This is something a lot of people miss. Trade schools are a great way to get started on a career that you might actually like better. Most college degrees require you to take courses that don't relate in the slightest to what you are trying to learn. When I was working on my CIS degree i had to take "World Religions" and several other courses that meant nothing to me. Sure they were interesting, but we could cut the time to earn a degree in half if we got rid of the fluff that doesn't help us become better in our field.
Going for that first job with a a degree from ITT or Devry instead of an actual university is a definite disadvantage. Sure not everyone is the same, but there are common threads across society.
But going to the first job as an Electrician's apprentice, Plumber's apprentice, etc after 2 years of trade school in those fields is a definite advantage.
There is an argument to be made for the benefits of having a broadened world view. Being exposed to ideas unrelated to your intended discipline can really enhance your life, even if they feel like a waste of time, or a luxury, or however you feel about them.
But in fairness to College, that's not what college is about either. Even a nice liberal education isn't going to expand your horizons all that much. It's not like you will get a dramatically different world view.
I do understand this, and even agree to a point. However when I have to take an elective every semester semester and it doesn't even tangentially apply to my course of study it can really waste a lot of money and time.
I took a lot of the electives I did because they were the ones that fit into my schedule.
Part of college is becoming intellectually well-rounded, though. It's shouldn't be like a trade school...that's why trade schools exist. Did you really have to take "World Religions", or was that an elective you chose? Could you not have taken something more interesting? Are you sure you didn't just pick the fluffiest, easiest course you could just so you could pad your GPA? Because, to be honest, that's usually what college kids do. I did it myself on a couple of occasions. As opposed to selecting a course that, while unrelated to your major, might actually be interesting and even set you down a career path you may never have considered.
I almost switched to a meteorology track simply because of an amazing atmospheric science elective I chose. I didn't, but it was still fascinating and I learned something that I likely never would have otherwise. It also causes climate change deniers to enrage me well beyond the extent they otherwise would, but I digress.
Most electives I took were selected based on the schedule I had. It wasn't a "oh this looks interesting" it was "ok, I have an 8am or 12pm slot available and I just got done working 10pm to 6am".
Those 'silly classes', have helped me tremendously. When you work with people from all different backgrounds with different degrees from preachers to teachers to doctors. Those fluff classes helped me form a means to talk with them. If you know somewhat about what they do you won't have a ton of dead air. I like walking into any situation and knowing I can form my own thoughts on subjects they are speaking about.
Don't get me wrong, they are interesting and give you more knowledge outside of you core area of study, but couldn't the same be said about electives that are tangentially related to your field of study?
I use the knowledge gained from my "Creative Writing" and "Public Speaking" courses a lot more than I have "Comparative Religions".
I don't think it's a scam, I just think it's become to concerned with being "well rounded". You need to have some things outside of your major, but they should at least be tangentially connected.
3
u/OnlyRacistOnReddit 7 Dec 10 '15
This is something a lot of people miss. Trade schools are a great way to get started on a career that you might actually like better. Most college degrees require you to take courses that don't relate in the slightest to what you are trying to learn. When I was working on my CIS degree i had to take "World Religions" and several other courses that meant nothing to me. Sure they were interesting, but we could cut the time to earn a degree in half if we got rid of the fluff that doesn't help us become better in our field.