A Generation of American Men Give Up on College: ‘I Just Feel Lost

[Shogun]

Life without a general purpose or even an objective is depressing as fukk... Just think about it.

Right, I guess what Im saying is that secular cultures have a hard time providing that purpose.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

But that sounds like a cost problem too. There are more job openings for college grads than there are elite schools. The gamble for that shouldn’t be asked out with 50k in debt. It should be not much different than applying for a job that requires a high school diploma.

i agree, the biggest issue is so many jobs asking for a degree that don't require one, but the other issue is so many jobs asking for a degree that don't pay well relative to what a degree costs

 

[DEAD7]

This all begins in k-12 and how restrictive the style of teachers are, which make boys hate school to begin with

This.
If we aren’t talking about reforming k-12 then we aren’t serious.

 

[GoldenGlove]

but the vast majority of schools aren't well connected nor is the student body, everyone is fighting for (meaning they have to apply to jobs, pass interviews, they're not targeted for hiring/company reps don't recruit on campus) the same jobs and no one has a foot up, they're all going thru the motions. kids attending these types of schools need to be more prepared and focused, you can't just go, aimlessly wander thru classes until you end up with a major and hope your classmates or alumni are helpful. again, this is part of the issue with "everyone go to college", you got people taking out 30k/yr to attend schools that can't offer them much in terms of opening doors other than just being able to say they have a college degree.

I'd argue that it's much easier to standout at those kind of schools without the clout because...
1.) Like you said most of the students there are going through the motions
2.) Less competition at the school when it comes to whatever pipeline programs they have to the workforce
3.) If they have the right mindset, they'll be first in line for whatever resources the school has

I guess my major point is, regardless of what school you go to, get involved and network. Our society has been and will continue to be about who you know and social currency. I agree that a Harvard is going to look better than a lot of other options, but at Harvard you will be fighting for the various opportunities/job fairs ect where as if you are one of the few really on your shyt at a lesser school, you'll be first on the mind of the programmers/organizers when opportunities are presented to them.



There's always a way to finesse, a lot of kids out of HS don't understand that fully when they start college tho.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

I'd argue that it's much easier to standout at those kind of schools without the clout because...
1.) Like you said most of the students there are going through the motions
2.) Less competition at the school when it comes to whatever pipeline programs they have to the workforce
3.) If they have the right mindset, they'll be first in line for whatever resources the school has

I guess my major point is, regardless of what school you go to, get involved and network. Our society has been and will continue to be about who you know and social currency. I agree that a Harvard is going to look better than a lot of other options, but at Harvard you will be fighting for the various opportunities/job fairs ect where as if you are one of the few really on your shyt at a lesser school, you'll be first on the mind of the programmers/organizers when opportunities are presented to them.



There's always a way to finesse, a lot of kids out of HS don't understand that fully when they start college tho.

these are two different conversations 1) school being about network, not degree 2) being able to stand out. i already said my piece on networks. as for standing out, again, there are tradeoffs. whereas 90% of a class at a better (connected) school may get good opportunities - even those who are mediocre to poor students - you'd have to be the top 10% of a mediocre to poor school to have a shot at what the slackers at the top schools get.

but yes, i believe people can make the best out of wherever they go, but our problem is the best for many students aint footing the bill for what it costs in time and dollars to get that opportunity.

 

[MoneyTron]

i disagree, especially given most internships aren't about building pipeline into your company outside of those in grad school and seniors in college, kids jump around from companies semester to semester and summer to summer. i also came thru a corporate internship program that accepted HS seniors, there's nothing i would've done or accomplished my frosh year of college to have made me standout more for that role than what i did in HS.

Like I said, we'll disagree.

Regardless, what we're missing in this discussion is why this education gap between genders exists and why its continuing to grow across all demographics.

 

[cKondomsucK6]

Hmmmm maybe it has to do with the fact that men can usually make something out of nothing anyways including brute force manual labor jobs that women can't handle on average. I'm not a sexist but let's face it male labour is worth more in our society due to physical differences. I'm actually against the whole college is a waste of money mentality. I think education should be heavily subsidized and not be turned into a business. That's the real problem in America.

And it turned into a business the second the government started guaranteeing student loans thinking they were helping out

 

[ogc163]

The numbers for Black men are already bad and have gotten worse over the last year as exemplified in an article I posted regarding decreased Black enrollment in Illinois. You couple decreased college enrollment with the high likelihood of Affirmative Action being overturned soon and power disparities will grow even wider.

Plus, even though there are blue-collar/no degree jobs that pay well those jobs are 1) Not plentiful enough to scale to the point where they can replace or adequately supplement jobs that require a college degree 2) Many Blue collar jobs/industries that are often pushed in TLR and other circles often have had stagnant wages and decreased leverage in negotiating power, and there is nothing pointing to a reversal 3) Likely to see a decrease in benefits, here I'm specifically thinking of blue collar city and state jobs who are subject to the fluctuations in state pension funds/tax revenue.

 

[Geek Nasty]

Too damned expensive and for all the wrong reasons. This was covered pretty well a while back, the colleges started hiring these "run universities like a business" types who started dumping money into marketing and "for show" massive campus projects like 1/2 billie rec centers. That's where all the rate hikes are coming from not professors' salaries or your education.

Nobody's trying to graduate with $50-100K in debt making $50K a year. I foresee a ponzi scheme-like collapse of the university system when these schools realize they don't have the alumni donations or tuition to pay off all their extravagant spending.

 

[Anerdyblackguy]

The numbers for Black men are already bad and have gotten worse over the last year as exemplified in an article I posted regarding decreased Black enrollment in Illinois. You couple decreased college enrollment with the high likelihood of Affirmative Action being overturned soon and power disparities will grow even wider.

Plus, even though there are blue-collar/no degree jobs that pay well those jobs are 1) Not plentiful enough to scale to the point where they can replace or adequately supplement jobs that require a college degree 2) Many Blue collar jobs/industries that are often pushed in TLR and other circles often have had stagnant wages and decreased leverage in negotiating power, and there is nothing pointing to a reversal 3) Likely to see a decrease in benefits, here I'm specifically thinking of blue collar city and state jobs who are subject to the fluctuations in state pension funds/tax revenue.

And fourth these jobs absolutely destroy your body and future quality of living.

 

[ogc163]

And fourth these jobs absolutely destroy your body and future quality of living.

Many of my uncles worked blue collar jobs in NYC and they have been dropping like flies over the last several years, most before reaching 70.

 

[invincible1914]

Going to college with no scholarship = a lifetime of debt
Not going to college with no plan = living check to check

Focusing on getting certified = what I should have done.

 

[Godless Socialist CEO]

This is just an excuse

A lame one at that

 

[NZA]

that daniel envy music is decent