Nosy, nosy

[mahogany]

This particular poll has some pretty personal questions. So, feel free to answer anonymously if you want, or omit some of the questions if you want.


[Poll #1112923]

Comments

[kake]

Re the first question: secondary education in the UK goes up to the age of 18. I'm not sure what "secondary" means in the US, so I thought I'd better mention that I was answering under the UK meaning!

[mahogany.livejournal.com]

Hi Kake,

It's the same here in Canada. Depending on the province, there is also some streaming at the highschool level that is somewhat analogous to the A levels and O levels. The only difference being that the streams are self-selected.

[kake]

Oops, I am sorry. I have no idea why I thought you lived in the US.

O levels (GCSEs these days) and A levels are self-selected too; you might be thinking of O levels and CSEs? In practice, a lot of schools won't let you go on to A levels unless you did well enough in GCSEs, but I did A level music with a chap who had a single GCSE at grade D.

In that case: I'm quite surprised by the number of people who think university education is fundamental to their kids' well-being.

[mahogany.livejournal.com]

I think it's actually difficult to say exactly what kind of post-secondary people feel is essential to their children's well-being. I was trying to be very general in my wording so people's answers could include almost any conceivable form of post-secondary educations.

[gentlemaitresse.livejournal.com]

Well, in that case, I do believe that it's vitally important to continue to learn throughout one's lifetime. I just don't necessarily think *formal* education (especially at an institution) is needed for everyone.

[kake]

Definite agreement on the continuing to learn! And also on the part about formal education.

I think the main thing I got out of my graduate study was a bit of breathing space so I had the time and resources to teach myself how to program computers.

[rillifane.livejournal.com]

Your answers don't quite fit so here are my responses:

1) It's absolutely fundamental to their well being

2) In order - PhD. B.D. J.D

3) From the multiple degrees you can see that it took me a long time make up my mind as to what I wanted to be when I grew up. Even with this I am contemplating getting a graduate degree in History.

4) I have only one sibling and he has only a B.A. (So there's no "considering" about it)

5) University was an expectation

6) My father has an MBA and my mother has an MSW plus three honorary doctorates.

[mahogany.livejournal.com]

I know what J.D. stands for, but I haven't heard of a B.D before. What is it?

Three honourary doctorates - wow! That's amazing. Your mother must have done some pretty extraordinary things in her life to be honoured in that way.

[rillifane.livejournal.com]

B.D. Bachelor of Divinity. It is often called a D.D. these days since it is a graduate degree.

Mother, who is still going strong at age 85, is quite a busy bee.

She is founder of the Chinese Immigrant Society, the Chinese Voters Association and the Chinese Women's Association.

She publishes a Chinese language Feminist journal and a community newspaper.

She's been awarded the Thomas Dewey medal by the United Nations for international Humanitarian work and named by the N.O.W. as a Susan B. Anthony International Feminist Heroine of the year. She was in the first group of women honored by the State of New York on the first Harriet Tubman Day commemoration.

She was a member of the official American delegation to the International Womens Conference.

She leads the family in our work of building schools in China, administering our scholarship program for Chinese students, and our patronage of contemporary Chinese artists.

And she taught me how to cook while we're at it. (*grin*)

[xpashax.livejournal.com]

My part of the US is showing the effects of academic inflation. You can't even be considered for a job as a secretary without a Bachelors degree. trian only has her Highschool diploma and is having a hell of a time finding decent work. I'm considering getting a Graduate degree of some kind just to stand out.

[gentlemaitresse.livejournal.com]

I think that's really sad. A person without a degree can be very highly qualified for certain kinds of work, including secretarial work. And someone with a degree might not be suitable at all!

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

While true, that's also largely irrelevant to the hiring process: people who hire are looking for reasons to A: throw away your resume, and B: pay you as little as possible based on any reason they come up with. And, C: they, by and large, have degrees, and C1: are more likely to hire someone else with a degree because it makes their own degree seem more worthwhile (exclusivity, like Old Boys Clubs/Old School Tie) and C2: can point at a degree as being a quantifiable value in choosing an applicant.

Everyone wants to hire someone with a degree and experience. It's been my observation from both sides of the interview table that while experience is considered more useful, a degree is far, far more valuable to both get hired and get a decent wage.

[xpashax.livejournal.com]

Exactly, I'm considering making a lateral move to work for a local educational institution just so she can take community college classes for free and get some credentials for her resume.

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

To paraphrase the ex-provost of Bryn Mawr College: college is what you do to make your brain a more fun place to spend the rest of your life. That is, in my opinion, the only good reason to spend that kind of money and time.
With that said, the advancement opportunities of secondary/college education are immense -- likely over $500,000 during a lifetime, depending on the person. In the US, there are still some jobs you can get without a degree, but the extremely large majority of them are grouped in 'services industries' and pay is crap. I don't have a degree in what I'm doing, and it's really hindering me: my job is essentially a dead-end, and the only way I get more money is to keep changing jobs. Luckily, I loved college and learned enormous amounts of things I never would've encountered on my own, and have a rich, enjoyable life that more than makes up for my lousy paychecks -- but if I hadn't gone to college and was getting lousy paychecks, well, that'd just suck.

[mahogany.livejournal.com]

college is what you do to make your brain a more fun place to spend the rest of your life

Very true. Reasons such as this are why I used the phrase "fundamental to well-being" rather than financially successful, or achieving career success etc. I was trying to be deliberately open-ended.

[abigailvr.livejournal.com]

Some of the answers weren't precisely what I would have said, so I answered what was closest. I answered "fundamentally important" to the first question, but I'm not sure I'd go that far. I do feel that it's important and I do hope that my children go to college.

As for changing my own path, I put that I'd pursue a different area of study, but really I wish I had gone to a different school, not necessarily studied something else. I went to the University of Pennsylvania in a class of 2500 people when I graduated with 26 people in my high school class. The switch was too much for me. I need a smaller setting to really focus and learn. I'm not saying I didn't learn anything in college, but I didn't get wonderful grades and I also wasn't very happy there.

[mahogany.livejournal.com]

Did you do both your undergrad and your masters at the University of Pennsylvania?

[abigailvr.livejournal.com]

Yes, I submatriculated so that I was working on both degrees during my senior year (and able to double count some of my coursework). I think it was a good location for my graduate degree but then I was in a smaller program (conservation biology) within the biology department and I did much better because the classes were smaller and I knew most of the instructors and other students. I have taken graduate coursework at another large university, George Mason University in Virginia, with an eye towards a PhD, but I realized that I didn't really want a PhD, I was just doing it because I didn't know where else to go in the career I was in at the time: zoology.

I hope this information is helpful to you and not just me rambling. :)

[season-changing.livejournal.com]

Heya. I've seen you around and your blog looks interesting so I added you. Hope you don't mind! You're welcome to add me back if you like.

[mahogany.livejournal.com]

Hi,

Nice to meet you. I've added you back :-).

I recognize your photo. I think I may have seen you around on a shared group, but for some reason, your user name isn't ringing a bell. Did you have a different handle at one point?

[season-changing.livejournal.com]

Yes, I used to be daladyaphrodite.