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0palescent t1_j68od67 wrote

I support free access to education, but I no longer think academia is the way to go.

I did a BA at a state school and I loved it, it made me who I am, paying my loans wasn't the worst, but ten years later I'm making 30k.

I'm taking some classes at UMASS right now to upskill and they are trash compared to free programs I've attended in similar subjects. Course materials were last updated in 2010 and are full of spelling errors. Directions are missing in course activities. Professors are checked out. Why does this cost $1000+/class?

Plus an associates doesn't get you very far in a majority of majors.

I'd be way more excited about free programs that get people into trades and apprenticeships.

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liberal_hack t1_j6a3rb2 wrote

30k a year with a BA is pretty unusual, what field are you in? I hire pharmacy technician trainees for 41k a year with no experience or education requirements

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Squish_the_android t1_j6bjrr5 wrote

Agreed, I was making that 12 years ago out of college at an office job that didn't require a degree.

30k is only 14.42 an hour.

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liberal_hack t1_j6bqt1f wrote

Yeah something isn't adding up quite right there. Definitely an edge case.

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psychicsword t1_j6a2b3t wrote

They need to reform the curriculum at the same time. Community College should be rediciculously targeted at the best bang for the buck trades skills and professions that are needed for the state economy.

Go learn basket weaving on your own time but if you want to be a teacher, you want to be a nurse or medical aid, or any of the skilled trades then absolutely we should be making the foundation of those tracks as cheap as possible. We need those skills and as a tax payer we should absolutely be funding it.

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