College Is For Suckers » Useless Degrees

Jobless: Trina Thompson Sues Her College

april — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:55:03 +0000

Last week, 27 year old Trina Thompson filed a lawsuit against Monroe College because she can't find a job after graduating in April from the college's IT program.

According the sources at the Associated Press, she is hoping to recover the $70,000, she spent on tuition because the college failed to provide her with the career advice that they had promised. Tina and her family are facing a severe financial crisis because of Tina's student loan debt.

Should she have known better than to take out a 70k loan? Of course! (But it's easy to say that once you've been duped yourself.)

Does she have a valid lawsuit? Hell no! She should take accountability for her actions and not hold the school responsible for her not having a job.

However…

Posted on the school's website: http://www.monroecollege.edu/aboutmonroe

"Monroe offers Certificate, Associate, Bachelor's, and Master's degree programs leading to employment in the most relevant areas for today's rapidly changing global economy."

Colleges all over the country make these types of claims. From ridiculous tag lines to outrageous promises, people are blatantly led to believe that college is the solution to their success.

Poor Tina with her useless IT degree. Just for giggles, I checked out their IT program to see what courses they are offering in this "rapidly changing world." It actually looks very similar to the same program that I took -which was already outdated in 2003! Good luck with that.

CT-290 – Internship    (doing what?!)
CP-101 – Introduction to Information Processing   ("information processing" is vague. It could be how to send email for all we know)
CP-117 – Programming Logic Using C++    (Well, okay. But you don't need 70k to learn this)
CP-215 – Visual Basic    (outdated)
CP-223 – Computer Hardware    (not necessary unless you plan on building your own)
CP-270 – Cisco I: Cisco Networking Basics (go to Cisco.com and get Cisco certified instead)
CP-275 – Cisco II: Cisco Basic Routing
CP-295 – System Analysis & Design    (Vague)
CP-303 – Operating Systems    (Vague)
CP-315 – Management Information Systems   (Vague and probably outdated)
CP-330 – Database Management Systems (USING ORACLE)    (Better off going straight to ORACLE to get certified)
CP-335 – Telecommunications   (What?!)
CP-360 – Network Security   (For who? What company? This is hard to generalize)
CP-415 – IT Project Management    (You can't learn this stuff in school)
CT-101 – Introduction to Information Technology   (Ready to sleep through your 70K education?)
CT-155 – Computer Software (Vague)

20/20 College Report

april — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:29:07 +0000

I’ve been trying to tell people this since 2004. American Colleges are over-rated. Sure education is important, but do you really need a $30,000 four-year BA degree?

When Degrees Don’t “Deliver”

april — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:24:24 +0000

Urban Myth: A college degree means a higher salary.

Fact:
The salary value of a college degree is dipping down to an all-time low. Degreed employees are a dime a dozen. So don't expect to "cash-in" on the fruits of your collegiate labor.

Art Students: What You Don’t Want to Hear…

april — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 13:22:11 +0000

We’ve seen you at your local Starbucks. You come in a variety of flavors; From the I-will-not-conform dreads and hairy armpits, to the pierced and retro-clad free-thinkers. Some of you are too cool and profound to even smile. The rest of you may not take yourselves quite that seriously. Either way, you relish your bohemian ideals and identity and go out of your way to be different. Ironically, you all end up looking the same and sounding the same –fitting into a stereotype known as “the art student.”
Hey, nothing is wrong with going to school for art. Sure, it’s fun to hang out with like-minded beatniks. And smelling like Patchouli oil is the next best thing to not washing your hair. But just remember this; you are probably not doing anything that hasn’t been done before. And if you are, you should be out making money at it and not wasting your time in class copying someone else’s style, or paying high dollar to read classic literature (when you’ll probably just go out and get the cliff notes anyway.)
I don’t want discourage your artful ways, but having an art degree does not mean you will actually be good at it. And it certainly doesn’t mean you will find a job doing it. If you really plan on being an artist, you can get by with taking a few basic classes you need. The rest can be found at your public library. Meanwhile, if you want an education with a higher pay-off, go to a trade school and learn carpentry or something. You can always do art on the side. Otherwise, get used to waiting tables at the coffee house because you could be there for a while…