Student loans could help avert U.S. airline pilot shortage: union head

But please, whatever you do don't listen to those of us with experience in other fields and industries. Listen, instead, to Academia as she sings the song of "More $TEM students!!1".

I'm not saying for one second it isn't a great deal, just that it isn't easy. But for someone that has any interest in working in semiconductor design, or as a systems engineer, or any related field -- a university education is an absolute requirement. Increased earnings in just a few years easily pays for the degree.
 
But please, whatever you do don't listen to those of us with experience in other fields and industries. Listen, instead, to Academia as she sings the song of "More $TEM students!!1".
This is only somewhat true. A STEM degree can get one a job in many fields where a liberal arts major does you no good. Some graduate degrees, such as medicine, may not require a science degree but one will need so much science that you will just about have a minor. Other graduate schools such as engineering are difficult without a math/science degree. In business a technical degree such as finance is generally considered more desirable by employers than a business management degree. Even within an industry the lack of certain degrees can be a hinder. I got into military flight school with a history major. Some areas of flight school were not as easy for me as it was for the science majors. In addition, once I graduated some tracks within aviation were closed to me due to my lack of a technical degree.
 
Ehh, I'm a fan of STEM. The more scientists, engineers and mathematicians we're cranking out, we're hopefully going to drive innovation and solve problems through technology.

I think the world has reached its limit on professional bloggers writing listicles for Buzzfeed.
 
My (serious, non-aviation) degrees were paid for in the first year I had a (serious, non-aviation) job.
 
…and parents.

…and kids who are the "Johnny Football Hero" who emphasize sports over education.


Some thing like less than 10% of college football stars end up in the NFL. But discounting the few stars in high school sports is just a little disingenuous. If you have people scouting you for a college that will offer a full ride (if it happens with either one of my kids, I'll foster their sports as much as possible), then go full throttle with sports and school. It could save you the expense of college for the talent.

But yeah, for the most part, most kids will never see what they expect from high school, or even college sports.
 
As far as the declining interest in aviation is concerned, it's also been 30 years since Top Gun came out. Not saying it's a good movie or realistic but who didn't watch that as a kid and NOT want to fly a jet afterwards?
 
For what it's worth I knew several division 1 athletes while in school and doing so provided a tremendous networking opportunity. Am I advocating putting sports in front of education, absolutely not, but the athletes I knew worked their tails off on the field and in the classroom. They were forced to manage their time way beyond that of the average 18-22 year old. They've all been extremely successful post college in things other than sports.
 
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I'm not saying for one second it isn't a great deal, just that it isn't easy. But for someone that has any interest in working in semiconductor design, or as a systems engineer, or any related field -- a university education is an absolute requirement. Increased earnings in just a few years easily pays for the degree.

Poppycock. I left the field as a senior systems architect after almost twenty years, and I held a seventh-grade education.

Semiconductor design does tend to be a field with fairly rigorous academic entrance standards, but from what I've seen of it from those I know who do it, it doesn't look like much fun to me. As far as EEs, the plurality of the ones I know who are working in the field are either very old grey-beards with a wall full of patents or they're in the country on an H1B.

Speaking of H1Bs, if you're in an actual production-related side of STEM, you face massive wage suppression from outsourcing and from imported "guest workers". Just like the regional industry, big business doesn't want to pay a premium for technically advanced skillsets, so they use any trick they can to keep the salaries in those fields "competitive."

The thing is, I'm a huge fan of science and technology... but it's definitely on the decline in many sectors, and in my experience the market for it is not what people seem to think—most of the "We need more STEM OMG!!1" cry comes from academia, who wants the money, and business, who wants to say they "can't find" the workers they need and thus need more H1Bs.

I don't know what the future brings, and I'm definitively checked out of tech ... though I'm considering getting back in and doing a bit of consulting on the side, at some point, if circumstances permit.

-Fox
 
But please, whatever you do don't listen to those of us with experience in other fields and industries. Listen, instead, to Academia as she sings the song of "More $TEM students!!1".

I'm listening.

How should the US get more people like you? How do we get sufficient quantities of people good at math, tech, science, etc?
 
Just out of curiosity, would you people collective define yourselves as "happy" and "successful"?
Yes. In my STEM field. That is not in the "tech" part. Which is the field that any "$TEM = fraud" backlash generally seems to come from. Oversaturation of the tech sector, perhaps?
 
Some thing like less than 10% of college football stars end up in the NFL. But discounting the few stars in high school sports is just a little disingenuous. If you have people scouting you for a college that will offer a full ride (if it happens with either one of my kids, I'll foster their sports as much as possible), then go full throttle with sports and school. It could save you the expense of college for the talent.

But yeah, for the most part, most kids will never see what they expect from high school, or even college sports.

Football is, according to the NCAA 6.5% of high school players will ever play for an NCAA team. And 1.6% of that 6.5% that play for the NCAA will ever play for the NFL. And then 1 in every 6 NFL players go bankrupt fairly quickly.

Much, much better off focusing on academics and academic scholarships I think.

Source
 
Football is, according to the NCAA 6.5% of high school players will ever play for an NCAA team. And 1.6% of that 6.5% that play for the NCAA will ever play for the NFL. And then 1 in every 6 NFL players go bankrupt fairly quickly.

Much, much better off focusing on academics and academic scholarships I think.

Source

The average NFL career is only three years from what I understand.
 
Ehh, I'm a fan of STEM. The more scientists, engineers and mathematicians we're cranking out, we're hopefully going to drive innovation and solve problems through technology.

I think the world has reached its limit on professional bloggers writing listicles for Buzzfeed.
While the world needs artists and writers, the STEM folks are going to be the ones fixing California's water problems and solving global warming.
 
This is why I joined the dark side and went into sales. It has created many options for me.
 
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