I have a BS in CJ from SHSU.
Had to have a degree to get the job that I have but I don't do anything with CJ

when I got hurt in 07 part of the work comp settlement was retraining, went to okie state for const. mgmnt/inspection.

am only one math class shy of getting both degrees, I suck bad at calculus and advanced algebra so not gonna happen.

funny part is I asked for a pass on that class and told them that after about 30 yrs. in construction that I could do most of the math I needed in my head, still no.

oh, well, got out of construction in 99 making 135k a yr. in colorado (not to shaby for a carpenter with a ged) then drove over the road till I got hurt and was making about 85k a yr. and taking a month off to go to costa rica.
if you want to work and apply yourself you can do pretty good, the ones I laughed at were the "college boys" fresh out of school with no experience that were "project mgrs" or "asst. superintendents", glorified/overpaid laborers.

Here's a chart from Labor & Statistics
Degreed people work an average of 8 hours a day,
Non degreed people work an average of 8.2 hours a day.
So about one hour a week more.
https://www.bls.gov/charts/american-time-use/emp-by-ftpt-job-edu-h.htm

In the Air Force there were a couple of sayings.

It takes a college education to break it and a high school education to fix it.

Those with the college education fly into the firefight and those without the college education stay back where it is safe.

I have an engineering degree & I spent my working career in the IT field. I spent a lot of time interviewing & hiring people for programmer/analyst positions. A degree was always a prerequisite. I hired one young man that turned out to be a pretty good programmer but I found out a year later that he lied on his application & he did not have a degree. I didn't fire him because he was capable of the job & it was hard to find a candidate with a decent work ethic. At least back then, someone could just lie about their education level & it was rarely checked. I guess HR & recruiters background check that kind of stuff now-a-days(?)

To me, a college degree was a credential that someone had some persistence, could read a book & had the ability to learn. JIMHO

I have a BS in Economics and a Master of Real Estate(focused predominantly on finance).

I use mine as im involved in real estate but nothing specifically from college could I not live without. I enjoyed the time there and made life long friends, met my wife and have it as part of my life. I do not believe there is one cut and dry path for everyone.

My mom doesn't have a degree. She was a VP at a small firm she had been at for several years, worked her way to the top. The company closed and in her job hunt she sure wished she had a degree!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She eventually found a great new job she loves, but it took a boss that was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, countless positions she applied for she was never even considered because she didn't have a degree no matter how much more experience she had more qualified she was or more dedicated to the job.

Something else to consider is we all start out in different places with different assets and traits in life. Some are much more fitted to manual labor than others while some are better fitted to books learning etc. I have a couple friends that only got a degree because their parents made them and then went home to farm/ranch on the family operation or work for some other form of family business etc. If my dad owned/operated a brokerage or Accounting firm or plumbing/electric/construction etc. company im sure my path in life would be different.

In my job I have met several people who have never done anything in life other than manage the assets their parents left to them that make a considerable amount over 10x what I make a year and they don't have a degree.... I wish I could have chose their career path!

I didn't go to college right out of highschool…neither of my parents have degrees but pushed both my sister and I to go that route and they would pay a large portion of it. It didn't make sense for me to pay someone 4 years that I could be earning a check. I did a vo-technical school in high school and learned accounting. Graduated highschool on a Friday nite and started work on Monday morning at an insurance company as an acctg clerk. I did that job for almost 4 years and moved to a life and disability claims adjuster. It was a much higher turnover department and I felt I could run up the ladder faster than the stagnant acctg department. I made it to a lead and was in line for a supervisor....the position became available and I didn't get it. I worked for an awesome woman who was a great leader and boss. I inquired as to why I didn't get the job.

She was brutally honest and it was exactly what I needed. She point blank told me I was one of the best she had, could do that job and most likely would train the new supervisor but I couldn't get that job because I didn't have a degree. Talk about getting hit in the face with a 2x4. A month later I started night classes where it took a lot of dedication, prioritization and grit to finish but I did. I still am amazed and look back on that conversation with her as a big turning point in my professional life. On a positive note, I nor my parents had a single student loan and my schooling was paid for by that employer.

It's bull [censored] but point is, there are a lot of places that the stupid piece of paper means more than what you can do and have proven you can do. It's sad really...

Good luck to you. If you have a family, and don't have lifetime health insurance then 20k$+ of that 90k is going to health insurance for the next 17 years. 90k a year in 35 years will probably not be enough.

Even if its not you could invest @ 70k a year lol.

Lifetime health insurance for me in my retirement is 100 dollars a month.

About half my working life I had no degree. Good jobs, technician level, interesting work but very limited income opportunities. Then back to school, got a BS and 3 years later a MS (engineering). My work life changed dramatically, much more money, unlimited opportunities. Degree really does make a difference in technical fields.

Congratulations- that's outstanding. You're a step up on a lot of folks.....

Congrats, you are the exception and beat the odds. Impressive

College has value but it's not necessary to have a good living. Those that choose another route should never feel ashamed of making that choice. Work hard, make good decisions, learn from mistakes and keep mama happy.

Ramball36....Money well spent??????

I do know the statistics. NP and BoBo are correct. Yes, there are welders and crane operators and rig superintendents out there that make more than I do every year. That's anecdotal. But for ALL wage earners with degrees versus those without degrees the evidence is clear and Tbar's post of the BLS data shows this.

We just fired a guy last week with a MBA from SMU, like all the others they hire who have fancy degrees from D1 schools he didn't last 6 months. Some skills you can't teach, you wake up with them in the morning.

yes

Undergrad in AM system. Masters in UT system.

Agree to an extent...some things are innate while others are where you were raised and who raised you. Life and work expereinces play a huge role. A degree or mulitiple degress express to the world you have demonstrated an ability to learn. Nothing more/nothing less. The ability to interact with others, perform on a team, produce outcomes, provide solutions rather than generate problems and drama, think critically, and ultimately are they a 'fit' in the organization will carry you further in your professional life. As a hiring manager the last thing I look at is the degree and where it came from.

What is it you do?

Agree. My ex wife had a PhD from UT, $150,000 in college tuition that she couldn’t pay. Then she met a faithful hard working oil field hand like myself that made 4x the money she did. She loved talking about how smart she was.

Don’t be me.

Territory Manager for Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers/Iron Planet

I have a BBA, graduated in 1986.

Earning my degree taught me that I don't know everything, and how to learn what I need to know. It also made me more open minded and accepting of others. I saw folks from all walks of life there with me earning the same thing, a degree. I was inspired by a girl who wore leg braces and had to swing her torso and use crutches to get across campus. Sometimes she had to stop and rest. Myself, I got up at 0300 every morning and loaded trucks at UPS then went to school. This was my last three years, first year I stocked at a grocery store. I read some of the posts above and degrees are referred to as "fancy degrees", or the people that earned them as "college boys". Nothing fancy about the degree that my Dad (a cop) or my mom (a school cafeteria worker) paid for. They covered tuition and books, I paid for everything else myself, like I had since I was about 15. As for the "college boy" part, maybe when I started at 18 but when I graduated I know my wife and 1 year old child considered me a man at 23.

I have never regretted earning a degree, or know anyone that has.