A Random Thought

[Akaramu]

If it doesn't hinder him on a daily basis, why does he regret not getting the degree? Would he be eligible for a higher salary?

[Melkor]

Status of having a degree.

[Delirium]

Higher pay, status, easier to find open doors at desirable places of employment.

[MeTekillot]

And the knowledge you acquire to earn the degree.

[Melkor]

Y'all know Joseph too? Small world.

[Akaramu]

So, since I have the knowledge already, I don't need a degree  Besides, I don't think there is one.

As for a different thought, winter is coming (hah) and I've barely spent any time out in the sun. Either it was too hot for outdoors leisure, or I was too busy working indoors to go outside. Even on weekends.

[tapas]

Vertical and horizontal advancement. A job-seeker with a degree will generally be considered over one without. So it's easier to shop around for employment like a good millennial.

[Molten Heart]

Degrees are expensive, but are they worth it?

[Delirium]

Sometimes.

[Marauder Moe]

Got an engineering degree at a state university.  Even at out-of-state tuition rates, it most definitely paid for itself in my first two years of employment. 

STEM degree is 1000% worth it.  If you have any aptitude for it at all, I think it's your best avenue for upward economic mobility.  It future-proofs you as well.  As more and more labor (and I don't just mean manual, but service and clerical too) is being done by machines, you want to be the one building, fixing, or running the machines.

I think these days college may be too expensive to be used for post-adolescent self discovery.  You need to go in targeting a specific job and having already calculated the return on investment.

For someone who's a writer or an artist and profits directly from the merit of his or her work?  A much less certain investment.

[Cind]

I just listened to a podcast episode of Planet Money for the top ten and bottom ten earning undergraduate degrees (people who earned these, did not earn further education, and went on to whatever job.) Bottom second was early childhood education; also in the bottom were a trio of art degrees and theater arts and social work. Nine of the top ten were engineering degrees, like electrical engineering and architectural engineering. The top one was petroleum engineering. Applied math for the win.

[Akaramu]

Being both a translator and an author pays off nicely, too. There's a huge demand for German translations of English books, and authors hesitate to hire Germans for these kinds of jobs because of a certain law (in Germany) that guarantees the translator 50% of the translated book's royalties. As someone who lives in Switzerland, I can offer far better conditions. And as a writer, I can craft a translated German book that reads well. Most translators don't possess the same degree of affinity. Those who do usually for big publishers and aren't available as freelancers.

[Delirium]

Applicable to the GDB
http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/perspective

[Malken]

Applicable to the GDB
http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/perspective

TWO KARMAS, TWO SCOOPS, TWO GENDERS, TWO TERMS

Make Armageddon Great Again

[Delirium]

[Melkor]

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/355749-fbi-uncovered-russian-bribery-plot-before-obama-administration

http://www.newsweek.com/fbi-kept-russian-bribery-plot-under-wraps-obama-approved-nuclear-deal-moscow-686660

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4990408/Russian-nuke-bribes-known-uranium-deal-approved.html

https://www.circa.com/story/2017/10/17/national-security/the-fbi-uncovered-russian-nuclear-kickback-scheme-months-before-the-obama-administration-passed-uranium-one-deal-with-moscow

https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-bribery-plot-uncovered-u-145523964.html

[Kialae]

Applicable to the GDB
http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/perspective

TWO KARMAS, TWO SCOOPS, TWO GENDERS, TWO TERMS

Make Armageddon Great Again

R U D E

[Booya]

#worldsmostarmageddonyfiddle

[Molten Heart]

I just watched a coyote happily trot by on the sidewalk in front of my house.

[Melkor]

I just watched a coyote happily trot by on the sidewalk in front of my house.

Coyotes are fascinating creatures. Insanely intelligent. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to control their population over the last few decades, yet they have exploded across the continent.
Dan Flores has a wonderful book about them called Coyote America; it is a worthwhile read.

[TheWanderer]

People need to grow thicker skin. I often try to cater to one's proclivity for sensitivity, but I have an increasingly limited quantity of shits to give per day.

[Cind]

If I were intensely wealthy I would go back for more classes. Not another degree. Being a bit culturally Asian I would pick a very few classes at one time and just burn into those books like I'll never read again. I don't feel like I should do a math class though, or a communications class, both of which are necessary for an undergraduate degree at the college I went to. Also fitness, I think, and I do badly in that.

I'm most interested in philosophy and chemistry but will eagerly do literature, other sciences and history. I'm pretty bad at philosophy and chemistry. Biology's probably my best science. We learned a bunch of things about frogs and snakes in my biology class. You learn quickly that some professors are in love with arbitrary subjects, or have an agenda. Our medieval lit professor taught us about gothic novels rather than anything from the Dark Ages.

[Aruven]

People need to grow thicker skin. I often try to cater to one's proclivity for sensitivity, but I have an increasingly limited quantity of shits to give per day.

[Pale Horse]

Ever wonder how English sounds to a non-English speaker?

[Sayyadina]

People need to grow thicker skin. I often try to cater to one's proclivity for sensitivity, but I have an increasingly limited quantity of shits to give per day.

People are such snowflakes.

They need to grow thicker skin and preserve their outrage for things that actually matter, like seeing football players kneel on TV.