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| Thread: I'm finally done filling out my college applications! |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 · «PREV / NEXT» |
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TheDeath
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posted January 09, 2009 09:55 PM |
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Ah yes capitalism... 
Write fantasy then
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Corribus
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posted January 09, 2009 09:58 PM |
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@Mvass
Quote:
I suppose it would depend on where one teaches. I bet the economics department at Harvard or the University of Chicago are well-funded.
Sorry, but most of your funding doesn't come from universities. When it comes to spending money, most universities are about as tight as a.... well, never mind. Most funding comes from government or private grants. I got my Ph.D. from one of the best-funded Ivy League universities in the country, and I had to spend several years sitting on a broken bar stool because the chemistry department couldn't (well, wouldn't) buy me a decent chair to sit on.
Sorry to deflate your rosy view of the ivory tower, but it's just not as glamorous as it appears to be from the outside.
Oh and:
Quote:
That's not the issue. The issue is getting people to buy your book. Think about it. Certeris paribus, which book do you think is going to sell more - one written by a Harvard professor, or one written by a burger flipper?
If a burger flipper writes a book that is read and recommended by Oprah, the Harvard Professor doesn't stand a chance. Go figure.
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mvassilev
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posted January 09, 2009 10:02 PM |
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TheDeath:
I have no objection to it. It's a good system.
And fantasy is just as much of a risk. Perhaps more so, since there's more competition.
Corribus:
Then how do some professors do so well?
As for Oprah,  . I hate Oprah's Book Club. She picks the worst books.
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Doomforge
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posted January 09, 2009 10:09 PM |
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After reading what Corribus wrote, I am actually happy I live in Poland, not US. First time in my life 
My dad's mate bought a high-end notebook worth 3000$ when he was making the equivalent of PhD.. for warsaw tech's money, of course.
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Corribus
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posted January 09, 2009 10:18 PM |
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Edited by Corribus at 22:51, 09 Jan 2009.
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Quote:
Then how do some professors do so well?
I'm not saying many don't. Many do.
I'm also not saying you shouldn't be a professor. I'm saying that you shouldn't just go blindly into it. Too many people go to grad school just because they don't know what else to do, or because there's a very poor picture painted about what academica is all about it.
You can be successful doing anything. But in academia, at least to my perception, the percentage of people who are successful is abnormally low given the amount of effort and difficulty is involved, and the rewards just aren't as good as other fields, so to my mind, it's just not a path that's worth taking. As a person who loves capitalism, you ought to be able to appreciate that.
I mean, think of it this way. A number of people who drop out of high school and form music bands have also done extremely well. Does that mean, on average, that it's a good career path? Just think about that.
Quote:
As for Oprah, . I hate Oprah's Book Club. She picks the worst books.
My point was that most people couldn't give a rat's fart about where an author went to school. If a burger flipper wrote a book about economics and Oprah said it's great, it would outsell an economics book penned by a Harvard Professor any day of the week and twice in Saturday.
That doesn't mean you should go flip burgers instead of being a Harvard Professor. But it does mean that there are other avenues to being a successful author than going through 10+ years of absolute hell in order to (maybe) get a tenured faculty job which (may) be a good fit for you. It also means that if you want to really be successful, your best bet is to cater to the commercial interests of average people, and average people are moronic sheep.
My two bitter cents.
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mvassilev
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posted January 09, 2009 10:27 PM |
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Quote:
in academia, at least to my perception, the percentage of people who are successful is abnormally low given the amount of effort and difficulty is involved, and the rewards just aren't as good as other fields, so to my mind, it's just not a path that's worth taking
Though obviously you have much more experience in this area than I do, what you are saying contradicts what I've seen. The professors that I know are reasonably well-off (definitely above average). And at least the work is somewhat interesting, even though teaching itself may not be that fun.
Plus, what else could I do with an interest in economics and a lack of interest in any natural science?
And you kind of sound like my parents. "Don't go into political science! Go into biochemistry!"
And many professors have become well-off from their position (and writing books, of course); just look at Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, John Maynard Keynes, etc. And those are the big names. Many lesser-known professors have written books that sold enough to give them a sizable income.
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baklava
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posted January 09, 2009 10:59 PM |
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Quote:
Bak:
But his philosophy degree isn't what got him elected.
True. Actually, leading a democratic rebellion against a ruthless dictator was probably what helped the most in his election. That and his intelligence and charisma.
The idea is that some other subjects like philosophy can be a rather good - if not, in some cases, better - substitute for political science.  It all depends on the person.
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"Let me tell you what the blues
is. When you ain't got no
money,
you got the blues."
Howlin Wolf
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TheDeath
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posted January 09, 2009 11:08 PM |
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Quote:
Though obviously you have much more experience in this area than I do, what you are saying contradicts what I've seen. The professors that I know are reasonably well-off (definitely above average).
That's because you don't actually see those worse off. And maybe you have no idea what they've been through??? Don't ask me I don't know how it is there.
Quote:
And you kind of sound like my parents. "Don't go into political science! Go into biochemistry!"
Political science isn't even a "science"
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winterfate
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posted January 09, 2009 11:55 PM |
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@Mvass: [parental voice] Don't go into political science! Go into microbiology! [/voice]
@TheDeath: Some of the most fervent defenders of political sciences argue that it is...
In any case, I loathe social and political sciences. Natural sciences FTW!
Anyways...
@Mvass (again): When does college start for you?
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mvassilev
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posted January 10, 2009 12:19 AM |
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Bak:
I'm not saying that philosophy isn't good. I'm saying that it doesn't make money. I want something that I enjoy and is profitable.
TheDeath:
I think I'd know pretty well what my aunt and uncle have been through. (Then again, they don't teach political science.)
As for political science being a science... well, it's a social science. Whatever that means.
Winterfate:
Microbiology? Blah!
I start college this August.
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winterfate
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posted January 10, 2009 02:05 AM |
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@Mvass: Awesome!
I'm sure you'll be fine.
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If you supposedly care about someone, then don't push them out of your life. Acting like you're not doing it doesn't exempt you from what I just said. - Winterfate
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Binabik
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posted January 10, 2009 11:28 AM |
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Edited by Binabik at 11:58, 10 Jan 2009.
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from Corribus
Quote:
I certainly wish I could go back and give myself some advice like that....
Would you have listened?
Mvass, I'm not a PhD myself, but I've heard very similar stories to the one Corribus told from several people. He can speak with far more knowledge than I, but I want to add one more thing.
When talking about advanced education one thing you have to watch out for is being OVER educated and OVER qualified. I've known too many people who regretted getting PhDs because they are so specialized that their qualifications become too narrowly defined. Potential employers can't seem to look past that PhD and end up dismissing the candidate in favor of someone less specialized. Never mind that the PhD also has a general purpose BS/BA and probably a somewhat less broad MS/MA. All they see is the PhD and that specialty is not what they are looking for. When you get a PhD you've put yourself in a mold that is not always easy to escape from even when your interests change. (and there's about a 99% chance your interests WILL change, or at least expand)
Someone mentioned "marketable skills". Marketable skills can come from many sources including innate abilities which are simply a part of you. Formal education is only one of those sources. Formal education, informal "school of hard knocks", ambition and drive, people skills, physical skills, how you handle pressure and stress, ability to adapt and learn, etc. are all combined to form a set of traits which make you marketable to potential employers. The point I'm making is that you don't need to place too much weight on your formal education.....this early. There are many other factors, some of which are far more important than your formal education.
From what you've said it sounds like you already have multiple areas of interest. It's ok to select an area and follow that direction. But leave room to change your mind and go in a different direction, even if it may be a direction you never thought you'd follow. It might sound trite, but probably the most important education is to learn about yourself and who you are, what is REALLY important to you, what you are capable of, what is your tolerance to stress, etc. (You're aware that stress and high pay are directly proportional about 90% of the time, right?)
Bah, just pick something and run with it. Do what you want. Go to college and have some fun. Get drunk (or not). Get laid (or not). Do some traveling (or not). Do something totally stupid (mandatory) But just don't get too fixated on one thing. Hey, I'm sure there are many full professors who really love what they do and wouldn't change it for the world. If you're one of them, great. But if you decide to spend a year at Walden Pond or decide to chase some girl to the other side of the world, that's fine too. Leave it open and play it by ear.
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Moonlith
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If all else fails, use Fiyah!
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posted January 10, 2009 01:26 PM |
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Quote:
Sorry to deflate your rosy view of the ivory tower, but it's just not as glamorous as it appears to be from the outside.
And I keep wondering where Americans get their patriotism from. Is this a country you're proud of?
Don't get started about "glorious" history - every country has that.
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Corribus
Hero of Order
The Abyss Staring Back at You
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posted January 10, 2009 03:49 PM |
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Edited by Corribus at 15:50, 10 Jan 2009.
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@Binabik
Quote:
Would you have listened?
Probably not. You can't tell an 18 year old anything. It's amazing how intelligent your parents suddenly become when you hit 30.
Much of what you say is correct. The problem is that when industry hires a Ph.D., they are pretty much looking for a very specific skill set, and given the Ph.D.s are each very unique, sometimes its hard to find a match for yourself. Otherwise, industry wants to find someone they can train in exactly what they need, and hire someone cheaply, which means hiring BS/MS level scientists.
So, yes, as a PhD its often easy to feel like your overqualified for everything.
@moon
Just can't let an opportunity go by to slam the US, can you? Why, if you have nothing constructive to add, do you post at all?
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Moonlith
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If all else fails, use Fiyah!
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posted January 10, 2009 04:21 PM |
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Edited by Moonlith at 16:22, 10 Jan 2009.
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I'm not. I'm simply asking a question, because I can't think of an answer. I'd like to be enlighted in that. So by all means? Or have you already labelled me as a stereotypical America-hater and deem me unworthy of interaction?
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mvassilev
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posted January 10, 2009 07:57 PM |
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Binabik:
Thanks for the advice. 
But you may be underestimating the value of a formal education in the modern world. If I want to make good money, so, unless I am to depend on luck, then I need a good formal education. Because that's what employers look at.
If I had some very marketable skill, then I could educate myself and maybe become an entrepreneur. But neither political science nor economics is such a skill.
Moonlith:
Derpa derp evul Amerikuh robble robble!
See, I can do it too!
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OmegaDestroyer
Hero of Order
Fox or Chicken?
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posted January 10, 2009 08:11 PM |
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So once you're at college, you'll probably be posting less right?
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The giant has awakened
You drink my blood and drown
Wrath and raving I will not stop
You'll never take me down
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Corribus
Hero of Order
The Abyss Staring Back at You
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posted January 10, 2009 08:14 PM |
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Edited by Corribus at 20:14, 10 Jan 2009.
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Possibly not. When I was in college, I had oodles of free time. Mostly because I didn't study at all.
(damn if only I could have those days back again...)
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mvassilev
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posted January 10, 2009 08:20 PM |
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Omega:
Yeah, probably.
Corribus:
While that may have been true in your case, I don't think it'd be true in mine. My high school gives me a great deal of free time - so I'll have less free time in college than I do now. In your case, it was probably different.
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OmegaDestroyer
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Fox or Chicken?
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posted January 10, 2009 08:25 PM |
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WOOHOO!!! LET'S HEAR IT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION!!!
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The giant has awakened
You drink my blood and drown
Wrath and raving I will not stop
You'll never take me down
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