What's your major?

[--ski--]

Perhaps I've just had a bad pick, but professors that have inspired me intellectually are in the vast minority (I've had maybe three). The rest just cynically read from their Powerpoints or told me to Google shit (and this is senior-level classes). I'm sure this differs if you actually go to a good school (I'm at University of Utah), yet based on what I've heard from literally every millennial college graduate I know, they've all had a similar experience.

My lecturer for Management Accounting at uni was the most uninspiring twat. Every lecture he would walk in the door and instantly start talking in an expressionless, monotonous drone while pacing back and forth, seventeen steps before changing direction, and then just walk out the door when finished. Fuck that cunt.

 

[DorianF]

My lecturer for Management Accounting at uni was the most uninspiring twat. Every lecture he would walk in the door and instantly start talking in an expressionless, monotonous drone while pacing back and forth, seventeen steps before changing direction, and then just walk out the door when finished. Fuck that cunt.

but hes an accountant. I have never had an interesting accounting class, and less than 1% of the people that take accounting that i know are even remotely interesting. i don't think its the university you go to as much as it is that profession.

 

[jensen]

but hes an accountant. I have never had an interesting accounting class, and less than 1% of the people that take accounting that i know are even remotely interesting. i don't think its the university you go to as much as it is that profession.

Ouch, low blow to the accountants. I am an accountant and thought the same thing before going into my first big internship and found it to really not be the case at all. At least 50% of the people in my office love to go out and are actually fun to hang out with. It can be fairly dry at times, pretty damn boring, and also way too much work... but it is a solid industry to be in that provides a ton of valuable skills down the road.

 

[lIllI]

Ouch, low blow to the accountants. I am an accountant and thought the same thing before going into my first big internship and found it to really not be the case at all. At least 50% of the people in my office love to go out and are actually fun to hang out with. It can be fairly dry at times, pretty damn boring, and also way too much work... but it is a solid industry to be in that provides a ton of valuable skills down the road.

This mirrors what I've heard from everyone I know who got internships, both private and public. I'm really hoping my internship this summer is nothing like anything I've done in school.

 

[nosnowsnakes]

I think their pointless because if you're truely gifted at the fine arts you won't need a degree to do them any better, you can just practice on your own and come up with your entirely original styles on your own without spending thousands of dollars on a piece of paper saying you know how to do something you obviously know how to do.

did any of the most famous painters have a fine arts degree? highly doubt it.

I think a good fine arts program isn't about making its students better artists necessarily. As you said - a good artist will discover that on their own through practice. It's more about giving artists credibility and the ability to market themselves. No one cares about good art if it just sits in the artist's basement. Schooling ideally gives you a means to get your art out in the world.

I have a Bachelors degree in Journalism and Outdoor Leadership (arguably another pointless degree). I didn't necessarily need to spend thousands of dollars on a piece of paper that says I know how to write and camp, but it did give me the credibility to network with the right professionals to be able to sell my writing and my outdoors skills. I currently work as an editor and a freelance writer. I also moonlight as a ski coach and organize outdoor events for a women's based non-profit. I'm definitely not going to get rich doing any of these things but I make enough to pay the bills and be a ski bum without having to bump chairs and wipe snot off kids noses for a living.... for now at least.

 

[jensen]

This mirrors what I've heard from everyone I know who got internships, both private and public. I'm really hoping my internship this summer is nothing like anything I've done in school.

When you start working you'll find just how huge the difference can be from practice and academics.

Like prior period error corrections. I still remember that question on my intermediate 2 final that I got wrong for not running a prior period income misstatement through retained earnings. In practice, you never make an adjustment to retained earnings. The error is either immaterial and you can correct it on the income statement in the CY or you have to restate PY financials. Just one example of many, but really the whole mentallity is different. Practice is all about getting shit done in the most efficient way possible, academics are.... well.... I don't think there is a whole lot of groundbreaking accounting research being done in universities so academics is just pretty much to teach you the technically correct GAAP way of doing things.

 

[O-A_s]

Currently in the first year of a 5-year M.Sc-program in Industrial Economics and Tech Management with focus on finance and mechanical engineering. So much fun. Been doing everything from programming industrial robots to making a sterling engine to programming sudoku. Looking forward to more specialization though.