Mike Rowe - Don't separate education from skill

[DeanRx 69]

I've seen about 4 interviews with Mr. Rowe on thsi subject now. I think he makes some valid points, the largest of which is the disparity between what most colleges THINK you need as curriculum for a degree and what business NEEDS you to have. In my own profession, I only use about 1/4 of what I was taught (even in the science and math sections) in my day to day business. In retrospect, if my college tract could have replaced some of the non-essential stuff with more communication (verbal and written) requirements, and more interpersonal relationship / psychology classwork, and some more emphasis on business, it would have better prepared me for the real world of healthcare.

 

The problem with your assumption about only using 1/4 of what you were taught in day to day business, is that if you were working for another business, you might need a different 1/4, or maybe 1/8 in common, 1/8 of different material.

Yeah Perdidochas, you might be right about that. However, some of the very in depth infectious disease stuff, or the neonatal pharmacokinetics stuff, or the pscyhology stuff, etc... really isn't "needed" for 90% of day to day practitioners. The problem, even within medicine, is that EVERY sub-specialty thinks THEIR discipline is the most important. Thus, an average increase in on campus schooling of 1.5 years in the past 15 in my profession.

 

Pharmacy used to be a B.S. degree, now its all Doctor of Pharmacy. When I graduated 15 years ago, less than 1/3 of folks did a residency... now, there are not enough jobs for those who have done a residency (to the turn of another 1-2 years of education before getting paid and another 1-2 years of debt deferment)! Same thing goes for the Physical Therapists, used to be BS, then was a masters, now only doctorate degree. A BS in nursing is nothing but a stepping stone, you either get a Masters, or a NP (nurse practitioner).

 

In the medical side of the house, used to be you went to med school, then did a residency, then could go be a general practitioner. Heck, everybody has to do a residency and most a fellowship now to set themselves apart! They make the same wage as before with an additional 2-3 years of time spent, with less pay during those years, and additional DEBT (either in the form of additional loans to get by on, or at a minimum deferment of their existing loans which still gain interest for those two years).

 

The end result is a graduate who is deeper in debt and knows a very little about a great number of sub-specialties in their field. None of this, mind you, has been driven by the workplace demands, nor the state boards of ANY of these professions. It has been driven by the schools of Medicine, the schools or nursing, the schools of pharmacy, the schools of physical therapy, the schools of dentistry, etc... They market that they are turning out a "better" prepared healthcare professional, when in fact they are only turning out a more EXPENSIVE healthcare professional. One that quite frankly has NO CHANCE of ever using ALL the information they have stuffed into their heads because the amount of information is so great, NO ONE can ever specialize in EVERYTHING ~!

[packsaddle 753]

I don't fault any person for 'going for the brass ring'. I fault anyone who allows them to think it will be easy. Thing is, some of them CAN achieve their dreams and if those individuals are held back by pragmatic negativity, they might not. Colleges offer lots of opportunities to gain the practical perspective and skills, but those students will not be attending many sports events.

[Stosh 3452]

In the business world Return on Investment (ROI) is a big issue. If I invest in a new high-efficient furnace, how long will it take to pay for it with the savings? Well apply that to a 1 year diploma in the business trades ROI and the 4-6 year degrees of university/college degrees and the interest rate of student loans, loss of employment during those year, etc. and one will soon realize that people in their 30's are still paying off student loans. I guess it just depends on whether one wishes to pay schools and banks instead of working at a good trade.

 

At age 62, I have 3 degrees and am employed in none of them.

 

 

[blw2 433]

Even more ironic is that if someone makes the effort to actually learn these "outdated" trades, they can almost demand their own price to those who want premium work. Look at the program American Restoration for example. We had a couple of brothers in the troop a few years back whose father specialized in custom body work; clients came to him when they could not get original parts, and he would make them from scratch or rebuild old ones if usable. Always had more work than he could handle. A master furniture maker never lacks for customers. These people also take "pride" in their skills.

 

We are missing the boat in trying to "force" everybody to go to college. And even in the college level programs, we are losing leverage by undermining the value of the arts and even, to some extent, basic language skills.

.

 

I was just having a similar conversation a few days back. Nothing wrong with going into a blue collar trade. Money can be better than I make with an engineering degree, and as you say these people have a great opportunity for pride in their work. they don't often, but could.

 

A co-worker used to ask, "did you make something you can drop on your foot today?". Making or doing something tangible, something that you can see and touch, can be very much more satisfying at the end of the day than say keying data into a computer all day.

Another angle to consider..... I saw a study many years ago talking about fatigue and stress. Even though a tradesman works hard (think welder, construction, etc...), it's a much better kind of tired than someone who sits all day. Generally healthier and happier.

 

Regarding the first part of this conversation, I sort of think it a mistake to set sights on a string of merit badges that align with a boy's career goals.

He's a kid, what does he really know about what he might want?

Sure, work on those that fit within the path he thinks he wants to take, but encourage him to take others as well. He may find other interests for either career or hobby.

Also, the whole scouting journey could be looked at more like college is in many ways. It's not so much about learning specific skills for a specific job, it's really more about learning how to be trained and proving that you can be trained, learning critical thinking, learning basic things such as communication that help no matter what path you end up on.....

 

 

[TSS_Chris 36]

My mother-in-law told me a joke the other day that fits perfectly with this thread:

 

A lawyer has a leaky faucet, so he calls the local plumber to get an estimate of how much it will cost to fix.

 

The plumber says, "Well, I recon that will take about 1 hour to fix, so it will be $500."

 

"You charge $500 an hour!" The lawyer cries in amazement, "I'm a lawyer and I don't charge anywhere near that much!"

 

"Neither did I," says the plumber. "That's why I quit being a lawyer and took up plumbing."