Quote:
Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan
Physical therapists these days need to go get PhDs. It's the standard. And it's getting ridiculous.
I've been working at an institution of higher education for nearly 17 years now. Mine is slightly different than most in that it's also a massive clinical enterprise as well. Our highest paid folk are definitely faculty members, but they're also physicians. What I've seen over the years is a massive decrease in state and federal funding at all levels. It's scary, especially, in the funding of basic sciences. Do we really, as a society, want the corporations funding all of our scientific inquiry? Research dollars, allocations for education from the state, general government funding is harder and harder to come by. Living in a "business friendly" state means that we struggle to come up with revenue to pay for K-12, let alone help out our institutions of higher education.
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Interior decorators need licenses in some states. When I was vetting HR directors for someone a few years back, the list of mindless credentials behind each name went on forever. I never asked what any of them meant and never gave a shit. And I don't think anyone else did either. Except the little robots in HR who winnowed out all the candidates without these stupid letters after their names.
I bet I could apply for endless positions electronically and just submit random strings of capital letters occasionally separated by commas and get invited to interviews.
It's a barrier to entry that keeps the poor kids, or the people who couldn't be bothered to acquire a credit from some academic gatekeeper with no real world knowledge, at a disadvantage to kids whose folks could pay for the tutors or test classes, and less talented people who are willing to spend time collecting credentials. I have one friend who's already retired with cuckoo cash. Person has neither an MBA nor a CFA. Deemed both of them wastes of time -- things to do while he focused on generating returns. He's the one lucky bastard of the crowd. Everyone else I know burns untold hours studying for these certifications and degrees at tremendous opportunity costs. But here's the thing... If you discuss markets with this person, he's far more knowledgeable than anyone I've met with an MBA or CFA.
I acquired an utterly useless post-grad degree many years ago for the sole reason of using it to generate a pay raise. It worked. I doubled my money. I learned almost nothing, but the investment paid off. One hiring manager told me I showed commitment by pursuing additional education. You never fully realize how completely different the inside of another person's head can be until your hear something like that. The immediate thought is
This person is amazingly credulous. Then you realize, perception is reality. And some people actually believe that what they see on the resume, and the ludicrous facade one presents, approaches the reality within the applicant's head.
The corporate world, as it automates more and more, is becoming frighteningly similar to a Matrix. Affluent little robots, taught to take tests, going through the ticky tack motions in the ticky tack world.
We need to prescribe LSD, mushrooms, and meditation to these kids. But, then again, if one never grasps that it's all a game, maybe he's better off. I'd never give up enlightenment, but ignorance delivers a lot more happiness.
Regarding the research institutions, I agree with you. I don't think it's good to have corporations take over that role. All we'd wind up with is newer forms of faster acting Botox and hard-on pills. I don't want corporations to take over academia at all. I just want academia to operate more like a corporation in terms of providing value, rather than acting as monopolists with an endless supply of fed backed loan income.
