Reply #17: I Happen to Agree With Him - *Sort of* - But for VERY Different Reasons

[NashVegas]

1. Mergers and consolidations are wiping out mid-level white-collar jobs across the board. Those who thrive are those who have the personality traits of aggression coupled with self-promotion. It's one thing to put yourself on a spinning wheel to get to the top, but to get to the *middle?* Is it worth sacrificing the time?

2. Higher education is an industry that exists to profit and, increasingly, take over *training* of even low-level employees, training that was once the financial investment of the companies doing the hiring. We had two interns from the ORD program at Vanderbilt last year. Part of their requirements for getting a BA was taking an unpaid internship 32 hours per week! They paid over 10k each to work - nearly full-time - for and train with us! How fucked up is that?

In my wildest dreams, academia decides to completely eliminate "me too" degrees and return to the basics - Economics, Liberal Arts, Law. On edit: an even better dream: students themselves wise-up and take the broader programs.

3. IQ has nothing to do with it. The highest IQ boy I went to high school with (over 130) makes saddles for a living.

4. There is an outcry for well-made goods, and there are people who can afford to go beyond IKEA and other mass-produced crap. Antiques stores carry very little well-made items of popular styles from the 1960s on, because there were so little that were well-made. And it's only going to get worse. Tastes evolve beyond Louis 14 and Art Deco, you know?


The downside: you have to deal with idiots who have more money than brains.