AmericanBeauty

Whatever happened to good old days when only elite students can get into university??
University is not called an ivory tower for no reasons.  It should be a place for intellectual development, not a club fed.
It seems like university nowadays is the new high school; everyone needs to graduate from it in order to get a job.  I always think that the person flipping burger at McDonald's is going to require a university diploma sooner or later.  That is so wrong!  University should remain a place for elite students.  If a person couldn't make it to university, they should go to vocational school and pick up a trade skill or two.  There are so many university students who are simply not university student materials, yet they are fighting to pass their courses to get the diploma so they would have a chance to get a decent job.  A lot of them end up failing or getting really crappy marks, which in term did not lead the to a decent job, and they ended up wasting a few years of their lives chasing an empty bubble.  I'm glad that I made it out of university in one piece.  However, I don't even want to imagine what my children will have to go through in terms of education.  Everyone is going to have a master degree 20 years from now, just like how everyone has a bachelor degree instead of just a high school diploma nowadays?  Tuition fee sky rocks while our salary is not even catching up with inflation?  Life sounds so miserable all of a sudden. >_<

AmericanBeauty

I made it through university, but it was not by choice, Lik.  I opted to go to BCIT instead of university to study computing after school because I knew I would do bad at university.  But when I graduated, computer industry was taking a big hit from bad economy and a lot of companies closed down.  Most companies will take university graduates over non university graduates because they only have limited openings and they wanted the cream of the crop.  I was not competitive enough of a computer programmer and I had a hard time getting a decent job.  At that point, I was left with two choices: marry someone rich, or be more competitive.  I had to get back to school - not by personal choice, but froced by the general trend of everyone being a university graduate.  I said to myself, "I've done school and I knew what it was like to go to school for the purpose of getting a job.  This time around, I went to university and studied in a different field.  Why not enjoy the educational experience and study something I enjoy?"  I studied in a field that does not scream "You're going to get a high paying job when you graduate!"  I picked courses that I enjoyed but would have very little practical values (First Nation Art was one of my courses, go figure!).  I had no problem getting a job upon graduation.  However, I was hired because my boss saw the work I did in the computing field before I got into university.  For better or for worse, my university degree got me a job, but it's sad to see how a university diploma is nothing more then a ticket to a job nowadays.  If university education was to made available to everyone because the university experience is going to promot personal growth, then this is not playing out because I see a lot of university graduates who are just like high school students (I even have to supervise some of them at work, sigh).  If university was to be the new high school, then stop charging people so much money for attending one!  Alright, enough ranting on university.  I'm gonna adore my pay cheque and stop fighting reality.