Would you date anyone not as educated as you?

[suladas]

And marry them.....? Looking at it from an earning potential point of view, and what can happen if things go south.

 

Education has no correlation to earning potential either. In fact, many non degree jobs are more stable.

 

How hard is it to name billionaires without that fancy piece of paper?

[suladas]

I'd only be with someone not as educated as me on the condition that they understood the value I place on education and respected the work I put into my own education. I'm sick of hearing "it's just a piece of paper" and "anyone can do it" and "higher ed has nothing to do with intelligence," especially on days when I'm up to my eyeballs in complicated work. If doing organic chemistry doesn't require the least bit of intelligence, someone please let me in on the secret, thanks.

 

Yes, it's wrong to judge someone for not having a degree, but it's also wrong to presume you know what higher ed entails when you've never been through it and it's wrong to belittle the work that other people do. Saying "anyone can get a PhD" is just as obnoxious as saying "anyone can install electric wiring in a house." No one on earth likes having others tell them that the thing the work or craft they've dumped hundreds or thousands of hours into perfecting is stupid easy, meaningless, and worthless. That's the bottom line. It's bad enough to hear that sh-t from in laws, and I'd never tolerate it from someone I was dating.

 

Not to mention, from a practical point of view, I've spent at least 10 years involved in academia in one form or another, and anyone who doesn't share at least some of that experience can't really understand what I've done and what I do. So, yeah, it does matter to me quite a bit.

 

The thing people are saying is, you can get a degree in something totally worthless or something very tough, but it varies so much. As you even brought up the point of a non degree job that takes skill. A degree isn't the deciding factor if a job is difficult or not. I think the only thing you can say for people who got a degree is they have the drive to finish it.

 

Is the person getting a degree working harder or smarter then the person starting and running their own business? Not necessarily.

 

I think anyone can understand when their partner puts a lot of effort into something and it's important to them.

[Eternal Sunshine]

I'd only be with someone not as educated as me on the condition that they understood the value I place on education and respected the work I put into my own education. I'm sick of hearing "it's just a piece of paper" and "anyone can do it" and "higher ed has nothing to do with intelligence," especially on days when I'm up to my eyeballs in complicated work. If doing organic chemistry doesn't require the least bit of intelligence, someone please let me in on the secret, thanks.

 

Yes, it's wrong to judge someone for not having a degree, but it's also wrong to presume you know what higher ed entails when you've never been through it and it's wrong to belittle the work that other people do. Saying "anyone can get a PhD" is just as obnoxious as saying "anyone can install electric wiring in a house." No one on earth likes having others tell them that the thing the work or craft they've dumped hundreds or thousands of hours into perfecting is stupid easy, meaningless, and worthless. That's the bottom line. It's bad enough to hear that sh-t from in laws, and I'd never tolerate it from someone I was dating.

 

Not to mention, from a practical point of view, I've spent at least 10 years involved in academia in one form or another, and anyone who doesn't share at least some of that experience can't really understand what I've done and what I do. So, yeah, it does matter to me quite a bit.

 

 

Exactly what I think.

 

I have always, actually I do mean always found that people without education tend to put me down in some way. They make these generic statements about debt, making more money than me without education, people with PhDs not being all that smart etc etc.

 

I am very proud of my educational achievements and education has been a large part of my life for over 15 years. If someone doesn't get that then there is a huge incompatibility in core values that has nothing to do with intelligence.

[suladas]

I know some very smart people who only went as far as high school. A good head for business doesn't require a piece of paper saying you have a good head for business because you have no one to sell yourself to when you're the boss.

 

And how many of those dumb knuckle dragging business owners without education are employing the people with advanced degrees?

 

Who's really the smart one in that case?

 

There are just things you cannot teach, and those skills are invaluable.

Edited November 9, 2014 by suladas

[thefooloftheyear]

Need to be careful here....

 

True intelligence isnt easy to measure and comes in many forms..When you hear people setting guidelines and requirements of a potential partner based on what they have framed on a wall, is just not seeing the whole picture..

 

I have a degree, but never used it...I went on to own my own company in something totally unrelated...To be honest, that time spent at school, didnt really help me to get where I am and didnt make me more "educated"...I was always pretty intelligent...at least I think so...

 

Here is a good example...I live in an affluent area..They hold an annual block party at a neighbors house and I went a few times...I dont have too much in common from a career sense with these people, as most of them are working in tech or finance and I am sure are steeped in post graduate level education...However, judging from my interaction with them, there was no awkwardness or "feeling out of place' on my part...We dont look the same, either, so going by appearance wouldn't tell the story..

 

Bottom line is you cant judge easily...There are post graduate level morons that couldnt make a cup of coffee without screwing it up, and conversely there are some brilliant electricians and auto mechanics....

 

TFY

[GoodOnPaper]

I'd only be with someone not as educated as me on the condition that they understood the value I place on education and respected the work I put into my own education. I'm sick of hearing "it's just a piece of paper" and "anyone can do it" and "higher ed has nothing to do with intelligence," especially on days when I'm up to my eyeballs in complicated work. If doing organic chemistry doesn't require the least bit of intelligence, someone please let me in on the secret, thanks.

 

Yes, it's wrong to judge someone for not having a degree, but it's also wrong to presume you know what higher ed entails when you've never been through it and it's wrong to belittle the work that other people do. Saying "anyone can get a PhD" is just as obnoxious as saying "anyone can install electric wiring in a house." No one on earth likes having others tell them that the thing the work or craft they've dumped hundreds or thousands of hours into perfecting is stupid easy, meaningless, and worthless.

 

I'm a science professor myself -- it's frustrating to see how threads like this really bring out the anti-intellectual sentiment in people. All the assumptions that PhDs don't know how to work hard are ridiculous. At my institution in the area of research and grantwriting, I have accomplished many firsts, set many records and won what is essentially our institution's lifetime faculty achievement award before age 40. My wife jokes that I will be the only person in history who will be on his deathbed and wishes he had spent more time at work. My return joke is that she makes sure I live a balanced life . . . whether I want to or not.

 

I have no doubt that many people have had experiences with people with higher degrees who are intellectual snobs. I live in a small rural city and from my experience, for every intellectual snob, there is also a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps business owner who is an arrogant, condescending jerk.

 

Not to mention, from a practical point of view, I've spent at least 10 years involved in academia in one form or another, and anyone who doesn't share at least some of that experience can't really understand what I've done and what I do. So, yeah, it does matter to me quite a bit.

 

Trying to bring this back to relationships, what I bolded is really key. Most of us in academia aren't in it just because it's what we like -- and we certainly aren't in it for the money -- we do it because it's who we are. We can't keep ourselves from digging for more knowledge and analyzing our world any more than we can keep ourselves from breathing and eating. Even though my wife has worked in university offices all her life, she's not an academic herself so she only kind of gets this.

[xxoo]

I'd only be with someone not as educated as me on the condition that they understood the value I place on education and respected the work I put into my own education. I'm sick of hearing "it's just a piece of paper" and "anyone can do it" and "higher ed has nothing to do with intelligence," especially on days when I'm up to my eyeballs in complicated work. If doing organic chemistry doesn't require the least bit of intelligence, someone please let me in on the secret, thanks.

 

In cases where the less educated partner devalues the work the more educated partner put into their achievements, or where the more educated partner looks down on the lesser educated partner as less intelligent, it ain't gonna work.

 

With two partners who mutually respect each other's life accomplishments and intelligence, matching education levels are not necessary in my observation (and experience, as my husband and I have not had match education levels at all times throughout our marriage).

[Tayken]

I'm a science professor myself -- it's frustrating to see how threads like this really bring out the anti-intellectual sentiment in people. All the assumptions that PhDs don't know how to work hard are ridiculous. At my institution in the area of research and grantwriting, I have accomplished many firsts, set many records and won what is essentially our institution's lifetime faculty achievement award before age 40. My wife jokes that I will be the only person in history who will be on his deathbed and wishes he had spent more time at work. My return joke is that she makes sure I live a balanced life . . . whether I want to or not.

 

I have no doubt that many people have had experiences with people with higher degrees who are intellectual snobs. I live in a small rural city and from my experience, for every intellectual snob, there is also a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps business owner who is an arrogant, condescending jerk.

 

 

 

Trying to bring this back to relationships, what I bolded is really key. Most of us in academia aren't in it just because it's what we like -- and we certainly aren't in it for the money -- we do it because it's who we are. We can't keep ourselves from digging for more knowledge and analyzing our world any more than we can keep ourselves from breathing and eating. Even though my wife has worked in university offices all her life, she's not an academic herself so she only kind of gets this.

 

 

Bold 1: God bless you matey, and may he continue to watch over you and the Mrs.

 

Bold: I second that motion......

 

I'm sick of hearing "it's just a piece of paper" and "anyone can do it" and "higher ed has nothing to do with intelligence,"

 

If it was really just a piece of paper, how come this people haven't got one then? Additionally, why is it that the female of the species don't apply the same to weddings then...let me guess, the answer is going to be "that is different"?

 

Most men will like to think getting married is just a piece of paper too...

[fortyninethousand322]

I'm pretty sure getting a Masters or a PhD is hard. I have zero regard for my Bachelors degree, though there are a lot of Bachelors degrees that are hard to get. If you work hard for it and you value it, I'll value it. Just don't ask me to value my own education...

[most_distant_galaxy]

I'm pretty sure getting a Masters or a PhD is hard. I have zero regard for my Bachelors degree, though there are a lot of Bachelors degrees that are hard to get. If you work hard for it and you value it, I'll value it. Just don't ask me to value my own education...

 

Why? What kind of degree you have? I'm curious!

[Tayken]

though there are a lot of Bachelors degrees that are hard to get.

 

Indeed...you can't compare a hard science degree to some other kind like BA in Arts/ History/English / Business Admin / or some 2 yr quickie at a local college.

 

Some people choose to take the easiest way out, some go with the flow i.e. what is in vogue, and others just want to go to school to get away from their parents and party.

 

At some point when these people can't get a good job, they start looking for someone else to carry them i.e. they become a liability.

[sweetjasmine]

Indeed...you can't compare a hard science degree to some other kind like BA in Arts/ History/English / Business Admin /

 

Having done both, no, you can't compare them, but they each have their challenges. A lot of my classmates who are brilliant at, say, microbiology would fail miserably at the topics I did in my humanities degree.

 

Again, it's a question of having respect for the skills others have cultivated and some understanding of the work that it took to get there. I have the same reaction to the "anyone can get a PhD" people that I do to the scientists who act like non-science disciplines are stupid and easy.

 

It just seems like everyone has to proffer the platitude that "there are smart people without degrees and idiots with degrees" every single time this topic comes up, while at the same time insulting people who have gotten degrees ("I'm better than you because I make more money and didn't waste time with book learning") or who didn't study the "right" degree. Just as arrogant and condescending.

[Tayken]

If the Sciences were easy...then everyone will be doing it, and we won't have people complaining how Maths, Physics and Chemistry is "hard". Ironically, there is a literacy test for Maths and English over here, and considering everyone will get paid, have to pay bills, and shop at some point....not understanding basic calculations is not acceptable.

 

I have done both too...currently wrapping up an MBA, but I can tell you that it's not as challenging as my 2 other hard Science degrees from university (not local college).

[MissBee]

And how many of those dumb knuckle dragging business owners without education are employing the people with advanced degrees?

 

Who's really the smart one in that case?

 

There are just things you cannot teach, and those skills are invaluable.

 

Every time a conversation about education comes up inevitably the conversation is derailed by some into a disparaging of higher education as this evil thing which will inevitably lead to debt and is pointless and then tries to elevate the uneducated as those who are the "really smart" ones who are all business owners and then might throw in Bill Gates or some other anomaly to "prove it."

 

Stop. This is absurd and false.

 

First and foremost, if you look at the Fortune 500 companies, which are the wealthiest companies and corporations in America and the world, of the 500 CEOS 465 of them have college degrees or higher and only 35 of them are college drop outs (meaning many of them did go to college at least for SOME period of time). Check for yourself. This means that NONE of them simply went from high school to Fortune 500 owner without a modicum of exposure to higher education.

 

While one does not HAVE to have a college degree to be a successful business owner the fact that the WEALTHIEST ones do disproves this weird claim that somehow majority of the business owners of the world are uneducated people who didn't learn anything formally.It's rubbish. Also, sorry, I know people who may make more with a BA in certain fields over a PhD or MBA but hardly know anyone making more money simply being a high school grad. I am sure in some areas this is possible but this idea that all the highest paying jobs are ones that don't require degrees or any formal education is also absurd. While SOME might be, a large portion of high earning careers still require college degrees.

 

I concur with Eternal Sunshine and sweetjasmine. I've already said that I don't equate education to intelligence and I've dated seriously one guy who didn't go to college although you'd have never guessed and he was successful. I also don't assume that because you didn't go to college means you will have no money. I prefer someone who has gone through higher ed as usually we'll have lots of similar life experiences and reference points (and in the case of the Fortune 500 I've also said in other threads that the BIGGEST benefit of college especially if you've gone to prestigious ones is the connections you make there, where maybe you're not more intelligent than Joe Schmoe from down the street, but you will get your foot in the door if your school is recognizable and if through your schooling you're rubbing shoulders with the kids of whose who or are being introduced to industry professionals).

 

I don't think most people who responded tried to disparage those who haven't received higher education yet ALWAYS there is this denigrating of higher education and pushing of these FALSE ideas about what it will mean or won't mean for you.

 

Personally, the opportunities I've had because of higher education would have NEVER been possible or a million times more difficult had I not done it and I do not have that much debt (do people not know about financial aid and scholarships????? I had like $3000 debt after 4 years of a school that cost $56,000 a year). I paid a bit more for my masters and my current PhD program is FULLY FUNDED and we get stipends also and money for travel, research, we apply for grants etc.Needless to say, I think those spouting this information clearly don't know what they're even talking about to begin with.

 

In any case as sweetjasmine said, I don't need to date someone who has the same level of education as I do but certainly want someone supportive of me and who doesn't spend all day trying to denigrate higher education.

Edited November 9, 2014 by MissBee

[newmoon]

they can have less education than me but cannot make less.

[xxoo]

If the Sciences were easy...then everyone will be doing it,

 

No one is saying the sciences are easy. Of course a degree in hard science shows hard work and intelligence.

 

We're saying that they aren't the only path that evidences hard work and intelligence.

 

But no, everyone wouldn't be doing the sciences if they were easy. People have different interests, in addition to different cognitive abilities.

[suladas]

Every time a conversation about education comes up inevitably the conversation is derailed by some into a disparaging of higher education as this evil thing which will inevitably lead to debt and is pointless and then tries to elevate the uneducated as those who are the "really smart" ones who are all business owners and then might throw in Bill Gates or some other anomaly to "prove it."

 

Stop. This is absurd and false.

 

First and foremost, if you look at the Fortune 500 companies, which are the wealthiest companies and corporations in America and the world, of the 500 CEOS 465 of them have college degrees or higher and only 35 of them are college drop outs (meaning many of them did go to college at least for SOME period of time). Check for yourself. This means that NONE of them simply went from high school to Fortune 500 owner without a modicum of exposure to higher education.

 

While one does not HAVE to have a college degree to be a successful business owner the fact that the WEALTHIEST ones do disproves this weird claim that somehow majority of the business owners of the world are uneducated people who didn't learn anything formally.It's rubbish. Also, sorry, I know people who may make more with a BA in certain fields over a PhD or MBA but hardly know anyone making more money simply being a high school grad. I am sure in some areas this is possible but this idea that all the highest paying jobs are ones that don't require degrees or any formal education is also absurd. While SOME might be, a large portion of high earning careers still require college degrees.

 

I concur with Eternal Sunshine and sweetjasmine. I've already said that I don't equate education to intelligence and I've dated seriously one guy who didn't go to college although you'd have never guessed and he was successful. I also don't assume that because you didn't go to college means you will have no money. I prefer someone who has gone through higher ed as usually we'll have lots of similar life experiences and reference points (and in the case of the Fortune 500 I've also said in other threads that the BIGGEST benefit of college especially if you've gone to prestigious ones is the connections you make there, where maybe you're not more intelligent than Joe Schmoe from down the street, but you will get your foot in the door if your school is recognizable and if through your schooling you're rubbing shoulders with the kids of whose who or are being introduced to industry professionals).

 

I don't think most people who responded tried to disparage those who haven't received higher education yet ALWAYS there is this denigrating of higher education and pushing of these FALSE ideas about what it will mean or won't mean for you.

 

Personally, the opportunities I've had because of higher education would have NEVER been possible or a million times more difficult had I not done it and I do not have that much debt (do people not know about financial aid and scholarships????? I had like $3000 debt after 4 years of a school that cost $56,000 a year). I paid a bit more for my masters and my current PhD program is FULLY FUNDED and we get stipends also and money for travel, research, we apply for grants etc.Needless to say, I think those spouting this information clearly don't know what they're even talking about to begin with.

 

In any case as sweetjasmine said, I don't need to date someone who has the same level of education as I do but certainly want someone supportive of me and who doesn't spend all day trying to denigrate higher education.

 

Are you kidding me? The educated side is the worst for making snooty comments and thinking they are better then others, that is what I take a issue with, obviously not everyone does it but quite a few do. And I haven't even said one of the million comebacks to it about people who have education because I do have respect for people who go through the trouble to get a degree or even more.

 

As far as fortune 500 companies, that means nothing. There is a big difference between working your way up a big company, then compared to people who started their own company. And big companies like that are obviously very likely only going to hire people with degrees. I'm also talking about the more common smaller business owners owning companies valued between say 1-10 million, the number of degrees at those companies is quite low. Not the rare hundreds of million dollars or higher companies.

 

As far as money, I have friends ranging from accountants to engineers, and even one lawyer none are making anywhere near, let alone more then this high school graduate

[MissBee]

Are you kidding me? The educated side is the worst for making snooty comments and thinking they are better then others, that is what I take a issue with, obviously not everyone does it but quite a few do. And I haven't even said one of the million comebacks to it about people who have education because I do have respect for people who go through the trouble to get a degree or even more.

 

As far as fortune 500 companies, that means nothing. There is a big difference between working your way up a big company, then compared to people who started their own company. And big companies like that are obviously very likely only going to hire people with degrees. I'm also talking about the more common smaller business owners owning companies valued between say 1-10 million, the number of degrees at those companies is quite low. Not the rare hundreds of million dollars or higher companies.

 

As far as money, I have friends ranging from accountants to engineers, and even one lawyer none are making anywhere near, let alone more then this high school graduate

 

I see the point was lost. Never mind.

[Woggle]

I am not saying is right to look be snooty against educated people but they are the worst when it comes to looking down on working class or blue collar people when in reality society would come to a grinding halt if the working class folks all went away. A degree is a valuable thing but there are certain things that only life experience in the trenches can teach you. If you have that kind of knowledge combined with book knowledge then there is no stopping you.

[MissBee]

I am not saying is right to look be snooty against educated people but they are the worst when it comes to looking down on working class or blue collar people when in reality society would come to a grinding halt if the working class folks all went away. A degree is a valuable thing but there are certain things that only life experience in the trenches can teach you. If you have that kind of knowledge combined with book knowledge then there is no stopping you.

 

While some might, the idea that being educated means you are not from a working class family or aren't street smart or only have book knowledge is one that gets thrown around often to disparage educated people and it is plain false and really makes no sense when you think of it. This upsets me honestly because A LOT of educated people were among the first in their families to go to college, had parents who had working class jobs, grew up in tough circumstances and who felt education was a way out of their situation. They dreamed of education for a better life and it isn't like all people who get degrees are in the 1% who are born with a gold spoon in their mouths and had servants so know nothing about life and the real world so can look down on people with disgust.

 

In going through all my degree programs you had people from ALL kinds of circumstances. I've had classmates who are the kids of presidents of countries and classmates who are first generation Americans whose moms are cleaning ladies who do not speak English and then kids in between whose parents are teachers, nurses, normal folk.

 

Yes, some people might have come from privileged backgrounds but many do not and that's why a lot of people tout getting educated because it's often the easiest way out of your negative situation in terms of you gain social capital, you meet different kinds of people, you get different opportunities and you can leave your limiting circumstance a lot easier that way. I grew up outside of the U.S. in a developing country and education is highly valued for a lot of people not because they are rich and living their plush lives without common sense, but they've been using common sense since 5 years old and street smarts and they want a better life for themselves than what their folks had and for them education is what might promise that.

 

So for me it is always so crazy when I hear people disparage higher education on the grounds about "book learning" vs. street smarts as though getting one precludes the other. Likewise being uneducated doesn't mean you are necessarily savvy in other ways either. Some people are educated fools who lack savvy and common sense and some uneducated people are just as bad. I know snobby people...just tonight my cousin and I were talking about this one woman who is a total snob, she is not educated at all btw but she is married to a man who makes a lot of money. In fact she met him while he was on vacation in her home country and she was a waitress at a restaurant he frequented. Yet, now she is the snobbiest thing since because she's flying on her husband's private jet.The snobbishness for her and lots of people comes from money and not degrees or education. Of course some people will use their degrees to look down on folks, but people can use ANYTHING to look down on folks if they wish, even in this thread people are looking down on people with degrees or thinking science is harder than other types of degrees and looking down on folks who didn't do science, so people will find ANYTHING to put in a hierarchy.

Edited November 10, 2014 by MissBee

[fortyninethousand322]

Why? What kind of degree you have? I'm curious!

 

A Bachelor's in Middle East Studies.

 

1) It's done nothing for me career wise.

 

2) It's largely stuff I could have learned on my own.

[sweetjasmine]

While some might, the idea that being educated means you are not from a working class family or aren't street smart or only have book knowledge is one that gets thrown around often to disparage educated people and it is plain false and really makes no sense when you think of it. This upsets me honestly because A LOT of educated people were among the first in their families to go to college, had parents who had working class jobs, grew up in tough circumstances and who felt education was a way out of their situation. They dreamed of education for a better life and it isn't like all people who get degrees are in the 1% who are born with a gold spoon in their mouths and had servants so know nothing about life and the real world so can look down on people with disgust.

 

This. A million times this. There is some degree of ivory tower isolation among lifelong academics, but it's silly to pretend that everyone who goes to college has spent every day of their life holed up in a room reading encyclopedias and has never learned anything about the outside world.

 

My H was the first in his family to graduate from college, and he worked blue collar jobs until he completed his Masters. His entire family is blue collar working class. Which is why I find all of this so freaking ridiculous. He didn't suddenly become a book smart street stupid idiot who could never in his life run his own business and should stick to egghead crap just because he happened to go to school. And yet if all I said was that he has a Masters, I'm sure I'd hear "there's some things you just can't learn in school" and "you don't pick up street smarts in the classroom" from the very people who caution against prejudging people based on their education level.

 

I find it funny that there's all this talk of snooty degree-holders while in this thread the only "I'm better than you" remarks are coming from the other side of the imaginary fence. It also brings to mind the fact that not everyone values wealth equally and that sharing the same values on that subject is also important in relationships. I don't think I'd be very happy in my marriage if my H thought I was an idiot for picking a field with relatively lower pay despite its high educational requirements and if he rubbed it in my face that his blue collar dad makes more than the average salary in my field. It's not all about money, and it's important to me to be with someone who can appreciate education for education's sake and who can respect the pursuit of fulfilling work without much regard for being a high-flying high earner.

[MissBee]

A Bachelor's in Middle East Studies.

 

1) It's done nothing for me career wise.

 

2) It's largely stuff I could have learned on my own.

 

I think many of us can agree that the value of higher education isn't simply the book learning, which yes, many of us could learn on our own. However, for me, if I read a book on my own, it is not the same as having a class of other people from different experiences with different thoughts thinking through it, talking about it, disagreeing, shedding new light on the subject and clarifying ways I may have missed some things. For my PhD for example, I have to do actual research with real people. It's not like I'm just in books all day with no input from the outside world. So often your professors besides from what's in the books will also have their own expertise to add as in getting their degree they often had to do fieldwork or lab work or some kind of concrete work.

 

Also, like I said, for me, the networking, social capital, diverse opportunities etc. are a major part of the higher ed experience IMO...which is why I said I find I'm often more compatible with men who've gone to college or grad school as we often have more similar experiences and navigate similar social situations and worlds. I can read on my own sure, but for me the LOTS of other social, cultural, networking and professional experiences I got from higher ed were the parts more valuable and a lot harder to attain outside of certain kinds of access.

 

Funnily, the guy I'm seeing now did Middle Eastern studies and a minor in Arabic...he has a pretty good consulting job now and with the friends he made in college they just launched a startup for an app they're developing. So I guess it's who you are and how you leveraged your degree and how you networked too.

Edited November 10, 2014 by MissBee

[fortyninethousand322]

I think many of us can agree that the value of higher education isn't simply the book learning, which yes, many of us could learn on our own. However, for me, if I read a book on my own, it is not the same as having a class of other people from different experiences with different thoughts thinking through it, talking about it, disagreeing, shedding new light on the subject and clarifying ways I may have missed some things. For my PhD for example, I have to do actual research with real people. It's not like I'm just in books all day with no input from the outside world. So often your professors besides from what's in the books will also have their own expertise to add as in getting their degree they often had to do fieldwork or lab work or some kind of concrete work.

 

Also, like I said, for me, the networking, social capital, diverse opportunities etc. are a major part of the higher ed experience IMO...which is why I said I find I'm often more compatible with men who've gone to college or grad school as we often have more similar experiences and navigate similar social situations and worlds. I can read on my own sure, but for me the LOTS of other social, cultural, networking and professional experiences I got from higher ed were the parts more valuable and a lot harder to attain outside of certain kinds of access.

 

I enjoy learning, I really do. I just don't think my personal education was this great amazing thing that I did. It was easier for me than high school was, and certainly not worth the money I spent on it.

 

Funnily, the guy I'm seeing now did Middle Eastern studies and a minor in Arabic...he has a pretty good consulting job now and with the friends he made in college they just launched a startup with an app they're developing. So I guess it's who you are and how you leveraged your degree and how you networked too.

 

Yeah. I'm not exactly someone who has the drive and motivation to be successful in life. That's a me problem though, not a problem with my education. And that's really what I'm saying. I'm the same person with or without my degree. Which says a lot.

[amaysngrace]

so people will find ANYTHING to put in a hierarchy.

 

Not everyone. Some people are comfortable enough in their own skin not to worry about where they themselves fit in. They just do.

 

This obviously strikes a nerve with you. It really should not matter what other people think of you. You know that.