As a (post)graduate student distracted from working on my masters thesis I have always wondered what the point of doing a masters or doctoral degree is. It seems to me that the MBA and JD are relatively straightforward and self-explanatory. Having done business administration as a major modeled to be like the first year of a proper American MBA, I can see how it gives a student the practical skills to run a business or develop in a commercial and entrepreneurial world. As for a law degree, they're for several types of people who include those that have no idea what they want do after their undergraduate studies, those who seriously committed to becoming lawyers or law professors, plus a good number of young, aspiring politicians. As a side note, I'm not convinced that having a law as an undergraduate subject without a liberal arts environment (like in England) makes for an interesting legal profession, though it certainly does produce great lawyers nonetheless.
But what about the masters and doctoral programs that make up the chunk of (post)graduate studies at major universities? Obviously some people have given thought to these things, the people who organize departments and those who created the Bologna Process. I've always thought that it should be a straightforward structure. After undergraduate studies you do a masters that makes you further specialized. Then if you want to become an academic or do research, you do a PhD. Yet at Cambridge I've met people who have doing multiple masters and are now doing yet another. Some have done a masters and a PhD and are back for a second masters in a completely different area. I suppose that's what makes individuals interesting and unique, reflecting their own life circumstances and distinct career paths (or lack of). Still, I'm a bit dismayed to hear about degree inflation. Whereas in the path a bachelors was quite a distinctive achievement, my German classmates tell me they're compelled to do a masters as a minimum and recognition only really comes with a PhD. I wonder if it has anything to with the German obsession for formal titles. Somehow I feel that although education benefits the economy by producing a skilled labor force, at some point society goes beyond the minimum point of marginal benefits when young people only leave school way past their productive youth. Maybe that's a PhD dissertation for someone studying education to spend several years of their life writing up.
Medical school is a world I know nothing about, but that seems quite straightforward as well: after several years you become a physician, surgeon, researcher, etc.
I would not treat education as a tool to create skilled labor force. Apart from the MBAs, MDs or JDs most degrees or curriculum in schools are meant to be "educating" people instead of training people for a working field.
ReplyDeleteI believe education has a more noble meaning in a sense that it brings peace, fairness and hope to everyone in the world. The findings from the academia might not have immediate impact on our daily lives but maybe one hundred years later all the tiny scattered bits would unite and revolutionize the whole society.
The breakthrough in knowledge is a long term investment for the future generations. If we had the opportunity to be "educated" we would be responsible to serve the poor and reinvent a better world.
Unfortunately, most people in reality would not recognize it and the competitive environment has eventually driven the inflation of academic degrees. To be honest, being a master or PhD does not necessarily make you more skillful but you are just more specialized. You would be so specialized that it might not even be practical at all.
Currently US major schools have already been raising concerns about the overloaded number of PhDs. Many students did not think clearly enough during their undergrads and they stepped into the PhD field without really knowing what they are heading for. Rather than a commitment to produce research papers and study for their whole life, students nowadays seldom realize that a PhD also bears the critical responsibility to twist and improve the world in an unobservable way.
Anyways, I believe the fate is on our hands and we can always do any jobs no matter what our major is. I never restrict myself as an engineer or a businessman even though I was trained that way.
If you were to become a businessman why would you even bother to stay in college for 4 years but not working in the hectic market for 4 years? If you were to become a skillful worker you could always pick up a book and read or learn and observe from the senior peers. I am not arguing that education is irrelevant to our career path, but there are just way more opportunities in the outside world.
After all, work occupies more than 50% of the time in our life. If we are happy with our work we are already trying to "make the best" of our life. Instead of trying to be productive, I would rather spend my youth with passion and love.
Bryan Yu
This is an interesting post Kenny, and in many ways is an issue I am struggling with personally. I think that the point the commenter above makes is a good one.
ReplyDeleteIf I may make a comment, I think its okay to want to reinvent yourself. Maybe you get a PhD in Philosophy but wind up in banking. Personally, I tend to overthink my "grand plan" and where I want to be in 20 or 30 years. That kind of thinking has never been productive for me, and I almost have always wound up in a different place anyway.
I think the best way to solve this problem is to separate your education from training. I see education as a deeply personal, possibly spiritual, and passionate experience. Pursue the things you love because learning can be wonderful. Hopefully that never stops.
When you pick a career path, you will be trained on the job, probably many times. You may have multiple career paths.
I think the liberal arts education as a system been around long enough now where employers welcome these kinds of multidisciplined people. At least the kinds that would interest you and me--excluding blue collar jobs, or maybe something like engineering or medical school.
Good Luck!
Justin