Well, I don't mind saying that after the week I've had at work, I catch myself wondering if I'd have been better off as a plumber. Less stress, perhaps and almost certainly more money. Oh well, there's no turning back the clock. Jack
There will always be a need for vocational occupations. People should be given a chance to explore opportunities and careers. Earning a BA doesn't guarantee success in life. Some just want to have an education. Others will eventually find out that academics and university isn't for them and eventually they'll look for alternatives such as the construction trades, warehousing, culinary services, etc. IIRC, there's a postal worker in Mesa, Arizona who holds a PhD in Anthropology. He was content with his job as a mail man and did not want to teach or pursue a career in academics (I read about him last year on MSN).
Maybe not, Jack. I'm pretty good with a saw, wrench and a hammer and now that I'm eligible to retire from psychology I'm thinking about a small contracting business. I will admit, though, humping bundles of shingles up a ladder is gettin' pretty tough nowadays. You know the old line about what you need to know to be a plumber: Poop don't run uphill and payday's Tuesday. David
British universities When I did my degree at Leicester back in the late 80s and early 90s the statistic doing the rounds at the time was that only 8% of people in the UK did post secondary education of any sort. Thus if the government is intending to increase that to 50% of the population doing degrees, it follows that there will be lots of teaching jobs for the likes of us in Britain. About 6 times as many as there are now. Roy Maybery
Hi David - While I was "workin' my way through college," I was employed as a welder. It's an interesting chapter of my life and I learned some valuable lessons during those years. Another thing I learned is that there is something of an ongoing feud between plumbers and welders where each group demeans the other based on , well, based on really nothing at all. The phrase I learned is, "The only two things you need to know in order to be a plumber are, 'Shit flows downhill,' and 'Payday is Friday.' I've also imagined going back to work "in the trades," although I think of custom wrought iron work as my preference. Good luck to both of us. Jack
