Reply #65: Well, guess what.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

My parents went to college but were not rich. Dad went to night school to become a lawyer on the GI Bill after WW II. They scrimped and saved to send me to college. I got my BA from an expensive private school full of rich kids. I never got a job with that degree. It was a BA in biology from the best pre med school in the state.

I got an associates degree in a vocational field. I worked in that for nearly 20 years but I got burned out before I was forty from the stress.

I worked fulltime and went to law school at night, on the pay as you go plan. That was a JD from a private, expensive school too. I made good money at my vocational job, so I could afford the money for the school. I think it cost about 20K between the tuition and books and that was in the early 80s. Took me five years and it was grueling.

The job alone was grueling, and night school on top of this was even worse. Looking back I don't know how the hell I did it. The rich kids who didn't have to work and got out in three years (Law school is 90 semester hours) said, "What? You work and go to law school?". They were horrified that I worked in the real world, the courthouse, and dealt with all the stuff we were learning in law school.

I did all this in the 70s and 80s, before the prices soared but it still wasn't cheap.

I spent 12 years in college, have two degrees from private schools, one from a community college. The 2 year degree was the only one that got me a job where I could afford grad school.

Neither private school degree I got has gotten me a job. I gave up on looking for a job several years ago after I couldn't even find temporary work although I have worked in the legal field my whole life and have many years of experience. I can also type 110 wpm on a computer, and used to be a legal secretary.

I don't have any student debt. I also have no job prospects, no income, and no health insurance. I'm gonna have to sell my house and move to the country because the property taxes & utilities are killing me.

I'm over qualified and over 50 so there is age discrimination there and too many degrees. Bosses don't want smart people working for them. Especially if said smart person is short and female.

I can see why you are bitter. However, I got through three degrees without any debt, and still got no earning potential. I just don't know the right people to get a job. None of my so called lawyer friends would help me get a job when I was looking for one. Several of them are millionaire partners in law firms now, but they couldn't lift a finger for me.

I feel like I was fucked over by society with the promise of a good job and I spent an awful lot of time and money getting degrees that were personally useful as far as gathering knowledge, but didn't do a damn thing to help me get a job. In fact, they make me LESS employable, as far as I can tell. The fucking job market is a total farce.