Comments on: Noted author and politicians talk debt, hunger and rising costs for students

By: News: College wants to gauge impact of affordability issues on its students | PCC

Mon, 30 Jan 2017 18:44:34 +0000

[…] Last term, the college hosted noted author and sociology professor Sara Goldrick-Rab, who discussed these issues and more at forums around the […]

By: William A.

William A. — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 21:42:04 +0000

To Joshua, I don’t doubt it, especially in the years following the dotcom bubbles burst(2002). Since that crash, many have had to grovel for any scraps available to get by, myself included. One of my jobs since that point, I had not 1, but 2 Nasa engineers with either a Masters of a PHD (and 20+ years exp at NASA), working as first tier phone tech support agent, for just above minimum wage. Having a degree is not a guarantee of success and wealth, nor is not having one a guarantee that you can’t attain a decent paying, benefitted career. What I am saying is that not having a piece of paper that says you stuck it out and learned subject X (a degree), is often a barrier to decent paying careers. The potential with a degree vs without one, not only exists, but is increasing. In fact one of the most recent studies, shows the median wage difference between a HS grad, and a college grad is $17,500 per year. Many more doors will be open with a degree than without one (like officer candidate vs enlisted military).
I also wanted to clarify that I’m not disparaging working fast food, retail, or the like. I’m disparaging the pay for the work done.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 17:02:08 +0000

I agree with Steffan Rigoulet, however, I would also say that with government money comes government restrictions and mandates. Our system of Education is already heavily propagandized and free speech is suffering. We should find a way to lower the costs without more government intervention in education. We have the power as students to choose not to attend expensive schools, this is just one way we can do this.

To William I will say that I have actually worked in fast food with two people who have had masters degrees. The degree matters. Debt matters.

By: William A.

William A. — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 21:19:14 +0000

I have to agree with your first sentence, but past that I have to respectfully but wholeheartedly disagree. If you want to flip burgers, work manual labor, retail or service industry for slave wages, then by all means don’t get a degree OR go to school. IF however you want to get a job paying enough to NOT live paycheck to paycheck, hand to mouth, with functional medical and dental insurance, and the ability to invest, and eventually own property, there aren’t many options other than military service for those who don’t start “well off”. There are some exceptions to this, involving luck, hard work over many years, or being at the right place at the right time, but these are few and far between. You are correct, the degree won’t “Open magical doors to instant wealth”, but you may want to review the application qualifications and requirements for many companies around the US and Canada for jobs with starting wages 50k plus. They begin with Bachelors (or higher) of ‘related field’ as one of the first requirements.

Additionally, while you are correct that there are a good many for profit colleges, keep in mind that PCC is a non-profit public institution, with one of the lowest costs per credit in the area. Also keep in mind that many of the folks that work for PCC chose working for this institution at a lower pay rate then they could get working in the for profit industry. Why? Because for some of us it is more important to have done something good to advance society, and help people, then to increase our personal wealth. Additionally, one of the largest driving forces of the increase in college tuition is the cost of books and materials, which you can thank all the greedy publishing corporations for. This is being challenged with OER’s (Open Educational Resources), and slowly increases its saturation. There are also tons of free MOOC’s, and other autodidactic resources available, like Kahn Academy, that are making the enrichment of knowledge at the fingertips of any with a computer and the internet (your local library is one option).

I agree with the “buyer beware” sentiment, and encourage taking advantage of the career exploration centers (they have tons of resources to help you match your strengths and interests to careers, and help research possible careers including average starting pay, long term pay, supply/demand in the region and the like) and other resources like career pathways and the like. Also you might be interested in one of the many programs at PCC like the ‘PCC Foundation’, whose goal is to improve access and opportunity to college. Scholarships, that is one of the few ways to help with the burden of the cost of education.

While I agree that the academic systems in place in the US are seriously flawed {especially compared to many in Europe, Norway as a shining example} and skewed towards the upper middle class and above, there are a good many institutions that are working hard to bridge this gap for the many disenfranchised members of our society. This is just one of many systems and institutions in the US that need systemic change, and there is a lot of work to engage in conversations, and work towards not only understanding these issues, but finding long term solutions to dramatically change our society to become an inclusive one.

By: Cato Boblet

Cato Boblet — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 20:49:36 +0000

Steffan Rigoulet, your statement sounds cold because it is.
How about instead asking the questions “How will I expect to make a decent living in this country WITHOUT a college degree?” and “How ‘qualified’ am I as a candidate for a particular job if everyone else applying has college degrees?”.

By: Steffan Rigoulet

Steffan Rigoulet — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 13:33:42 +0000

Any discussion regarding college funding must begin with the questions “What do I expect from my college degree?” and “How viable is my degree in today’s employment market?”. Pursuit of a college education must first and always be about quenching a thirst for knowledge and true learning. To expect that a degree will open golden doors to financial success is unrealistic; the job market is too competitive for such an expectation. As cold as it may sound, colleges and universities are first and foremost money-making enterprises. As such, students should take heed in the words “buyer beware”.