You know, I only have three credits left before my associates degree is complete, and I've been thinking about transferring to the university. But after reading this article at yahoo:http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20060120/bs_bw/b3969409, it may be pointless. It seems Russia now wants to follow in the footsteps of India and jump on the outsourcing bandwagon. If I were them I would probably do the same, but I have to look at this from the other side of the coin. What is the point of going to college and wasting time getting a degree if many of the tech jobs in the future will probably go to places like Bangalore, Russia, Botswana, and other places? If this outsourcing thing continues, the US will have nothing left but service sector jobs flipping burgers and stuff. With Bush against stem cell research, scientists will go to other countries looking for careers, creating a reverse brain drain. I'm starting to think maybe I should just keep building my businesses and become self taught. What do you guys think? Become self taught and continue to build my businesses? Or go to college?
That's why I don't read articles. They're way too persuasive. I'm not able to think for myself so articles like the one you mentioned are dangerous. My weak little mind can only handle so much.
Well, I am in India, I agree that a lot of work is outsourced here, and there is no dearth of jobs in India as far as IT is concerned. But i also see that there is a lot of demand for onsite development as well. Big companies like IBM, ORACLE, Microsoft etc from india always send people for onsite projects to the US, but, there are limited visas. So, i think IT guys in US, would be in demand. Just a personal opinion thoguh.
Projects that get outsourced are so-called "labor extensive"-jobs such as programming etc. If and when you are interested in doing a techy bachelor, you should aim yourself to become one of the managers / consultants etc. as these jobs will not be outsourced.
I dont agree here with this point, if you are spending you will get quality and stability here in india as well. Agreed, there are a lot of small companies mushrooming all over, they might not provide quality, but if you are getting your job done from a good professional sizeable company, you will get quality and stability.
I understand your concern, but I suggest you look at it from a different perspective. This is in no particular order and it's late at night: 1. College allows you to learn under someone well trained (normally Masters or Ph.D) 2. College allows you to interact with other intelligent students (iron sharpens iron) 3. College allows you exposure to diverse viewpoints (through lectures, students, and books) I have a Masters degree and my education allowed me to grow and become a better person. Anyone can read a book. Higher education is about faculty and student body. I can tell you that no amount of book reading alone would have challenged me like my Professor. It took me two years of solid study, argument/debate, and frustration to finally grasp certain concepts. You can't get that from a book alone. You can't debate with a book. You can't ask a book questions and get answers. Regarding outsourcing, there's nothing new about that. If tech jobs are leaving, then you need to be proactive and find the next high demand skills/knowledge. Just like the horse and buggy days, when the car comes along, no amount of nostalgia is going to save buggy industry. Improvise, adapt, overcome! Whatever you decide, I wish you the best. Remember Rule #1: you're not ready to graduate until you disagree with your professor.
Scientists go where the money can be found which so far, is in the US mainly. BOTH. Anyway, who do you think outsources the outsourcing?
Everything is not as it seems. Degrees are worth the paper they're written on and whatever someone believes its worth. If I ever go to Thailand I might get me a Harvard Degree.
I can't agree. Granted I didn't go to an Ivy League school, but it was at least a tier II. Some teachers hardly knew what they were talking about, some did but had poor communication skills and thus couldn't teach, and some cared more about memorization than comprehension: regurgitating definitions rather than understanding concepts. Of the select one or two that were actually good teachers, a lack of talent in the general student body slowed all the classes to a crawl: they could spend a full year on a programming language and barely scratch the surface. Almost all students with no aptitude for computer science continued to advance, however. A college is a business; it is in the school's interest to pass students so they will come back for another two, three, or four years. If you ask around and read reviews so you can make an informed decision about which book to read, I think you will find much more worth from renowned authors than your typical teacher. Perhaps the most appalling is that most of the teachers who didn't know what they were talking about, in fact, held a Ph.D. I have had similar experiences in the workplace: a new employee with a very impressive resume, yet no ability to perform the job.
I agree with many of these points. The social aspect of being around intelligent people will definitely sharpen you, and there are limits to what you get from a book. However, I don't like the fact that I'am forced to take classes which are unrelated to my major just because they are "requirements." It makes me think that the college is trying to make money off me for nothing. You also have to look at the costs of the books. At the community college, they are outrageous, and even more so at the university level. I hate the fact that you pay 100 bucks with a math book just to have them update to a new version and then you have to buy another one. You bring up some good points to. Asian students in general tend to have great test scores, but when it comes to applying knowledge with creativity and imagination, they fail miserably. When I was in college I also felt some of my teachers were trying to hinder me from being successful. I felt like some of them had a personal issue with me, or didn't like me. This is something I don't like dealing with. After reading the threads of everyone here, I have come to this conclusion. I will continue to build my business, and go to college and take classes which only suit my interests regardless of my degree. For example, I'm interested in learning how to be a programmer in java. What I will do is save some money, and take a college class where I'm in a environment where I'm forced to learn. I agree with you. I don't care about college degrees. I care about knowledge. I don't plan on ever working for anyone again, so getting a degree just to get some big six figure job to me is meaningless. Knowledge is what every self employed person needs.
Ability to acquire the knowledge...actually doing it...willingness to work harder/ability to work smarter. good luck...
Yeah, all my chinese friends back in High School complained about the Chinese and Taiwanese school systems. It was all theory, theory, theory, not even any practicals in science or biology (they simply learned what happened, not actually SAW what happened). They weren't allowed to think as everything was to be repeated parrot-fashion. From my experience, a degree simply gets your foot in the door, the employer looks at your degree and thinks, "Oh, he/she looks interesting, lets investigate this further...)
Dont forget these other important factors of getting a degree. 1. College allows you to drink till your eyes float. 2. College allows you to party till the crack of dawn and skip class the next day without your parents knowing. 3. College allows you to learn a new religion where you can pray to the porcelain gods. 4. College allows you to become friends with a guy named RALPHHHH. 5. College prepares you to check IDs before offering her that next drink. 6. College teaches you that when they say its financial aid, what they are really saying is here, this is your beer money. 7. College teaches you that your alarm clock is nothing more than a device that reminds you life suxs and the creator of the snooze button was a college grad. These are my fondest memories of college. My advice to those still in college, STAY THERE, dont Graduate, its tougher in the real world.
Think about it. You think there will be a shortage of jobs because there will be more and more outsourcing. So why would you want to put yourself at a furtherd disadvantage by not having a degree. In your scenario, who do you think those few jobs still left in the U.S. will go to? I have to agree with the person who said "who do you think outsources the outsourcing?" If I were you, I'd go to college and continue to build your business. If things work out, great. If they don't, then you have a degree.
The way things are going, college is turning into the old "high school" What I mean by that is that pretty soon an undergraduate degree isn't going to be enough, you will "have to" have a masters degree. I see it creeping up slowly but surely.