I caught myself today.
My kids were talking about what they want to be when they grow up. I was leading the discussion to science and engineering fields. Dammit!
My motivations were right, but the thought is still wrong. I want my kids to have jobs in a few years when they are adults, but this is NOT the correct fight. I should not be fighting my kids trying to dictate what they want to study. I should be fighting this stupid notion about the "RIGHT" degree.
The right degree is a distraction, a further extension of social Darwinism. There was a time when someone who didn't have a job would hear that they needed to "try harder", or "to pull yourself up by your bootstraps". The meaning is clear. You are a lazy bum, get off your ass.
Then it was time to get more education. Go to college and work towards a degree. It didn't matter what subject. It didn't even matter if you finished. That didn't last either, and now if you don't finish, you are no better than those who didn't "try hard enough". Oh, and by the way, you are still a lazy bum, and get off your ass.
Fast forwarding to now, and the recipe for success is pulling up one's self by their own bootstraps, going to college and then getting the "RIGHT" degree.
What is the progression beyond this?
Where will the goal posts move next.
I am afraid to ask.
I don't have the "right" degree. I graduated with a Bachelor's in English. Mom has the engineering degree. I take issue with anyone who says that her degree is necessarily worth more, or better than mine. They can argue other points without any disagreement: she had to learn more math and science, that it will help getting a job in her field, or it is likely to pay more than my degree.
A degree is a tool, and has intrinsic value. A conservative friend of mine pokes fun at underwater basket weaving, art history, or English saying there is no value to any of these degrees. I disagree.
Completing a degree in any discipline requires some thought and motivation. A degree should state that I have learned to think, and that I am able to analyse instead of just regurgitation of facts and figures. The liberal arts have a strong communication component, just being able to focus thoughts and then put them on paper (or computer screen) so someone on the other side can understand.
The skills that this teaches should be valued in any company. The companies that ignore these do so at their own peril.