If you don't have a college degree, do you feel that you are somehow less smart than those who do?

CPT Jack Durish — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:04:02 -0400

This video should disabuse you of that notion. See how "smart" these college kids are. Political correctness has completely killed common sense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4S0gHlKiho

College Kids Say the Darndest Things: On Gender

Do college kids think there's a difference between men and women? FPIW visited Seattle University to find out.

Response by SSG Roger Ayscue made May 15 at 2016 9:07 PM

SSG Roger Ayscue — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:07:51 -0400

No Way. I see college graduates every day that could not pour pee out of a boot with directions on the heel.
A business degree is like a high school diploma, and too many kids graduate with a degree in beer and bong resin, along with saddling themselves or their parents with tens of thousands in college loans.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 15 at 2016 9:07 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:07:57 -0400

Candidly, I utterly dismiss such nonsense as completely, totally, intellectually worthless and abysmal drivel, to be quite pointedly and blatantly ignored, in all honesty....

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made May 15 at 2016 9:07 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:07:59 -0400

I have a degree but I don't think it makes me smarter than those who don't.

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made May 15 at 2016 9:08 PM

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:08:52 -0400

CPT Jack Durish thanks for the post and feed. A picture/video is worth a 1000 words. Nice share and read!

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 15 at 2016 9:08 PM

Capt Daniel Goodman — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:08:54 -0400

Though, of course, I entirely agree with your premise, obviously, lol....

Response by SPC Corbin Sayi made May 15 at 2016 9:22 PM

SPC Corbin Sayi — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:22:40 -0400

I've had more less-than-intelligent conversations with those with a degree, than those without. Our education system clearly "works."

Response by MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P made May 15 at 2016 9:43 PM

MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:43:09 -0400

Considering most college students today are more interested in finding new and exotic methods of becoming intoxicated and fornicating with as many individuals as possible while avoiding any attempt at academic excellence... No. I'm not impressed with a college diploma in the slightest.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made May 15 at 2016 9:49 PM

CW4 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:49:16 -0400

Definitely not. Although I'm currently working on my Masters in Education, I know all to well that there are plenty of individuals without college degrees that I've encountered during my life who are highly intelligent and have taught me lifelong lessons in communication skills, the value of hardwork and dedication and using common sense tactics when approaching all problems.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 15 at 2016 9:57 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 15 May 2016 21:57:44 -0400

I hope no one feels that way. I'm working on a master's degree, and I haven't learned anything yet that I couldn't have learned just as well (or better) with a library card. College is a money-making industry, and the reputation/credence attached to holding a degree is a very successful form of advertising.

Response by Maj John Bell made May 15 at 2016 10:16 PM

Maj John Bell — Sun, 15 May 2016 22:16:30 -0400

My wife does not have a degree. She works for an scientific laboratory. She started out as a temp employee who was supposed to complete some backlogged filing. 17 years later, she is now the HR director, Office Administrator, and Contract Compliance Officer. She is entirely self taught. She has received compliment after compliment on audits conducted by the Federal Government and Several State Governments. She makes more and has better benefits than most of the Scientists who only have Masters Degrees. I have a college degree. I married up.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made May 15 at 2016 10:40 PM

Capt Seid Waddell — Sun, 15 May 2016 22:40:49 -0400

This is what happens when liberal/progressives control our educational system - those unable to think clearly themselves pass their disabilities on to succeeding generations.

Response by SPC Darren Koele made May 15 at 2016 10:44 PM

SPC Darren Koele — Sun, 15 May 2016 22:44:26 -0400

I've said it for decades, there is no correlation between education and intelligence.

Response by SGT James LeFebvre made May 16 at 2016 1:20 AM

SGT James LeFebvre — Mon, 16 May 2016 01:20:05 -0400

While I have a degree and my wife does as well, we both have never thought of ourselves as smarter or better than someone who doesn't. College is not for everyone, indeed, many people go who probably would be better off attending a trade school since we need people in the trades.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 2:00 AM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 02:00:32 -0400

CPT Jack Durish - I watched the video. Truth be told . . . political correctness or not . . . the younger generation is a lot more liberal and a lot less concerned about people who choose to change their personal appearance and/or behavior to conform to whatever image they have of themselves. That said, while I don't believe one or more degrees may distinguish individuals on the basis of competence . . . completion of a legitimate degree from a legitimate program at a legitimate university establishes for me a certain level of expectation predicting an individual candidate's performance based on degrees evidencing their commitment, performance, and success in difficult coursework over several years. In my agency . . . I am required to recruit highly intelligent, capable, aggressive, and committed officers with undergraduate . . . and in most cases graduate degrees . . . whether in arts, letters, sciences, engineering, medicine, management, or law . . . and I am unable to hire or promote anyone above some minimum entry level absent appropriate credentials. The plain fact of the matter is hiring and promotion preference usually favors (in declining level) candidates from Ivy League Schools, Service Academies, State Universities, State Colleges, Community Colleges, and accredited for profit private universities and colleges. If you want to be well paid . . . get a degree from a nationally or regionally accredited university or college . . . not from a fly by night for profit company!!! Warmest Regards, Sandy

Response by SGT Kyle Johnson made May 16 at 2016 2:11 AM

SGT Kyle Johnson — Mon, 16 May 2016 02:11:40 -0400

I will take Experience over a piece of paper any day. Someone who has done the job for years I would believe knows the work.

Response by SGT Kyle Johnson made May 16 at 2016 2:24 AM

SGT Kyle Johnson — Mon, 16 May 2016 02:24:30 -0400

"But painfully clear to many employers are serious gaps between elite educational credentials and actual individual competence"
Love this article from Harvard Business Review
https://hbr.org/2010/07/higher-education-is-highly-ove

Higher Education Is Overrated; Skills Aren’t

With innovation, entrepreneurship and significantly smarter fiscal policies, America should eventually escape its “hireless recovery.” But what won’t hasten new hiring — and might even dampen job prospects — is the mythical belief that higher education invariably leads to higher employment and better jobs. It doesn’t. Foolish New York Times stories notwithstanding, education is a […]

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 5:55 AM

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 05:55:02 -0400

I feel more intelligent not having one and saving the tens of thousands than pursuing a new high school diploma (meaning everyone has a bachelors in something). Looking at snapchat stories of my fellow peers that decide to go to university and seeing them drink every single moment they get... I could go on

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made May 16 at 2016 6:54 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Mon, 16 May 2016 06:54:10 -0400

No. A lot of the stuff I know and do is not found in books used at colleges. I'm not saying I'm smarter then someone that went to college, but I learned things through life experiences that are not used by people that much anymore( common sense for one).

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 7:19 AM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 07:19:30 -0400

Wow, don't bother us with the obvious we have to find a way to believe facts are not real.

Response by SGT David T. made May 16 at 2016 7:46 AM

SGT David T. — Mon, 16 May 2016 07:46:20 -0400

A degree does not measure intelligence. I have a good friend of mine that just has a high school diploma and works in construction who is one of the smartest people I have ever met. I think a degree only says that one can finish what they start and they are capable of learning. Obviously this is not the only way to determine those things. I think too much emphasis is placed on the degree.

Response by 1SG Michael Blount made May 16 at 2016 8:44 AM

1SG Michael Blount — Mon, 16 May 2016 08:44:37 -0400

You shouldn't feel less smart, but don't be surprised if your military or civilian career takes a lower trajectory compared to those who have a college degree.

Response by SSgt Terry P. made May 16 at 2016 9:28 AM

SSgt Terry P. — Mon, 16 May 2016 09:28:53 -0400

CPT Jack Durish I watched the video. Anyone who says --there is no reason for male and female lacks either intelligence or common sense.Without genders we have NO reproduction.No cattle for beef or milk,no pigs for pork,no chickens for eggs,etc.Even plants have male and female,without the difference you soon have no food to feed these PC "savants".

Response by SFC Everett Oliver made May 16 at 2016 11:04 AM

SFC Everett Oliver — Mon, 16 May 2016 11:04:48 -0400

I have somewhere around 90 credit hours of college. Never have added it all up. Never had it put towards a degree. But there is no doubt I know more than those confused kids in the video. I have to wonder what these girls reaction would be if some burly hunk of a construction worker walked through their locker room while they were changing clothes...

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 11:20 AM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 11:20:04 -0400

Absolutely not. Having recently been to college I can testify that an overwhelming majority of college students lack common sense. What's more is it is easy to pick an easy major like criminal justice (I can say that cause that is what my bachelors is in) just to get a fancy piece of paper. That being said, some of the smartest people I have ever had the pleasure of speaking to were my lower NCOs that didn't have a degree. Intelligence comes in many forms and not just from having a degree.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 12:31 PM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 12:31:35 -0400

As a degree-holder, I don't think it's so much about "smarts" but the financial ability to attend college, and the (this is what I have been told the Army looks for) wearwithall or "gumption" to stick with something for four (or more) years and complete it successfully.

When people ask me what I learned in four years of college, I tell them that I learned what is important, and what is not important. That is, realize that certain things are not that important to either your college career, or your life, and thus not to worry about them more than their value (to your college career and/or life). This leaves you free to devote appropriate amounts of time, effort, and thought to what *IS* important.

For example, my highest graded paper (an A+) was my WORST paper I ever wrote. Why? Because I assessed the professor and pandered to his own vanity (by quoting him as a SME). Academically, this is akin to whoring oneself out, but the bottom line is that semester grade and your GPA. When I got that paper handed back to me, I was glad for the high grade, but I tossed that paper into the trash as soon as I left the classroom. In that case, what was important was the grade, and not so important was my internal sense of academic excellence. It's all in your own perspective and how you weight the things in your life. Knowing what those things are is, in my opinion, more valuable than the piece of paper your diploma is printed on.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 16 at 2016 12:38 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 May 2016 12:38:14 -0400

Paraphrasing the Wizard of Oz to the Scarecrow:
I can't give you a brain, but I can give you a diploma.

Response by CPT Joseph K Murdock made May 16 at 2016 8:01 PM

CPT Joseph K Murdock — Mon, 16 May 2016 20:01:58 -0400

That was funny!

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 17 at 2016 11:43 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 17 May 2016 11:43:18 -0400

Hi, Captain Durish.

As a matter of full disclosure, I have an MBA with a specialization in Project Management. Having said that...

As a society, we have thrust too much weight on the importance of a college degree, for the wrong reasons. When our economy was agrarian in nature, college was reserved for rich, city kids for very critical positions like doctors or lawyers. I’ve never been there, but I can’t imagine a lot of rows to hoe in Boston or Philadelphia. As we progressed to a manufacturing economy, college was required for management positions at GM and Ford. Now in a knowledge economy based on information services, because of all of the weight we have forced a college education to bear, we have convinced ourselves and our kids that the only way to achieve a good job and foster a successful career is with a college degree.

That’s not necessarily true.

While a degree is a good weapon to have in your kit, it should achieve more goals than just a good job. College is an opportunity to enhance your critical thinking skills, expose yourself to world views beyond the one you grew up with, and learn how to express your views to others in a clear, professional, educated manner. It should serve for the betterment of society, not just the guarantee of a $100K/year job.

Does it make you smarter? No. I graduated with a bunch of people that were as dumb as a box of rocks from their freshman indoc until they walked across the ceremony stage, fresh undergrad degree in hand. Does it somehow promise a high-paying career? Of course not. I know a graduate with a BA in Art History that’s flipping burgers right now (and there is nothing wrong with that, she’s paying her bills, but it’s just not the endgame she expected, because she has a degree). Is it worth it? Maybe. It isn’t cheap, it’s only getting more expensive, and it is a huge investment in time and energy. Trade schools are cheaper and shorter, and might have a higher starting salary potential than rookie undergrads.

Response by CSM Richard StCyr made May 17 at 2016 2:27 PM

CSM Richard StCyr — Tue, 17 May 2016 14:27:18 -0400

Holy crap! these cats have taken a big draught of the cool aid grog bowl. Did biology drop off the required courses for grade school or did it get left off the common core curriculum.

Response by Col Joseph Lenertz made Jun 13 at 2016 11:57 AM

Col Joseph Lenertz — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 11:57:25 -0400

My wife sometimes says she feels that way. But then she wins every argument, so who's really smarter?