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What's worth studying? (intellectual content / bullsh*t ratios)
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| quote: | | Another way to figure out which fields are worth studying is to create the dropout graph. For example, I know many people who switched from math to computer science because they found math too hard, and no one who did the opposite. People don't do hard things gratuitously; no one will work on a harder problem unless it is proportionately (or at least log(n)) more rewarding. So probably math is more worth studying than computer science. By similar comparisons you can make a graph of all the departments in a university. At the bottom you'll find the subjects with least intellectual content. |
http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html
I'm not really looking for advice, as I've already spent many thousands of dollars on getting a BA in a subject that would be close to the bottom of such a graph -- philosophy. Too late to do much about that now, although I still kick myself about it anyway sometimes. I'm finally starting to agree with Graham's assessment of the intellectual content / bull ratio in various fields of study. I should have been a math and CS major.
Oh well, I'm going to study that stuff as much as I can whenever I'm away from whatever menial job my philosophy degree gets me. Anyone else make educational mistakes or have further thoughts? |
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| Fibonacci |
Choose a career by dropout ratio? That's just stupid.
Even being a Philosophy major, having a degree itself entitles you to a certain level of knowledge/awareness that all companies consider a base level to start on. You learn alot of things in college people take for granted. You learn how to think, and how to learn.
Choosing a specific career field locks you into that career. If you really want to go down a more specific career venue, look into jobs that are hiring. Financial executives and lawyers are a dime a dozen these days. Ultimately it just has to pay the bills so find something you can live with.
Don't expect it to fulfill some inner personal happiness, not all kids grow up to actually become astronauts.
Good luck. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| I'm not looking for career advice, either, but thanks I guess. |
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| Joss Weatherby |
I dropped out of high school and I plan to go to college (if and when I do) for something I will never use as a career. I want what I learn to be something I enjoy and if I end up doing that as a career I will probably grow to hate what I learned and it will be a waste of time in my opinion.
:) |
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| Fibonacci |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
I'm not looking for career advice, either, but thanks I guess. |
Aren't you? Whatever. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| quote: | Originally posted by Joss Weatherby
I dropped out of high school and I plan to go to college (if and when I do) for something I will never use as a career. I want what I learn to be something I enjoy and if I end up doing that as a career I will probably grow to hate what I learned and it will be a waste of time in my opinion. |
I wish I hadn't even mentioned work, as that is not what this is about at all.
It's about what you posted, long term enjoyment of learning. How much mental satisfaction do I really get from knowing what a bunch of dead philosophers wrote? Not a lot. I don't feel like I gained much of anything from it. Maybe I can argue people into a corner, but I was good at debate even before I went into college. I was never trying to get a "career" based on my major, and I still haven't changed my mind about that at all. It's about what fields I feel are most worth pursuing, intellectually. And that has been changing recently. |
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| Zild |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
http://www.paulgraham.com/college.html
I'm not really looking for advice, as I've already spent many thousands of dollars on getting a BA in a subject that would be close to the bottom of such a graph -- philosophy. Too late to do much about that now, although I still kick myself about it anyway sometimes. I'm finally starting to agree with Graham's assessment of the intellectual content / bull ratio in various fields of study. I should have been a math and CS major.
Oh well, I'm going to study that stuff as much as I can whenever I'm away from whatever menial job my philosophy degree gets me. Anyone else make educational mistakes or have further thoughts? |
I really like Paul Graham. |
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| Lira |
You know,
I used to think that my major in Japanese language was a dreadful mistake as an undergraduate: there is no bachelor's degree in linguistics where I live, and Japanese language offered me the chance to study some of the linguistics stuff I wanted to study AND the possibility of living abroad (i.e. away from my family, who insisted I should pursue a career in foreign affairs). The latter was of paramount importance.
It was far from easy - I was a "star student" in the course, so to speak, getting straight A's from the first semester on. And, quite unexpectedly, I ended up embroiling myself in some pointless disputes among the (more insecure) professors, to the point one of them said she wouldn't give me A's because "I wasn't an interested student" despite my grades. I was emotionally drained: I started studying linguistics and philosophy even more desperately, trying to find a way to get out of that mess. Most of my classmates dropped out (about three quarters of those that entered the course with me).
I eventually got what I wanted: I was hired by the Japanese language department soon after I graduated, as a temporary lecturer, and was the first undergraduate in the history of the department to graduate with two published articles, as far as I know. Though I couldn't get in grad school right away (to my advisor's surprise), I excelled in the exams the next year, and I'm now being paid to study. So far, I've been getting straight A's once again.
All in all, I wish I had picked another major: it wasn't worth the stress I went through and the prejudice I still have to cope with.
But, it's over, I'm now where I want :) |
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| TranceOwnsLol |
computer science is only worth studying if you can invent software that sells millions for a company or for yourself. Otherwise, you'll be just one of those IT guys who work on a contractual basis for banks or something.
I read in Time about this one girl who majored computer science in Princeton and worked for Blizzard at the same time as one of their lead developers of WoW. She now works at Goldman Sachs.
I'm planning to major in Political Science or Economics in 2 years (probably in Columbia). And then take up law in grad school and hopefully get a job as a corporate lawyer in Morgan Stanley or Goldman Sachs. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| quote: | Originally posted by TranceOwnsLol
computer science is only worth studying if you can invent software that sells millions for a company or for yourself. Otherwise, you'll be just one of those IT guys who work on a contractual basis for banks or something. |
Guhhhhhh, I am not talking about being a code monkey or trying to be the next Bill Gates. Programming is good, but the theoretical side of computer science is elegant and amazing. CS is about so much more than just learning to tell machines what to do. |
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| MeLLyMeL |
wow @ some of you.
Lira what do you think you would have majored in if you had chose something different?? interesting story.
i guess there are upsides to having a broader degree than something specific. i know some people who were lawyers and went to school all those years but in the end - they didn't like it.
so studying something specific has its down side too. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
| quote: | Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles
CS is about so much more than just learning to tell machines what to do. |
This is like when people think that math is simply "plugging numbers into formulas." LOL! So unfortunate that they can't see the beauty of it unless it's printed out as a colorful fractal graph. |
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