Your friendly librarian sharing an interesting article ...
http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/10/peter-thiel-were-in-a-bubble-and-its-not-the-internet-its-higher-education/
I actually originally thought it was going to be about how the current emphasis on *going* to college is "overvalued"* ... but it is more about how the cost of higher ed itself is crazy outta whack.
(*In an era of increased simplicity, I am surprised that there is not more emphasis on growing up to be an artisan, a craftsperson, a farmer, a woodworker ... I keep expecting to see that ... I guess we are still living in an industrial/wealth-prioritizing age ...)
5 comments:
i really like your last sentence. you should turn that concept into an article and submit for publication. seriously. like, how to make what are considered "blue collar" or lesser jobs hip and cool again.
i tell everyone who asks that a full-price grad degree is NOT worth it. work your a** off and people will hire and promote you.
But, that grad degree can get your foot in the door. I assume. I don't have one so I can't say for sure.
As for "blue collar" jobs, I don't think hip and/or cool have anything to do with it. It's hard to live the typical American lifestyle on that kind of pay. For every Uncle Tommy or Bridget's sister's hubby, there are countless people struggling to get by in construction.
Now, do we all need huge houses, multiple TVs, new cars, etc.? Well, no. But, it seems like that kind of life is our national goal. With globalization, I think that we (and Europe) have essentially become the world's upper class by outsourcing so many of the essential, dangerous, low-paying jobs that we used to do here. Can you tell I'm reading a book on the Progressive Era?
Anyhow, I do get the sense that there is a tiny, tiny group of people who think that organic farming is hip. According to my folks (dubious sources, I know), more and more of the people who show up at the Bloomington farmers' market are younger folks who've chosen to go that route. That's something, right?
if jobs become hip and cool, they will be valued more.
i'm sure a u of c professor did a study on it.
I do wonder if the college-age-and-younger students of today are closer in their ethos to what Seana suggests. We--even a punk-ass kid like Dave--are products of the Greed is Good 80s in some ways.
The Age of Obama kids seemingly are more apt to keep it simple (driven mostly by environmentalism). Certainly we see that in the explosion of farm-to-table restaurants and shops.
Yeah, I am definitely mulling over the idea (in my completely uninformed unqualified way) of the knowledge economy, including the need for a degree for entry into it, as the next big bubble. It is so valued and ingrained into American life. But at what cost? When (if ever) is "buy local" going to outpace outsourcing? Probably something (a big something) would have to happen to make outsourcing less economically attractive. But "made in America" food, household products, clothes --- is that something both political parties could get behind, and support, and value?
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