I was pressured into college, failed to graduate -- and believe I'd have done better in the blue collar job I had planned for myself in high school before the pressure was applied.

I think we need to listen to people like Mike Rowe.

I also believe, if a child of mine (or I, that age again) were going to go to college, I would want to visit them and screen for problems such as excessive political correctness (including not only communists in the economics chairs, but also speech codes or indoctrination requirements about so-called "privilege", or busybody sexual codes). Most of the world's major universities are now part of at least one of these movements, and thus have in my view disqualified themselves.

And at any institution, silly degrees that don't lead to a well paying job are right out.

It doesn't help, of course, that federal subsidies, including student loans, have driven tuition prices up to ridiculous levels compared to 35 years ago when I attended.

For what it's worth, I find a man who legally carries very sexy!

I eased out of the relationship, and was happy to see her with another guy at breakfast a couple months later. So far I have avoided imperial entanglements.

Talk about 2 people being very different! My son and daughter went to Emory also, but I had already exposed them to Rand and to the concepts of freedom thoroughly, so they were prepared. I assume that you did not date this person long! And I hope the power of the law has not found you yet!

your knowledge as the Med Tech is like that -- from
the ground up, ingrained into thought processes and
analytical intuition. . you know when to look left and
follow a "feeling" to success. . like my oil-flow thing
which made me famous at k25 in the 70s. -- j
.

I suspect that the knowledge that you refer to is much deeper than college - knowledge of life.

Jan, still working on that

you learn how to "think it" from the foundation up, and
it helps all the way through to retirement, IMHO! -- j
.

Yeah. I am still the token 'go to Med Tech' for when folks are stumped by some med tech problem. Sometimes the answer still lies in knowing the field from the inside.

Jan

I really enjoyed my time consulting there. I was fortunate to work with some great business people in Admin. Dated an Emory law professor briefly. She personified the statist attitude that I abhor, and more than once warned me (as a former federal prosecutor) that if I didn't change I would discover the power of the law. (She didn't approve that I legally carried concealed all the time off campus either.)

All Right! I was right there! I was at the college 70 to 71, then at the dental school 72 to 76. I remember I thought calculus at Emory was tough until I saw the Tech calculus book! Emory was ridiculously liberal (still is), and there I was, already a big Rand fan! Kudos to a fellow Georgia peach!

and management is sooooooooo much better when
you k n o w the subject of your employees' expertise! -- j
.

and management is sooooooooo much better when
you k n o w the subject of your employees' expertise! -- j
.

72-76. Consulted at Emory in Admin off and on 83-96.

I agree with you to an incredible degree!

Jan

Just goes to show how a centrally controlled economy is impractical. If the central planner didn't know what a whip was, many thousands of customers wouldn't have them and our. 8 employees wouldn't have jobs

Hi, Freedom! I went to Emory. When were you at Tech? I was there in early 70s

We wanted our daughter to go to college. She did not know what she wanted to do, just go to college. I wanted her to work and then go when she had an idea. Her dad wanted her to geta degree right away. $100,000 later, she had two degrees in psychology and criminology, then a Masters in the latter. She never worked at either. She eventually found an artsy place where her natural marketing abilities and creativity allowed her to rise to COO position. She is now paying for an MBA. She ended up a fiscal conservative and a social quasi-liberal along the way.
When I did not know what I wanted to study, dad signed me up for what was the beginnings of computer programming, only via boards and wires, saying when I made up my mind, I had a profession and could pay for college. Later, working in that field, I indulged myself to the culture of English and philosophy degrees, for my own satisfaction, certainly not economic. I was able to choose a college which was not liberal all.
I fully respect the trades schools and apprenticeships, as they teach students early about real life. As a reporter, I interviewed enough students to notice these kids had a real grounded idea of life vs their university spoiled counterparts, who went to be "socialized" as their high school teachers defined the purpose of college and to be supported. It is never too late to take college courses or get degrees, and you might even know the pitfalls of socialism by then. Nothing hits home faster than getting that first paycheck and seeing all the taxes the government has taken from you.

I never even knew those were called "whips". They are neat.

Jan

I do our designs. tribalwhips.com. But I build up companies and then sell them and use proceeds to live in and do new things. Feeling is definitely the most fun

Oh, goodie. And here I thought you were one of those glad-handing extroverts!

I am able to do people-stuff - I have no problem making presentations, meet-and-greet etc, and right now my main job is management. But what I love is the 'working with things' part. Doing design work is the candy for me ('things' includes 'ideas').

Jan

Actually I understand, being an engineer myself. Learning how to sell your services actually gives you opportunities to do more geek stuff

Please accept the premise that there are people to whom 'heaven' is a small room with a bunch of technical instruments in it - and a closed door.

While it is true that being able to trade and being able to sell yourself will let you profit better, there are people who do not give a rap about that. To tell these people that they must wedge themselves into the conventional extroverted pigeonhole denies their individuality. We are talking about 'college' and that is the best place to learn technical skills and get the magic piece of paper that allows you to be hired for those skills. This particular subset of people very much benefits from college - and the technical classes in college sidestep a lot of the political brainwashing to boot.

Jan

Here's the thing... I had already been working in a job in that field before I ever got to school.

3rd party payers. Just like health care, someone else pays, why not eat the meal!

Today, absolutely not! What little they gain, is too expensive and of minimal value. With a set of good texts and a mentor, much better education could be got. No piece of government paper, but a diploma today comes with a spot in mom's basement. If a trade is desired, most technical schools provide certification of the skills.