College

ReturnToMonkeyIt's possible but the main issue is you don't know what you need to learn. Like for math you could spend 5 months hours a day reading about and practicing math but the content that you're learning might be pieces of a few different classes and some of it you don't find everything out about or even might miss entire concepts. Also colleges have a ton of resources available to use outside of the classroom

b00mSkiswell yea i know what you are saying, but course descriptions are available online, and textbooks are available. some textbooks are available for free, or else you can buy a textbook, and if you read for example a whole calculus volume 1 and volume 2, then you know you are covering all that is taught in a few semesters of calculus. normally a class will follow what a textbook covers pretty closely. and with the internet there is so much resource available online, you could even go on a math science forum and say "these are all the topics i am studying, these are the books i am reading, will this cover everything i would learn in a 3rd semester calculus class?" and then someone who knows more can say "yeah almost except there is this one thing you also need to study". it just means you have to take initiative yourself. it is 100% doable.
if you miss concepts then you probably just aren't reading the book thoroughly enough, or you can ask online on a math forum.
but for resources outside the classroom, for math i disagree with you, but for science i agree with you that it can be helpful to have access to a lab, it just depends what you are studying and what resources you have available.

BrandoComandoI think you're entirely correct. However, there's something to be said for instruction from an expert. It's much easier to progress and learn with the help of an instructor. And universities put a price on that.

The goal of a university isn't to prepare students for the working world. It's to further knowledge. New academic discoveries bring grants, patents, and tons of money to an institution to continue funding that research. And a university will be happy to pay professors and sponsor PhDs to further that research. Undergrads are a different story. They're using university resources and aren't contributing back at the same level, so they have to pay for those services.

Community colleges are a little different. They typically aren't in the pursuit of academic greatness and focus on preparing students for specialized careers. Their class offerings and lower tuition costs reflect that.

Finally, the biggest argument for getting a degree vs. being self-taught is accreditation. Say Student A goes to school and graduates with a degree in Math. That degree has been accredited by third-parties. It means something. It's proof that Student A has understanding of Math. Student B, who taught themselves the same material on their own time, might have done the same amount of work and have the same knowledge as Student A, but there's no proof. No accreditation. And jobs want that proof.

ski_salmon69Currently driving a road designed by a self taught engineer on the way to my operation being performed by a self taught surgeon. At least if anything goes wrong, my self taught lawyer has got me covered.

b00mSkisEverything except your last few sentences is mostly true, but it depends on the person. some people learn better from teachers, some people learn better by studying on their own, it really depends on the person.
but the accredation argument is the dumb part of your post, unless you are just acknowledging that other people are dumb then yea i agree, but someone can easily prove their knowledge with a conversation or whatever. if someone doing the hiring is an expert, they can easily in a few minute conversation get an idea of if someone knows their stuff, and someone self taught might be 200x smarter than someone that learned in college.
so yeah you are kinda right but it just depends on the person, and any smart job owner would want not just a resume but instead to have a chat with the job candidate and see if they know about the subject

b00mSkisum bro people learn how to build roads from their employer, not from school. JOBS teach people how to do jobs, school doesnt.

b00mSkisum bro people learn how to build roads from their employer, not from school. JOBS teach people how to do jobs, school doesnt.

Casey100 percent you are buying a piece of paper. But would you rather hire someone who sacrificed all that energy time and money to play the game, or some dipshit that claims to have watched a bunch of YouTube videos.

the thing is, there’s no shortage of people that are really smart, try really hard and don’t bitch about it.

b00mSkisi never said anything bout youtube. and to answer your question, NOT about youtube but someone who studied on their own through any means like reading books, i would rather hire someone who is smart enough and motivated enough to teach himself a topic, than someone dumb enough to spend 10000000 dollars on a piece of paper. like you said yourself "to play the game', i rather hire someone who spends time LEARNING and BETTERING HIMSELF than someone that plays GAMES all the time, and college is just that: A GAME.

BrandoComandoDesigning roads requires a highly specialized PE license in Civil Engineering. 4 years of schooling for a BSCE and another 6 years as an apprentice to earn the PE license. Roads are a lot more complex than you think.

The contractors pouring blacktop and painting lines don't need degrees. They just follow the plans made by the engineer.

BrandoComandoIt's true that in a conversation you can 100% weed out who knows their stuff and who doesn't. However, in order to get that interview, you gotta submit your resume. If there's no relevant education or work experience, that resume goes straight into the trash. Doesn't matter if the applicant is a savant or not. You need proof and that's where a degree comes in.

Why would a hiring manager waste an interview on someone with zero relevant education when there are multiple other applicants with degrees? That's not how the corporate world works.

b00mSkisyea that 6 year apprentice is actually WORTHWHILE, i said nothing about apprentice being a waste of time and money, i said COLLEGE is a waste of time and money. i do NOT mean apprentice when i say college. like compare high school to being a jedi apprentice, in highschool you learn how to pass a test by memorizing something, in a jedi apprentice you learn how to actually be a great warrior. its the same. with roads, in school you learn NOTHING for those 4 years for "BSCE" but in the 6 years of apprentice you actually DO learn stuff.

b00mSkisseriously any good employer will talk to you, just call them, and in the first 20 seconds of the call, if you haven't impressed them with your knowledge and skill, you are probably too dumb for the job anywaty!

BrandoComandoYou're way off.

The first requirement for an Engineering Apprenticeship is passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, or FE. What's on an FE? Literally everything they teach you in undergrad. It's a 6-hour-long exam with 110 questions divided into sections. Coincidentally, every section lines up perfectly with a required class in undergrad. Most states won't even let you take the FE unless you have a BS in your field from an EAC/ABET-accredited program. Having taken the FE myself, I can frankly tell you that the resources needed to pass that test don't exist outside of formal education. It's not just engineering either. NCLEX is a similar exam for nurses.

TLDR Without college, you can't design roads. Doesn't matter how many videos you watch online.


There are many careers that don't need degrees. There are many highly-skilled trades that don't need degrees. But it's pretty ignorant to argue that nothing requires a college education. A mechanic can fix your car's engine. But a mechanic isn't educated in heat transfer and material properties to design a motor from scratch. That's what classes are for

b00mSkis-I said in the op there are exceptions, so "nothing requires a college education" is not what I said

-a mechanic isn't educated in heat transfer etc

ok but you can learn that online, you could literally learn how to design a motor or heat engine from scratch on the internet

-how many videos you watch online

I SAID NOTHING ABOUT VIDEOS, yes videos can help, but books usually better

don't exist outside of formal education

I doubt that!

Young_pattyOkie dokie OP. I’m not gonna knock you cause you sound like you just started highschool but a college degree is often just an investment into your future/career.

sure you could “learn it all online” but try applying to a job that requires a specific degree and tell them “I didn’t need college because I watched lots of YouTube videos and read about it online”. They’ll probably laugh you out of the building.


College may not be for you but you’ve got a lot of time to figure out where you want to go with your education- could be a trade school or could be a full degree at a university. Don’t write off education so quick though, no one will take you seriously if you’ve only ever watched YouTube and read online articles but have 0 credentials or experience.


kind of like how no one in this thread takes you seriously now.

Young_pattyOkie dokie OP. I’m not gonna knock you cause you sound like you just started highschool but a college degree is often just an investment into your future/career.

sure you could “learn it all online” but try applying to a job that requires a specific degree and tell them “I didn’t need college because I watched lots of YouTube videos and read about it online”. They’ll probably laugh you out of the building.


College may not be for you but you’ve got a lot of time to figure out where you want to go with your education- could be a trade school or could be a full degree at a university. Don’t write off education so quick though, no one will take you seriously if you’ve only ever watched YouTube and read online articles but have 0 credentials or experience.


kind of like how no one in this thread takes you seriously now.

b00mSkisum i never wrote off education. you are just PROVING you are under 70 IQ if you think "education" and "college" mean the same thing. don't be dumb!

Young_pattyCalm down whippersnapper- before I call your mom up and tell her to take away your internet privileges.

b00mSkislike why would you pay 10,000 dollars for a math class, when you can learn math for free on the internet?