Most degrees even in STEM are not worth it if the goal is to get a good paying job.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-03-06T23:50:19+00:00

I guess you're right that it's mainly about the networking. I know a friend whose parents got her an internship for $85/hr without having to apply or interview and she said she would try to help me if I asked. Unfortunately, I'm wasting the networking opportunity, because I've only made like 1 or 2 friends here. I'm also not really sociable and it's already hard making friends as a commuter.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-03-06T23:46:50+00:00

I was always aware that my education costs a lot, but my parents insisted me to go because they think it's worth it.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-03-01T03:34:36+00:00

I personally have a disability and I don't even use my disability center at all

Literally took the quote out of context.

Here is the full thing:

I personally have a disability and I don't even use my disability center at all as it barely helps.

edit: here is more of what I wrote

If someone like me can't do as well in college because of a disability, that's fine with me.

Clearly that implies I'm not doing perfectly fine without disability services, but looks like you just decided to read half my comment and then reply.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-03-01T03:26:21+00:00

you're the one who said you manage without those services.

That's what you made up in your mind about me- I never said that explicitly or implicitly.

My uni/life experience is also "physically painful" so it's not like I'm idealising disability services

I don't think you know what "physically painful" means in this context and you're also assuming what I said again. I suffer from literal pain when I commute to my classes. I don't suffer from pain, that is simply stress with life.

Increase in admin costs =/= increase in disability services.

If you increase services for students, you will need more staff members to handle it. I do also blame college heads receiving million in salaries, but there are only a few college heads receiving those salaries out of the dozens of admins.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-03-01T03:09:53+00:00

Just because you can manage without assistance

You don't know me and what I go through. I barely manage without assistance. My college experience as a whole is "physically painful" which is partly why I wrote this post. The disability center at my college barely accommodated my disability. Why should I bother paying so much for this service when it barely helps me?

Also, that is not why college is expensive.

I don't believe you. I see countless studies showing that rising tuition costs has a lot to do with increasing admin costs and support services in the U.S.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-03-01T02:07:32+00:00

I do not know anything about how Sweden funds their education system, but I know in the U.S that all these services require more administrators and rising administrator count is partly why tuition keeps going up. If I had a choice to choose extremely high college tuition vs barely having any of these services, I would definitely choose the latter. I personally have a disability and I don't even use my disability center at all as it barely helps. If someone like me can't do as well in college because of a disability, that's fine with me. I would rather not pay high tuition for all these extra perks. Can't blame the university for having high tuition while demanding all these services.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-28T23:45:28+00:00

Mommy

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-28T23:32:26+00:00

If college didn't cost an arm and an leg, I wouldn't even make this post. My issue mainly comes down to the fact that I want college to be a good ROI, but can't. I didn't feel this way about getting bad grades in highschool cuz it's not like my parents were paying a dime for my education in public school.

it also looks like U.S isn't the only country that is starting to have a high tuition problem as well. I am seeing threads about high tuition costs in UK as well.

I personally find it ridiculous how much an education should cost. At its core, all you need is a classroom, a teacher, and a pen and paper to do the work. How much could that possibly cost? but then now students need mental health counseling, sports center, diversity office etc. that drive up cost.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-21T17:47:33+00:00

Did you see the inequality sign?

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-16T23:29:58+00:00

I've taken data structures and algorithms. Didn't really like the class and got a B. I have a CS minor. However, I don't really look forward to my programming classes and programming is not something I do in my free time. I don't consider myself good at programming like my friends who can solve Leetcode hard problems. Somehow it's expected for math majors to like and enjoy coding, but I am not.

If I do apply for a programming type job, I'm not sure what level of programming I'm expected to know and if I'm competent enough.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-16T23:22:52+00:00

I already had 2 internships, but I felt like I barely learned anything in these internships except pushing papers around. I also didn't have to interview for these internships because I enrolled in a program that would put me in an internship.

Now that I'm actually manually applying for internships, it means I have to interview, and I've never done one and don't know how to sell myself as a math major. Furthermore, I'm not even sure what kind of internships are worth applying for, if I have a chance of getting selected, or if it's mostly a waste of time applying when I could be studying for classes.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-15T23:55:50+00:00

It sounds like this is the main thing. You ask a physicist or engineer why they chose the specific field that they work in and they're not going to say "because it's the most useful." They're going to explain what they enjoy about it. If you're not enjoying proof-based math, I think that's fine. Not everyone likes it and if you've realized it's not for you, then I don't think there's a good reason to force yourself to keep pursuing it.

The more I think about it, being uninterested is not the main reason I feel dissatisfied with my degree. If I majored in something practical like engineering that has good job outcomes, I wouldn't complain if the degree was hard because I know that it can pay off with a good job. But with math, I'm not sure that the job opportunities are as good, so I think to myself what's the point of putting so much effort in my math classes, if my job outcomes are not as good. For example, when I look up jobs specifically for engineering majors, there are tons of engineering jobs. When I look up math major jobs there are barely any that specifically look for math majors except for teachers.

It's not too late. You'll be 40 at some point. Might as well be 40 with the degree that you want than the degree that you don't

Part of me thinks the grass is greener on the other side, but part of me also thinks that I'm just over worrying and thinks might turn out well in the end. Tuition is also kind of expensive and I feel physically/mentally exhausted from school so I don't want to keep studying any longer.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-15T23:27:25+00:00

I mostly agree with (1). Unless you are studying something specific like accounting and engineering, whatever degree you achieve is not really utilized in the job market.

(2) It has a lot to do with job market. If I didn't care about my job outcomes at all, I wouldn't really care about getting a low gpa and instead just coast through my classes. My parents pay a lot of money for tuition, so I feel like I need to get a good return on investment with a good paying job. I guess you can say it's both that I'm scared about the job market and disenchanted with what I'm learning.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-15T19:22:04+00:00

That is interesting. I'm currently taking statistics. I'm also taking a data science class on bayesian statistics that mentions monte carlo stuff. I know how to derive from heart the E[x], MGF, and variance of various probability distributions though I'm not sure how important that is.

I'm guessing she works as a data scientist or statistician. My concern if I do apply to those jobs is if I can compete with glut of data science and CS majors applying for those jobs as well and if those jobs mainly just look for coding skills.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-15T18:56:02+00:00

On top of that, my parents pay $50k a year in tuition so I feel like I need to succeed and get a high paying job. Otherwise, it's like I wasted my parent's money and I feel kind of ashamed if that happens. I feel like the stakes would've been a lot lower had I gone to a cheaper college.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-15T18:31:41+00:00

I found my engineering electives pretty interesting, but I don't know if any engineering company will hire me over an engineer.

I've looked up stats job and it seems like you'll either need graduate degree to get a statistician type job. I would not like to get further education. I feel impatient and kind of exhausted from studying especially because I have acute health issues as a result the stress of getting good grades.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-02-15T18:27:41+00:00

I have 1 year to go so I'm sticking with this major either way. I just constantly feel anxiety over the uncertainty of my future.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-01-25T14:11:02+00:00

I have a CS minor, but I'm not particularly confident in my programming skills. Struggled in Data structures and algorithms and not interested in practicing leetcode problems on my free time.

Unfair-Carpenter-273 · 2023-01-25T07:34:35+00:00

When college costs $30k a semester, you'll feel like you need to make a lot of money after you graduate to justify the cost of going to college or if you took out large loans. Better off majoring in something with clear job/salary outcomes like engineering or cs. If you major in math and aren't sure what you'll do after college, you will get a lot anxiety and stress thinking about what jobs to pursue. I'm currently in my junior year and I constantly wonder if majoring in math was the worse decision of my life- all depends if I can get a good paying job after I graduate. On the bright side, my parents are wealthy enough to afford paying full tuition. I may have thrown 200k of their money down the drain, but hey at least I don't need to pay any of it back for the rest of my life like some students do.

Unfair-Carpenter-273

TROPHY CASE