Is college worth it?

[Nuvendil]

It depends on your goals, the degree, the university in question, etc. Some fields you will not - I repeat, WILL NOT - get a job worth a piss (or any job at all) without a degree. Others they are looking for one. Others, it's just a bonus. And then some degrees have strong pull in one field, others offer modest pull in a wide range. Also, for some degrees, the value is in the learning, not the degree itself. I studied Creative Writing. My Bachelors Degree in that isn't going to land me a managers position. But I consider my learning in that invaluable to my writing and it taught me a lot about the publishing world as well.

And then the university. People seem to fail to realize the difference between a college that offers more or less a trade-school-esque focus where your studies are aggressively limited to only the most immediately needed for your degree and a more liberal arts approach. Personally, I advocate liberal arts as it leads to a more well rounded degree. I myself went to a liberal arts school and as such I not only know Creative Writing, I also have knowledge in philosophy from ancient to modern, business writing, technical writing, and art as well as some other areas.

And as I know people in management positions, I can tell you liberal arts does address severl issues businesses have with college graduates: inability to effectively communicate in a business setting, lack of knowledge of business document formatting, lack of skill in business and technical writing. I mean, because of my writing requirements for my degree, I probably know more about business writing than many Business Admin majors from other schools that just don't require as much roundedness in study.

And then of course some schools are strong in some areas and weak in others. My university had very strong Fine Arts, English/Writing, Nursing, Engineering, Business and Seminary programs. Everything else was good, but not as good. Wake Forest is obviously very strong in medical programs. Harvard is renowned for business and law. Fairleigh Dickenson at Florham is exceptionally strong in Creative Writing. And so on. You go where it makes the most sense, obviously. Many make the mistake of going somewhere cheap rather than a more fitting option. Also, keep in mind every university has a core philosophy and worldview, which you also need to consider.

But the bottom line is it is all contextual to your desired pursuits and the university and degree in question. It's not a simple yes or no.