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bamatommy
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 Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:44 pm Post subject: Is College a Waste of Time? |
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"When you play for Coach Saban, there's no such thing as looking into the future. The future is your next practice or your next game."
Andre Smith
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Hightideiscoming
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:33 am Post subject: |
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This is a very interesting article. It caught my attention because I'm studying and taking the CPA as we speak.
In my own experience, the amount of knowledge that I'm seeing asked for on the CPA is so comprehensive. It covers everything I've had a class on in business school. (and I'm a non-traditional getting a second degree.)
My opinion at this point is that pushing everyone to have certifications won't make college obsolete. Besides, part of the reason for picking a school is to get access to the professors. Not 'anyone' can just step up and start teaching accounting in a way that is gets through to students and includes years of industry experience. The connections made are priceless. Accounting seems to be sort of a tight nit community. Who you know can be as important as what you know.
The letters "CPA" do carry the gold standard.
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Hightideiscoming
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:18 am Post subject: |
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I forgot to add, CPA rules require that you have a BA that includes 33 hours of accounting courses. Those courses must include Advanced Financial Accounting, Governmental/Fund Accounting, External Auditing, and Tax. Overall, at least in Alabama, and we're strict, you have to have 150 hours. That requires about 30 plus hours more than the normal degree, or a MAc or MBA.
Alabama grads can take the Georgia CPA with only the undergrad in accounting or the (24 hours of accounting thing.)
I hate to blow this guys book out of the water, but his CPA example isn't really the best example he could have come up with. Self defeating.
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reger60
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:25 am Post subject: |
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I think it depends greatly on the occupation you are seeking. I have no reason to doubt Hightideiscoming of the importance role that secondary education plays in the world of accounting.
However, when I search for an employee in the world of advertising and marketing, I've found that the best prospects have a BA and three to five years experience. These people seem to have a firm grasp on marketing fundamentals and have failed enough times in real life to take direction.
Additionally, I have found that job candidates with Marketing MBA are almost unanimously worthless, unless the Masters was earned after the student had at least several years of practical job experience prior to earning the advanced degree. At that point the student is much more capable from sort out what is "real" and what is rhetorical "professorspeak."
Frankly, I think that the social skills that are potentially developed in a collegiate environment are often times every bit as valuable as any career skills one might absorb and retain while studying.
Finally, I'm amazed how many college graduates cannot assemble and organize their thoughts and ideas and craft them into comprehensive written paragraphs from which others can read and understand. What good are knowledge and creative thinking if they cannot be effectively shared with other colleagues?
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Hightideiscoming
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:21 am Post subject: |
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Reger get out of my head.  Its like you were reading my mind. My next comment was going to be that probably the biggest thing that I picked up (and now the grammar and spelling trolls will be on me) is the ability to learn how to write and communicate. Bad communication can be expensive. Comprehension is a biggie too. An example: the tax code and auditing standards were written in some foreign Klingon/Borg code. Deciphering what some of that stuff means can be a task.
I'd add too, and agree with Reger that experience is huge. Performance and what you can do is even more important. A grad can have tons of knowledge but if he/she can't perform they may not be around long.
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Millie
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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I used to think a degree was worthless. That was when I was in my early 20's. I attended Jax State for a few years and grew tired of school. I wanted to get out and work, I was tired of living off of my parents money.
A few years went by, I settled down and got married to a wonderful man. But then into my late 20's I realized that I was going to go no where without a degree. Any change that I could make in my current company would only be a lateral move without a degree. So, I started back to school two years ago. Previously, I was a Biology major at Jax State, so I am really just starting all over in Business classes. Truth be told, I am enjoying school like I never have before.
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Hightideiscoming
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| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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Way to go Millie. Stick with it, I know you know it'll be worth it.
What direction do you see yourself heading?
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bamatommy
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 2:59 am Post subject: |
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| reger60 wrote: | | I have found that job candidates with Marketing MBA are almost unanimously worthless |
_________________
"When you play for Coach Saban, there's no such thing as looking into the future. The future is your next practice or your next game."
Andre Smith
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Tider27
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:51 am Post subject: |
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| Hell I hope it's not.
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DirtyDave
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 5:54 am Post subject: Re: Is College a Waste of Time? |
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| bamatommy wrote: |
Is College a Waste of Time? |
I am going to respond to this question and not to the article itself. So, if you are going to debate my point of view just realize that I am not reading the article. This is just one of my favorite questions to answer. However, from the posts I have read I will say that if you want to be a CPA, doctor, lawyer, or something of that nature then please go to school and go to a good one. My problem with this question is that most of America goes to college only because they feel they have to in order to be successful in life. The question that most of America is asked when graduating high school is, "What occupation do you want to have?" or simply, "Where are you going to school?" I was asked the latter because everyone just assumed that I wanted to go to college because I made such good grades in high school and was so active in all the sports. However, this was not the case. I didn't necessarily ask myself what job I wanted. I asked myself the following question, "How do you want to live your life?" My answer was...
1. I wanted to be retired by the time I was 36.
2. I wanted to have plenty of money in my retirement so that I could do anything or go anywhere I wanted.
3. I also wanted to make enough money to be able to bring my dad home from work. I may not be able to do this at 36, but no later than 40 for sure.
4. I wanted to be able to help those in need, my family, my church, my friends. Noone in my family has alot of money and when they need something they usually come to my wife and I. I want to be able to just give them as much as they need.
5. I want a marriage that is strong and not your average marriage.(which 66% end in divorce.)
After realizing that I wanted all of that out of life and that I didn't know anyone that lived like that I struck out on my own and joined the military. Because your average person goes to college and your average person doesn't live anything like what I just said, I wanted to do the opposite of average. In my mind at the time that was join the military. In hindsight the best thing to do after high school would have been for me to start my own business. I thought that the military would come as close as anything could to giving me what I wanted. However, while in the military I read a book called Rich Dad Poor Dad and it absolutely changed my life. I started looking for opportunities at that point.
Is college a waste of time? If your sole motivation for going is to get a job so you can make money then yes it is a waste of time because I know 18 year old kids working very easy jobs right now with no college education and making well over 50,000 dollars a year. If you have a dream of becoming a doctor or engineer or computer programmer then you better get your butt in college and you better pay attention, not just in class but in everything. People skills will be the number 1 thing you ever develop in life. If you are not good with people then you will never be a very successful person. Read a book called How To Win Friends and Influence People and apply it.
I know this post will rub some of you the wrong way. Please understand that my intention is not to insult anyone. It is only to get you to think for yourself because these days our school system is designed to produce robots and not strong men or women.
There are other options out there. Think about how many of the millionaire's in America didn't graduate college. I don't have a problem with people going to college. I have a problem with people telling people that you have to go to college in order to succeed in life. That is just an outright, boldfaced lie.
Figure out first how you want your life to be and then set out on the path that will make it happen. I don't care if you're 18 or 80 you can still achieve your dreams.
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Matthew 7:13-14
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
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elbatider
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Hightideiscoming wrote: | This is a very interesting article. It caught my attention because I'm studying and taking the CPA as we speak.
In my own experience, the amount of knowledge that I'm seeing asked for on the CPA is so comprehensive. It covers everything I've had a class on in business school. |
Okay, I am a CPA that passed all four parts the first time I sat back in the early 90's. None of this on-line, one at a time stuff. Anyway, 65-70% of the courses I took in college contributed 0% to me passing the exam. However, the four years spent in college were a time of maturing and moving from a teen that relied on my family to being able to take care of myself. Do you need college to do that, no but it sure was fun. 
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Outlaw
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Derrek
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| Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:42 am Post subject: |
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Short answer: No.
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| Tider 27 wrote: | Yeah, didn't know what the hell I was talking about there.  |
Mocha Club!
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