Ohio mayor warns school board: Resign or face charges for 'child pornography'

[Sparko]

Do we know that she actually has any degrees? Maybe she just has a big vocabulary and a Master's Degree in Googling?

I remember going to COMDEX around 20 or so years ago. I was at a booth where some guys were showing off their search engine answer to Google and had two terminals set up, one with google and one with their own search engine. They challenged a guy also standing there to pick a search question and then I and the vendor would both search for it to see who came up with the answer first. I won using google by several seconds. So they did it again, I won again. Then again, and I won again. Poor guy. It was kinda funny.

[Cow Poke]

I remember going to COMDEX around 20 or so years ago. I was at a booth where some guys were showing off their search engine answer to Google and had two terminals set up, one with google and one with their own search engine. They challenged a guy also standing there to pick a search question and then I and the vendor would both search for it to see who came up with the answer first. I won using google by several seconds. So they did it again, I won again. Then again, and I won again. Poor guy. It was kinda funny.

I almost went to COMDEX like 4 times, always something got in the way.

[Teallaura]

Like this?





Great to see you!

This was what I responded to:

Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
Yeah, point is that a LOT of workers who went the trade school route - or just worked their way up through the ranks - are making a LOT more money than college graduates who still have thousands in debt.

We have several Walmart employees in town - good people - but they have degrees in Political Science or English major ---- what job, exactly, do these people think they're going to get with those kinds of degrees?

Good to see you, too!

[Terraceth]

Yeah, point is that a LOT of workers who went the trade school route - or just worked their way up through the ranks - are making a LOT more money than college graduates who still have thousands in debt.

We have several Walmart employees in town - good people - but they have degrees in Political Science or English major ---- what job, exactly, do these people think they're going to get with those kinds of degrees?

Well, when I went for the English major I thought it was--especially because I had the linguistics emphasis--going to be a lot of information on the language itself, and there are a lot of things you can do with that. In practice, though, it turned out to be mostly a bunch of classes about reading literature. I took the linguistics emphasis because I thought it would be more on the language, but it turned out to mostly be on the theoretical side of things. It's why midway through I did a double major in English and Communication Arts (the latter with the media production emphasis) so I'd get something that would be more immediately useful by learning about filmmaking.

I ended up not using either directly at my jobs (the filmmaking knowledge was useful for some amateur videos I made, however), though having a college degree did did put me at a higher starting pay grade at my current job than I would've had otherwise, and I got a very positive letter of recommendation from my supervisor at a student job I had. So it did still end up benefiting me, though the benefits I ended up getting (in terms of jobs) could have probably been granted by any degree.

[Cow Poke]

Well, when I went for the English major I thought it was--especially because I had the linguistics emphasis--going to be a lot of information on the language itself, and there are a lot of things you can do with that. In practice, though, it turned out to be mostly a bunch of classes about reading literature. I took the linguistics emphasis because I thought it would be more on the language, but it turned out to mostly be on the theoretical side of things. It's why midway through I did a double major in English and Communication Arts (the latter with the media production emphasis) so I'd get something that would be more immediately useful by learning about filmmaking.

I ended up not using either directly at my jobs (the filmmaking knowledge was useful for some amateur videos I made, however), though having a college degree did did put me at a higher starting pay grade at my current job than I would've had otherwise, and I got a very positive letter of recommendation from my supervisor at a student job I had. So it did still end up benefiting me, though the benefits I ended up getting (in terms of jobs) could have probably been granted by any degree.

Yeah, there are some places where you can get a foot in the door by having a degree, but that sword cuts both ways. Sometimes, an employer assumes a person is a "fit" because they actually have a degree, when all it means is that the applicant sat in the right classrooms for the right periods of time.

College sure isn't what it used to be. I do think that a degree at least suggests some commitment and stick-to-it-ivenes.

[rogue06]

College sure isn't what it used to be. I do think that a degree at least suggests some commitment and stick-to-it-ivenes.

I've noted that before since businesses have been hamstrung from asking previous employers questions about potential new hires many turned to other means of determining if a job seeker would make a good hire. Hence college degrees have become more important since as you said it "at least suggests some commitment and stick-to-it-ivenes."

[Sparko]

I've noted that before since businesses have been hamstrung from asking previous employers questions about potential new hires many turned to other means of determining if a job seeker would make a good hire. Hence college degrees have become more important since as you said it "at least suggests some commitment and stick-to-it-ivenes."

Except the qualifications to get a 4 year degree have gone down greatly. Students spend 4 years protesting and partying and as long as they pay their tuition, they usually can get a liberal arts degree in Women's Studies, or something similar.

[Cow Poke]

I've noted that before since businesses have been hamstrung from asking previous employers questions about potential new hires many turned to other means of determining if a job seeker would make a good hire. Hence college degrees have become more important since as you said it "at least suggests some commitment and stick-to-it-ivenes."

I used to get so frustrated, as a hiring manager at the gas compression company, with the quality (or lack thereof) of the high school graduates who would apply for a job as an entry-level mechanic.

Many of them would already have checked out a competitor, and come looking to see if they can get a better deal.

Me: We pay $17/hour for starting mechanic while we're training you for 90 days, then than can go up to $25/hr if we keep you.
Them: But I can make $19/hr starting out with PassGasCompany.
Me: Do they pay 100% of your BlueCross BlueShield for your entire family, and match 100% your contributions to a 401k up to 6% of your salary? That's FREE MONEY!
Them: Well, no, but it's only like $190/mo for insurance for me.
Me: So, they pay $1 or $2 more an hour to start off, but you pay a big chunk of your own health insurance for you, and even more if you add family?
Them: Well, yeah, but they pay more per hour.

I used to get so frustrated that they didn't get the "benefits" angle, but then I woke up and thought --- hey, do I really want somebody THAT STUPID working for my company?

That became part of the "entrance exam".

[CivilDiscourse]

I used to get so frustrated, as a hiring manager at the gas compression company, with the quality (or lack thereof) of the high school graduates who would apply for a job as an entry-level mechanic.

Many of them would already have checked out a competitor, and come looking to see if they can get a better deal.

Me: We pay $17/hour for starting mechanic while we're training you for 90 days, then than can go up to $25/hr if we keep you.
Them: But I can make $19/hr starting out with PassGasCompany.
Me: Do they pay 100% of your BlueCross BlueShield for your entire family, and match 100% your contributions to a 401k up to 6% of your salary? That's FREE MONEY!
Them: Well, no, but it's only like $190/mo for insurance for me.
Me: So, they pay $1 or $2 more an hour to start off, but you pay a big chunk of your own health insurance for you, and even more if you add family?
Them: Well, yeah, but they pay more per hour.

I used to get so frustrated that they didn't get the "benefits" angle, but then I woke up and thought --- hey, do I really want somebody THAT STUPID working for my company?

That became part of the "entrance exam".

You know, in the navy they had that same conversation, and it didn't stick either.

The problem is that out of high school, insurance isn't seen as a big deal, 401k isn't seen as a big deal. Most kids fresh out of high school are very focused on the "now" and still have a good deal of that "I'm invincible" attitude built into them. Those pitches don't work well. 401k's are for the far future, and that's of little importance "right now". Insurance is a hard sell when you are in the "I'm invincible" mode.

Honestly, the best pitch would have been the $17 for 90 days + $25 after, vs $19 Now and forever, and just do a 1-2 year calculation.

[Cow Poke]

You know, in the navy they had that same conversation, and it didn't stick either.

The problem is that out of high school, insurance isn't seen as a big deal, 401k isn't seen as a big deal. Most kids fresh out of high school are very focused on the "now" and still have a good deal of that "I'm invincible" attitude built into them. Those pitches don't work well. 401k's are for the far future, and that's of little importance "right now". Insurance is a hard sell when you are in the "I'm invincible" mode.

And I think that's a major failure of our public school system --- what better way to use math than to do these "what if" comparisons?

Honestly, the best pitch would have been the $17 for 90 days + $25 after, vs $19 Now and forever, and just do a 1-2 year calculation.

Yes, sir, I used to go patiently through the comparison, writing it all out for them on a tablet - including how much FREE MONEY they would be racking up in "matching".

But if they don't get that, to me, it's a sign of a lack of critical thinking. Part of their job will be to assess the value of spending $30,000 on a valve to save a $1.2 million dollar compressor, along with the guaranteed 98% runtime that we'd lose as a penalty.

We literally authorize(d) our technicians to spend up to $50,000 on a repair without consulting us because our service agreements with suppliers could EASILY lose 10 times that on downtime.

When you say Navy - I think "we trust a 19 year old kid to steer a Ten Billion dollar Air Craft Carrier". (my brother served aboard the USS Ranger CVA 61)

[Juvenal]

Except the qualifications to get a 4 year degree have gone down greatly. Students spend 4 years protesting and partying and as long as they pay their tuition, they usually can get a liberal arts degree in Women's Studies, or something similar.

This is far from my lived experience as a college professor. I'm sure there's anecdotal evidence to support the case that it can happen, but I don't think it's productive to use such anecdotes to smear the hard work and sacrifices of the 20 million college students in America, including those I work with every day. I think this would be a good time to rein in these rhetorical excesses, if for no other reason than basic fairness.

[Sparko]

This is far from my lived experience as a college professor. I'm sure there's anecdotal evidence to support the case that it can happen, but I don't think it's productive to use such anecdotes to smear the hard work and sacrifices of the 20 million college students in America, including those I work with every day. I think this would be a good time to rein in these rhetorical excesses, if for no other reason than basic fairness.

And yet we have so many college graduates with useless degrees that can't find jobs.

[Cow Poke]

This is far from my lived experience as a college professor.

I have no doubt you are both qualified and effective
This is still anecdotal evidence

I'm sure there's anecdotal evidence to support the case that it can happen, but I don't think it's productive to use such anecdotes to smear the hard work and sacrifices of the 20 million college students in America, including those I work with every day. I think this would be a good time to rein in these rhetorical excesses, if for no other reason than basic fairness.

It's also possible that your institution is a notable exception. But I do agree that there are LOTS of college students - like those where my wife works at Texas A&M - who go to school for the purpose of earning a degree toward a specific goal in life.

I think we're talking about kids who get pushed into college where there's really not a "life goal" that encompasses a degree plan toward that goal.

[rogue06]

When you say Navy - I think "we trust a 19 year old kid to steer a Ten Billion dollar Air Craft Carrier". (my brother served aboard the USS Ranger CVA 61)

That reminds me of how a friend of mine would get mad when someone would say that an 18 year old is irresponsible etc. He would note that the age of 18 he was already a sergeant making life or death situations in a war zone.

[Cow Poke]

That reminds me of how a friend of mine would get mad when someone would say that an 18 year old is irresponsible etc. He would note that the age of 18 he was already a sergeant making life or death situations in a war zone.

EGGzackly - my Dad was shooting down German buzz bombs on the coast of England when he was 18.