Vice Presidential Debate

[Maple Syrup Actual]

I have a pretty good education, although it has nothing to do with my career and hasn't really had an impact on my life. I made a little more before, but I worked harder for it. But then my education didn't have anything to do with me getting this job. Or any of the other things in my life. I enjoyed university but didn't get much out of it. I don't mind because I hardly paid anything for it, I just kept my marks high enough to get scholarships to cover the costs.

One of my best friends just paid cash for a Ford Raptor; not a huge stretch for him since he makes around $320,000 a year. I will be sure to let him know he should have gotten a degree instead of being a welder. No doubt he would prefer to live on a quarter of his current income; it would really lower his tax bracket, for one thing.

[TCB]

Yes, what career?

Hmmm...personally? Very very successful in sales, as a small business owner, and now Federal LE. None of those required more than a HS diploma. Lots of friends and family in the trades who make extremely good money in high demand fields. There are tons of careers out there where you don’t need a degree. Seems like someone with or a proponent of “higher education” wouldn’t be so ignorant of how the rest of the world makes a living... Not sure if you’re trying to be contrarian, elitist or just a douche. Also, I don’t really care. I’m out.

[Zincwarrior]

What’s your definition of a successful career, monetarily and socially? Should people on the military, or policemen or tradesmen not be considered successful if they don’t go to College?

I’ve got a buddy who went directly from high school to working in HVAC he now owns his own company and pays himself around a 150,000 a year while investing plenty back into his company and employees. While most people probably can’t accomplish it is possible.

Here Hvac us handled by people with almost no English.
Police require educations now.
What else?

[Zincwarrior]

Hmmm...personally? Very very successful in sales, as a small business owner, and now Federal LE. None of those required more than a HS diploma. Lots of friends and family in the trades who make extremely good money in high demand fields. There are tons of careers out there where you don’t need a degree. Seems like someone with or a proponent of “higher education” wouldn’t be so ignorant of how the rest of the world makes a living... Not sure if you’re trying to be contrarian, elitist or just a douche. Also, I don’t really care. I’m out.

Try it now with 9%unemployment.

[Caballoflaco]

Here Hvac us handled by people with almost no English.
Police require educations now.
What else?

Give a number on what success is please. For your region how much does one have to earn a year to be considered by Zinc Warrior as being successful. Once we have a solid number we can continue the discussion.

[WobblyPossum]

As far as I know, the trades still pay great and don’t require college degrees. I’ve never met a licensed plumber or electrician who I would say doesn’t live a successful life.

Regarding LE, some agencies require college degrees. Most absolutely do not. A degree might make you a more competitive but it’s not usually a make-or-break requirement. Same thing with the military unless you want to be an officer.

I agree with how Mike Rowe explained it in the past. To paraphrase: We’re lending money we don’t have, to kids who will never be able to pay it back, so they can get degrees they don’t need, to work in jobs that won’t exist anymore soon.

[Kanye Wyoming]

[TheRoland]

There are tons of people in the tech startup scene (where I've spent my career) with no degrees or worthless Barista degrees. Those people (when they're not starving) make a lot of money.

But those people had to be extra great to prove themself in their first few jobs where I just showed my Masters degree and answered a few questions to show it was real.

I have supervised people who were better than me, for no reason other than I have credentials.

[TC215]

Here Hvac us handled by people with almost no English.
Police require educations now.
What else?

News to me.

[luckyman]

Try it now with 9%unemployment.

I don’t know; around here unemployment seems to be >50% if you worked as a waiter/waitress/ bartender / beauty services (haircuts etc) type role, but everything else is not so bad and is situational, and the trades seem to be doing as well or better as the college degree jobs. Not to mention a lot of the bartenders have liberal arts degrees [emoji12]