(Video) You (Probably) Shouldn't Go To College
By cryptopsyfan69420 @ 2021-08-13T19:23 (–3)
A little bit different from typical EA stuff, but I think it's still relevant in terms of doing good. The video talks about how getting certain degrees is not a useful thing in terms of money and helping society, and how trade school is often a much better option in terms of job security (and thus, have a little to give to effective charities).
I don't think I was really very... in your face in the video as I was in my last one.
Anyway, for discussion, in terms of job utility and money, I argue that jobs such as those in STEM fields and Medical School are the best since they not only are useful for society but they're also quite lucrative fields, which means you can help society with your job AND have tons of money to give. I think it's better to encourage that than say Wall Street jobs that are often recommended. However, I don't think everyone ought to go to college (as I explained in my video) and Trade School offers many job opportunities that are both useful and fairly lucrative (although not quite to the extent as STEM for instance).
As an aside I have concerns about encouraging people to go into high paying jobs (such as working in Wall Street) just so they can give all disposable income to charity, since some may feel as though it's asking a bit too much for no real return (at least as they perceive), an thus is a strong discouragement (If I'm not willing to give 90%, why bother giving at all?). But that's a discussion for another thread.
nathan98000 @ 2021-08-16T01:56 (+3)
I downvoted this and wanted to explain why.
First, the video seems contrarian for the sake of being contrarian. For example, the title of the video is "You (Probably) Shouldn't Go To College" even though you seem to limit your criticisms to art, language, and literature majors at private universities. In other words, you clickbaited the title so people would go in looking for an angry disagreement.
This is even more obvious towards the end of your video where you say that in your experience people who teach humanities subjects are "pretentious jackoffs" who have "dumbass" interpretations. It's hard to interpret this as a good-faith argument about why people in general shouldn't go to college.
Second, you present zero evidence for any claims you make. Your video is a list of assertions. You talk about doing a cost-benefit analysis, but then you handwave numbers out of nowhere. Your video doesn't leave me feeling confident that you've looked at the data on the job prospects of those with vs without college degrees.
I understand that the style of your video isn't a lecture that's comprehensively reviewing the research. But I think that's exactly the problem. Not that every video has to be a lecture. But I would like to see fewer uncharitable, uninformed Angry Rant videos on the EA Forum.