Angry Graduate Wrote This Letter To His University. It's Hard Not To Agree With Him.

[mike_c]

87. I'm a career educator and academic, and I largely agree....

You're getting a lot of push back on this because it's an uncomfortable truth, and let's face it, you didn't sugar coat it much. Ahem. But I completely agree with the assertion that what students pay for is an opportunity to study under the direction of a college's faculty. Period. What they make of that opportunity varies wildly. After that, it's time for due diligence and realistic expectations. Four years of university education doesn't make most students into top notch scholars or other professionals, not even close. If employers require college degrees from their job applicants, the reverse is not guaranteed in any way, i.e. there is no assurance that obtaining a degree will get you anything more than whatever personal satisfaction the experience brings (hopefully, a lot), some academic skills that provide a foundation for lifelong learning and intellectual growth, and the opportunity to list your degree on your resume or CV, which might get you past one human resources dept filter. Or it might not.

I teach life sciences courses in a biology program at one of the largest public universities in the U.S. Very few of our graduates find work in their discipline at anything other than temporary, seasonal, or uninspiring entry level jobs without significant additional post baccalaureate training-- grad school, teacher's training, etc. Most bachelor's degrees in the sciences gain graduates access to the professional equivalent of carrying heavy things for a living-- data collection, seasonal field work, feeding samples into instruments, lab or med tech work, and washing up afterwards. The pay is poor and the jobs are often temporary. Very few of our incoming students have realistic expectations about this-- they too often think that four years of occasional study will turn them into senior scientists with six figure incomes. It won't. For those who work really hard, it provides additional opportunities to enroll in further study, like grad school.

I'm a product of that higher education system, too. I graduated with a life time of student loan debt that I will NEVER be able to repay before I retire (I'm close to retirement, and nowhere near close to repayment). I STILL spend hours each day studying-- staying current in my field, and learning new things. At nearly sixty, I've achieved the professional life that many of our incoming students think they'll find waiting for them at graduation in four or five years. It takes a lifetime of work, and undergraduate and graduate degrees only get you an opportunity to fill out job applications, along with everyone else. Anyone who pursues higher ed for reasons other than personal intellectual growth is probably going to experience some disappointment.