Re: Good book "Great Careers in 2 Years".....

rrc wrote:
Straydog wrote:

So, I ask myself, why so many people "just don't get it." And, we end up with a lot of
people going through undergraduate programs and quite a few come out and can't get
relevant work. Now, we're kinda into 3D's territory since he liked to brag about ChE, but
call me an *** for kicking around Rich Lemert who "just couldn't figure out" that
getting a PhD in ChE and having a teaching career that lasted all of, what, 3 years(?) (and
now doing work not even remotely related to ChE), was: i) a waste, and ii) why does he
keep recommending to every person, dog, cat, and butterfly in the neighborhood to "go
for a PhD"? As if its as easy as deciding to get a hamburger, then just walk down to
the local McD and get one, and that's all it takes to find the pot of gold at the end of
the rainbow?


I think it's an issue of class. For one, a college degree supposedly
makes one better than a blue collar type so therefore, having a PhD in
ChemE (which takes a ton of effort even for a bright person) must make
one a member of an elite subdivision in society.

I found that out at the place I used to teach at. Getting a Ph. D. made me persona non grata with certain of my colleagues, even though I downplayed it. Some openly resented the fact that I had a plaque made of my degree and hung it by my desk.

So much for having educated staff in an educational institution.

The problem is that it
confuses the whole artist vs middle class working person model because
it neglects the fact that both Mozart and Van Gogh died poor.

Mozart was renowned for being a gambler and lousy with money. I think his financial situation was nicely portrayed in "Amadeus".


The problem is that what they're really looking for is something like
plastic surgery or neurosurgery where your work and more importantly
your guilds (AMA plus board specialty gatekeepers) do, in fact, place
you in a category above other people.

A lot of that may even be cultivated by the "guilds" themselves.

Nonetheless, it's the system in
place which makes this happen, not one's individual artistry.

Now, for a regular kid, perhaps being a college grad is all the class
he needs to feel worthy by white collar society's standards.


Unfortunately, a degree nowadays is regarded as just another piece of paper to hang on one's wall, rather than an achievement.

I grew up in a small town in a rather remote area of Canada (the closest city with a population over 20,000 was about three hours drive away). I graduated in a class of well over 150 students and I'd estimate less than 10% of them went to university. A few went to tech school or a community college, but that was about it.

Of those I remember going to university, one became an MD and I'm the only one I know of who went to grad school, let alone all the way to a Ph. D. Back then, which was in the early '70s, whenever anybody received a degree, the whole town soon knew about it.
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