Negative reactions to your educational goals from others....

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by thomas_jefferson, Dec 7, 2010.

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  1. When discussing my online education with a certain person, I got some rather snarky remarks. He floated the idea that I might be getting "too educated" and that "book smarts" don't amount to much in the real world. For the record, this person is a high school graduate and a community college drop out. He's also not what you would call super successful career-wise.

    Anyone ever get this kind of reaction? Is this jealousy or anti-intellectualism or something else completely?
     
  2. emmzee

    emmzee New Member

    When I was in the process of applying to seminary, my pastor at the time told me he "didn't see the point" since I had no plans of becoming a pastor, and one of the church elders also basically told me not to bother. My parents weren't fans either (I believe "just get a real job" came up more than once). Yet I stuck with it and was tremendously blessed by the experience.

    Now whenever I talk about perhaps returning to school I get mostly the same reaction. It's probably pretty common.
     
  3. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    I lean more towards anti-intellectualism. But I also get a lot of people who make more money than I do, letting me know that they make more money without any secondary eduction. My sister likes to point out that she makes more than me and my older sister (a teacher with a M.Ed) and she has way less education (actually no college degree). Which, lets face it, its not that hard to make more than a teacher but it's kind of snarky thing to do. Anti-intellectualism is a big one, but there certainly is a huge expecation of earnings compared to education by most people and the less-educated feel that their earning power reflects somehow negatively on our education if we don't make the expected amount of money.

    Ii helps me to remind myself that the real world does not view education in the same way the dinfo does. Shoot, even I don't view education the way most dinfo people do.
     
  4. AUTiger00

    AUTiger00 New Member

    I was once called an "education whore" on degree info. I don't really get it much at work as everyone here probably (over)values education. It wouldn't matter, I've never been one to take much stock in someone else's opinion.
     
  5. james_lankford

    james_lankford New Member

    from the Chris Rock routine
    "so what you gotta a masters degree ? so what ? you think you my master now ?"
     
  6. AUTiger00

    AUTiger00 New Member

    Z
    "oh you can count? I can count too! One, two, four, five. Countin' these rocks, biotch!"
     
  7. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    This is a great topic.

    Many of my friends all hold six figure jobs, or close to, and most of them have nothing more than a HS Diploma and some college. Many of them found their sucess from being at the right place at the right time, starting their own business, or fell into a specific line of work due to family ties.

    Three of my managers, 120K per year, 100K per year, and 80K per year, and none of them have any type of a degree; instead they all have some from of certificate relating to their direct position. (Facilities Management, Project Manager, and Safety Manager) Most of these individuals worked for our health care provider and worked there way up.

    All the upper level management (That I know of) all have some sort of graduate college degree in either Nursing, Public Administration, Bio-Med, Physical Therapy, Human Resources, ect . . . and many of those individuals make in excess of 120K per year depending on department.

    End result from my observations, all of those people who worked their way up were part of the "Good old Boy Click" who do not have a college degree and still found success.

    I go to college because I have never been that lucky, I'm not part of the "Good Old Boy Click" and things never come easy for me. I don't come from money, I don't have any family connections, and it' important to me to finish what I started in regards to college.
     
  8. Same here. What do your "Good Old Boy" friends think of education in general, and your education in particular?
     
  9. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    I thought it was a "brand whore," but I may be recalling incorrectly!
     
  10. Woho

    Woho New Member

    Why would anyone care about the opinion of a person like that (on the subject of education)? Just beyond my understanding. Maybe if you run for office and have of fake some empathy but in all other cases?

    I think issues like these are just a reflection of the social cycle, e.g. in a same way as in some circles accent-free speaking would be seen as snobbish etc.
     
  11. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    If I tell someone that I'm working on a Math degree they think it's pretty cool but then they stop and say, "What are you going to do with a Math degree?" When I tell them that I could become a school teacher they just laugh and laugh.
     
  12. lawrenceq

    lawrenceq Member

    One of my co-workers thinks I’m crazy for not attending some big-name school and picking a major. He completed his undergrad at UWA and decided to go back and complete a second bachelor at the University of Alabama to make him feel better about himself.
     
  13. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    I hear it occasionally. When I do, it is typically from people with considerably less education and life experience than me. As such, I take the "advice" with a grain of salt.
     
  14. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Gee, I've lost track of the number of times somebody has called me redundant for having to MBA degrees.
     
  15. AUTiger00

    AUTiger00 New Member

    That's right! Thanks for the correction.
     
  16. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    We apparently have no issue with pursuing education from innumerable institutions, but most of us haven't had the good fortune to attend so many top-notch universities!
     
  17. airtorn

    airtorn Moderator

    My thoughts on this thread are that having two MBAs is redundant and that somebody is a "brand whore".

    I won't mention any names. :shhh:
     
  18. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef


    Dude. Really? Maybe you could ask him if he worries that he might not be "educated enough" because "experience" doesn't amount to enough in the real world anymore. Seriously, buy him a beer and forget it.

    My grandma told me a story when I was very young- maybe 13ish but she told me again and again. She told me how my grandpa did his railroad apprenticeship with Terence (brother in law) and that together they applied to work at John Deere. They both were hired as factory workers, and my grandpa ALWAYS took OT and extra shifts whenever asked. When it came time for a promotion, my grandpa was offered a foreman job, and Terence ragged on and on about how he would never be "management." My grandpa worked for 37 years at John Deere- he retired from that company with a full pension and they lived a comfortable life. My grandpa's pension back in the late 80's when he retired was more than my husband makes TODAY. Terence is still alive (my grandpa has passed), but they have always lived in a trailer. (it's nice, but still). My grandparents did little for themselves, but everything for their children and us grandkids. EVERYTHING. He wanted a better life, he saw the path and took it. Terence and Caroline never went on many vacations, they didn't pay for our cousin's college, etc. simply because they couldn't. They were grumpy, bitter, and often complained about not having money *to us* lol. It was envy. That's what envy looks like.

    The point? Do what YOU need to do to get where YOU want to go. There will always be people who try to manipulate you into a position of being even or even one step behind them!! Your friend is worried that you'll jump a social class / economic class (or whatever) and leave him in the dust. That's fear.

    So, it's fear and envy rolled into one. Buy him a beer and be his friend anyway. As long as you don't expect HIM to go to college, you guys can stay friends.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 8, 2010
  19. MISin08

    MISin08 New Member

    My next door neighbor (who teaches community college) likes to talk cynically about how I'll forget it all by next week. Everyone else has been positive. My aunt, I suspect, thinks Excelsior isn't "good enough for the family" but that's another story.

    Phillip
     
  20. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    My direct manager is all for it, he just admits that college just isn't for him, which is unfortunate because he is extremely intelligent and when he was in college he could sleep through the hard classes and still get an "A". He is just a bit lazy.

    The other managers seem ok with it, they don't really ask many questions so the topic rarely comes up.

    Our Hospital Safety Manager constantly brags about how college is for suckers and how "I didn't go to college, and I make over 100K a year." Anytime someone mentions college, he makes that same smart remark. But he is the only one who speaks negatively about college in general. But often times he gets chewed out for sending off emails to hospital administrators with various misspellings and poor grammar. (He asks me to proofread some of his emails before he sends them)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 8, 2010

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