Is a College Degree/Advanced Education Expense Worth the Price?

[Cameron143]

In Canada (Ontario) and perhaps other countries (not sure ) students can apply to Pharmacy School with two undergrad years under their belt is the general process so it does become six years.

I think USA is same.

The Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.) degree program in the United States requires at least 2-years of specific pre-professional (undergraduate) coursework followed by 4-academic years (or 3-calendar years) of professional study. The bachelor's (B.S.) of pharmacy degree is no longer offered in the U.S.
AACP

Agree. I was referring to pharmacy school itself. I was actually amazed when I learned pharmacy school didn't require an undergrad degree. Also that it was the 2nd highest paying job upon graduation.

 

[HeIsHere]

Agree. I was referring to pharmacy school itself. I was actually amazed when I learned pharmacy school didn't require an undergrad degree. Also that it was the 2nd highest paying job upon graduation.

Ahh I see, true it is unusual that two years of undergrad and not the full degree is sufficient.

Not sure about the highest paying job upon graduation ... every stat I look at is different, lol

While they do make a good salary upon graduation I do not see the same level of upward mobility in terms of increasing responsibility and money, having said this if it is your calling those things are not the main consideration for entering that field, important to do what you enjoy.
Pharmacist are very knowledgeable and helpful, I have learned a lot from them over years when my kiddos were sick.

https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1011/top-5-post-grad-degrees-that-lead-to-high-pay.aspx

https://www.robertsoncollege.com/blog/career-advice/highest-paying-jobs-in-canada/

https://thecanadiancollege.ca/highest-paying-jobs-for-graduates-straight-out-of-college/

 

[Cameron143]

Ahh I see, true it is unusual that two years of undergrad and not the full degree is sufficient.

Not sure about the highest paying job upon graduation ... every stat I look at is different, lol

While they do make a good salary upon graduation I do not see the same level of upward mobility in terms of increasing responsibility and money, having said this if it is your calling those things are not the main consideration for entering that field, important to do what you enjoy.
Pharmacist are very knowledgeable and helpful, I have learned a lot from them over years when my kiddos were sick.

https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1011/top-5-post-grad-degrees-that-lead-to-high-pay.aspx

https://www.robertsoncollege.com/blog/career-advice/highest-paying-jobs-in-canada/

https://thecanadiancollege.ca/highest-paying-jobs-for-graduates-straight-out-of-college/

Don't know how current my research was, but the research I saw about starting post graduate salaries, pharmacist was 2. The rest of the top 10 were engineers.

 

[Kireina]

It is worth the price

I didn't get to use my degree (I worked overseas for 17 years) so I decided to take a program (a 6-month program) to become a teacher(additional 18 units to qualify)

After months of staying late at night and spending a few thousands of pesos Yay! I am now a licensed professional teacher here in the Philippines. I passed the exam(LET) just 2 weeks ago God is really good for the second time, yeah... it is worth the price.

 

[seoulsearch]

It is worth the price

I didn't get to use my degree (I worked overseas for 17 years) so I decided to take a program (a 6-month program) to become a teacher(additional 18 units to qualify)

After months of staying late at night and spending a few thousands of pesos Yay! I am now a licensed professional teacher here in the Philippines. I passed the exam(LET) just 2 weeks ago God is really good for the second time yeah it is worth the price.

Congratulations on all your hard work!

Knowing your caring nature, I know you are going to help many students.

 

[icequeen]

Money-wise my education hasn't paid off, but it has given me more insight, some really good friends and more opportunities. I wouldn't be without the 13 years I have spent taking higher education, often beside full-time work. If I am going to finish my second master's degree is a bit uncertain, but probably I will.
In Norway University studies are free, so it makes it easier to do then financially. (Before you all get packing... The government has now decided to charge foreign students a substantial fee)

 

[Kireina]

Congratulations on all your hard work!

Knowing your caring nature, I know you are going to help many students.

Thank you @seoulsearch

 

[lomarespio]

Hey Everyone,

I was talking with a friend who is contemplating going back to school to earn a degree in the hopes of finding a higher-paying job.

This led to a conversation about whether or not the high cost of a a college degree actually pays off in real dollars and cents, and whether it's actually worth the sacrifices and high cost or not. I have known many people who didn't get the chance to use their degrees and it just wound up being a very expensive certificate on their wall (which they are still paying off.) But of course, every person's experience is unique, especially since there are some fields (medicine, etc.) in which a degree is absolutely necessary.

When I was growing up, it was almost a given at the time that in order to get a "good" job here in the USA, you had to obtain a 4-year college degree. I'm not sure how it works in other countries, so please feel free to share what the expectations are where you live and what people do in your own country and culture.

I have worked in retail my entire life and often met people who wound up there too because they couldn't find jobs in the profession they had studied. For example, one of my managers had a degree in engineering. When someone asked what he was doing working in a store, he said he and his wife had moved to the area to take care of his mother-in-law, and he couldn't find work in his field. He explained that the area was filled with retired engineers who were fine just working part-time, so no one was offering full-time. Instead, he took a full-time job in retail management because at least it provided health insurance for him and his wife.

The most extreme story I've heard so far was of a co-worker's son and his fiancee. They had both studied to be pilots, but graduated at a time when airlines were cutting back, and so now were looking at getting married with over a quarter of a million dollar's worth of educational debt -- and couldn't find jobs in their field. This was many years ago and I'm not sure what happened, but I know at the time, my co-worker said they were taking any kind of job they could find.

I have heard many stories like this and am wondering what you all have seen and experienced. I have heard people speak of apprenticeships as an alternative, but are they very common anymore? It seemed, in my area at least, that such opportunities were non-existent, or at least very rare.

I would like to know:

* Did you get an advanced education, and do you believe it was worth the cost? Did you make up for the price of your education with a better-paying job?

* Have you been able to pay back your student loans, if you had any? (Here in the USA, you can apply for loans from the government to pay for your schooling, but there are strict rules about paying them back.)

* If you could go back in time, would you have still earned and paid for your degree, or do you feel you would have been better without one? Would you have chosen to study another field (which one?)

* Do you have children or grandchildren (or other friends or relatives) who earned college degrees? Was it worth it to them or do they wish they'd taken another path?

* What would you advise other to do? Should they "go back to school," or what other means would you suggest in order to get better jobs and higher pay?

I'm dropping this thread in the Singles forum because my conversation was with a guy who is doing just fine for himself as a single, but is concerned he wouldn't earn enough to support a wife and family if God allows, and he wants to be prepared.

And please note that I am most definitely NOT trying to downplay or criticize the importance of higher education even in discussions where topics like get a fake high school diploma sometimes come up online. I've had people in my own life who have told me I "wasted my degree," but I know my life turned out the way it did for a reason.

I'm just interested in what other people have done as far as college goes, and how their own story has turned out because of it.

I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all answer. Some degrees provide an excellent return on investment, while others may not justify the cost, especially if they lead to limited job opportunities. I've known people who built successful careers because of their education and others who ended up working outside their field. My advice would be to choose education based on a specific career goal rather than pursuing a degree simply because it seems like the expected next step. Whether that's a university degree, trade school, certification, or apprenticeship depends on the individual and the industry they're interested in. The most important thing is making an informed decision about costs, demand, and long-term career prospects.

 

[me777]

NOPE !

 

[Cdara62]

Hey Everyone,

I was talking with a friend who is contemplating going back to school to earn a degree in the hopes of finding a higher-paying job.

This led to a conversation about whether or not the high cost of a a college degree actually pays off in real dollars and cents, and whether it's actually worth the sacrifices and high cost or not. I have known many people who didn't get the chance to use their degrees and it just wound up being a very expensive certificate on their wall (which they are still paying off.) But of course, every person's experience is unique, especially since there are some fields (medicine, etc.) in which a degree is absolutely necessary.

When I was growing up, it was almost a given at the time that in order to get a "good" job here in the USA, you had to obtain a 4-year college degree. I'm not sure how it works in other countries, so please feel free to share what the expectations are where you live and what people do in your own country and culture.

I have worked in retail my entire life and often met people who wound up there too because they couldn't find jobs in the profession they had studied. For example, one of my managers had a degree in engineering. When someone asked what he was doing working in a store, he said he and his wife had moved to the area to take care of his mother-in-law, and he couldn't find work in his field. He explained that the area was filled with retired engineers who were fine just working part-time, so no one was offering full-time. Instead, he took a full-time job in retail management because at least it provided health insurance for him and his wife.

The most extreme story I've heard so far was of a co-worker's son and his fiancee. They had both studied to be pilots, but graduated at a time when airlines were cutting back, and so now were looking at getting married with over a quarter of a million dollar's worth of educational debt -- and couldn't find jobs in their field. This was many years ago and I'm not sure what happened, but I know at the time, my co-worker said they were taking any kind of job they could find.

I have heard many stories like this and am wondering what you all have seen and experienced. I have heard people speak of apprenticeships as an alternative, but are they very common anymore? It seemed, in my area at least, that such opportunities were non-existent, or at least very rare.

I would like to know:

* Did you get an advanced education, and do you believe it was worth the cost? Did you make up for the price of your education with a better-paying job?

* Have you been able to pay back your student loans, if you had any? (Here in the USA, you can apply for loans from the government to pay for your schooling, but there are strict rules about paying them back.)

* If you could go back in time, would you have still earned and paid for your degree, or do you feel you would have been better without one? Would you have chosen to study another field (which one?)

* Do you have children or grandchildren (or other friends or relatives) who earned college degrees? Was it worth it to them or do they wish they'd taken another path?

* What would you advise other to do? Should they "go back to school," or what other means would you suggest in order to get better jobs and higher pay?

I'm dropping this thread in the Singles forum because my conversation was with a guy who is doing just fine for himself as a single, but is concerned he wouldn't earn enough to support a wife and family if God allows, and he wants to be prepared.

And please note that I am most definitely NOT trying to downplay or criticize the important of higher education -- I've had people in my own life who have told me I "wasted my degree," but I know my life turned out the way it did for a reason.

I'm just interested in what other people have done as far as college goes, and how their own story has turned out because of it.

I know this is an older post, but after reading other comments I thought I’d share how MY education was worth it, though not financially. I started my first ‘business’ when I was 12…cleaning houses for “collectors” (now called hoarding) in 1974 (and that skill has been utilized many times throughout my life). Left home at 17 and began college the following fall that lasted about 2 months until I found a job and making money I learned quickly was a TOOL to be able to DO what you want (freedom), not ‘have’ things you want (bondage/debt). Found out quickly I did not like the back stabbing catty office environment with cubicles stuffed with petty females and by 22 exchanged dressing ‘nice’ in an office for construction boots and a job with a drywall company (made 3-4 times more for same hrs/wk than being stuck in an office). I did not rely on roommates because my friends always were left ‘holding the bag’ as their’s ‘disappeared’; so I lived in an efficiency apt so that I was able to save month’s of rent and pay ahead for the times when work was scarce or I wanted a ‘break’. I did not have a tv, a home or mobile phone, my car was used that I paid cash for…no health insurance and did not care…food, shelter, clothes, and the freedom to ‘move’ (and I did, between TN and MI for 5/6 yrs) - all on my dime. But as for college…I attended many times (loans/grants) between 1980-2014 and collected multiple bachelor’s and a master’s - NONE of which were used to pursue a ‘career’ or create a ‘secure career path’…I did MUCH work in various areas using those skills in volunteer positions, as an advocate at state legislature, and internships in jobs I ENJOYED (but due to not being a ‘hired employee’, I had the freedom to WALK AWAY when the office politics entered ‘catty backstabbing’ disrupting workflow or they took advantage of my skills dumping other’s work on me) - due to acquired education and skills had no problem finding another way to help other’s (my degree areas are Sociology, Social Work/Clinical Therapy, Psychology, Criminal Justice…and some random degree due to the massive credit hours I was informed of in 2014 during my last round in university). My VITA is full of accomplishments for doors that opened DUE to the degrees, but NONE ‘panned out’ as a money making career of bondage to the ‘system’. After my last paying job using the degrees, a special project with our state’s Department of Human Services that ended early in 2010, late hubs was set to retire from his 27 years ‘job’ with Nissan and we were ready to begin the next stage…he died 14 months later, just 9 WEEKS after we found out he was sick. During the 20 years before that I had used my ‘degrees’ in non paying positions that HELPED OTHERS, and when I needed cash money I had 5 temp agencies that kept me using all the skills I learned 30 years prior when I was single with no roommates and paying my own way. AFTER the lockdowns I decided to finally clear out ALL of my office files…7 drawers filled with all the research notes, journal articles, everything I had written, published, lecture notes, filed reports and grant proposals - all related to the ‘jobs’ I had performed “in my FIELD” over 20+ years in NON-PAID positions - AND THREW IT ALL IN THE TRASH and realized all of it, years later - worthless or just a bunch of ‘footnotes’ as evidence I had ‘been’. That is a harsh reality on the ‘back end’ of life…and I am soooooo thankful that I had not ‘put my eggs in one basket’. My husband had worked blue collar physical labor his whole life…and made WAY more money than any of the positions I held had ‘offered’ to pay…even with a Master’s. The monetary investment over the decades…unsure of the exact, but in 1980 a full schedule of classes, books, and fees = <$700/semester; 2 year grad program in 2004/5 = $60,000 (4 semesters/2 internships). I invested in my skills that now, the local school board and the state both have tried to hire me full time as well as agencies I had volunteered for in the past - but due to hub’s work and provision, I now use what I know to CONTINUE the work I enjoyed while he was alive, working with the homeless population, domestic violence issues, and helping other’s navigate the judicial/legal ‘system’ that I know well - ALL AS THE HANDS OF JESUS - and it is THIS work that has utilized all the knowledge and skills I ‘paid for’ combined with the skills that young girl of 22 traveling the country on her own learned to ‘survive’…in order to now have a greater ability to express the love of YHWH to other’s which is the only ‘job’ that matter’s, and in doing so AS PER HOLY SPIRIT’S GUIDANCE keeps me secure in His shadow to receive the blessings for setting my hand to the plow daily tending HIS FIELDS. It is NOT the job that brings security-for they can end in an instant (another reason I had a hard time investing ME in a THEIR accumulation of THEIR $$)…ONLY TRUSTING in HIS plan for our life will truly utilize what only HE knows we are capable of that brings happiness to the ‘work’. Selah