviously very very mormon, which is to say conservative as far as universities go, and there are requirements to follow various mormon rules even beyond the usual expectation for mormons. So not only can you not drink alcohol or have sex outside of (straight) marriage, you can't even have a beard or live in the same apartment as a member of the opposite sex. It was basically fine at the time for me, and it's a really good value in terms of the quality of the education relative to the cost. But I'm not mormon anymore so of course I wouldn't go to that particular college again, I'd go to one of the UC's instead. The major I chose though...I thought CS would be a pretty good degree as far as income. I was wrong. It's been FANTASTIC. After a handful of years I was making double what I expected to make at that point in my career, in the low 200's. I'm making less than that now because I chose to transfer to Germany, but the money is still very good, and being able to move countries relatively easily is itself a huge plus. The wife and I have also considered moving to Japan, which is definitely a viable option for us career-wise, just socially and with the kid it would be awkward. Something you see repeated here (or especially in D&D) is, "well, you can't have everyone in society be programmers". That's obviously true, but as far as individual level advice goes, "be a programmer if you are capable of it and can stomach the work" seems to be pretty solid advice right now. In my particular case I worked at Amazon and then Google, which are definitely above-average jobs for CS, but even mediocre programmers seem to be able to get pretty decent jobs.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2018 16:04
|
|
|
Cicero posted:The culture is obviously very very mormon, which is to say conservative as far as universities go, and there are requirements to follow various mormon rules even beyond the usual expectation for mormons. So not only can you not drink alcohol or have sex outside of (straight) marriage, you can't even have a beard or live in the same apartment as a member of the opposite sex. This sounds conservative as far as Saudi Arabia goes, not sure what the right word is to compare it to a normal college in the US
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2018 16:20
|
|
|
Droo posted:This sounds conservative as far as Saudi Arabia goes, not sure what the right word is to compare it to a normal college in the US
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2018 16:39
|
|
|
OctaviusBeaver posted:Holy poo poo, $49k with an engineering degree? Makes me glad I'm in a turbocapitalist shithole. Is that in Australian dollars? Yes. That was over a decade ago and for first year out. Like i said, by 4 years in you’re in 80k, and now I’m well into 6 figures. It’d now exceed 65 as a grad. In any case, my point was that the total cost to get a degree was in the ratio of 1 times gross earnings out of Uni for most technical degrees (engineering, finance, etc etc) Edit: none of those wages include the 10% retirement contributions because that’s a legal requirement for literally all jobs so no one quotes it in their pay. I don’t know if that’s the same there. Nam Taf fucked around with this message at 01:32 on Sep 5, 2018 |
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2018 01:14
|
|
|
For undergraduate I was well served, even though by the end of the road I'd put in ~65-70k for my namby pamby private liberal arts degree. Earnings + relationships (personal and professional) + quality of education paid off for me, even after accounting for the 4 years of foregone/reduced earnings. My masters though...that one's been kinda a wash if not a loss. I dunno, maybe it will show its value mid career? My approach to this question has usually started by: 1. Looking at the out of pocket costs of the degree (not just tuition!) 2. Adding to those costs the deferred earnings 3. Adding to those the interest costs (if you took out loans) 4. Subtracting from all of those the wage premium expected over a career and adjusting it to net present value. This is just be a single bullet-point on your pro-con list though because, hey, education is kinda more complex than just price? El Mero Mero fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Sep 7, 2018 |
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2018 04:08
|
|
|
I had a very fortunate (and strategically planned) college career: Year 1: Community College fully paid by two scholarships I received as a senior in high school. ($0) Year 2: Community College, 50% paid via scholarship, 50% paid via parents. (~$2k) Year 3: Cheap State University, parents took out student loans (~$15k?) Year 4: Cheap State University, I took out student loans (~$12k; forgiven by the government) I then immediately took a teaching job in a low income area. After 5 years, I qualified for $17,500 in loan forgiveness for teaching a high-needs subject in a low-income school. This paid off the student loans I took out. I started a Master's degree my 7th year of teaching as Washington fashions their payscale based on a combination of years of experience and education level. I used my remaining loan forgiveness to pay for the first year of my Master's. Year 5: Online Master's Degree, I took out student loans (~$6k; forgiven by the government) Year 6: Online Master's Degree, I paid out of pocket (~$6k). The immediate 10k raise upon finishing my Master's degree was rad - why'd I wait so long? I've begun to feel the itch of "Oh, god, do I really want to teach for 33 more years?" and thus decided to obtain some post-grad certification in Applied Behavior Analysis. Years 7 - 8: Post-Grad Cert Program, I paid out of pocket (~5.5k; some reimbursed via grant) My school district offers Individual Growth Grants and I was able to get $2500 of my coursework reimbursed. Rad. Hoping to apply for some more this year. -- Was it worth it? So, in total for 8 years of college, I personally paid $9,000. Holy crap. I just realized that! I am extremely fortunate. But I also made very strategic decisions along the way. (I'm a special education teacher. No one gives a gently caress where I went to college.) Between my parents and I, we paid ~$25k. Now that I am older, I wish I would have paid it all myself. They couldn't really afford to do the big loan for Year 3. They have no retirement, so I will be paying them back in spades I am sure! I am extremely lucky to have never had to pay on a student loan. -- Would I do anything differently? Maybe not be a teacher? It's a lovely field in which I have already hit the ceiling in my early 30's. I do have a passion for it, for sure. I am the first college grad in my family (as well as the entire extended family on my mother's side) - so I admit to being pretty unaware of the options out there. I latched on to teaching at an early age and never really explored my options.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2018 05:10
|
|
|
Op, why didn't you just go to Tech?
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2018 06:35
|
|
|
Eskaton posted:Op, why didn't you just go to Tech?
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2018 12:45
|
|
|
Cicero posted:The major I chose though...I thought CS would be a pretty good degree as far as income. I was wrong. It's been FANTASTIC. After a handful of years I was making double what I expected to make at that point in my career, in the low 200's. I'm making less than that now because I chose to transfer to Germany, but the money is still very good, and being able to move countries relatively easily is itself a huge plus. The wife and I have also considered moving to Japan, which is definitely a viable option for us career-wise, just socially and with the kid it would be awkward. Conversely, I picked ChemE in 2011 when I started college because it was at the top of the salary charts and everyone talked about the impending waves of retirees and the need for new employees. By the time I graduated, that job market had eaten dirt, and I found nothing despite having >3.9 GPA and multiple internships. Ended up going to grad school for a different but somewhat related field (funded PhD) so it wasn't a complete wash, but I still don't think I'm going to come out in financial terms. Don't pick majors based on job prospects and salaries right now, you just can't predict the job market 4-5 years out.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2018 21:09
|
|
|
Community college was great. University was terrible. gently caress student loans.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2018 00:12
|
|
|
I'm four years out of graduating from Northwestern and the only thing I'd do differently a second time around would be changing my major - by the end of freshman year I realized I had no passion for chemistry whatsoever, I just latched onto it in high school because or our awesome nationals-quality Science Olympiad program. I stand by bailing on that, I just wish I went into finance or something more marketable instead of political science (with a focus in Latin America) and a minor in economics. It was a great environment, I learned a great deal and made a bunch of wonderful connections, if I didn't get in I'd probably still be in Kansas instead of Chicago and so on and so forth, but I definitely wonder about a Sliding Doors-type parallel world where I went for the money instead of the liberal arts degree every once in a while. The need-based scholarships did an immense amount of heavy lifting (with a small assist from work-study and a fellowship research grant one summer) I graduated with $20k in student loans, currently down to a shade under $6.6k at 3.15%.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2018 02:58
|
|
|
I graduated with no debt, but it took me 7 years, I had no social life, and my GPA sucked because I worked full time and went to night school. If I could've done it all over again I would have taken out student loans, graduated in 4 years, and maybe actually have enjoyed the college experience. I'd gladly trade in all this character I built through adversity.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2018 03:45
|
|
|
hailthefish posted:I did two years of community college right after high school and I loving hated it. It was literally just high school except all my 'peers' were 30 years older than me, and I had no idea what I wanted to do or why I was even going other than that I should. Ended up with nothing. I did the same thing but I loved it because literally every one of my high school friends ended up there with me. Dropped out one class away from my associates cause engineering wasn't going to be for me. Now I have a GI bill if I ever decide to go back to real school, probably won't but it's nice to have the option to get paid to go to class. I think if I went back I'd go straight into the air force and skip school entirely. I had no intention of getting a degree at any point despite having enough from a college fund to survive at an in state school for 4 years. I was tired of school, I just wanted to work.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2018 04:13
|
|
|
Looking back in retrospect I probably should have just enlisted in 2008 when I graduated high school and was still in good shape but lol now I'm hosed for life instead.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2018 04:20
|
|
|
I studied chemistry a small liberal arts college in the Midwest and am generally happy with my decision. The big thing I would do differently next time is to work harder at securing research opportunities during the summer or even during the school year, as I went for a chem PhD right after college and ultimately flamed out because I had never really done independent research prior to that. Maybe I would have had more options for doing this at a larger undergrad, but I knew all of the professors in my department after my sophomore year and just never pursued anything with them. But it was a good school with a better alumni network than you'd expect for its size, and I only had to take out $10k to complete my degree (probably closer to $15k with the payment deference I used in grad school) so I think I got a good deal there. There's an argument to be made that the MS I ultimately got in my PhD program wasn't worth it, as my first job after grad school didn't require it and my current job sure as poo poo doesn't need it, even if they told me it was a factor in my hiring process no one actually gives a gently caress about STEM Master's degrees. But I really enjoyed my time in the program, made some good friends that I still have, and learned a level of professional and personal maturity that I think has been really beneficial in my life since then. Plus STEM PhDs come with free tuition and a stipend (because you're an indentured servant) so it's not like I took on $50k in debt to not even complete the program. I'm also probably biased because I met my wife in college. She says she hated her experience there but I think she just chose the wrong major and is mad that she doesn't have as many usable alumni connections as she'd like, she swears it's not because she was stuck with me at the end!  Power of Pecota posted:I'm four years out of graduating from Northwestern and the only thing I'd do differently a second time around would be changing my major - by the end of freshman year I realized I had no passion for chemistry whatsoever, I just latched onto it in high school because or our awesome nationals-quality Science Olympiad program. I stand by bailing on that, I just wish I went into finance or something more marketable instead of political science (with a focus in Latin America) and a minor in economics. Bummer that you didn't enjoy chemistry because the chem department at NU is really drat good. I'd be curious to hear whose classes you took or if you worked in anyone's lab because there's a decent chance that I'll recognize their name (PM me if you don't want to put them on blast in public).
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2018 14:16
|
|
|
It was more of a lack of passion for the subject material than anything else - I have nothing bad to say about the program at all*, Franz Geiger's lectures in accelerated inorganic chemistry were a highlight of freshman year for me and with one exception I liked all my professors/TAs. *That being said, Shelby Hatch is an rear end in a top hat - she perpetually had the tone of someone who thought you were a waste of her time and before one of either Geiger or George Schatz's lectures, I forget which, they mentioned the midterm was graded and in our little cubbies right in front of the lab if we wanted to pick them up. When people came down to get them she ran over yelling about how we had to wait until after class and literally ripped mine out of my hands and stuck it back in the little mailbox.
|
|
#
?
Sep 7, 2018 22:53
|
|
|
I make almost 100k as a government social worker in the Bay Area (I sneak over from time to time with extra hours worked), so my salary as a social worker is already a miracle. The average non profit in the area pays about 50k for my same experience level. I did community college for 3 years and got two AAs ($0 and I lived in Shithole Central Valley, CA for $250/month in rent during the recession) Transferred to a SoCal UC ($12k fed loans after need based aid, including living expenses, thanks deadbeat mom) Masters program at Berkeley ($50k fed loans including living expenses, like a loving starry eyed dumbass because I’d been rejected twice for undergrad before this acceptance) If I had to do it again I’d have done my masters program for half the price at SF State or East Bay. Nobody cares about your degree pedigree in government cog social work. The one way the name brand might pay off is in my private practice side hustle as a therapist. My path is only worth it because of the earning power I have in this on exact spot where I live. If I was doing non profit work for 50% of my pay I would be poo poo out of luck. My kid is now going to San Jose State at a cost of about $6k/year (fed loans, all living expenses, tuition is free, and I keep a savings account for her that I may use to pay off the loans at graduation.) I wanted her to stay home and do community college because growing up in foster care didn’t exactly set her up to be successful independently but she worked hard, got accepted, and is now a sophomore. She does community college classes at home with me over the summer and seems to thrive there, but she desperately wants to be a regular kid at a four year school. She wants to be a history teacher so we try to keep her grounded and keep debt low - she’s got her heart set on out of state grad school for some reason, god help her.
|
|
#
?
Sep 9, 2018 19:56
|
|
|
I (in retrospect) won the lottery and attended a Top 3 university. My original intent was to study EECS, but I decided that I didn't want to sit in front of a computer all day coding and instead ended up going in to medicine. I took a hit GPA-wise studying engineering, and went to a decent (but not incredible) med school, worked my butt off, and ended up securing a very competitive residency which lead to me ending up in a competitive academic job at a major university. I earn a decent salary, although it's significantly less than what I could earn in private practice. In exchange I get the chance to work with people who are at the very top of their field and the chance to work on research projects. Undergrad debt: $10k (I had very generous need-based financial aid) Graduate debt: $200k (lol med school) Was it worth it? Definitely. I have a fulfilling/satisfying job that allows me to treat cancer patients, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I go back and forth and wonder what my life would be like if I had gone in to consulting/i-banking/tech like the majority of my classmates from college. I'd have less debt and have much easier job mobility, which is definitely an issue for specialty medicine. A city like San Francisco or NYC only needs so many specialty doctors, and as it turns out, lots of doctors want to live in SF/NYC. This means that physician salaries are depressed in desirable cities with a high COL when compared to places in the Southeast/Midwest, which is the opposite of most other careers. Engineer salaries are higher in SF than they are in Omaha. For doctors, it's the opposite. It's a first world problem, but it's frustrating when you realize how low the salary difference is between a physician in the Bay Area versus an engineer at a place like Google or Facebook, without the massive student loans/time associated with med school and training.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2018 20:15
|
|
|
I probably wouldn't have gotten my poo poo job in 2012 that eventually lead to this job I have now if I didn't have a B.A. But I absolutely do not use, in any practical sense, anything I learned in college whatsoever. So it's kind of a toss-up. If I had any amount of ambition and got a degree that could have lead to an actual career I might think otherwise, but in reality I'm a huge dumbass with no forethought so I basically just threw 40 grand in a big hole for marginal benefit.
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2018 22:25
|
|
|
Went to a mid tier state school because I grew up dirt poor and no one in my family had ever gone to college. Only applied to that school on a whim because it came in our mailbox. Left school with about 25k in loans after working full time. Majored in math - first job was some lovely mid market insurance company - but realized that I was quite good at both technical analysis, presentations, and sales. Also realized people from ivy leagues weren’t actually any smarter. I maneuvered my way after many attempts into management consulting and make about 300k. According to senior partners I’m on track to make partner in the next 3-4 years which should push me into 7 figures in a short period. Don’t really care about the job or like it but I tell myself I’m doing it so my kids don’t have to go without food like I did. If I could go back in time I would have made the realization that rich kids in big cities aren’t any smarter and applied myself to get into an ivy and become a researcher/professor.
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2018 04:41
|
|
|
Vomik posted:Don’t really care about the job or like it but I tell myself I’m doing it so my kids don’t have to go without food like I did. If I could go back in time I would have made the realization that rich kids in big cities aren’t any smarter and applied myself to get into an ivy and become a researcher/professor. I’d imagine being a researcher/professor is way more rewarding if you’re already financially independent. It’s never too late.
|
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2018 16:46
|
|
|
Vomik posted:Went to a mid tier state school because I grew up dirt poor and no one in my family had ever gone to college. Only applied to that school on a whim because it came in our mailbox. Left school with about 25k in loans after working full time. Dude you're like a few years away from being able to retire. Then you can study whatever you want
|
|
#
?
Dec 21, 2018 05:01
|
|
|
To be honest, in the Bay Area and PNW, I've seen multiple people go through data science and/or software development bootcamps. They spend like $20,000 to take a 3 month course and then leave with a $120,000+ job. So in that context, yeah the 6 years of college to get my undergrad and masters was not worth it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 21, 2018 05:43
|
|
|
i went to plutocrat school and i made all the money me and my parents paid back already (no debt, we had savings). not 30 yet. got to annoy the poo poo out of many important peeps in the field my parents and i had a handshake deal that they'd pay for 3 years and i would pay for 1, but in retrospect i prolly could've gotten them to pay for the masters in 2 years instead of the 1 year i did it in. dunno if that would've changed jack tho bob dobbs is dead fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Dec 21, 2018 |
|
#
?
Dec 21, 2018 06:59
|
|
|
howdoesishotweb posted:I’d imagine being a researcher/professor is way more rewarding if you’re already financially independent. It’s never too late. Ccs posted:Dude you're like a few years away from being able to retire. Then you can study whatever you want You’re both definitely right and it is something I’ve strongly considered. But I also know my competition would be people who have been doing the adjunct shuffle for a decade+ before I’d even started so I’d be at a disadvantage. I do have a goal to go back and get my PhD though. Hoping that “business success” translates to a good application since obviously I just have an ok school but no professor recommendations to speak of. I actually really love teaching people and my greatest joy from my job is teaching new skills to junior staff. I’ve also considered just retiring at some point and being a high school teacher.
|
|
#
?
Dec 21, 2018 16:30
|
|
|
I graduated with an engineering degree with $90,000 in student loan debt in a recession. My first job out of school paid $60,000. Now I'm in the low $200s. I got an MBA where the costs were covered by my employer and whatever was left was paid out of pocket. I was not going to take out any student loans and made sure to save up before going to school. Was it worth it? The undergrad degree was worth it. Nobody has given a poo poo about the MBA. I'm very hesitant to recommend anyone get an MBA these days unless maybe you get it from Harvard or Stanford.
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2018 13:38
|
|
|
Did you get a full time or part time Mba? Did you get it from a top 25 program? Did you effectively stay at the same firm/position? Were you already making ~$200k before the mba?
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2018 00:29
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 10:21 |
|
|
I went to state university in my hometown for negative money on scholarship, it was easy and I didn't get very much useful information or skills out of the large lecture hall component of it but there are some fun elective classes and more intimate honors type classes. However, it was always a means to an end. Then I went to state medical school and borrowed all the tuition. I would definitely do it again because the ROI on going to medical school is astronomical and unlike most doctors I don't think that I would intrinsically be all that great at other high-paying professions such as law or engineering or programming
|
|
#
?
Dec 28, 2018 16:33
|
|