Originally Posted by Mike in Denver
This is a really tough question, and things have changed over the years.
I started college at Texas A & M in the fall of 1963. My first semester cost about $400, and that included room and meals. You read it right -- $400 for tuition, books, room, and meals.
From about that time until, say 2000, anyone with a degree in Engineering, Physics, and Mathematics was guaranteed a life of good employment. Later, you could add Computer Science to the list. I think it was about 1970 or so that Universities began offering degrees in CS.
That's all changed. I have no idea what a semester costs at A & M or elsewhere, but I have a feeling it is a little more that $400. And, even a good technical degree is guarantee of nothing, these days. Then, there is the strange phenomenon of kids paying to get degrees in Communications, Woman's studies, and God knows what. Tens of thousands of dollars for degrees in gibberish.
If I had a kid about college age, I wouldn't know what to do. I'd want my child to earn a degree in Engineering, Physics, or Mathematics, but the cost is immense. And, as I wrote above, these degrees don't guarantee high-paid employment, as they used to.
Enkidu
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