Did you go to college/university or anything?

[lakerhaterade]

Sounds like people who already have a career/made their money, and are now looking to get a degree for fun.

What I thought initially.

[CuckingFunt]

Sounds like people who already have a career/made their money, and are now looking to get a degree for fun.

Different reasons for different people, of course, but I know for at least a few of them it's because they got fed up trying to find a decent job in their field and are instead going to work toward being a librarian in that field.

[FkLA]

I have a very dear friend who just finished an advanced engineering program. He's off-the-charts smart and is an incredibly hard worker. I know for a fact his head would explode if he had to do 200-300+ pages worth of academic reading every week and produce 60+ pages of scholarly writing every semester, which is what I did for two years.

Are you really comparing the difficulty of a heavy load of reading and writing to the difficulty of engineering?

[CuckingFunt]

Are you really comparing the difficulty of a heavy load of reading and writing to the difficulty of engineering?

No, I'm not. I'm saying that just because it's not engineering doesn't mean that graduate level art history isn't rigorous. The two programs are so different that I think any attempt at comparison is silly. And pointless.

my comment that he wouldn't have been able to handle the requirements of my own Masters program was not an attempt to belittle or "blow away" his intelligence or the intelligence of engineering majors in general. Rather, it was an acknowledgement of the fact that the two programs are very different and that they require a different type of discipline.

Engineering is an example of a hard degree, but it is not the definition of a hard degree. It's easy to look back on what you did in the pursuit of your degree and dismiss everything else as easy or trivial, but that doesn't make it so.

[GoodOdor]

Are you really comparing the difficulty of a heavy load of reading and writing to the difficulty of engineering?

Are you really comparing UTSA engineering to actual engineering?

[DMC]

Different reasons for different people, of course, but I know for at least a few of them it's because they got fed up trying to find a decent job in their field and are instead going to work toward being a librarian in that field.

So you know some doctors, lawyers and engineers who couldn't find gainful employment so they spent money to get a degree that would have them searching for work as a librarian.

Got it.

[CuckingFunt]

It's pretty ing sad that the Art Historian is the least arrogant of all the pretentious blowhards in here.

[DMC]

What's your education, DMC?

Nothing. I just make up as I go.

[DMC]

It's pretty ing sad that the Art Historian is the least arrogant of all the pretentious blowhards in here.

Art Historian has no reason to ever be arrogant.

[GoodOdor]

[symple19]

Art Historian has no reason to ever be arrogant.

You obviously don't know any Not saying you're wrong, just that art world types are definitely one of the most pretentious, uppity groups you'll ever run into.

[lakerhaterade]

Art Historian has no reason to ever be arrogant.

As sick as a third degree burn.

[FkLA]

Art Historian has no reason to ever be arrogant.

spit out my drink tbh

[symple19]

Throw good parties, though (for older types, anyway)

[CuckingFunt]

Art Historian has no reason to ever be arrogant.

Arrogance is not something that is earned.

[Edward]

I have a very dear friend who just finished an advanced engineering program. He's off-the-charts smart and is an incredibly hard worker. I know for a fact his head would explode if he had to do 200-300+ pages worth of academic reading every week and produce 60+ pages of scholarly writing every semester, which is what I did for two years.

His head would only explode because he probably finds reading about how an Ancient Greek artist liked to goats and sculpt sculptures of men ing goats boring, pointless, and stupid. It's probably not because he isn't smart enough to and it's intellectually dishonest to pretend otherwise.

FYI, the reason so many engineering/science/business/etc. majors are so resentful towards liberals arts majors is because all of us had to waste time, tuition, and plenty of other things taking the bull liberal arts classes every major has to take as a gened, effectively subsidizing liberal arts colleges by paying tuition to take classes no one is interested in. It doesn't seem very hard to figure out why people resent those classes/areas of studies so much.

[ColinB]

Considering how over saturated the market is for most majors, this whole measuring contest is pretty hilarious.

[DMC]

Arrogance is not something that is earned.

I didn't mention earning.

[Edward]

Considering how over saturated the market is for most majors, this whole measuring contest is pretty hilarious.

That's really not true. The market is littered with unfilled jobs in certain areas, but it's also littered with unemployed people who have no credentials to perform those jobs. Someone who's a graduating senior and a major in mathematics from a decent school with a GPA of probably 3.2ish or better probably has more potential job leads than he/she knows what to do with, the jobs being in a whole host of areas and jobs that pay well right out of school for just a BA (50k-60k).

Unfortunately, the market is also littered with political science, psychology, sociology, etc. majors who all have resumes that don't demonstrate any ability to use analytical/technical skills. Just from what I've seen the last few months, anyone with a resume that shows good technical/analytical skills can find a job right now.

[DMC]

The saturation may be in entry level positions, but there's no saturation in those that require experience. Were it saturated there would be no demand. You cannot sell ice to Eskimos. You certainly wouldn't get 6 figure salaries on saturated occupations. Someone with a degree in economics should understand that. Your career field might be tight, but don't falsely equate that to all career fields.

[Joe the plumber]

Learning a trade seems to be having a comeback. Less debt and working sooner.

[CuckingFunt]

The saturation may be in entry level positions, but there's no saturation in those that require experience.

And how do you get experience when the entry level positions are all filled?

[Agloco]

Meh, it comes down to practicality. What puts food on the table and pays the bills? Sure there's a need for balance, but at the end of the day your job satisfaction won't pay the rent.

[Agloco]

Nothing. I just make up as I go.

[DMC]

And how do you get experience when the entry level positions are all filled?

You don't spend 10 years in college prior to getting field experience in that area. There may be less room in entry level (out of college with no experience) positions, but if you have related experience in areas that do not require the same degree, that often will suffice for field experience and certainly puts you ahead of the career students. Internship is another very common route.