[4everfsu]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grad ... o-college/

[ATrain]

Yep, its all about the brand name. However, when getting into the real world, its more like a date in that its not the label on the clothing you wear, but rather your choice of clothing and how you wear it. Similary, its not where you go to school, but the degree you earn and what you do with it afterwards.

[ballcoach15]

Very true. A degree is a degree most of the time.

[thepostman]

Had I known then what I know now...

I had a great time at Liberty and love the school but my lack of coming up with a real backup plan hurt me big time. For a long time I blamed Liberty but I didn't think ahead and didn't seek good advice.

Yes a degree is a degree but if one gets a degree that is very specialized it becomes meaningless.

Free advice for the kids, haha.

[Sly Fox]

Good counsel, postie. Get a broad degree like business and then work your internships extremely hard in the area of your choosing. That's what I am going to encourage to my son in a few more years. Of course, my first choice for him would be engineering. But that's just being greedy on my part. I want him to support me in my old age.

[bballfan84]

its all about who you know..thats what i will tell my kids..gotta develop and network very early

[RubberMallet]

it really depends. bballfan is right. networking is one of the most important avenues, but I will say, if you want to work in X location, go to a school around that area. I had about 5 job interviews when I got out of college. mostly banks and an insurance company. u of I (iowa) grads were offered 3 of the positions I interviewed for. after talking with HR of one of the banks a year or so later, it was because the manager went to Uof I. I suspect the same to be true of those other positions. when you are in an office adorned with hawkeye crap, its easy to summize.

but outside of that, it doesn't matter a whole lot. I will encourage my children to community college it a few years and show them the savings (unless they are scholarship laden..we fund their 529 pretty heavily but I'm terrified what costs will be in 10 years). we started talking pv/fv already with them when they asked about their savings accounts and why we need to do it. Then move on to university if they so choose. I will advise them to take business classes for electives because its invaluable regardless of the field….don't waste your money taking stupid crap.

don't go in debt getting a philosophy degree either.

[Sly Fox]

You can have them take community college classes through their teenage years and have an associates degree before most of the public school kids get their diplomas. I'm not sure how it is in the QCs these days, but down here in Texas the community colleges are so underwritten by taxpayers that it is dirt cheap. By the time our kids are college-age, who knows what education will look like? It has changed dramatcially in just the past 4-5 years.

[SuperJon]

I will have my $60k in student loans and two degrees I'm not using as a good example of why you go to community college first.

[Sly Fox]

I would suggest that both of your degrees are being used in subtle ways in your current work. The marketing from one and the foundational understanding of what churches are looking to accomplish in their creative services are the basis for your current business beyond your pre-existing talent. It is similar for me. My COMS degree was in Broadcast Management back in the day. But it led me on a path that has taken me to place sthat have prepared me for where I am today that have zero to do with running a broadcast outlet. That's why I encourage HS kids to go as broad as possible in their undergrad degree.

[RubberMallet]

You can have them take community college classes through their teenage years and have an associates degree before most of the public school kids get their diplomas. I'm not sure how it is in the QCs these days, but down here in Texas the community colleges are so underwritten by taxpayers that it is dirt cheap. By the time our kids are college-age, who knows what education will look like? It has changed dramatcially in just the past 4-5 years.

this will probably be the case as by our current plan, the kids will have graduated hs by 16 yrs old. our comm colleges are so inexpensive that after financial aid kicks in, kids have money left over for books. yeah thats my fear. who knows what it will look like. costs...quality....etc.

[RubberMallet]

I will have my $60k in student loans and two degrees I'm not using as a good example of why you go to community college first.

good friends of ours graduated and got married and combined have 150k in loans. what a crippling entrance into life. i escaped with 12k and paid it off in 10 years. my % was so miniscule at the time. 1 degree in business, the other in history. 100k in student loans for a useless history degree. why useless? its good for 1 job. teaching history. her current job she got before she graduated, and can't for the life of her find a job in her "field" .

[ATrain]

I am thankful for scholarships and GS-12 jobs

[bballfan84]

I am thankful for the energy business..been very kind to my family

[Sly Fox]

It had to me as well until about Christmas. This is brutal.

[ATrain]

The economy is more diversified in Dallas, Sly

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/colu ... t-spot.ece

[Sly Fox]

Which is why the DFW economy has lagged so far behind Houston for the past decade. But none of that has anything to do with the fact that my oil & gas client are hurting right now ... which means I am hurting as well.

[ATrain]

Which is why the DFW economy has lagged so far behind Houston for the past decade. But none of that has anything to do with the fact that my oil & gas client are hurting right now ... which means I am hurting as well.

Sorry you're hurting...

[4everfsu]

I will have my $60k in student loans and two degrees I'm not using as a good example of why you go to community college first.

good friends of ours graduated and got married and combined have 150k in loans. what a crippling entrance into life. i escaped with 12k and paid it off in 10 years. my % was so miniscule at the time. 1 degree in business, the other in history. 100k in student loans for a useless history degree. why useless? its good for 1 job. teaching history. her current job she got before she graduated, and can't for the life of her find a job in her "field" .

I graduated with 0% debt but that was in 1975. I had no loans, scholarships or grants. Too dumb to think that way. I worked full time and went to school full time and graduated in 4 yrs. Oh to be that young again.

Of course my degree(Bible) has nothing to do with my occupation today, system engineer.

[ATrain]

It was also more feasable to work full time and pay off college. The price of college tuition today is, on average, 1,120% more than it was 30 years ago. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... of-the-day

Good luck doing that today with a minimum wage job. You may be able to afford your books for a semester.

[JakeP50]

It was also more feasable to work full time and pay off college. The price of college tuition today is, on average, 1,120% more than it was 30 years ago. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... of-the-day

Good luck doing that today with a minimum wage job. You may be able to afford your books for a semester.

That's a good one.

[DB89]

Learn how to weld a pipe, install a fence, plumb a house or move an interior wall. Then call a competent CPA. You can create amazing wealth with specific education and a bucket of hustle.

[SuperJon]

Learn how to weld a pipe, install a fence, plumb a house or move an interior wall. Then call a competent CPA. You can create amazing wealth with specific education and a bucket of hustle.

Replace pipe, fence, and that stuff with design a website and create graphics and you've got me.

[alabama24]

It was also more feasable to work full time and pay off college. The price of college tuition today is, on average, 1,120% more than it was 30 years ago. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... of-the-day

Good luck doing that today with a minimum wage job. You may be able to afford your books for a semester.

That's a good one.

Not a joke if you work for the bookstore.

[ATrain]

It was also more feasable to work full time and pay off college. The price of college tuition today is, on average, 1,120% more than it was 30 years ago. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... of-the-day

Good luck doing that today with a minimum wage job. You may be able to afford your books for a semester.

That's a good one.

Not a joke if you worked for the bookstore.

FTFY