February 16, 2024 • 13 mins
How beneficial are today's university degrees really in preparing students for the work force? I explore this matter in this episode and give possible solutions to enhance university programs so that they benefit pupils to the utmost.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello there and welcome to Casual Fridays by I Read Aloud.
(00:06):
The podcast that discusses various themes from a personalized lens so that you always
end up with my unoriented opinion and advice and my own take on matters.
I am your host Dada and I do urge you to look me up on YouTube.
Just search for at I Read Aloud and you will enter my world of storytelling with the click
(00:28):
of a button.
Just a reminder before I begin today's episode that this podcast airs on a biweekly basis
on Fridays.
I have changed the timing.
It used to be a weekly podcast, but as you've noticed, I have been skipping a few Fridays
because it has been difficult to create an episode weekly and to create content for my
(00:52):
regular platform.
I read aloud and so I think it would be fair for both arms of my platform to do a biweekly
podcast so I'll have one week to do the podcast and the other to cater to my regular content.
So my podcast airs every other Friday now on the following platforms, YouTube, Apple
(01:14):
Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify and RSS.com.
This episode is on university degrees and their importance in the working world and
in your life.
I had initially titled this episode on college degrees because in the USA at least the difference
(01:36):
between a college and the university is simply the size of the institution and its departments.
But people attend both of these after completing a high school degree and graduating from grade
11.
But then I realized that in other countries there are different systems of education and
college there could refer to a school or even a high school.
(02:00):
And so I had to change the title to on university degrees to ensure that I am talking about
the education system after the age of 17 or 18.
So for some the word university could be interchangeable with the word college and for others that
is not the case.
(02:20):
Now as some of you already know I am someone who attended university for two higher degrees.
One was for a bachelor degree in English literature when I was in my early 20s and one was in
business law that I studied when I was in my late 30s.
So trust me I know what I am talking about when I tell you that a university degree barely
(02:43):
prepares you for the workplace.
In fact I wondered if I were the only one who thought as such and so I went around all
my friends and acquaintances who had studied at a university or college and asked them
if their courses of study actually aided them in their work especially their first job.
(03:03):
And I made sure to ask people from different fields of study business, engineering, mathematics,
architecture, law, medicine, education, literature, etc.
And I tell you I was not surprised when the responses I received only validated my viewpoint.
All agreed on one thing two or three courses out of the 40 or so courses taken at the BA
(03:30):
or BS level were beneficial especially practical courses and all agreed that the theoretical
courses were just that theory interesting to know in general and kind of general knowledge
but not helpful in preparing one for the workforce.
Even though studying medicine agreed that the practical shifts they take on at the hospital
(03:52):
are the most beneficial.
The same goes for masters degrees even though the field of study there is narrower still
people generally benefit from two or three courses out of the 10 or so courses taken
at that level.
So we are basically spending years at studying theories that don't help us at all in life
(04:13):
and the workforce and we're even spending tens of thousands of dollars in the process
towards an education that doesn't really prepare you for what's waiting for you in the work
field.
How did we as a society reach this point where we empower a handful of educational institutions
to bamboozle us out of our time and money and we attend them willingly?
(04:37):
I'll tell you what happened.
We fell into the trap of a rigged system.
These grew larger and larger and became more and more selective with the choices of employees
and little by little they started imposing university degrees as basic criteria for employment.
Some jobs today require even a master's degree while others only a bachelor's degree.
(05:01):
So the average human who reaches the age of 18 or 20 and is searching for employment realizes
that there is no chance at a high paying job without university degree and so at university
we enroll.
And now that universities are empowered by these companies, they constantly increase
(05:22):
their tuition fees on a yearly basis and many who study there go into debt and they hope
that they will land a high paying job when they graduate to pay back the debt not knowing
that it would take them at least 10 years if not much more to save the indebted amount.
Not only that but many universities had to create a prestigious aura around themselves
(05:46):
that they have become so selective in who they admit to their campus and their programs
that education is not really available to all those who desire it and that is evident
by all the scandals.
You heard about a few years back scandals of well-off parents making a donation to universities
(06:07):
so that their kids are accepted.
So again I ask you, how did we as a society allow this to happen?
Are we so helpless that we just accept the status quo and follow it blindly?
No wonder these days, especially with the rise of social media, you have a lot of entrepreneurs,
the new generation is refusing to work for the big companies because they feel that slavery
(06:31):
and even though there have been a good number of people in the past who have succeeded in
life and who have become even millionaires and famous without an education, I find that
the true idea of entrepreneurship started in the past 10 or 15 years especially with
the younger generation who refused to conform to what society expects them to do and it's
(06:59):
kind of spilled into the older generation as well.
So we really have to thank the new generation for taking a bit of a stance on this matter
but still, change takes time.
I hope that what is happening today, especially with the rise of social media, that universities
would think on reforming their programs and their courses of study.
(07:26):
In the olden days, there used to be a master apprentice system and that's before universities
existed right?
And there would be a master at a craft or in a certain field who would take on apprentices
interested in that field and the master trains them on the job which means that they are
(07:47):
learning on the job in a practical setting and eventually over time the apprentices become
masters of the craft themselves and their own right and they take on their own apprentices.
And I think the idea of university initially was to expand on the idea of apprenticeship
and to make apprenticeships so to speak available to a large group of people maybe.
(08:11):
And maybe the early universities did meet that goal to some degree but with the growth
of universities and the adoption of books and theoretical courses and even bringing
in educators who have no practical experience in any field they teach and whose information
and knowledge is based solely on what they learned at their own university.
(08:33):
I believe that universities should revise their courses and give at least 80% of their
courses in a practical setting and not more than 20% of the courses in theory.
And maybe universities should also change the type of educators they hire so that the
educators are masters of their craft and so they can pass on their knowledge masterfully
(08:56):
and create apprentices who can actually go into the work field and actually do a good
job from the beginning.
And I speak here from personal experience because when I did my bachelor's degree in
literature after that I was a teacher of English and of course everything that I taught on
the school system had nothing to do with what I had studied and I know some would tell me
(09:21):
okay why would you study education but even those who did study education the only thing
that could benefit them or benefit them a little bit were the practical sessions they
had in schools.
Meaning that again educators are just studying theory and nothing that is practical in the
classroom and that is why you find that some teachers actually fail in the classroom because
(09:43):
other than the knowledge they have and the knowledge that they would impart teachers
have to know how to deal with students and so the worst thing is when you have a student
who is acting out the worst thing can do is take them out of the classroom and this happens
so often even till today.
I have you know my nieces are in schools now you know in grade 7 and 8 and 9 and it's
(10:07):
ridiculous you know how the teachers interact with students who are what they call like
problematic students.
Basically the way I see it whatever a problematic student is it's one of two things either a
very smart student who is bored out of his or her mind you know because of the material
(10:29):
being given that is beneath them or a student who is understanding the material it's above
their heads and so they act out and they you know waste time in class because they're bored
again because they don't get the material.
So the teacher's responsibility is to take care of these kids and you know hone them
(10:50):
in and know how to how to handle the situation and see what they need and cater to it not
take them out of the classroom.
That's just like one example I'm giving out of a zillion you know just to give you an
idea of how you know an education even in education doesn't really help you in teaching
and controlling a classroom or understand the needs of your students.
(11:14):
And then when I went ahead and you know did my business law degree actually I had worked
in the field of law for five years before getting that degree and I only got it because
you know I had enjoyed working in the field of law for those five years and the truth
is I knew nothing about you know writing contracts or you know anything of any of a legal nature
(11:38):
and I learned it all on the job and these five it took me about say a year to really
grasp the whole thing and then you know I was able to soar if you will you know and
and do it all on my own without difficulty.
And so this further proof that when you actually work at something when you do practical work
(12:02):
this is what what teaches you theory does nothing for you except forgive you except
to give you general knowledge.
And I truly believe that if universities are willing to revise their programs that they
could reduce the years of study per degree and even reduce the absorbent fees and maybe
(12:25):
then more people will be able to access university life and will actually benefit in the workforce
from university degrees because these days university life has become more of a social
experiment really than a beneficial course of study.
Don't get me wrong my university years especially when my bachelor's in my 20s they are still
the most memorable and fun days you know even till today I'm in my mid 40s now and even
(12:54):
till today university life as it is today provides beautiful camaraderie and a chance
at you know discovering who you are and it gives you a chance at personal growth.
So imagine if that is coupled with a beautiful program that actually you know gives you a
chance to succeed in the workforce and actually prepares you for the workforce.
(13:16):
Well these are my two cents on the matter this brings me to the end of the episode in
two weeks remember it's not a bi-weekly podcast in two weeks I shall discuss the topic of
women dating younger men and I hope you'll tune in then for now I wish you a lovely weekend
and I send you all my love till Friday next.
Hello there and welcome to Casual Fridays by I Read Aloud.
(00:06):
The podcast that discusses various themes from a personalized lens so that you always
end up with my unoriented opinion and advice and my own take on matters.
I am your host Dada and I do urge you to look me up on YouTube.
Just search for at I Read Aloud and you will enter my world of storytelling with the click
(00:28):
of a button.
Just a reminder before I begin today's episode that this podcast airs on a biweekly basis
on Fridays.
I have changed the timing.
It used to be a weekly podcast, but as you've noticed, I have been skipping a few Fridays
because it has been difficult to create an episode weekly and to create content for my
(00:52):
regular platform.
I read aloud and so I think it would be fair for both arms of my platform to do a biweekly
podcast so I'll have one week to do the podcast and the other to cater to my regular content.
So my podcast airs every other Friday now on the following platforms, YouTube, Apple
(01:14):
Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify and RSS.com.
This episode is on university degrees and their importance in the working world and
in your life.
I had initially titled this episode on college degrees because in the USA at least the difference
(01:36):
between a college and the university is simply the size of the institution and its departments.
But people attend both of these after completing a high school degree and graduating from grade
11.
But then I realized that in other countries there are different systems of education and
college there could refer to a school or even a high school.
(02:00):
And so I had to change the title to on university degrees to ensure that I am talking about
the education system after the age of 17 or 18.
So for some the word university could be interchangeable with the word college and for others that
is not the case.
(02:20):
Now as some of you already know I am someone who attended university for two higher degrees.
One was for a bachelor degree in English literature when I was in my early 20s and one was in
business law that I studied when I was in my late 30s.
So trust me I know what I am talking about when I tell you that a university degree barely
(02:43):
prepares you for the workplace.
In fact I wondered if I were the only one who thought as such and so I went around all
my friends and acquaintances who had studied at a university or college and asked them
if their courses of study actually aided them in their work especially their first job.
(03:03):
And I made sure to ask people from different fields of study business, engineering, mathematics,
architecture, law, medicine, education, literature, etc.
And I tell you I was not surprised when the responses I received only validated my viewpoint.
All agreed on one thing two or three courses out of the 40 or so courses taken at the BA
(03:30):
or BS level were beneficial especially practical courses and all agreed that the theoretical
courses were just that theory interesting to know in general and kind of general knowledge
but not helpful in preparing one for the workforce.
Even though studying medicine agreed that the practical shifts they take on at the hospital
(03:52):
are the most beneficial.
The same goes for masters degrees even though the field of study there is narrower still
people generally benefit from two or three courses out of the 10 or so courses taken
at that level.
So we are basically spending years at studying theories that don't help us at all in life
(04:13):
and the workforce and we're even spending tens of thousands of dollars in the process
towards an education that doesn't really prepare you for what's waiting for you in the work
field.
How did we as a society reach this point where we empower a handful of educational institutions
to bamboozle us out of our time and money and we attend them willingly?
(04:37):
I'll tell you what happened.
We fell into the trap of a rigged system.
These grew larger and larger and became more and more selective with the choices of employees
and little by little they started imposing university degrees as basic criteria for employment.
Some jobs today require even a master's degree while others only a bachelor's degree.
(05:01):
So the average human who reaches the age of 18 or 20 and is searching for employment realizes
that there is no chance at a high paying job without university degree and so at university
we enroll.
And now that universities are empowered by these companies, they constantly increase
(05:22):
their tuition fees on a yearly basis and many who study there go into debt and they hope
that they will land a high paying job when they graduate to pay back the debt not knowing
that it would take them at least 10 years if not much more to save the indebted amount.
Not only that but many universities had to create a prestigious aura around themselves
(05:46):
that they have become so selective in who they admit to their campus and their programs
that education is not really available to all those who desire it and that is evident
by all the scandals.
You heard about a few years back scandals of well-off parents making a donation to universities
(06:07):
so that their kids are accepted.
So again I ask you, how did we as a society allow this to happen?
Are we so helpless that we just accept the status quo and follow it blindly?
No wonder these days, especially with the rise of social media, you have a lot of entrepreneurs,
the new generation is refusing to work for the big companies because they feel that slavery
(06:31):
and even though there have been a good number of people in the past who have succeeded in
life and who have become even millionaires and famous without an education, I find that
the true idea of entrepreneurship started in the past 10 or 15 years especially with
the younger generation who refused to conform to what society expects them to do and it's
(06:59):
kind of spilled into the older generation as well.
So we really have to thank the new generation for taking a bit of a stance on this matter
but still, change takes time.
I hope that what is happening today, especially with the rise of social media, that universities
would think on reforming their programs and their courses of study.
(07:26):
In the olden days, there used to be a master apprentice system and that's before universities
existed right?
And there would be a master at a craft or in a certain field who would take on apprentices
interested in that field and the master trains them on the job which means that they are
(07:47):
learning on the job in a practical setting and eventually over time the apprentices become
masters of the craft themselves and their own right and they take on their own apprentices.
And I think the idea of university initially was to expand on the idea of apprenticeship
and to make apprenticeships so to speak available to a large group of people maybe.
(08:11):
And maybe the early universities did meet that goal to some degree but with the growth
of universities and the adoption of books and theoretical courses and even bringing
in educators who have no practical experience in any field they teach and whose information
and knowledge is based solely on what they learned at their own university.
(08:33):
I believe that universities should revise their courses and give at least 80% of their
courses in a practical setting and not more than 20% of the courses in theory.
And maybe universities should also change the type of educators they hire so that the
educators are masters of their craft and so they can pass on their knowledge masterfully
(08:56):
and create apprentices who can actually go into the work field and actually do a good
job from the beginning.
And I speak here from personal experience because when I did my bachelor's degree in
literature after that I was a teacher of English and of course everything that I taught on
the school system had nothing to do with what I had studied and I know some would tell me
(09:21):
okay why would you study education but even those who did study education the only thing
that could benefit them or benefit them a little bit were the practical sessions they
had in schools.
Meaning that again educators are just studying theory and nothing that is practical in the
classroom and that is why you find that some teachers actually fail in the classroom because
(09:43):
other than the knowledge they have and the knowledge that they would impart teachers
have to know how to deal with students and so the worst thing is when you have a student
who is acting out the worst thing can do is take them out of the classroom and this happens
so often even till today.
I have you know my nieces are in schools now you know in grade 7 and 8 and 9 and it's
(10:07):
ridiculous you know how the teachers interact with students who are what they call like
problematic students.
Basically the way I see it whatever a problematic student is it's one of two things either a
very smart student who is bored out of his or her mind you know because of the material
(10:29):
being given that is beneath them or a student who is understanding the material it's above
their heads and so they act out and they you know waste time in class because they're bored
again because they don't get the material.
So the teacher's responsibility is to take care of these kids and you know hone them
(10:50):
in and know how to how to handle the situation and see what they need and cater to it not
take them out of the classroom.
That's just like one example I'm giving out of a zillion you know just to give you an
idea of how you know an education even in education doesn't really help you in teaching
and controlling a classroom or understand the needs of your students.
(11:14):
And then when I went ahead and you know did my business law degree actually I had worked
in the field of law for five years before getting that degree and I only got it because
you know I had enjoyed working in the field of law for those five years and the truth
is I knew nothing about you know writing contracts or you know anything of any of a legal nature
(11:38):
and I learned it all on the job and these five it took me about say a year to really
grasp the whole thing and then you know I was able to soar if you will you know and
and do it all on my own without difficulty.
And so this further proof that when you actually work at something when you do practical work
(12:02):
this is what what teaches you theory does nothing for you except forgive you except
to give you general knowledge.
And I truly believe that if universities are willing to revise their programs that they
could reduce the years of study per degree and even reduce the absorbent fees and maybe
(12:25):
then more people will be able to access university life and will actually benefit in the workforce
from university degrees because these days university life has become more of a social
experiment really than a beneficial course of study.
Don't get me wrong my university years especially when my bachelor's in my 20s they are still
the most memorable and fun days you know even till today I'm in my mid 40s now and even
(12:54):
till today university life as it is today provides beautiful camaraderie and a chance
at you know discovering who you are and it gives you a chance at personal growth.
So imagine if that is coupled with a beautiful program that actually you know gives you a
chance to succeed in the workforce and actually prepares you for the workforce.
(13:16):
Well these are my two cents on the matter this brings me to the end of the episode in
two weeks remember it's not a bi-weekly podcast in two weeks I shall discuss the topic of
women dating younger men and I hope you'll tune in then for now I wish you a lovely weekend
and I send you all my love till Friday next.
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