Comments on: Higher Education https://www.isegoria.net/2010/08/higher-education/ From the ancient Greek for equality in freedom of speech; an eclectic mix of thoughts, large and small Fri, 01 May 2026 09:53:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 By: Isegoria https://www.isegoria.net/2010/08/higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-11406 Isegoria Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:48:34 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=21339#comment-11406 I would go a step further. I don’t think that we simply do a very poor job of informing kids about the realities of various possible career choices; we actively hide how the real world works from them. What do adults do all day? Young adults, supposedly ready to take on adult roles, leave high school with no exposure to business, law, taxation, civil engineering, agriculture, etc. How do we get food, water, and electricity? Who decides what roads go where and where to build a shopping mall? Complete mysteries beyond our ken…

]]> By: Ralph https://www.isegoria.net/2010/08/higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-11389 Ralph Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:03:47 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=21339#comment-11389 I know a doctor who became a radiologist after working as a lawyer for years. He wanted to be a surgeon but found at his advanced age (40s) he could not physically stand in one place that long.

]]> By: David Foster https://www.isegoria.net/2010/08/higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-11384 David Foster Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:29:30 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=21339#comment-11384 “Engineering isn’t what they thought it was.” Isn’t this the case with all career choices? How many people are in law school with totally imaginary ideas of what life as a lawyer will be like?

As a society, we do a very poor job of informing kids about the realities of various possible career choices.

]]> By: Genius https://www.isegoria.net/2010/08/higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-11381 Genius Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:48:04 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=21339#comment-11381 I get the impression that most undergraduate engineering students started in engineering because they enjoyed physics in high school, where there aren’t really engineering classes – or because physics was just their best subject. Notwithstanding the obvious links between physics and engineering, they’re pretty different, so there’s no more reason to expect that a strong physics student will both excel in engineering and enjoy it than to expect that a strong math student will both excel in physics and enjoy it.

In short: high school students should get a good taste of engineering, and high school guidance counselors should stop giving this moronic advice.

]]> By: Ralph https://www.isegoria.net/2010/08/higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-11252 Ralph Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:55:54 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=21339#comment-11252 I got a kick out of that last line. Your observation is spot on.

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