e56e63f7   
   XPost: alt.america, misc.education, alt.politics.democrats.d   
   XPost: alt.politics.economics   
   From: see@sig.below   
      
   In article   
   ,   
    Abel  wrote:   
      
   [most snipped]   
      
      
   > Degrees are a good thing, of course   
      
   Not necessarily.  *Education* is usually a good thing for personal   
   development, but the economic benefit/cost value of a degree for   
   employment purposes is getting less and less, and at some point in the   
   not-too-distant future it just won't be worth it for a run-of-the-mill   
   degree.  The cost to the student of a 4 year degree has been going up   
   much more than the rate of inflation, and the economic value has stayed   
   more-or-less constant.   
      
   Colleges quote statistics that show on average the net present value of   
   a degree in terms of lifetime increased wages is currently greater than   
   the net present value of the costs of the degree in terms of tuition and   
   living costs.  But, these statistics usually do not count the   
   opportunity cost of those 4 years which could have been spent gainfully   
   employed and working one's way up the corporate ladder, or starting   
   one's own business.   
      
   The crash in the degree bubble is likely to hit postgraduate degrees   
   first.  These days it is much harder to get a tenure-track position in   
   academia, so the economic benefit/cost value of (say) a PhD in English   
   is already less than 1.   
      
   YMMV of course.   
      
      
   > did you know, that it was unemployed astronauts who first   
   > created the whole concept of video games?  They created video games   
   > only as a means to fight boredom and to keep themselves occupied.   
      
   Cite?  The oldest implemented video game that I'm aware of is Spacewar,   
   which was written at M.I.T. in the 60's.   
      
      
   > When Congress authorized an increase in the   
   > fee for an H-1B visa (which allows foreigners to be employed here in   
   > the IT field), it was a step in the right direction.  There are some   
   > American corporations that ONLY hire foreigners, and this practice   
   > should be stopped.   
      
   IMO, the main impact of H-1Bs on US IT workers has been to keep wages   
   down.  Google "H-1B abuse" if you want more details and horror stories.   
      
      
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