Education is often seen as a basic right for everyone. But has it ever really been truly accessible? In the past, only the privileged few had the chance to learn. Only a small number could read and be deemed educated. If you had money, you could get an education. Even today, while education is more widespread, the sad reality is that only those with wealth can access the best options out there. Nowadays, schools are treating education like a product. They're all about showcasing their prestige and culture.
The reality is that there are a lot of stereotypes surrounding these elite institutions. Take Harvard, for example. People from Harvard get treated like rock stars and are viewed as super smart, often with great connections. Harvard has a brand. Getting into these top schools means you're not just paying for the education; you're paying for the school's reputation. But why are we shelling out cash for education? To earn more in the long run. Education has turned into an investment where we expect massive returns after we graduate.
Everything seems to revolve around making more money down the line. Are there any students out there who just want to learn for the sake of learning? Not really. Most often, students are focused on the paycheck they'll get and the jobs they'll land with their degrees.
informal education is done without the purpose of making money, but specalising in a hard field of education like brain surgion(NEUROLOGY), space science, military The future money from the job is good motivation to continue the education and get the degree but that is not enough to be good at brain surgery you need passion for it too. getting educate for money and helping your family is not bad if you do the job rightly .
-Coldjoker
Anyone pursuing an academic degree with the mindset of making more money without learning the underlying technology in that very discipline will only deprive themselves of employment opportunities because this days companies go for skilled graduates and not mere paper holders. Gone are the days when first class meant anything because this days people buy certificates from corrupt institutes so employers are wiser the give tests while scouting for employees.
If a student consider the profit they make in a particular field that shouldn't be a matter of concern the major concern is their ability to fit in perfectly to the role when the opportunity opens up to them after graduation.
Education is now accessible everywhere and without limits, and it's truly affordable. The example you mentioned is more like "the education brand is a commodity." While educational institutions do have a market, human motivations are far more diverse than mere economic considerations. In fact, humanities majors (art, literature, philosophy, etc.) are still full and, in fact, continue to thrive at top universities.
Why people embark on school journey is simply because they want to know more, read more, and learn more, not necessarily what they will gain in the future, in those days not everyone was opportune to go to school but they made real money, the only problem we the Nigerians have is our leaders because as a graduate youre supposed to have a good paying jobs because school of nowadays are different from what our parents encounter, some of the lecturers won't come to class to teach, so any student that says he or her is coming to school just to make their rich without acquiring the knowledge is actually joking because your certificate won't give you a better job it's what you have upstairs that will get you a good paying job.
I dropped out twice before completing, as I continuously hit this wall: why am I learning to memorize things to pass exams when I can learn what I actually need? It took me years to understand that the degree was not about knowledge, it was a sign that I could withstand four years of bureaucratic nonsense. Employers are not concerned with what you studied. They are concerned that you can successfully jump through hoops
Education as investment phenomenon is even darker than ROI calculation. We've pushed this so hard that teenagers are making $200k debt decisions with less information than they'd use buying a car. And they're doing it because we've made the credential mandatory for jobs that didn't require degrees 30 years ago. That is a reaction to artificial shortage we have made in the workforce
The people who can afford to "learn for learning's sake" are usually people whose survival is already assured. Trust fund children have a chance to study philosophy. All other people are computing whether engineering is better-paying than nursing. That is no values problem, that is inequality manifested in educational decisions. When learning can be the difference between poverty and stability, naturally it is transactional
I would say that education is more of an investment. And there are many reasons for this.
1. There is no guarantee that once you have purchased knowledge, you will be able to use it. A product is something we buy to use in our lives in one way or another. Unless, of course, you need a diploma from an educational institution to hang on your wall for decoration.
2. Knowledge is not necessarily acquired through purchase; knowledge can also be acquired independently by reading, studying, and using AI as a teacher (not as a replacement for you ).
Education is one commodity and assets that is worth buying in this present world we find ourselves today. Even though school may be seen by many as something that is a scam to those who don't know the value of education. It education is one essential commodity that everyone should as a matter of importance try as much as possible to get. Because everything boils down to the educational level of an individual. You can't grow beyond your educational level in life in general.
The world we find has in one way made those who has gone to school look useless and stupid, because now there are allot of graduates who are roaming the streets hopeless and without jobs. But the role of education is something no body should try and undermine because, education they say is the key.
Getting education has become much easier, because nowadays every person has the right to get education. But those who are rich get the opportunity to study in very advanced and reputable institutions, but those who are naturally lower class get education in normal schools. But in this I can only see the difference in reputation, those who are educated in real education can get education from anywhere. But due to the current situation and corrupt educational institutions, the opportunity to get education has been destroyed, where there is a lot of corruption in many reputable institutions and only because of their reputation they get priority in different places. Some rich people want to prove that their role in the job is much higher by getting the opportunity to study in reputable school institutions.
Of course, nowadays it is very easy to get an education because those who have a lot of money get the opportunity to study in good schools. But it is very difficult for a poor person to study in famous and expensive schools, there are many rich people who send their children to those educational institutions just to get a degree. Although people now spend a lot of money for high-quality education so that they get a good degree and get a job in a big company in the future. But yes, nowadays most educational institutions are destroying their culture and tradition due to corruption, due to which they give the opportunity to the rich to study in exchange for money, but if they are intelligent and knowledgeable, they miss the opportunity there. According to my experience, many intelligent and knowledgeable poor students who do not get the opportunity to study in a good educational institution because they do not have money, and those institutions are corrupt. But anyway, we know that nowadays in most educational institutions, people are getting degrees in exchange for money only so that they can get a good job.
Harvard could boast of the CV of an individual. The respect some employers have for the prestigious universities could influence the recruitment process. But certificates don't perform the job tasks. Employers are more concerned about skills and experience and not certificates. Not all Harvard students turned out successful in their chosen careers.
Education or learning has become borderless. You can have access to the learning materials of these top universities from the comfort of your home. I tell my students not to be intimidated by degrees from prestigious universities. They should just build capacity and be the best they can and employers will value them.
No matter what the purpose of a student's education is, if they want to learn human qualities they must be educated. Formal education helps to make you a real human being. Just as an illiterate person is not valued in the society, most of them do not have human qualities. The quality of education in most government educational institutions is very poor so conscious people spend money and send their children to good educational institutions. In most countries, despite education being a fundamental right, the quality of education in those institutions is low due to lack of proper monitoring. Even though the right to education is free parents do not send their children to those institutions.
Compared before, education is more accessible these days as there are already tuition assistance offers whether in public or private schools. Its up to the students then on how they will value their studies so they can learn and eventually land a decent job after graduation.
Education is a commodity, yes you are right, and everyone has the right to access education and be educated. It's just that not all parents are responsible to send their kids into schools, whatever their reasons are, at least they should prioritize formal education for their kids first before anything else.
Yep, you're correct.
I've heard many people are saying enter college if you want to learn, if you want to make money then go get a job. But, the one who said that have a job that have a correlation with the major, which mean the reason they can get that job could be due to their major.
I don't see anything wrong for people who go to college with a purpose to get a job, it's not a wrong thought because college/school are built to create a good employee.
This is a very wrong impression, man, maybe many people have such desire to graduate and get a job where they can earn a huge amount of money, but why are you not also talking about the people (many of them) who are studying so that they can gain a knowledge to teach others to become better in life? How about many people that are studying about healthcare, medicine, physics and chemistry? They do this because they also have the zeal to help people or make life better for others and themselves. Yes, they might have desire for money too but tell me who doesn't need money? Money literally answers to almost everything. While their are students that considers profit they will get, there are also students that considers what they can do for people.
"Back then?" you say, "back when" are you referring to? Most people alive have had some form of education, to varying levels of quality dependent on the country you live in, so this is not really an issue for most people alive. The only scenario that may not be covered by such a statement is places where children are expected to leave education far too early to support their poor families by getting a job to bring in money. The wealthy have an advantage anywhere and can get a more one-to-one level of education, but most of the exceptional universities actually offer scholarships to the exceptionally talented. Unfortunately like anything in the world we live in a supply and demand situation, where not everyone can be offered that elite level of education, so what.. I see plenty of people from middle class families succeeding.
At present, if education is taken only for the purpose of obtaining a certificate, then there is no real value in that education. Educational institutions make so many rules that a student has to pass the academic period by following those rules. Educational institutions are made in such a way that money plays the main role. Only those who are rich in the society get the opportunity to pursue higher education. Education has now become a form of business. Only obtaining a degree is the main purpose of higher education. But I do not think that this education is of much use in the workplace. If educational institutions provide real education, then students can move forward in all areas of life with their education.
The current education system is a simple product but it has become a business policy. Although the education system is simple, it is very expensive. Generally, low-income people cannot provide their children with good education because it has become very expensive. Although government institutions are largely within the scope of reasonable, now there are separate private tutors and different types of education, which cost a lot of money. Education is the right of all citizens but there are many low-income people who cannot obtain education due to its cost. However, education has become very accessible worldwide and anyone can easily obtain education and develop themselves.
It is true that education is regarded as a fundamental human right, recognized by certain international bodies. But there are quite a lot of factors to consider before education can truly be considered a right. There are a lot of places around the world where people are grappling with poverty and lack of basic amenities, such people have no access to education, neither can they afford it. So for education to be a right, it has to be free, accessible and has to be of a very high quality.
There is nothing wrong in making money off of your knowledge or skills acquired through education. Isn't that what everybody does. To offer any service, you need a skill. To get a skill, you need to learn and master it. To make money from your knowledge, you have to charge a fee. You can of course add passion to it, but the thing is that you get paid too.
Accessing information is arguably the easiest way to get there these days. Because information is so readily available, anyone can easily access the knowledge of even the best professors at the best schools. At Harvard-style schools, the emphasis is now on prestige and meeting and connecting with the people there.
Unless it's a truly good school and you have to pay, it doesn't make sense to me anymore. Paying for information, and paying too much, just doesn't seem right to me.