Post secondary education - what are good options for gainful work in our times?

[Elie]

Reaching out to this community of brilliant minds - I wonder if anyone has resources / suggestions related to what type of education and skills should an 18 yo female (my daughter) pursue considering the direction of the current state of affairs?

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

I would suggest she work on an online degree during this time. Maybe dog walking or pet sitting?

 

[gaze]

Me: If you were in your 20s today, would you still go to college and receive a phd in biology like you did? Do you have any career advice given that the majority of "normal" jobs are mechanistic, lifeless, stressful, and suppressing?

Ray:
Between 1959 and 1968, my master’s degree made it possible to get teaching jobs. In 1972, the year I got my PhD, Nixon impounded science research money, and university jobs suddenly weren’t available. When I applied to junior colleges, I found that most of them had obligatory pay scales, causing them to prefer people with only master’s degrees. When I started the biology PhD program, I had saved $2000, which was enough for tuition and living expenses for 2 years, then I got teaching and research assistantships for the next two years, so I finished without debts. I started teaching some adult education courses and giving talks while writing books. Lewis Powell’s 1971 Memorandum to the US Chamber of Commerce probably precipitated the anti-science, anti-culture, anti-education movement that led to Nixon’s impoundment of funds (after the research had been approved and the money assigned), and the following policy of austerity to leave more funds for militarism. Students responded to the rising costs by studying business instead of liberal arts. I suppose most university libraries were similar to the Univ. of Oregon’s, cancelling subscriptions to all of their most interesting journals, keeping the ideologically safe ones. Universities aren’t as interesting as they used to be; I don’t know of any graduate programs I would want to bother with.
Einstein referred to his 7 years of work at the patent office as his “cobbler’s trade” that every creative perosn should have. The physicist Ernest Sternglass, who was doing technical work at the time, quoted from a long talk he had with Einstein in 1947:

"Tell me," he said, "Are you planning to go back to school?"
"Yes, I'm thinking about it."
"Don't go back to school. They will try to crush every bit of originality out of you. Don't go back to graduate school."
"Well, I--"
"Be careful. There will be enormous pressures to conform."
And then he told me about his own life and the mistakes he had made. "Don't do what I've done," he said. "Always have
a cobbler's job. Always have a job where you can get up in the morning, face yourself, that you're doing something useful
for humanity. Because nobody can be a genius every day. Don't make that kind of mistake. You know, when I accepted a
job at the University of Berlin, I had no duties really. Nothing to do except wake up and solve all the problems of the
universe every morning. Nobody can do that. Don't make that mistake.".

The situation now is incomparably worse than in 1947. Over-specialization reflects the increasingly authoritarian culture. Over the years I’ve taught a great variety of college courses (anthropology, linguistics, biochemistry, physics for biology majors, immunology, philosophy, educational psychology, painting, etc.), and in some of them I found that an honest look at the subject matter aroused intense political reactions. If you can earn even a meagre income doing something that’s immediately useful, the political reactions against your ideas will be less dangerous, but conditions are changing, making it harder to avoid the pressures to conform."

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Reaching out to this community of brilliant minds - I wonder if anyone has resources / suggestions related to what type of education and skills should an 18 yo female (my daughter) pursue considering the direction of the current state of affairs?

I was thinking maybe start a flower planting/gardening business. Elderly people would love that, it would cheer them too! Buy a flowering plant for $2 and charge $10 to plant each one?

 

[gaze]

personally I think a liberal arts degree from a university is still worthwhile, especially for woman who don't have the same opportunities as males to work labor intensive jobs.

most important thing would be to avoid debt, or not waste a lot of money on tuition

I can imagine an 18 year old wants to make friends and have a bit of fun, which an online school would not provide. Im not sure what country you're from , but if American, I would look into community colleges for the first 2 years, and then going into an in-state school with a lowered tuition price for same state residents. The community college, while cheap, still hinders social life a bit, so going straight into a 4 year university isn't the worst thing either. Just costs more. If you're not American, look for local universities that offer major discounts, but are still respected intuitions.

Of course, the vaccine requirements are another consideration to make and narrow down the options for schools if that's a concern of yours.

As far as what degree to pursue, I would recommend the book "Excellent Sheep" which strongly argues in favor of a liberal arts degree, despite all the main stream advice that they don't make money. While true to an extent, making less money is worth it in a degree that is less stressful and allows more thought. Overall her degree will probably be useless for whatever job she gets, but most degrees are like that anyway.

With regards to skipping college or university all together, I think its still a bit risky in this environment when so many jobs require some sort of degree, unless its labor intensive. If she has a guaranteed way to make an income, or if your family is well off to start with, then It could be a good consideration. Some other people may have a better insight into this path than I do however

 

[Elie]

love the responses.
We are in Canada, so I am not sure about the gardening thing.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

love the responses.
We are in Canada, so I am not sure about the gardening thing.

Door to door homemade cookies to sell?

 

[LUH 3417]

If she is at all interested in child birth she could become a doula for a very small fee in training. Or do lactation counseling.

 

[LA]

Bookkeeping is a good skill. People need bookkeepers and the pay is okay. When bored it is easy to leave and find work elsewhere. Bookkeeping jobs do not depend on whether someone feels good about your style or presentation or whatever like art, music, creative writing, and working in social media, teaching, etc. The books balance or they don-t. Many bookkeeping jobs have flexible, negotiable hours and can even be done at home.

 

[akgrrrl]

I just hired a couple in their late 40's who came to AK from Montana and Idaho. They were torn between a tree service, or general handyman work. They went tree service so invested in a 19K chipper and a chainsaw. He cuts, she gathers and feeds the chipper, rakes it clean. They make $500 to $1000 per day.
Pictured below, a 70ft tall double spruce killed by the beetle infection that currently is raging from Colorado to Alaska, quoted by a different guy as $300 to fell and cut up. For my 1K, he also went thru a whole acre cutting all infected trees. I have a pile of firewood, all brush chipped for use as mulch (no hauling to dump or burnpile to license and tend), and that acre is now firewise. They sat on their tailgate with a picnic lunch in 66degrees enjoying their summer day. I watched him sharpen and oil the saw before packing it away, she covered the splitter and tied it down, they drove directly home from the job.

 

[akgrrrl]

Oops forgot the pics

 

[Sweet Meat]

Reaching out to this community of brilliant minds - I wonder if anyone has resources / suggestions related to what type of education and skills should an 18 yo female (my daughter) pursue considering the direction of the current state of affairs?

mcdonalds tbh

it'll remain open during lockdowns, it's easy to get in, it's a fixed salary and it's horrible work, so it'll encourage her to do better and appreciate what she works for

 

[tankasnowgod]

Reaching out to this community of brilliant minds - I wonder if anyone has resources / suggestions related to what type of education and skills should an 18 yo female (my daughter) pursue considering the direction of the current state of affairs?

Personally, I disagree with anyone suggesting a "degree" here. We are looking at a massive change in society and economy over the next three to six months. Good or bad, I think the end result will be making colleges and universities even more useless than they are right now. Basically, I think they are a huge money sucking scam, designed to put your child in debt, and set them on a path of servitude for several decades to life. No thanks.

That doesn't, in any way, mean that I am against learning or education. Re-listen to Haidut's story about he learned so much about Biochemistry-


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C9UcMKJmb8&t=120s


Regardless of whether she decides to take classes or study independently or not, AVOID DEBT LIKE THE PLAGUE. All courses should be paid out of pocket, or in the worst case, put on a non-secured credit card. Credit Card debt, even with high interest rates, is far, far preferable to Student Loans, as it can be discharged far more easily in something like bankruptcy, or by using processes that are described in the patriot movement. And it's always preferable to secured debt, as there is nothing to repo in a case of default. I think there is a lot to be said for self or independent study.

Personally, in addition to things discussed on this forum, I'm also interested in Law and History, in regards to what Yusef El and John Jay Singleton talk about, and Crypto currency. Crypto might be the thing with the biggest future in the Brave New World, and I can guarantee you colleges know nothing about it. Just listening to live streams by someone like Richard Heart and others could give your daughter a better education in that upcoming field than anything a university could possibly offer.

Something like learning to become a Notary might be a good, solid "cobblers job," as there will always be a need for notaries, and it's not physically demanding. Plus, it can be a great way to meet successful people, and maybe she will find a great mentor that way. I don't think it requires a lot of time and money to actually become one, either. That could be a great thing to be for the next year or so (and a job that can be done whenever needed), until we know more which direction things are going. Otherwise, focusing and learning on any sort of skill that will always be needed, like electrician. plumber, farmer and such, might be a good idea. But personally, I would probably go the Notary route.

 

[LA]

I just hired a couple in their late 40's who came to AK from Montana and Idaho. They were torn between a tree service, or general handyman work. They went tree service so invested in a 19K chipper and a chainsaw. He cuts, she gathers and feeds the chipper, rakes it clean. They make $500 to $1000 per day.
Pictured below, a 70ft tall double spruce killed by the beetle infection that currently is raging from Colorado to Alaska, quoted by a different guy as $300 to fell and cut up. For my 1K, he also went thru a whole acre cutting all infected trees. I have a pile of firewood, all brush chipped for use as mulch (no hauling to dump or burnpile to license and tend), and that acre is now firewise. They sat on their tailgate with a picnic lunch in 66degrees enjoying their summer day. I watched him sharpen and oil the saw before packing it away, she covered the splitter and tied it down, they drove directly home from the job.

good for you and that is an enjoyable story!

 

[LA]

Personally, I disagree with anyone suggesting a "degree" here. We are looking at a massive change in society and economy over the next three to six months. Good or bad, I think the end result will be making colleges and universities even more useless than they are right now. Basically, I think they are a huge money sucking scam, designed to put your child in debt, and set them on a path of servitude for several decades to life. No thanks.

Yes very true. The upper education facilities are now basically a scam. They are making plenty of money for themselves although the majority of their graduates cannot find work.

The only drawback to being a notary is that most banks, credit unions, escrow offices, insurance companies, etc., include one on staff and so notaries often also have to be qualified to do something else, such as being a bank teller, or selling house or car insurance or Real Estate so it is not all that cut and dry. It is not very profitable or possible to find work *only* as a Notary.
One of the young guys on our block was already working as a barber while in high school. Now that he is finished he sometimes works at Jiffy-Lube or another car garage. He goes back and forth between fixing cars and then working as a barber depending on who is hiring. For a while, during HS, he was trimming weed for the pot shops. He likes working and jumps into different things. It helps that he still lives with his parents so then he doesnt have to do his own cooking too and he probably chips in to help them buy food.

 

[Recoen]

Learning farming practices and other things that will be in high demand like welding, etc

 

[LA]

Learning farming practices and other things that will be in high demand like welding, etc

absolutely. Welding is very important few know how to do it. I wouldnt even try it although I watch my husband (from a distance) when he does it. Even soldering is important and useful and my dad taught me how to do it in the past although I would never be good enough to do it as an occupation. Basic farming such as having your own chickens is not so difficult and many who are considering quiting their jobs to avoid the vax can do it for eggs for their own families. The world in general can use more people who know how to run a dairy and make cheese. Also more people who can move animals from one pen to an other to keep the animals clean are needed.