Comments
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@Slayer9200, I would argue the soft sciences: Psychology, Economics, Political Science, Sociology; as well as the branches and disciplines within Philosophy: Ethic, Metaphysics, Logic, Epistemology, Theology, Phenomenology, etc; are also valuable areas of study that are not usually considered as part of STEM fields. Plus, how could we forget business, accounting and finance? People make mad money off those degrees and they arent hard or soft science or maths properly.
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@PB2, the soft sciences I see value in, as they usually have an application that one can make a career out of. I personally don't see a need for anything higher than a bachelor's for philosophy related degrees as I am not aware of any applications other than teaching your replacement. And I did forget about business degrees, there is a lot to learn there so for that I was incorrect. So STEM, soft science, law, medical, and business. My main gripe is with Art degrees. Basically useless.
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@Slayer9200, I think that's fair for the Arts degree, but I certainly have seen value in it. I'm getting my Bachelor's in music performance at the moment. College offers lots of resources to have several opportunities for growth (sometimes forced classes) like chamber groups, large ensemble experience, solo recitals, etc. as well as instructors with different viewpoints and experience to pass on and peers to grow with. The bachelor's performance degree itself holds little monetary value I agree with. So does a master's. Doctoral degrees do, but that's similar to any other field. I feel like I've gotten rich experience in college I absolutely would not have gotten anywhere else unless I was a prodigy, then I could just go win a job probably
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@Factory BOY, what the hell does Taylor swift getting an honorary PHD have to do with social work? I never mentioned social work so I have no idea where your reply is coming from or how it is relevant to my original post. There are people who I think deserve honorary degrees. I don't think Taylor swift is one of them. How that relates to social work or earns me a title as "fvcking dumb" is something you didn't clarify. I also don't understand what being South African has to do with anything. South African, American, Belgian, Filipino, none of that matters to the comment I originally made.
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@CaptainCrunchyCvnt, as a South African who has met many social workers, as well as many individuals who are being aided by social workers, like my friend who's parents died and who has no idea how to manage finances like his little brother's school fees at the age of 20, I heartily disagree, you just being fvcking dumb and are blinded by a teenage description of the science of social work.
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@Factory BOY, I do not think art is useless. I think studying it at an academic level to the extent that it can be an academic major is pointless because going into that much debt for a degree with so few applications on its own doesn't make sense. I can see it being useful as a Minor to supplement a degree with better prospects, but as a main area of study, I don't see the value of it on its own. It doesn't take a degree higher than an associate's to gain some insight into why art has the effect that it does and, unless you plan to teach it, it doesn't make sense for someone to go into that much debt for a degree in it.
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@Factory BOY, what are you even going on about? When did I say anything about or disparage that profession? Thinking that it would pay as well as a medical doctor just because of the level of degree is what was dumb, not the field itself. At least she had the degree and title, whereas you can only be referred to as Mr. Dumbass.
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@CaptainCrunchyCvnt, that second time was me joking on my first comment I do bring it up a lot on this app, though, because I feel my viewpoint is very different from the standard American view, which tends to forget about considering other nations outside of the West or even outside of North America, because as a world power, its not much concern for you what other nations experience or think, because it will effect you less than other nations. On top of that, Americans tend to see predominantly their own media, meaning you are exposed predominantly to the local viewpoints, and international views are even formed from your viewpoint, while South African media differs greatly from American media, you will not find SA media that easily, and I will find your media whether I want to or not.
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@Factory BOY, an example of the difference: How do you feel about Fidel Castro? My history includes photos of him with Nelson Mandela as a fellow freedom fighter, it focuses on his role fighting imperialism rather than his role as a dictator of a country, which he also was. Does your ideas around Castro consider his freedom fighter years as noble?
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I have a PhD in chemistry. If anyone is interested, it is generally free to pursue a PhD in the US. This is more common in STEM and includes the humanities as well, though funding for those degrees can be more limited to the Fall and Spring semester. One of my roles was to help McNair scholars and other student apply to graduate school programs in both STEM and humanities. If anyone is interested, I will gladly share some info. My degree isn't honorary and Taylor receiving one has absolutely no impact on the merit or value of my doctorate. Also, soft science is an outdated term. I know many PhDs in psychology and neuroscience who can program code and run statistical analysis better than anyone. They are some of the hardest researchers as they have to deal with the general public and Institutional Review Boards.
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@Danny0522, that is true. The pay is not great. My stipend was around 30k/year by the time I defended. It began around 22K. There is a lot of work required to complete your degree. The main goal of the post was to show that it is not another major expense compared to an undergraduate degree or medical or business school.
I went to medical school and they gave me an honorary PhD too! *crab wailing*