No doubt. There are exceptions to everything. But that sounds like hard work. And we know how most people feel about that. Exceptions are rare...and exceptions get paid. I have no degree though and have worked in finance/trading since 1996. Its something i`m proud of and regretfull of at the same time. So i`m biased on this subject.
If you can predict what the next bubble will be in 4 years when you graduate, sure, do it. But if you can do that, then just leverage yourself up and buy the asset straight up and forget the degree. Petroleum engineering? I doubt anyone was talking about oil 4-5 years ago. It's the same in Canada, mining engineers are hot, but man, you really had to pick that one 4 years ago to get aboard that train.
The number of college students and colleges increased during the Vietnam war because everyone wanted a draft deferment. The costs increased the past 20 years because there were cheap loans available. There is now going to be a big shakeout and a lot of colleges will not survive.
Hot in terms of job opportunities. 55k isn't bad either for an entry position, true it's not super hot.
my eventual goal is a degree in petroleum engineering first, followed by a minor in computer science, and then an MBA down the road a couple of years. i'm thinking that'll be a pretty mean combo too. i've always dreamed of doing aerospace engineering as well..
How about an Associate's in Computer Science, a Bachelor's in Software Engineering, a Master's in Finance and a Master's in Accounting. I actually have the first 3 and am about 1 year away from finishing the MS in Accounting. I'm going to try and get the CPA started over the next year too and have that hopefully done within 2 years or so. Then I think I'll pretty much be set for life and never have to worry about finding a job no matter how bad the economy ever gets. I do currently work full time in a software engineering field for a finance company as well.
There will always be those who go to college for all the wrong reasons. Even so their diploma will get them further than if they did not have it. I agree that you can get more out of it on a personal level if you strive to do just that.
There is huge confusion here between job training and education. There can be considerable overlap, of course, but they are not the same thing at all. It is possible to get job training without becoming educated. In fact that is common. You likely will not be able to get much of an education from any of the commercial degree mills. Their main objective is to make money by tapping into government programs. And none of this has much to do with success in trading.
If you go to a school and enroll in a program that 1) emphasizes liberal arts crap 2) you are not genuinely interested in You won't get anything out of it. Just a sheepskin. You can go to a research-based university that is all about their own luster, that hires nothing but PhDs (mostly foreign) to be professors, and have nothing but academic qualifications - their value isn't to teach and educate, it's to publish papers with the university's name on them. When the student graduates, he has no practical knowledge of his industry, just about irrelevant crap that's done with computers anyway. You could also choose to go to a more practical kind of university, where the professors (or lecturers) are professionally qualified. They've been doing this their whole life, and they connect with the students in a much more meaningful way, and students genuinely take something away from it. They are truly ready to rock and roll in their industry once they graduate. Those are the degrees that are truly worth something.
Fucks sake, I am sick to death of seeing the arguments on this forum about education >_> and hell I agree with the people who say it's a scam and you get nothing out of it. For the record I took a community college Diploma in Games Design. You know what pisses me off though? The retards who must constantly and rabidly defend such a flawed and outright crappy system! You get what you put into it? What a shitty excuse! The only reason I know ANYTHING about games design or how games are made is because I went and researched it MYSELF not because I took some shitty course that was based on the 'theory' of games design which taught NOTHING because it looked like something a high school teacher hurriedly put together before a meeting in order to make it look like they knew what they were talking about. In fact the only reason I can do any bloody art at all is because I was doing 3D work in class when I should have been doing the crappy written work that taught bugger all. I also got into regular arguments with teachers over why the fuck they were hardly teaching anything and the best excuse they gave was "Independent Learning" any time the poor sods who were actually interested in teaching what they knew they were instantly stepped on by management who were insistant on enforcing stupid rules that restricted the use of our computers as much as possible. I am sick to fucking death of hearing arrogant education system obsessed twats taking credit for the work the students did by THEMSELVES with barely any fucking help from the teachers or colleges whatsoever. Sorry for the rant, but it's really been getting to me this kind of bs lately.