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Originally Posted by !@#$%!
right, there's a huge mismatch between job offerings, educational offerings, and worker supply.
i dropped out of the doctorate too but mine was a certified dead end so it was smart to cut my losses and move on. the MA i could use to be a schoolteacher but i have no appetite for that.
you (severian) could have been a STEM high school teacher with those qualifications, as there is massive demand for that actually. but it takes a certain temperament to enjoy that.
there are a lot of useless bachelor's degrees, megatons of debt for it, and in the meantime there is huge unfulfilled demand for skilled trades.
so education in the us is a crapshoot and totally uncoordinate with industry with the exception of some co-op programs and things like that.
on the other hand, the germans channel a lot of people in the educational system through apprenticeships and develop a skilled workforce at basic levels. from what i understand, a german plumber is capable of designing a whole industrial plumbing system. master plumbers like that in the USA are scarce.
a) http://lifehacker.com/career-spotlig...ber-1760572480
b) http://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-...ters.htm#tab-6 |
Well, in the US the "master tradesman" label is entirely non-academic about 90% of the time. I know a few photographers who went to 4-year universities and received degrees in art of photography or photojournalism, then opened up a business and worked privately and somehow achieved "master" status after so many years of working under another "master" and teaching some non-accredited (or free) community photography classes at the YMCA. Kind of like a Journeyman Electrician mixed with a hint of academic flavor here and there.
Not sure about other countries, but it would be interesting to see these things taught under the same umbrella. Like, Architecture. Why is that not a "liberal studies" approved field? Seems academic enough. Same could be said, though to a lesser extent I'd imagine, for a lot of technical jobs like computer repair, carpentry, etc.
And yes, when I first moved out of the city I was subbing in the local public school system, and I had plans to get in on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics if anyone doesn't know) teaching gig, but then I remembered that I spent a LOT of time in college, and had acquired 3/4 of a journalism degree along the way, and got my current gig at the paper. Where, interestingly, I got to report on teacher wages at the high school which are ABISMALLY low. Meanwhile there are ex-corrections officers serving as guidance counselors at the charter schools. How the hell does that work?
I am glad I went to college though. Always. And I'm glad I went to graduate school even if it didn't pan out and I didn't finish.