Topic: Do you really earn more money because you went to college? - page 4. (Read 12998 times)

Sometimes a tradesman earns more than a university professor. I have known plumbers who earn more.

According to me the answer is yes but not in all cases. For example, you could have good programming skills and might not have gone to college. In that case you could still earn more with an idea or by building something. But overall on average its proven that going to college is what will give you the edge. Companies don't hire people who have not been to a college. Even going to a college adds to your resume.

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Depends a lot in the situation of your country. Are you going to get in debt only for the job market to be so over saturated with college grads that you will end up flipping burgers? better to learn a trade

Yes but many college degrees are not worth tens of thousands of dollars and three or four years of your life.

really depends what work you do later on hehe

There is a huge difference between learning the flavour of the month language, and the mathematics, design processes that the bulk of a computer science degree consists of.

An analogous situation is a mechanic and a mechanical engineer. Is the engineer stupid because he doesn't know the specific systems on a specific model of vehicle? I would argue the engineer would be able to eventually diagnose and fix a vehicle, while the mechanic would be at a complete loss at any but the most rudimentary design task.

They taught me pascal in high school, java was just being introduced when I went to university. I have experience with 16 bit intel asm. Imagine if my education focused solely on application of the current technologies.

guess it depends what age you are when you went to college? how effective it would be I would be interested in those links though

Links?  My thought would be College would eventually overpower, but not for 10-15 years, and at that point is it worthit?

theres been studies conducted and its shown because they were so far in debt they averaged out to be the same as someone without a college education who has been working their whole life.

I would say you definitely earn more, but not right off the bat, you start so far in debt that it takes along time to climb your way out

While having a degree indeed helps you get your foot in the door to that interview, being skilled in your profession and showing the employer you can execute goes far beyond a college degree. My friend was a Psychology major out of University in Northern California. In his spare time he developed his coding and programming skills throughout his undergrad years. He pursued a job in the tech industry as a web developer in San Francisco. They hired him in the end over other qualified Comp Sci degree holders because he demonstrated he had the skill and ability to execute. Having experience trumps a degree tremendously in the Bay Area when it comes to job searching.

I usually go to meetups for Computer Programming.
Most participants usually have some of app they are working on.

There were two ladies who had just gotten out of University around 1-2 years ago. The university they mentioned is actually a prestigious university within our area. They were new to the meetup.
I asked them what they were working on. One of them said an App that a colleague of hers had partnered with her to create.

She began explaining the app, to which I replied with questions about how she was going to produce the backend (database solutions, MySQL) and if she was going to use some sort of RESTful api to store data to the database.

She had absolutely no clue what I was talking about; and didn't know what MySQL was.

I'm not trying to say that she was clueless; nor that University didn't give them the skills to complete projects ( although they admitted they need to learn a lot more ). However, what I'm trying to imply is that University gets you an easier ability to sit in a chair in front of the HR or person hiring you. What you say and how well you perform is what gets you the money.

For drop-outs and people who are self-taught like myself, we can land a job, but it's harder to get that initial seating due to misconceptions and ignorance within the HR workforce today. However, I've found many self-taught individuals who can perform at the same level as University graduates; if not higher. It all depends on the person though.


This is starting to change. I've seen more and more diploma-less programmers. Most of them make the point (including myself), that they didn't get into programming to get a job... they did it to create a business / create something.

Well... rarely you will see a programmer that doesn't have a diploma, I'm no exception.
The point is that only study doesn't gives you a excellent job, but what you do and your ideas is what makes you go further in your career. Unless you're academic and want to be the bst teacher of something, then studying is the only true way.

Yes the thing is any college diploma doesn't get you a job at 80k$, it doesn't even get you a job at 40k$

Certain diplomas get you a career but they are in the minority.

this statement about going to college, makes you go broke even quicker.

what logic is spend $40k in college debt, will land you a job $80k.

$40k in intrest over how many years..

You can get more knowledge by self education online, by working or going to private seminaries than if you go to the University and you will get it more efficiently and at a cheaper price


And you are not in debt

In italy is quite difficult, if impossible!
You should be a friend of or, best, son of to earn more.
Very few are looking for capabilities, and  for a degree.

Hmmmm I do not think so. I earn more than my college friends right now.

Generally yes, but the "blow up" kind of money comes from random luck and creativity and being at the right moment right time. Nothing to do with a college degree.