GREATEST COLLEGE COURSE EVER?!

[andyrping]

*Place marker for my story tommorrow on college an taking these "silly" classes. (im drinking right now...not carrying) These classes actually do make since...stay tuned.

Someone rep me for being inebriated an not posting a 600 word essay on my Engineering degrees and the walking class I took and how it all makes since....

Rep for getting tanked on a Tuesday eve!

 

[Sasquatchhunter]

That's where my fiance went. They had the walking course that she was going to take. Maybe you just aren't on the right academic track.

i doubt that

 

[phrozen5100]

You're only reinforcing my point. Another reason to take classes unrelated to your major? Because you may not even be employed in that field! This is why I consider it important to supplement technical courses with liberal arts geared courses, or vice versa.

The vast majority of learning is performed on the job, not in college. The role of college (at Bachelor's level) is to make you less ignorant technically and more able to learn, but it can't teach you to perform your job duties. After one has settled into their job role, they tend to carry with them only major themes and lessons learned, rather than minute technical details presented in core classes.

You are the exception, not the rule, in terms of wealth. Our education system is generally worthless in educating students on money management. Also, bear in mind that many positions in companies are quite literally reserved for those with degrees, and many companies will also preclude sub 3.0 GPA students entirely from interviewing. It's certainly not impossible for one to do well for themselves without a college degree if they apply themselves properly, but some sort of further learning is always important.

I agree that the value of degrees will continue to decrease as the market becomes more saturated; so, why rush to acquire a degree and disregard learning? It's going to take me 5 1/2 years to get my B.S., but I've no regrets. In that time, I've managed to gain professional work experience and learn many things foreign to my peers, despite not filling any degree-specific requirements in some of my courses.

Now, if your disdain for college stems from all of the folks taking BS() majors, simply to easily acquire a degree (while otherwise focusing on partying), then I share your feeling entirely.

And how many people do we have running around with degrees that aren't even remotely related to their jobs? I know a factory welder that has an associates, bachelors and a masters. He's still welding plus has $40k + in student loan debt. He always takes 2 classes so he can defer his student loan payments. If this is what colleges are churning out, I'm glad I didn't go.

Yes, I know this particular guy is an idiot and I hope an exception to the rule. It wasn't that long ago that those without degrees were making the average of what those with degrees make today. Once everyone has a degree, what leg up does that piece of paper give you? At 30 years of age, I had been a homeowner for 8 years and had $50k in assets over debt. All while never setting foot in a college classroom. How many people with degrees can say that?

I looked at taking some welding classes at Ivy Tech several years ago. I couldn't give a rat's rear end about getting any college credits for them. I wanted to take the classes to get better at stick and tig welding to be able to pass certification tests. Immediately, the lady was talking about working towards a degree and all the other bs classes that I didn't want. If I remember right, they would only let you take so many tech type classes without taking all the others.

 

[hornadylnl]

You are the exception, not the rule, in terms of wealth. Our education system is generally worthless in educating students on money management.

And you'd think that Universities who are charging 10's to 100's of thousands for these degrees could teach their students how to manage money. But alas, how else would they continue the charade of a system and make billions if they educated their students out of financial stupidity? Maybe this "well rounded" education includes everything but how to manage a check book and a credit card. I know some would say students should know that before entering college and they should. But in case a student didn't know how to put one foot in front of the other before stepping foot on campus, they have classes for that.

I'm not totally against college degrees. There are students who go to college and make the most of it. Those who can really point at that degree and prove that it makes them 10's of thousands more a year than if they didn't have it. But my guess would be that is only about 10-20% of those who graduate.

 

[hornadylnl]

Honestly I took some fun classes to breakup the monotony of a grueling 21 credit hour load. If that meant I had to pay for them so be it.

Most entertainment / hobby activities cost money and these were no different. I worked my butt off for 4.5 years to finish school. Kinda feel that a couple off "fun" classes were deserved and most were something I wanted to try or interested me.

I see your point to an extent here. But I wonder how much of these "fun classes" are paid for by the subsidies that are the taxpayers dollars. Aren't all state universities in Indiana partially funded by state tax dollars?

 

[RBJ13]

Now, if your disdain for college stems from all of the folks taking BS() majors, simply to easily acquire a degree (while otherwise focusing on partying), then I share your feeling entirely.

I also agree with this, the class I am taking is actually on-line with my exact major, and it is actually what I want to focus on, there are lucrative job opportunities in these areas (military affairs). I definitely did not come to college to "party it up." To be honest I find that parties aren't really that fun, maybe it's cuz I don't drink...

There are a lot of people who are at universities all over the country who are just plain stupid, and there for the wrong reasons.

As for the walking class, I actually think that people who would take that course probably did better in other classes. This is due simply to the fact that having a full credit-load can suck! The class breaks up the monotony of work and makes a happier student, which in my opinion creates a more effective student. It's the same as the military, if morale gets too low combat effectiveness drops. Keep 'em happy.

 

[CountryBoy19]

That's where my fiance went. They had the walking course that she was going to take. Maybe you just aren't on the right academic track.

i doubt that

What part do you doubt?

That she went to ISU? She has the diploma to show it
That they had the class? I don't know if there is a way to look back and see since she didn't actually take it, but I'll check.
That you aren't on the right academic track? I'm not sure how ISU works, but if your academic track doesn't recognize it as an eligible course you probably wouldn't be able to see it when registering. Either that, or you just overlooked it.

 

[rhino]

College should be about a well-rounded eduction more than about training for a career. I fully support course requirements that may seem to have only peripheral connection to a given major on the surface.

Given that, I envy people who had the opportunity to take classes that were "fun." The closest I came to fun was "Calculus of variations with applications to finite difference and finite element methods."

Oh, wait . . . continuum mechanics was a barrel of laughs too!

Vibrations Analysis was a joy, especially all of the fourier analysis. Woo-hoo.

And who can forget Statistical Thermodynamics???!!! WOW!

 

[csaws]

*Place marker for my story tommorrow on college an taking these "silly" classes. (im drinking right now...not carrying) These classes actually do make since...stay tuned.

Someone rep me for being inebriated an not posting a 600 word essay on my Engineering degrees and the walking class I took and how it all makes since....

I concur with the rep for getting tanked on a Tuesday, however I see a big fail in the mis-spelling of sense.

 

[Goosepond Monster]

I enjoyed the history of rock n roll classes I took at IU. Roots of Rock to the British Invasion, Music of the 60's, Music of the 70's & 80's and the Music of the Beatles. I took the last three in my final semester on campus.

 

[rambone]

April fools?