Comments on: Investing in Yourself: Education and Cultural Literacy

By: Dana

Dana — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:38:58 +0000

@Brent: No lie, huh? “Culture” used to mean something like, “What a group of people eats, what the group wears, the language the group speaks, how the group perceives the world, and the stories the group tells itself at night around the fire.” Now it’s “What a group of people watches on TV.” If TV or a sports team or some other thing external to the group is the only thing the group has in common, what happens when that thing goes away?

I’m not sure that even the Great Books do much of a job of teaching us about “culture,” although they are useful for other reasons. I think shared-interest groups come closer to the definition if you don’t have a close-knit family or church to turn to. Even a White Wolf gaming group would be more like culture than what’s on TV because it’s a bunch of people actively participating in something instead of staring at a square eye.

By: Brent

Brent — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:28:23 +0000

@Brett, I agree with you, reading the Great Books series will do more for you than learning about some sports team or peoples favorite t.v. series.
I question the value of becoming culturally literate, as for the most part, our culture (or what people precieve as our ‘culture’) is rather pointless.

By: Bekki - The Happy Little Housewife

Bekki - The Happy Little Housewife — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:39:52 +0000

Great article!

I especially like the point you make about pursuing what you’re passionate about – whether that involves a degree or a skill.

My father (like myself) went to college because he felt that he had to. After 4 years and mountains of student loans, he found himself with a degree that was 100% worthless. Instead of doing his homework before choosing a degree, he chose something he knew his mother would be happy with – which happened to be an experimental degree that totally bombed.

He now works in sales, a job that he is EXTREMELY good at, and didn’t need any student loans to become so good.

My husband got a 2 year degree in communications, but never used it. He decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and become a plumber. Now, he makes lots more money than all of his degree’d friends. Unfortunately, he still had those student loans to deal with.

I went to college for one semester before deciding that my true passion was in floral design – not speech-language pathology. I went home and did that full-time and made more than 75% what a speech pathologist makes. But still, as the result of not being decisive in the beginning, I’m still paying for student loans.

By: DNA

DNA — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:10:06 +0000

There’s a lot of good guidance in this post, though the most important for me was to make a choice early and stick with it–didn’t have much choice since I was funding my own college education and trying to steer clear of loans.

I would say that you don’t have to sink years and years into school if you are focused. From start to finish I spent 6 years in college and earned a B.S. and 2 doctorates. To emphasize Trent’s point about mentors, I would add that I chose my school based on research a faculty member was conducting in which I had an interest.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:09:08 +0000

Keeping your ears open to opportunities is a lifetime activity for me! And for me, because of my active involvement with one group (Girl Scouts),
I’ve been made aware of loads of opportunities for growth. Currently, in my state (Ohio) they are actively offering free tuition to those who want to become foreign language teachers in a variety of languages. Well, those students need someone to practice teaching to, and my family (and many others) are happily taking 13 weeks of free Chinese lessons, 2 hours per week. That’s something that I probably wouldn’t have previously thought about studying, but my daughter wanted to try it out. We’ve had nearly private lessons the past couple of weeks, and the children are in a children class, and my husband and I in an adult class. It’s fun!
Also, if you have children, one of the best ways to learn things is to look into getting an annual pass at a local science museum, or look around and see the cheapest one in your area, if the big museums look too expensive. For example, my family purchased a pass through the Presidential library and museum for McKinley, in Canton Ohio. But, these museums are connected with hundreds of other museums around the world, and the small investment $50, has already paid for itself 3 times over from visits to Chicago and many museums in Cleveland. And guess what…the adults in our family learn as much or more than the kids!
It’s like the science degree I never got!
I find learning to be the reason we all exist, so keep on learning!

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:35:04 +0000

Sometimes right after high school kids aren’t ready for college, I know I wasn’t, and by going when you’re not going to take full advantage of it is a waste of time and effort even if you manage to stick it out. Knowing yourself is probably just as important as any of the formal education you can collect. Unfortunately this type of education comes with experience and trying new things even if its something as simple as living in the real world for a bit.

By: The Innovative Traveler

The Innovative Traveler — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:26:28 +0000

I learned more in my ‘additional certificates’/workshops than I did from my entire college degree. I’m also personally glad I waited to get married. I think it’s great if you meet your mate and get married right out of college, but for me personally, I used my 20’s as a time to explore and get settled financially and got married when I was nearly 30.

I also really didn’t understand what it meant to be culturally literate until I got to New York and couldn’t seem to keep up with what was going on. Now I love having media, art, museums, music, etc. at my fingertips and use it to further my ‘education’.

http://www.theinnovativetraveler.com

By: jblee

jblee — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:05:58 +0000

Trent, I may have to disagree on “keeping quiet if someone makes a reference you don’t understand”. Why not just simply ask the person about it? Asking questions is also a good way of building new relationships or improving one. Of course there are some people who will laugh at you if you don’t know something that’s considered “public knowledge”, but there are people who like being asked and are nice enough to tell you what they’re talking about.

By: Penny Squeaker

Penny Squeaker — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:33:24 +0000

Great Post!!! I’m sure enjoying the series investing in yourself.

It caught my eye at first mention, as few days ago.

By: Ryan@ProspectingLIFE

Ryan@ProspectingLIFE — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:50:55 +0000

I definitely believe that the best investment you can ever make in life is to invest in your own education! One might say that gaining real-life experience is more relevant and better in-lieu of paper qualifications, but the fact is that the degree is a pre-requisite and passport for many career opportunities in life. Without gaining the appropriate paper qualifications, you’ll find many doors get shut in your face!

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 04:27:43 +0000

Great post! In particular I love the advice about finding something that you are passionate about and pursuing it. After 10 years in marketing, I decided to get my master’s degree … in fine art – specifically, sculpture. In pursuing something that I am passionate about, I have found not only new avenues of inspiration, but also new challenges and new ways of thinking about the world.

By: Frugal Bachelor

Frugal Bachelor — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 03:46:41 +0000

I was also puzzled by the “keep quiet” thing. Generally people talk about what they’re interested in, and if you have a question about something they brought up, they are excited to explain it to you – and often their response will be more informative than anything you could find on the internet (adding local color, etc.). If it is something “obvious” that I should know for whatever reason, they can tell me to look it up. I’m not ashamed to not know everything – or even to be completely ignorant of things everybody else knows. Actually, the only time when I don’t speak up for an unknown reference is when I just DON’T CARE what somebody is talking about and hope they just go away ASAP. Sorry to say but someone looking up something up they overheard but otherwise have no interest in for the sole purpose of jumping into a future conversation about it is pretending to be someone they’re not IMHO.

By: Young Investor

Young Investor — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 03:42:31 +0000

I just wrote a post on my blog regarding this. One of the things that i think is most important in this area is educating the mindset and then getting the right education in whatever strategy that you choose.

But i think that investing in yourself is a fundamental rule that people should apply to their daily lives. Its so important in being able to create a better financial future.

Thanks

Young Investor

http://www.investmentrealty.blogspot.com

By: David

David — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 02:24:45 +0000

Trent, I appreciate how your site focuses on the person as a whole. Too many blogs get caught up in “ROI” and “penny pinching to the extreme” but I can always count on you to have a wide ranging perspective on how to better yourself

By: Looby

Looby — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:56:13 +0000

Like Anne I have to query the “keep quiet” advice, it’s often better to ask, if you just keep nodding along at the conversation for 5 minutes and then someone asks your opinion it could be more embarrassing than admitting you don’t know what they are referring to up front. Also it shows you are taking an interest and keen to learn.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:52:17 +0000

These are great tips. So many people think that once they get out of college, they’re done with education. However, those that continue their education are the ones that become leaders in their industry.

Also, it’s very true that college isn’t necessary for success. In fact, it can become quite a leash if you want to become an entrepreneur because you have more at stake.

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:26:49 +0000

I think I would add another bit about self-education: the importance of applying your knowledge in a way that is easily describable and quantifiable. This is something I have been looking to do more of, since I have acquired a lot of skills over the years, but I haven’t really applied them in a way that I can write about them on a job application or resume. For instance, I have pretty decent handiwork skills (like woodcraft, metalcraft, textile arts) without any truly formal education on the subject (thus, no certification), but I could quantify or apply that skill by teaching a small class on the subject, selling items at a craft fair, or using these skills for charity work. Then, I have accomplishments that are meaningful, but also signal to my varied abilities.

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:45:41 +0000

Anne – forgive my flippant comment – I’ll tell you this honestly – the professor I mentioned also has bad ratings on that site – and part of the reason is that he wasn’t all that great of an in class teacher. However, my friends and I would gather around during his office hours and just discuss topics in computers, sociology, psychology, physics, beer, and just life with him.

By: Anne

Anne — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:22:47 +0000

@Eric — I find that most ratemyprofessor-type sites tend to be outlets for angry students to vent about classes which they either rarely attended or to complain about their grades. One of my best college mentors has very low ratings on these sites…

I’m also not certain about the advice you give about “keeping quiet” and looking things up later. That might be appropriate for some — even many — situations, but you also have to consider that by keeping silent you are missing out on an opportunity to discuss the information with someone… Sometimes knowing when to ask questions is better than trying to know it all on your own.

By: Keith

Keith — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:03:36 +0000

What a great article. Since I teach at a small technical college I strongly agree with the sections about not only getting an education, but doing it in something that interests you. If you enjoy your work then going there isn’t such a chore. I also like that you were willing to say that not everyone is cut out for traditional college…I wasn’t! I earned a very good living by being a diesel technician for a construction equipment dealership. I attended the same college that I now teach at to earn the original Associate Degree that got me the job. Then several years later I was able to take my job experiences along with that degree and teach. I love doing what I do!