LarryMullen's_POPAngel said:
Ugh, FYM is making me wonder if this school thing is even going to be worth it.
:feelsstupid:
Honestly, it's worth it. The field you are in, it's worth it. Anything that is specialized is worth it. As anitram said, it's the generic BA's that have little value. We may be just speaking for our part of the world, but it's the truth here.
The majority of people I work with have degrees, and a very small % of those are in our field. I can't get the link to work that trev posted, but it is the sense of entitlement that is killing the quality of the workforce here. In my company, the majority of people in the entry level position are students at the university or college here. While our university has a good rep, the general BA candidates are not really anything special - this may be from an employer POV, but these people often require more care, attention, placating, encouragement, ego stroking, and reassurance than those we employ that are not at uni, have no degree or have a college diploma.
As a manager, I see that our college kids are better potential employees than our uni kids, and a lot of the time so are our recently new to Canada employees, with a higher education in their home country, or no post secondary ed younger (usually under 21) employees that are not predisposed to being catered to, have a work ethic, and are easier to mold into our vision of an ideal employee.
I will take work ethic, intelligence and a sense of pride in the work done over a degree any day. In our orientation sessions, during training, we are now having to put an emphasis that while good performance will get you lots of places, it won't make you a manager within 3 months. This was an expectation someone had based on their school experience and employment previously.
The college kids may have a piercing or tattoo for every few inches of skin, however, once you tell them they can't wear open toed shoes, no nylons, sweat pants, J LO outfits, etc. etc. they get it. Conform to the required stuff and I'll generally leave you alone. Meet your objectives, I won't pay as much attention to how much emailing you are doing, and web surfing.
Improvement is usually immediate. The uni kids generally will push back. Their prof doesn't care and he/she is the one signing off on the degree that is going to get them a much better job, so why should they have to follow these annoying tight ass rules?
They cannot apply the thinking and rationalization skills that are apparently going to earn them a degree, to basic instruction. "Ooohhh, I didn't realize that when you said to do this that time you meant everytime...*nod* I get it now" - 50% of the time - back in my office a week later.
I know they are not stupid, these students are some of the smartest people, however, they are lazy. A sense of entitlement is justified when it is earned based on performance and commitment, not when it is based on "I'm here".
Believe me, most employers are no longer blinded by the letters, and have a sense of who will make an ideal employee. It goes beyond what's in a frame, and the scholars in this thread
are not about what is going to end up as wall art. Trust me, with the shit that has me at work till 2am, I wouldn't be hanging out here if I didn't feel inspired, amused, comforted, tolerated, understood, catered to, and most importantly - in the company of good people with a work ethic (and those who have a better life/work balance than me
).
Okay fine, catered too - not really - no moob pics yet
, understood - yeah I don't really expect you too...I aim for enigma and I end up as a nutjob.
and yeah - that took me two (very large) vodka & sprites with melon liqueur ( you can reimburse me when you see me).