I was helping out at a store remodel(week long project), during our mandatory blackout weeks at my reset job, and was talking to this one guy who is 21 so we're the about the same age. He didn't have a car so he rode the bus to the job location. He mentioned earlier in the day that he was looking for an overnight stocking job. I told him about my overnight stocking days in the past and the ins and outs of it. So it's late in the day and the topic of high school came up. He told me that he went to XXXX high school and also went to XXXXX University(out of state) and that he completed the schooling and received a degree in marketing. So this brings me to the question...

Is a marketing degree a good idea to pursue in college? Or is it a worthless sheet of paper?

Edit: for grammer issues.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2016 02:10AM by DavePi.

??? While you are waiting for people who have marketing degrees, keep in mind that some employers will accept any degree. These employers want someone who finished something and will train them to learn related or unrelated tasks. How picky are you about the work you do after you receive your diploma?

I don't find it an interesting story or a thought-provoking question. I think it's pretty commonplace. If you are just 21, maybe you haven't had a chance to run into this before and you believe the degree determines success and success is guaranteed to anyone who gets the "right" degree. Sometimes the degree is only as good as the person who gets it and the job market in that person's location. I would say a Marketing Degree is pretty good and very marketable in today's economy in many locations. I know a lot of folks with masters degrees waiting tables and working night shift in convenience stores. I know a lot of high school grads who have jobs that folks with masters degrees can't get.

I believe it Is a good major, as marketing in this day and age is important for business. My daughters friend works for Disney in both Marketing and advertising.

@DavePi wrote:

Is a marketing degree a good idea to pursue in college? Or is it a worthless sheet of paper?

The latter. Search "most useless degrees"and almost every one is an arts degree. In Marketing, it will be talent that moves someone up the ladder. That's innate -- the skills that are needed in this field are far less important than the talent. That said, many companies want a degree (any degree) in order for an interview That's where it will have the value.

If you have arrived at college without a passion for where you want to take your life, your major should be the most academically challenging one you can tackle with reasonable expectation of success. Many folks discover their passion almost by accident in a course they are 'required' to take. It is certainly easier to change majors from Mathematics to Basketweaving if you discover basketweaving is your true passion than it is to change majors from Basketweaving to Mathematics. Primarily what you should be doing in college is expanding your horizons, gaining insights and skills which should serve you well in furthering your life and education after college or helping you in the workforce. If Marketing is not your passion it is probably too limited and limiting a degree to pursue.

The first two years really don't matter, most are required courses. Therein lies the course you do take and something clicks. With my daughter (who didn't know what she wanted to do), Psychology lead her to taking a course studying the brain which was something appealing, leading her to a great career. Whatever ones does, make sure your good at it and have a passion. I do feel at 18, everything is wide open. When you asked if Marketing was a good career choice, it is for those that have a love for it.

No degree is a worthless sheet of paper. A lot of people don't work in the fields their degree is in, but what counts is they have a degree. That piece of paper will open a lot of doors.

Let's just say, without a degree today, Msing is about it, unless Daddy has a business College is most important, and going to a good one helps. My day (100 years ago), woman
were teachers or nurses, now with so many choices, oh to be young again with the wisdom of my age.....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2016 03:44PM by Irene_L.A..

There is a lot of money to be made in skilled labor. My plumber has a higher hourly rate than my doctor, and far less overhead. If I could go back in time, the degrees would have been "hobbies" and I would have learned a trade instead. The medical field also has a lot of jobs that don't require degrees. With an aging population, that's a field where you won't go hungry.

How many people actually use their BA degrees? I'm betting it's far less than those than don't. If you're going to get one, do it as cheaply as possible. Start here: [degreeinfo.com]

Pass, your plumber has a back breaking, smelly job while your doctor gets a biweekly manicure.

BTW, how do you know how much they make? Did you ask them, or are you basing it on what you pay them per hour?

Honny, my plumber has an MBA from Harvard. He makes more as a plumber than he ever did in the corporate world. And, yes, he told me how much he makes (he was trying to convince my son to skip college and work with him). As for the doctor, we have physicians in the family. The plumber makes more. Good point about the physical labor, though.

My son is a H.V.A.C. technician. 2 year community college. After 4 years of experience in a small town in the Midwest, he is making a 6 figure income. He doesn't do any overtime, weekends or nights. The first year apprenticeship was rough, but he has it pretty good now. (Already has bought a year round lake home)
I'm looking forward to being a burden to him

I have a 52yr. old friend that lost his job of 20 years, went to an on-line school for Global Business, (Univ. of Phoenix), 4 years later, and his hope of making 6 figures, nothing. I think where you go matters if everything else falls into place...it's a very competitive world, state colleges are expensive and taking 5+ years to get out in CA. Plumbers, Auto mechanics do make money, but do you want to spend your life with your head in the toilet. We all have stories, follow what you do best, and your gut.

Sorry to disagree (if I understood what you said), but, my daughter with a degree from two top colleges in the country, BA and Masters is one of the nicest people I know, no corruption there. Opinions are just that, opinions or sour grapes!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2016 07:57PM by Irene_L.A..

@Bubbabubba wrote:

A typical university degree will corrupt good morals and brainwash them to drooling liberal Progressive tools.while taking your money.

A lot of people without degrees have a misunderstanding about degrees. Some of those non-degreed people also either regret not working toward a degree that might have helped them in their business life, or they feel inferior and must denigrate the experience.

Intelligent, mature people recognize that attending a university is a means to an end and offers an education to those who are willing to work and learn and it provides far less to those who are not willing to put worth the effort. A university neither corrupts morals nor brainwashes.

A degree is certainly not essential to a successful career, although it is a requirement for some jobs. Many people who lack a degree are highly successful as are many people with degrees. There are others who lack a degree and are not as successful. At the same time, there are some with degrees who are not successful.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2016 07:41PM by roflwofl.

Universities can actually help students to develop independent, critical thinking skills. For that matter, a good high school can start the process although I doubt many high schools are doing that these days.

There is also the process of obtaining the degree: Are you of traditional college age or non-traditional? Would this affect your comfort level with campus life or activities? Could you work as usual and take on-line courses?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2016 08:05PM by Shop-et-al.

No degree is worthless if you are smart enough to use it in the right way.

Funny thing just happened. My car needed service to the tune of $400.00. Have had a lot of bills lately (the golden years), and my daughter asked me the name of my auto guy, which I give her. I go to pick it up, and the bill had been paid. The sacrifices are paying off.....

@Bubbabubba wrote:

A typical university degree will corrupt good morals and brainwash them to drooling liberal Progressive tools.while taking your money.

With several children in or having graduated from different universities, I'm going to agree with you Bubba. It seems that the state schools are all about separating them from their parents' values, teaching the misnamed "tolerance" for everything immoral, and drilling them into Communist and Socialist philosophies. [www.youtube.com]

As an example, last semester one child's required "diversity" class had a module entitled "Every man is a potential rapist." The class required watching violent porn. The consensus: Don't be male. If you have to be male, don't be straight. If you are a straight male, certainly don't be Caucasian or Asian. And if you're "stuck" with those three, heaven forbid you should be a capitalist.

That's just one example. I am continually horrified when I look at many of their assignments. At least it opens up a dialogue with them, though. When I was in school years ago, my "diversity" requirement meant that I needed to take a class that wasn't Western Civilization-oriented -- Japanese Poetry. It was not about pushing an agenda, but instead about opening students to a different culture. For some of them, I wish they had not gone to college. Even the one doing Computer Science is stuck taking these awful classes that teach them nothing except how to write in a way that is politically correct without compromising what they know to be true. And they get to pay heartily for the privilege.

Since morals are in the eye of the beholder, perhaps the idea is to actually separate them from misogynist/racist/homophobic/xenophobic parents.

Lisa, Do you really think that most parents are prejudiced against women, gays and foreigners and need their siblings to be separated from them by progressive liberal professors?

@PasswordNotFound wrote:

As an example, last semester one child's required "diversity" class had a module entitled "Every man is a potential rapist." The class required watching violent porn.

College sure has changed since I was there.
(that's my polite way of saying this is malarkey)

@PasswordNotFound wrote:

As an example, last semester one child's required "diversity" class had a module entitled "Every man is a potential rapist." The class required watching violent porn. The consensus: Don't be male. If you have to be male, don't be straight. If you are a straight male, certainly don't be Caucasian or Asian. And if you're "stuck" with those three, heaven forbid you should be a capitalist.

As a recent grad, I'm calling BS on this. You know this how? You were actually present in the classroom to see this happen? I bet not. You read it on the internet? Or one of your kids told you about it? There's no end to the things us evil youngsters tell our parents to shock them. I know. I told my Mom lots of stuff for shock value. The difference is she was smart enough to take it with a grain of salt.

No Jake, I was responding to one person in particular. One who must have missed the memo about politics on the forum despite having some of their posts removed. As soon as someone sees fit to remove their post along with Bubba's, I will be happy to delete my own.

@LIJake wrote:

Lisa, Do you really think that most parents are prejudiced against women, gays and foreigners and need their siblings to be separated from them by progressive liberal professors?

I agree with Lisa. I think her comment to one poster was right on. And BubbaBubba's comment should be deleted like some of his others.

Avid learner here. From time to time I look at educational materials that are used for all levels. I have looked at materials from the 20's until today. The lesson contents are changing. There is no 'happy medium' at this time in which all persons, beliefs, and behaviors are equally respected, tolerated, or accommodated. There is just a 'prejudice du jour' in which some group or belief is promoted while another is denigrated. The news is filled with examples of who and what is fashionable and then passe. Who knows what will be popular next month??? Does marketing drive and/or does it drive such concepts? Textbooks and other educational materials are marketed...

@op: You might enjoy thinking about how the ideas in recent contentious posts influence and have been influenced by marketing... maybe there is something in those posts that you could include in a senior thesis or graduate study?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2016 08:56PM by Shop-et-al.

@roflwofl wrote:

As a recent grad, I'm calling BS on this. You know this how? You were actually present in the classroom to see this happen?

I have access to my children's school accounts (with their permission). It's a hybrid class meeting both on campus and on a Blackboard-like platform. So call BS all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that it's true. At least the professor provided .pdfs and university-paid links so nobody was wasting their $ on drivel. The required viewing of pornography wasn't even the worst of it; it was the attitude that all men are predatory and violent.