Formal education levels of ATS readers and posters

reply to post by shipovfools


Interesting thought. Perhaps a better question would have been, "Do you feel like your college education has benefited you?" It seems many posters that have graduated don't use their degree or derive no pleasure from it.

Why is this? Did they do it just to be validated as you suggest? Maybe they did it just because it was expected of them.

Are the high schooled and below happier or more satisfied?

I am not enrolled in college for anyone other than myself. I am majoring in business because I want to be an effective entrepreneur. I pay for my school out of my own pocket and attend almost all classes and get great grades. Since I am a little older then most of the campus, 25, I see these kids that are just there because they don't know what they want to do or they were told they "have" to go to college. They don't try, participate in lectures or labs, and they just text all day and chat about parties.

How much are they getting out of this?

Perhaps if these young people were required to sacrifice something than they would be more motivated and colleges would start turning out quality instead of quantity.

Perhaps people that are not happy with their degrees or do not utilize them fell into the category of persons that I mentioned above? I am of the opinion that you should get a degree in your passion even though not all passions are as profitable as others. Sorry, not trying to criticize anyone here but the people with no college or some but didn't graduate seem content with that fact.

reply to post by SuperSecretSquirrel


Question: What is more important, formal education or life experience?

I don't think that question is a fair one. It completely depends on what an individual plans on doing with their life. I wouldn't trust a farmer to do brain surgery, nor would I want rely on a brain surgeon for the food I eat.

I would feel safer under the knife of a more experienced doctor, but would not feel too unsafe to go under one recently graduated from Med School.

Also, Why must one be subservient to the other?

People become educated in certain subjects so that they can, hopefully, be placed in a situation where they can gain experience in that subject...and yet also, people who have experience in subjects, even without the formal education, are often highly regarded in their field. With or without the formal education, we consider these highly regarded people to be experts...or even prodigies, depending on the subject.

Regardless, I don't think that education is overrated. It can only be considered such when it goes unused. I find it far more commonplace to be underrated in society.

reply to post by madhatr137

I wouldn't trust a farmer to do brain surgery, nor would I want rely on a brain surgeon for the food I eat.

Dunno man, I'm quite partial to brains. mmm

I also have one more point to make.

It seems that maybe the OP was looking for a way to tie in whether people with less education (or more) are more or less likely to believe in CTs.

I for one did not. I went into the army and work in intelligence for my battallion. I learned there to start to believe in conspiracies. At first I thought the officers I worked with were pulling my leg with much of the crap they would hint at and laugh. Well, that was my introduction to not completely believing what we were taught in school completely and not believing what we were told in the media.

Anyway, from that point on my education actually added to my belief in CTs. Not because of the education itself but because the education taught me to question and research things in more detail.

Anyway, I don't believe in all CTs but I do believe in a fair share of them. The ones at least that have gaping holes in the 'official' explanations.

Graduated from high school.

I did not know all of my fractions when I finished high school.
I started my first summer job a age 14 and worked all through high school.
When I was in grade school (elementary), our school switched to what was called "modern math" then switched back to the traditional form of math the following year. All this switching messed me up so bad that I did not fully recover from the confusion until the first year or so after I finished high school. I actually learned fractions and to divide while working at my first full time job after high school.

I have owned my own business now for 23 years and have worked in the same type industry for 31 years.

Formal education is not the only avenue to being educated.
Anyone can educate themselves if they have the desire and drive to learn.
US President Abraham Lincoln was mostly self educated with only very little formal education and went own to become a lawyer, US Congressmen, Illinois state legislator and led the US as 16th President during the civil war period.

Modern society does not value other forms of education such as vocational, home schooling or being self taught as much as formal public education but it really boils down to the fact that if you or I have the desire and the drive we can become proficient in most anything we have an aptitude for.

I don't know if I am the average ATS reader and participant but I suspect there is but one thing we all have in common; that is we all have a desire to know and share the truth.

This is a very interesting thread, to say the least. Whether it is a Ph.D or less than a GED, the most important thing to remember is BALANCE!! One could be the smartest on the planet when it came to Quantum Physics or the like; at the same time not know to grab an umbrella if it looks like rain.

Having knowledge is a great thing! Knowing how to APPLY one's knowledge Priceless!!

B.S.
M.S.N.

I worked 14 years as an ER and ICU nurse. 6yrs in a Level 1 trauma center.
I gave up nursing to stay home and care for my fairly high functioning Autistic son. I'd take a multiple trauma any day compared to a "meltdown"!


Just a little advice to all who are thinking about Nursing as a career. Knowing theory will get you the grades you want, but realizing life is not a textbook will save lives.

i was very fortunate to have parents who sacrificed a lot for me to be able to attend a private catholic school my whole life

i may not agree with the religious teachings i was subjected to but on that same note by being able to gain that much knowledge about that religion it has offered me a type of knowledge of religion that most do not have nor understand and for that i am fortunate as i am able to see all religions for what they are


i am also a film major who attended a private film school for college

up untill college i was not very studious, i never truly applied myself in the education process, and basically did just enough to squeak by, however in my experiences it is truly sad that even though i only learned enough to squeak by, i was still leaps and bounds ahead of many of my peers who attended public schools, even the ones who did apply themselves


on top of that i believe that the majority of my knowledge has come post-school, from my own efforts within research and the search for knowledge of subjects i wish to write upon in pursuing a career in the film field as i have inspirations to be a script writer


additionally i must say, many of my peers from highschool, college, and just life, have gone on to further their academic career and recieve degrees, even a few are near their masters

however, in full honesty without sounding egotistical, I have a higher level of intelligence then many of them

yet they are the ones with the degrees and the professional teachings

this i attribute to passion


you see in high school, we had no passion to learn, we were going through the motions just to get out and go party with freinds

college; you're just going through the motions to get the degree to put on your fancy resume, some people who truly are in the field that is best for them, have passion for what they are doing and become very intelligent, others, again are just going thru the motion

this leads me to believe, that once you have received enough education to "learn how to learn" that formal education is no longer necessary in todays world as the world is literally at all of our fingertips

once you know how to learn it doesnt matter if you went on to get your masters or dropped out in 9th grade both people have the ability to become just as intelligent

in my opinion it has been my passion for further knowledge that allows me to be more intelligent and knowledgeable compared to my peers who are just going through the motions


in respect to education we are truly a blessed culture as we have more resources than any ancient scholar could comprehend, it would be amazing what people like einstein tesla and all the other great minds could have done with so much at their disposal

Will you be making a chart of some sort with the info?

if it helps, I have a BA in business and am about to start a master's program for computer animation.

BA in Environmental Geography.
Soon to get an MS in Environmental/Physical Geography

HS + Designers Diploma

Meh.

OK, BS Computer Science, minor in mathematics - Courtesy of the GI Bill.

I actually enjoyed mathematics more.

Here goes:
HS Diploma
BA in Communication
MA in Communication/Rhetorical Criticism
+a few hours toward a PhD

I'm an autodidact and that is how I've learned the most.

I graduated HS, finished AIT in the military, finished a 2 year nursing degree, took extensive coursework in archeology and computer science but never finished the degrees, have 11 technical certifications (CIW, MS, Cisco) ..was a professional mind whore in the certification industry for a while, that is why I have all of those...and later went back to school for my fine arts degree. (AA) then took business courses but didn't finish that one because they were so freaking easy and boring I thought I was going to die.

OF all the education I've had, I think I learned the most and worked the hardest for my art degree. Really.

[edit on 4-12-2008 by hadriana]

Originally posted by kettlebellysmith
High School
Associate Degree in Nursing
Paramedic
Read a tremendous amount, including history, sociology, psychology, politcis, hell, if it's words in a row, I'll read it.
IQ high enough to test for MENSA, just never got around to it.

title of the thread says "formal education level"

not "do you think your IQ is enough for Mensa inclusion"
or
"Besides your FORMAL EDUCATION.. what ELSE do you think people should know about what you think about your own acumen."

wasn't that the point of this thread?
to PRECISELY differentiate between what people like to say about themselves...
and the FORMAL, OFFICIAL schooling they've had, so that we can get an actual picture of that ... not the "extras" they think they should have had officially earned?

I know it's tough to deflate your egos for the time it takes to write your post, but just put in what you've actually officially earned through FORMAL education.



We can even have a separate thread for people that want to brag about their Mensa invitations and personal intellectual interests.

How's that sound?
Can you save it for then?

-

I have my high school diploma and my bachelors. If I would do it over again I most likely wouldn't have gone to college. High school does not teach you how to think critically at all. College does to some extent depending on the school but that is really something that you should foster between friends. If I did do it over and I did go to college I most certainly wouldn't go to a private school. That's the first and biggest mistake I've made in major life choices. To be in debt up to your ears immediately upon graduation is just a joke on a cosmic level. It's like great you worked your whole life to be educated and now you are. Now you are a slave to pay back all these loans. That was me not thinking critically. What can I say though, I was too young and too indoctrinated for the discernment I now possess.

A guy I work with dropped out of high school and was working on Wall Street since the 10th grade.

Point is, critical thinking is not taught in schools like the robber barons said "I want a nation of workers not a nation of thinkers" and I think this carries well into present day. Learning discernment when you've been taught your whole life to think one way is tough. We have to strip off years of bad thinking before we can begin to start thinking critically and I mean really thinking critically.

reply to post by SuperSecretSquirrel


European system
Top 5% SAT score
BA Finance, University level
Further studies in economics and finance
Some studies in computer science

;-)

high school proficiency exam
dropped out after second year from the University of California system, Economics Major

I currently work as a network administrator for a cancer treatment facility. I've just found that I'm much better an independent learner and have always felt that the Los Angeles public school system was and is a joke. So often I was accused of cheating because the teacher could not accept that someone who looked so bored in their class could possibly get a good grade
Although I have always been able to teach myself and find answers, I will say to you kids out there that a degree makes finding a job and getting paid an easier task.

I've been following the thread since my own response on page 2 I think, and a lot of people have some great accomplishments that they have every right to be proud of. Be it a BA or a Masters, or a job that you actually ENJOY going to without having the degrees.

Going to school takes dedication and a mindset to achieve and though some people may use those degrees to make themselves appear more intelligent, I think the majority should well be proud of the accomplishment and are not of the mindset that they are "better than" or "above" someone without degrees.

heck for all my 143 IQ I have gladly taken jobs that pay minimum wage and would be classified as "menial"...because they made me happy.

Many have stated that the degrees didn't serve them well yet still there must be a sense of pride in having achieved. otherwise what a waste of time and money?

I am quite glad for ANYONE who has achieved a personal goal or met a personal challenge and been happy with themselves.

And why shouldn't a poster with an invite to Mensa be allowed to do some bragging?

The guy with the 100 IQ and a full time job doing what he loves has equal bragging rights as well.

I wouldn't be so quick to begrudge someone based on formal degrees anymore than I'd begrudge someone with high school or less. All people of all intellects and education have value and hopefully they see it themselves rather than wait around for others to approve.

BA History and Political Science (double-major)
Working on my MA in History

Education is no determining factor in ones intelligence. I'm sure every member here at ATS comes from a different background, and I have yet to find myself amazed by something being utterly stupid. The entire ATS community has impressed me with the overall quality of the posts and depth of knowledge on such a wide variety of issues.

reply to post by madhatr137


LOL, I have both. I'm 54, a Vietnam veteran. I graduated in Geology from the University of Kansas in 1981. Last November (a year ago) I began my MBA program, so I'm a 54 year old graduate student.