thrive » college

ITT Tech and Jobs

Ryan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:13:49 +0000

I’ve been wanting to interview someone who has either gotten an education from or knows someone has gotten an education from ITT Tech. I’m interested in what kind of jobs people who get their degrees from ITT Tech end up securing afterwards. I’ve heard differing reports, but all secondhand. Would like to hear from people who have actually done it all.

Strange College Courses

Ryan — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:13:16 +0000

So, is there any more proof that higher education is becoming a big joke than this? Courses in “Underwater Basket Weaving” and “The Art of Walking” – how disturbingly bizarre. 15 Strangest College Courses In America.

Online Law Degrees

Ryan — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:13:25 +0000

Random thought of the day: do people seriously think they will be taken seriously if they get an online law degree?

Maybe I’m just old school, but if I’m going to hire a lawyer, I want them to have had a rigorous, “head in the books” education. Next thing you know, our surgeons will have received online degrees.

Best College Movies

Ryan — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:29:45 +0000

Anyone else remember the movie PCU? That was one of my all time favorites. Maybe if I were to watch it again I’d be embarrassed to call it a favorite, but it’s always been one of those movies from my youth that I’ll never forget. Sort of like The Crow (original only). Anyway, I was happy to see PCU on this list of the 12 Greatest College Movies

Starting Salaries For Many Careers

Ryan — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:58:24 +0000

Wondering what people make out of college these days? Check out this pretty thorough list of 2008 starting salaries.

Obama, McCain and College

Ryan — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:36:10 +0000

I’ve gotta say, I love Obama’s plan to send people who serve our country to college. We need a culture of service rather than greed. We need to re-learn the idea of serving a cause greater than ourselves. And it’s great when government sets policy to encourage and reward service oriented behavior.

Here’s an article that considers the differences between McCain and Obama on college education.

education in pleasant environments

Ryan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:47:46 +0000

I wonder if there is any research into whether more or less learning happens near beaches. Despite the obvious distractions, I think there is something to be said for the positive attitude and mood that a nice environment induces. I bet it’s ultimately a better learning environment for those who can moderate themselves. [5 Reasons Why Schools on the Coast are Better]

how good are online degrees

Ryan — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:27:27 +0000

Maybe I’m just old school or something, but I’ve had this feeling deep in my gut for a long time that online college educations are watered down and don’t prepare the student in the same way that a traditional college education prepares them. I can’t shake the feeling and I’m genuinely curious how companies perceive potential employees who received an online degree.

Schools like University of Phoenix and Strayer, while doing many things right, in this person’s view, tend to cheapen the college experience. Again, this might just be a generational thing. I went to college in the 1990s and online education didn’t really take off until the 2000’s. Does anyone else feel this way or is it just me?

The last few days I’ve been doing research on various schools and the degrees they offer. Yesterday I was searching for DeVry University degree information but time and time again just found conflict-of-interest articles that were promoting the school because they were making money by promoting it.

What I want is an unbiased analysis of the online college phenomenon. Is it the future? Or is it a cheap fad?

How The Economy Will Affect Us

Ryan — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:26:27 +0000

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how the downturn in the economy will affect us in tangible ways and my mind keeps coming back to one point: we will have to get used to living with our means. What does this mean? It means we’ll have to habituate ourselves to paying as we go. It means we’ll have to think carefully about whether we can really afford something or not before we buy it. It means less debt and more savings. It means choosing more practically and less ideally.

My brother is currently choosing a college to go to. His “dream” is to go to Duke University. But my family can’t really afford Duke University. Not really. Not $40k plus per year. So my brother is going to have to live within his means. Either, he’s going to have to work his ass off to pay the ridiculous tuition + room&board, or he’s going to have to get some magical financial aid package. Or, OMG, OMG, he might have to get practical and choose a far more economical and practical local school. He might have to spend his first two years at a community college. Or, he may choose the local state University that his high school has association with and which he might be able to get a full ride to.

You see, Americans are going to have to start making compromises like this. We can’t have everything we want without a cost. Either we’re going to have to get back to producing wealth, or we’re going to have to cut back on our dreams a bit. My bet is that we’re going to do a little bit of both, and that life will be just fine that way.

The most popular college majors

Ryan — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:39:58 +0000

Here’s a list of the 10 most popular college majors. That’s interesting. What I think is even more interesting is what the top 10 *should be* based on the current needs of our economy. My sense is that many of these majors (English literature, biology and psychology) are romantic majors that people take up with idealism. While our economy certainly needs experts in these fields, I have a deep sense that in terms of economic productivity, they aren’t in as high demand as others.