http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/morgan/1258/ Twelve 20-somethings chronicle their lives for WBUR. Fri, 07 Dec 2012 19:12:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.3 http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/morgan/1258/#comment-146 Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:40:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=1258#comment-146 I would agree with many of your comments in principle, especially with regard to the desirability of job training as an explicit part of higher education. In fact, I have worked proactively to incorporate two professional trainings into my graduate studies. That said, I think that attending a community college would have been a horrible idea for me. At the time, the thing I needed most was to get away from my toxic family environment, something that a four-year residential college neatly enabled. Now, I think that a fair number of my students have similar needs. That being said, my own younger brother stayed home and went to a community college for his Associate’s. He seems to have gained something from it, but I’m admittedly unclear about what that is. He still hasn’t been able to find work in a very competitive job market and, in this increasingly competitive school market, he has also not been accepted to finish up his BA/BS at a 4 year school as he initially planned. There may be other motivational or family dynamic issues involved there, though. Ultimately, I think that – for my brother and others who do not go on to get a Bachelor’s – trade school or an apprenticeship-based education in a particular field of employment may be preferable even over an Associate’s.

]]> http://genstuck.wbur.org/blog/morgan/1258/#comment-131 Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:56:00 +0000 http://genstuck.wbur.org/?p=1258#comment-131 It is clear why going away to school was a good choice for you. It is for many others for the same reason and I do think going away teaches kids how to be on their own. However, I am thinking that more people should consider starting out at a Community College (like Bunker Hill in the Boston area for example), getting their 2 year degree and either seeing what is there for them in the workplace after (I make over $60k with just an Associate’s Degree) or taking the 2 year and finishing it at a 4 year school. Less debt since you spent 2 years at Community College, but also it seems that Community Colleges teach more real life work based skills./majors. There is a lot of job training, resources and classes that teach skills needed in the workplace. What do you think of that? I think a lot of people don’t consider starting out at a Community College because there is still a stigma attached to it.

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