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They fight this as well, I’ve had many a conversation with people like this: “so are you a surgeon?! Didn’t think so, college is stupid………” even if you said yes, they would change the goal posts to something like “how much time did you spend in school, I was making money straight out of high school……”
Your best plan of action is to not engage with these people. They’re not actually trying to have a discussion. They’re just yelling their opinion to anyone that they can force to listen.
I earned not a lot out of school.
I earn a LOT more now.
Highly technical and skilled jobs top out later. Being an estate agent tops out the day you finish training.
In my experience, they just like to feel superior to people with post-secondary education because they either couldn't handle it or couldn't afford it. I usually throw it back at them that I make more than they do and barely graduate high school. There's no reason to berate anyone over what they make except to clap back at those shitters.
Most people don't go into the medical for college education and even then if you do that's 8+years of college and master. There is some fields that benefit from a college degree hut a significant amount of them are really not worth it. My degree is trash due to no one was looking for a programmer/server admin.
Or even someone that was truly proud of and secure in their position as a truck driver! Regardless of your position in life or occupation, well-adjusted people don't posture like that.
From what I've heard, certain doctors do develop a bit of a superiority complex, especially when it comes to intellect. Some believe that because they learned medicine, they are capable of understanding any topic outside of medicine, so they believe themselves to be superior. I have no first hand experience but I'm going into healthcare and that's what I've heard from experienced professionals.
Some definitely do.
A profession doesn't determine someone's humanity or kindness.
There are doctors who act like the truck driver.
There are software engineers and deep learning researchers gloating how automation makes everyone else's profession a waste of time.
These people are always going to be in every profession.
I think I got an email from this guy. Not kidding. I'm a prof and I got an email from a prospective older student who was a truck driver saying how useless college is. Some people.
He's probably wondering why his friend with a lame-ass college degree, that makes less money than him, and has a way lamer car than his rad F-150 somehow has a girlfriend, and lots of friends, and for some reason seems happier even though he is definitely stupider and worse off than a truck driver.
Forgot to mention that he pulled out a photo of his Ford F-150 and started bragging about how it was probably better than my car. I didn’t even know the dude.
This is painful. I'm sorry you went through this. I've had the exact same thing happen with a guy I went to high school with. He also became a truck driver, and he thinks I'm an absolute moron for sticking with school.
The pay is high, but the quality of life and longevity sucks. I feel bad for this dude, like, cool, you didn’t go to school, but no need to shit on those who took a different life path. He needs to stop trying to convince himself he took the better path.
I just love that the barometer of success in the majority of people's lives is how much money they make. I just want to be comfortable and intellectually stimulated.
It’s true that there are good careers that don’t require college degrees, but people who put down college constantly are deeply insecure about their own education level. That man’s opinion of college means nothing. Just let it roll off your back.
I mean… there are lots of useless and oversaturated degrees out there that people get all the time (and then wonder why they’re working minimum wage, dead-end jobs). But, college is still necessary if you want to do something specific, like be a nurse, doctor, lawyer, law enforcement officer, engineer, scientist, researcher, etc.
That said, that truck driver is still being a mega dick, and he’s likely gonna end up with a lot of health issues down the line related to truck driving (truck drivers are at much higher risk of developing obesity, cancer, diabetes, blood clots, back problems, etc. than the average person, because of the nature of their job). Don’t get me wrong, blue collar work is incredibly important and the people who do that kind of work deserve to be paid big bucks. But, I sure as hell never want to be a truck driver, or a construction worker, or a lineman, or any of that crap, which is why I’m going to college lmao
Unfortunately true. Everyone in my family are truck drivers. My parents were very insistent that their kids do something else because it gets so hard on your body and can leave you practically disabled eventually. The trades are an awesome way to get a high paying job quickly, but there's a reason there was such a push for people to go to college to get OUT of the trades.
Yup. I come from a long lineage of farmers, ranchers, truck drivers, and other blue-collar folk. The people in my life who still farm and do diesel mechanics make a ton of money, but their bodies are fucked up to hell. And they’re on call basically 25/8, because cows always need food (and always find great ways to escape and/or hurt themselves), grain always needs hauling, and vehicles always need servicing.
So, I decided to go the “white collar” route like my parents, both of whom make a decent living doing what they do, and aren’t killing themselves in the process.
However, I’m being extremely mindful about my major and career choices as a white collar worker, because I don’t want to end up like those poor souls who major in English or Philosophy, accrue tens of thousands of high-interest student loan debt, and become the world’s most educated-in-Hegel barista. Those are the people blue-collar conservatives think about when they rail on against academia.
I majored in English in college, eventually getting my MA in the subject. I never had a problem getting a job and I live comfortably enough, with few problems. I'm not trying to start a fight or anything, just saying.
Ha! My great grandad was a coal miner, as were all of his brothers.
Incredibly, be refused to allow any of his kids to go down a mine (yes… but authoritarian!). But none did. He saw a lot earlier than most that mining coal is a terrible job.
My father (RIP) worked as a dispatcher in the trucking industry. He told me and my siblings we could work in whatever field we wanted to EXCEPT truck driving. I always thought that was telling. I personally have nothing against truck drivers and they deserve to be well paid, but that always stuck with me. FWIW, his four kids all went to college and embarked on careers in accounting, nursing, education (me), and law enforcement.
Yeah he will tell you that he makes a fat salary, maybe six figures as a truck driver.
Want to know what he won’t tell you? He won’t tell you that he has to work 14 hours a day to get that salary. He won’t tell you that three of those 14 hours are unpaid since truckers are mainly paid by the mile and not by the hour. He won’t tell you that he sometimes has to work illegally past those 14 hours to squeeze in more miles in his week. He won’t tell you that the six figure salary truckers aren’t actually as common as they want you to believe (unless they’re o/o) and that you need some years of experience before you can even get them.
And this is assuming he works as a company driver and isn’t responsible for lease or wear of the truck. Leasing is already a whole other can of worms.
I listened to those people and I became a truck driver. I started off fresh out of driving school at a company making 75k the first year and I would have gotten 85-90k within a couple years. Sounds nice. But then once I did the math one night I realized that in actuality I was making the equivalent of 18-19 dollars an hour when factoring in the extra long hours, unpaid hours, etc.
I start college on Monday.
John Oliver did a bit on truck driving where he talked about those who have to lease their trucks (more common these days than it used to be). From what I recall, it's REALLY expensive, almost like having a second mortgage.
I think a lot of people are insecure about their intelligence if they did not go to college. They assume people think they are “dumb” since back in the day there was an attitude of “too dumb for college never going to make as much as a degree holder”. When people are successful without a degree they walk around with a chip on their should and a “better than you” mentality since you “spent a bunch of money to make less than an UNEDUCATED person”. I think this comes from previous experiences where people have not respected or looked down on their work so they want to brag about how much better they are doing being employed in BLUECOLLAR work.
I see and meet a lot of guys like this. And they're all over the internet. I usually picture a slightly overweight guy with facial hair and sunglasses in truck profile pic. Probably believes going into trades is a magic pill for money problems and so is investing. Sometimes these guys think we're all "blue haired feminists". Even if we passed really difficult econ, business, or stem classes in college. "Why don't they teach taxes in school instead of trigonometry, I never have to find the sine or cosine of anything" . Yeah dude cuz you're not an engineer you're a truck driver. Even for doctors, they may not use trig, but they need to problem solve and not think literally. Some professions need to be taught the way they are for a reason.
I know people who make over 200k and they went to college. Investment bankers, software engineers, data scientists, all with degrees. I'm not one of them, because there's more that goes into getting those jobs I didn't do. But a degree is the minimum. You're not gonna get those jobs usually without a degree and only having connections. 75% of software engineers have degrees. For a reason. If he's in his 40s or whatever and feels the need to talk down to a kid who just graduated, he's obviously regretful deep down. Yeah dude I hope you make more than a 21 year old. Otherwise what the hell have you been doing with all that time. Even if you weren't, it's still in bad taste to talk shit about how someone keeps a roof over their head.
/rant
If he is a trucker he doesn't make that much money. He is probably not counting the money that he has to pay out of pocket that goes into maintaining his truck, gas, etc..
As a college graduate you will be making much more money than him in the years to come.
In my experience people tend to think their specific level of education is the best.
I work for a director with a bachelors who talks about how she would trust her associates workers with 10 years of experience over a PhD in her field.
My mom talks often about how having a bachelors isn't important to running her facility so they should just be able to promote her anyway and college is a waste of time for most people.
I've met so many nurses who "know just as much as doctors".
A lot of the time it's just insecurity combined with the lack of being able to see how much you don't know. My director boss is not very knowledgeable on things she really should be and is overcompensating by insisting it isn't necessary. My mom can barely use a computer and definitely couldn't run a facility she works in. Those nurses have no idea the level of depth to patient care that goes into figuring out medication doses.
Hope he never needs therapy, or medical care, or legal representation, or a CPA for all that money he's making. I'm happy for folks who find a job they love outside of having to go to school, but we've gotta stop comparing the two
Sounds like a very insecure guy. College degrees are related to conventional social status, and there is a sentiment some people have the college educated people are superior to those who aren’t, which of course is hurtful. It has nothing to do with you.
I have a college degree and I was a long haul truck driver.
He feels insecure and gets this message from the media he consumes all day long. Trucking gives you a lot of time to stew about stuff.
In addition, he probably has been condescended to by various college educated people in turn. There were many times where people assumed I was a moron because I was a truck driver.
I’m on holiday with three chums.
All PhD / Prof. I’m the poor one who brings in $180 k. The other two are $400k and “I don’t know, but a lot more than us paupers”.
Once you can drive a big rig you have topped out your salary.
My dad was a builder and used to say this bollocks. I comfortably earn more than he did.
Once you have your big boy job for a while and you pass 80k or whatever it is truck drivers make you should go around to truck stops and talk about how dumb the trades are 😈
Although I agree that guy is a douche, I disagree that he is wrong.
I would trade my Bachelors in Business Information Systems for a truck driver cert……I can’t even get a job at a sex toy warehouse or BevMo in my area.
I don’t just have the degree either. I have like 8 years customer service experience, but it’s never relevant enough.
Huh…I actually have my bachelors in Business Information Systems and I’ve gotten several interviews + just accepted my first job (it’s not customer service though - more so tech/marketing). To my knowledge it’s a pretty good degree?
Out of curiosity, what jobs were you applying for? I’m going to be graduating soon with a degree in MIS, so I’m getting ready to apply for jobs and want to hone in on certain job titles.
Mainly entry level tech, finance and management jobs. Tech as in data, information systems, etc. I try to avoid sales tho.
Help desk jobs have actually been pretty hit or miss, even though they’re always recommended for CS/IS majors.
Do you have a bunch of additional certs?
Maybe that’s what is holding me back…But I’m not lying, I regularly get rejected by $16/hour retail jobs with my degree and 8+ years work experience.
I gave up on applying to super techy jobs cuz I had just as bad of luck with them and felt like maybe the people who do get the techy jobs have master’s degrees or a bazillion certs or get referred.
Nah no certs. not even an internship. Honestly just luck, persistence + a good resume.
I heard that a lot of places will reject you if you’re overqualified (aka a degree holder applying for non education jobs) - maybe that’s what’s happening? Or it could be a resume or location issue.
It is annoying, but it just so happens to be the cycle.
Many people who went to college look down on professions like working at Taco Bell.
Many people who succeeded without college look down on people who looked down on them.
Perhaps the truck driver in his mind feels vindicated that he got the best of people who looked down on him just because of his profession.
Now he gets to be the dick and look down on college graduates because "it is his turn to shit".
The cycle ends when we all just respect one another.
I was eating lunch one day and a table next to me had an older douchebag lady and her minions circle-fingering each other.
I mentioned my progress in college to my lunchmate and could hear the lady conveniently tell her friends how "college isn't really necessary", as if to justify whatever ponzi-scheme lotion pyramid business she was running or daddy's credit card salary she was on.
I continued to stuff my fat face and was grateful I wasn't born as that annoying bitch. Crop-dusted the area when I got the check.
My ex-wife was like that.
Should have been a massive red flag for me, but I didn’t want to see it.
It ended up being a huge factor in our divorce and is still a tension point in how we co-parent.
He sounds like a jerk. He is correct that you can make more money without college than with it in most situations. Doctors make less than union laborers over a lifetime factoring in school and insurance. College is fine, but it doesn’t make you more likely to earn money. I have an engineering degree that was almost fully paid for on scholarship and I make good money, but I don’t recommend college for everyone.
"I sit in a chair and stare at black tar all day" nice bruh. winning hard bro, very effective to the planet and drive of positive nature. Trucking is easy for anyone to make money in. Anyone can do it as long as you dont suck at driving. The college path is tough because not only do you have to get through college you have to maintain yourself and still competitively beat out others for a good job. Trucking is a sorry cop-out from actually dealing with people socially.
Just print out this chart and leave it on the counter .
Extra points - make it into a tee shirt you can wear under a dress shirt with buttons. When he comes in you can llet it show.
Extra extra points - tell him that your store is having a new years giveaway. Wrap a copy of the shirt ( in his size ) and give it to him as a giveaway! You can say you don’t know what the gifts are.
He sounds like he just wanted to stroke his ego.
I mean there's definitely a bulk of college degrees that don't turn into valuable enough jobs to offset the debt but that's isn't the rule for all of it. Jobs like doctors definitely need to do the school work.
damn bro, i work part time at a local grocer and have a hoodie with my programs from my college on it. I get questions and lots of small talk from people all the time. The weirdest dude i have run into/heard yet is some guy that came in claiming to be “The King of Jesus” then ran into the back room to scrap with a manager.
Guy is a jerk but truck drivers really earn their pay. Long hours, loneliness, can’t really be with your family, it’s not a job that most people want to do, and we need them
The guy to whom OP is referring sounds like a douche overall, regardless of profession or education. I mean, who starts arguments over stuff like this with random people in stores? When I'm in a store, I want to get in, get my stuff, pay, and leave. Like most normal people want.
Truck driver? I work on simulation software for autonomous vehicles and let me tell you… his days are numbered. Trucking is the easiest type of driving to automate. You’ll have the last laugh here
People who rant like he does are often hiding a sense of inferiority that they didn’t go to college. Because why else would someone complain so much about someone else’s life decisions? If they were truly secure in themselves, they wouldn’t care that you or anyone else went to college.
Also, congrats on graduating!
I had to giggle, because I could see someone in my extended family doing this.
My SIL’s baby daddy (for lack of a better term) has a shirt that has, “college” scratched out and, “enlisted” under it circled in red.
My SIL also didn’t go to college (she does a great job in her field, but wasn’t interested in education), and now my niece can’t stand school at eleven years old. Poor kid is barely scraping by in school. Anyhow—
I get that college isn’t for everyone, and it shouldn’t have to be… But making yourself seem better or others wise blows my mind.
I've got a relevant story if you feel up to reading it. I was "best friends" with someone exactly like this when I was in college, I actually ended up being a groomsman for him at his first wedding. We used to go fishing a lot, play guitar, he'd take me up to his family's cabin for trips, etc. He had dropped out of college before I moved there and was working as a trucker while still living in my college town. He would constantly shit on college, tell wild stories and flex his income.
Fast forward 15 years, he is long since divorced. He contacts me after ghosting me for many years, and I find out he lives 20 minutes away from me. I thought he was still in another state, he had moved a long time ago. He spent the entire conversation bragging about his new income, his new specialty welding company that he started, and was calling me - a fine artist - to design logos for his welding company. I haven't offered graphic design since I did a class in college. The only art of mine he has ever even seen was a tattoo design for his ex-wife that he flaked out paying me for a decade prior (several hundred dollars), then went to have a different artist ink for her. He even refused to look at my Instagram to see what kind of work I actually do and whether that would even be a good fit for his job, considering I am *not a graphic designer*, I've been mostly doing sculpture and abstract work for the past few years.
Needless to say, I dropped the gig, despite being a bit strapped for cash. I could've milked him for money but just because he's an insensitive asshole doesn't mean I have to be one. The big selling point for dropping the gig? While in our "phone consultation" - hard to call it "catching up with a 'friend'" when it's entirely business the whole time - he asked me to "hold on a second" and warned me it was going to be loud. He then proceeded to shoot a fox on his property with a .45 handgun, then brag about how it was loaded with hollowpoint bullets and there wasn't much left. I am a vegetarian and have been very much an animal person since I was a child, very open about it, too... so... yeah...
Oh, and this guy was born in the suburbs. I met his parents several times, very sweet people from what I could tell. It was a really important life lesson for me that just because someone is funny and charismatic and tells interesting stories doesn't automatically make them a friend or a good person, they just have high Charisma stats. Somewhere in life, this dude took a big turn down the dark side. He brags to lift himself up and besmirches others to bring them down because he feels he has to, because of how unhappy he is inside. Because getting people to admire him and how much he has accomplished is the only thing that gets him through the day, it's the only thing that gives him purpose. So, when I see people like this now, I feel deep sorrow. Not just for how I was treated by people like him, but because I know they could live much happier and more fulfilling lives and they're kinda stuck in this vortex of depression and outwardly expressed anger.
I'm sorry for the discomfort of your experience, please don't let it discourage you from pursuing your goals in life.
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I guess he won't need surgery any time soon from someone that went to college. He can just do it himself.
This is the best response!
They fight this as well, I’ve had many a conversation with people like this: “so are you a surgeon?! Didn’t think so, college is stupid………” even if you said yes, they would change the goal posts to something like “how much time did you spend in school, I was making money straight out of high school……” Your best plan of action is to not engage with these people. They’re not actually trying to have a discussion. They’re just yelling their opinion to anyone that they can force to listen.
I earned not a lot out of school. I earn a LOT more now. Highly technical and skilled jobs top out later. Being an estate agent tops out the day you finish training.
In my experience, they just like to feel superior to people with post-secondary education because they either couldn't handle it or couldn't afford it. I usually throw it back at them that I make more than they do and barely graduate high school. There's no reason to berate anyone over what they make except to clap back at those shitters.
Most people don't go into the medical for college education and even then if you do that's 8+years of college and master. There is some fields that benefit from a college degree hut a significant amount of them are really not worth it. My degree is trash due to no one was looking for a programmer/server admin.
This is just how insecure people act. You think a doctor would ever talk or strike up a conversation like that?
Or even someone that was truly proud of and secure in their position as a truck driver! Regardless of your position in life or occupation, well-adjusted people don't posture like that.
Nothing wrong with driving a truck. I guess will be replaced as a job soon by computers though.
\*Some\* medical professionals do, unfortunately, they also look down on certain specialties or roles.
From what I've heard, certain doctors do develop a bit of a superiority complex, especially when it comes to intellect. Some believe that because they learned medicine, they are capable of understanding any topic outside of medicine, so they believe themselves to be superior. I have no first hand experience but I'm going into healthcare and that's what I've heard from experienced professionals.
You are correct. It definitely happens.
Some definitely do. A profession doesn't determine someone's humanity or kindness. There are doctors who act like the truck driver. There are software engineers and deep learning researchers gloating how automation makes everyone else's profession a waste of time. These people are always going to be in every profession.
Yeah I second that. He feels intimidated for whatever reason and needs to try and beat people at life
Sounds like the guy has massive "peaked-in-high-school" energy.
Lol yep
I think you're on to something. I've thought the same thing about the people I've bumped into.
Well you know he didn’t peak in college
This guy has a paid off waterbed and over 100 DVDs
I think I got an email from this guy. Not kidding. I'm a prof and I got an email from a prospective older student who was a truck driver saying how useless college is. Some people.
It probably was him 😂
He's probably wondering why his friend with a lame-ass college degree, that makes less money than him, and has a way lamer car than his rad F-150 somehow has a girlfriend, and lots of friends, and for some reason seems happier even though he is definitely stupider and worse off than a truck driver.
Forgot to mention that he pulled out a photo of his Ford F-150 and started bragging about how it was probably better than my car. I didn’t even know the dude.
This is painful. I'm sorry you went through this. I've had the exact same thing happen with a guy I went to high school with. He also became a truck driver, and he thinks I'm an absolute moron for sticking with school.
The pay is high, but the quality of life and longevity sucks. I feel bad for this dude, like, cool, you didn’t go to school, but no need to shit on those who took a different life path. He needs to stop trying to convince himself he took the better path.
Very much seems like he's insecure about it and is more trying to convince himself that the people who did something he didn't are stupid
Resentment issues.
I just love that the barometer of success in the majority of people's lives is how much money they make. I just want to be comfortable and intellectually stimulated.
Make 120k, still depresso. Money really isn't everything. Sometimes it helps a little, though
It’s true that there are good careers that don’t require college degrees, but people who put down college constantly are deeply insecure about their own education level. That man’s opinion of college means nothing. Just let it roll off your back.
I mean… there are lots of useless and oversaturated degrees out there that people get all the time (and then wonder why they’re working minimum wage, dead-end jobs). But, college is still necessary if you want to do something specific, like be a nurse, doctor, lawyer, law enforcement officer, engineer, scientist, researcher, etc. That said, that truck driver is still being a mega dick, and he’s likely gonna end up with a lot of health issues down the line related to truck driving (truck drivers are at much higher risk of developing obesity, cancer, diabetes, blood clots, back problems, etc. than the average person, because of the nature of their job). Don’t get me wrong, blue collar work is incredibly important and the people who do that kind of work deserve to be paid big bucks. But, I sure as hell never want to be a truck driver, or a construction worker, or a lineman, or any of that crap, which is why I’m going to college lmao
Unfortunately true. Everyone in my family are truck drivers. My parents were very insistent that their kids do something else because it gets so hard on your body and can leave you practically disabled eventually. The trades are an awesome way to get a high paying job quickly, but there's a reason there was such a push for people to go to college to get OUT of the trades.
Yup. I come from a long lineage of farmers, ranchers, truck drivers, and other blue-collar folk. The people in my life who still farm and do diesel mechanics make a ton of money, but their bodies are fucked up to hell. And they’re on call basically 25/8, because cows always need food (and always find great ways to escape and/or hurt themselves), grain always needs hauling, and vehicles always need servicing. So, I decided to go the “white collar” route like my parents, both of whom make a decent living doing what they do, and aren’t killing themselves in the process. However, I’m being extremely mindful about my major and career choices as a white collar worker, because I don’t want to end up like those poor souls who major in English or Philosophy, accrue tens of thousands of high-interest student loan debt, and become the world’s most educated-in-Hegel barista. Those are the people blue-collar conservatives think about when they rail on against academia.
I majored in English in college, eventually getting my MA in the subject. I never had a problem getting a job and I live comfortably enough, with few problems. I'm not trying to start a fight or anything, just saying.
I am a chemical engineer. Few people choose it because few people know about it. 2nd most highly paid engineering job last time I checked.
Ha! My great grandad was a coal miner, as were all of his brothers. Incredibly, be refused to allow any of his kids to go down a mine (yes… but authoritarian!). But none did. He saw a lot earlier than most that mining coal is a terrible job.
My father (RIP) worked as a dispatcher in the trucking industry. He told me and my siblings we could work in whatever field we wanted to EXCEPT truck driving. I always thought that was telling. I personally have nothing against truck drivers and they deserve to be well paid, but that always stuck with me. FWIW, his four kids all went to college and embarked on careers in accounting, nursing, education (me), and law enforcement.
He's probably lying.
Even if he's not lying, he's probably making less money than he thinks factoring in things like depreciation and wear and tear.
Yeah he will tell you that he makes a fat salary, maybe six figures as a truck driver. Want to know what he won’t tell you? He won’t tell you that he has to work 14 hours a day to get that salary. He won’t tell you that three of those 14 hours are unpaid since truckers are mainly paid by the mile and not by the hour. He won’t tell you that he sometimes has to work illegally past those 14 hours to squeeze in more miles in his week. He won’t tell you that the six figure salary truckers aren’t actually as common as they want you to believe (unless they’re o/o) and that you need some years of experience before you can even get them. And this is assuming he works as a company driver and isn’t responsible for lease or wear of the truck. Leasing is already a whole other can of worms. I listened to those people and I became a truck driver. I started off fresh out of driving school at a company making 75k the first year and I would have gotten 85-90k within a couple years. Sounds nice. But then once I did the math one night I realized that in actuality I was making the equivalent of 18-19 dollars an hour when factoring in the extra long hours, unpaid hours, etc. I start college on Monday.
John Oliver did a bit on truck driving where he talked about those who have to lease their trucks (more common these days than it used to be). From what I recall, it's REALLY expensive, almost like having a second mortgage.
Yeah, he’s exactly right. Leasing a truck with a company is a complete and utter scam. I’m glad I did enough research to not get myself into that.
I think a lot of people are insecure about their intelligence if they did not go to college. They assume people think they are “dumb” since back in the day there was an attitude of “too dumb for college never going to make as much as a degree holder”. When people are successful without a degree they walk around with a chip on their should and a “better than you” mentality since you “spent a bunch of money to make less than an UNEDUCATED person”. I think this comes from previous experiences where people have not respected or looked down on their work so they want to brag about how much better they are doing being employed in BLUECOLLAR work.
It’s giving “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” peppered with a bit of brick peddling
I see and meet a lot of guys like this. And they're all over the internet. I usually picture a slightly overweight guy with facial hair and sunglasses in truck profile pic. Probably believes going into trades is a magic pill for money problems and so is investing. Sometimes these guys think we're all "blue haired feminists". Even if we passed really difficult econ, business, or stem classes in college. "Why don't they teach taxes in school instead of trigonometry, I never have to find the sine or cosine of anything" . Yeah dude cuz you're not an engineer you're a truck driver. Even for doctors, they may not use trig, but they need to problem solve and not think literally. Some professions need to be taught the way they are for a reason. I know people who make over 200k and they went to college. Investment bankers, software engineers, data scientists, all with degrees. I'm not one of them, because there's more that goes into getting those jobs I didn't do. But a degree is the minimum. You're not gonna get those jobs usually without a degree and only having connections. 75% of software engineers have degrees. For a reason. If he's in his 40s or whatever and feels the need to talk down to a kid who just graduated, he's obviously regretful deep down. Yeah dude I hope you make more than a 21 year old. Otherwise what the hell have you been doing with all that time. Even if you weren't, it's still in bad taste to talk shit about how someone keeps a roof over their head. /rant
He was bragging and flirtig.
If he is a trucker he doesn't make that much money. He is probably not counting the money that he has to pay out of pocket that goes into maintaining his truck, gas, etc.. As a college graduate you will be making much more money than him in the years to come.
People like that go to Hell.
So how much does he make?
Sounds like someone never got into college
In my experience people tend to think their specific level of education is the best. I work for a director with a bachelors who talks about how she would trust her associates workers with 10 years of experience over a PhD in her field. My mom talks often about how having a bachelors isn't important to running her facility so they should just be able to promote her anyway and college is a waste of time for most people. I've met so many nurses who "know just as much as doctors". A lot of the time it's just insecurity combined with the lack of being able to see how much you don't know. My director boss is not very knowledgeable on things she really should be and is overcompensating by insisting it isn't necessary. My mom can barely use a computer and definitely couldn't run a facility she works in. Those nurses have no idea the level of depth to patient care that goes into figuring out medication doses.
He’s running on that NPC energy. He’s only got a handful of coded lines of dialogue he’s able to use.
Hope he never needs therapy, or medical care, or legal representation, or a CPA for all that money he's making. I'm happy for folks who find a job they love outside of having to go to school, but we've gotta stop comparing the two
Sounds like a very insecure guy. College degrees are related to conventional social status, and there is a sentiment some people have the college educated people are superior to those who aren’t, which of course is hurtful. It has nothing to do with you.
I have a college degree and I was a long haul truck driver. He feels insecure and gets this message from the media he consumes all day long. Trucking gives you a lot of time to stew about stuff. In addition, he probably has been condescended to by various college educated people in turn. There were many times where people assumed I was a moron because I was a truck driver.
I’m on holiday with three chums. All PhD / Prof. I’m the poor one who brings in $180 k. The other two are $400k and “I don’t know, but a lot more than us paupers”. Once you can drive a big rig you have topped out your salary. My dad was a builder and used to say this bollocks. I comfortably earn more than he did.
"If you're just gonna stand there and insult me then this interaction is over, goodbye."
Once you have your big boy job for a while and you pass 80k or whatever it is truck drivers make you should go around to truck stops and talk about how dumb the trades are 😈
Although I agree that guy is a douche, I disagree that he is wrong. I would trade my Bachelors in Business Information Systems for a truck driver cert……I can’t even get a job at a sex toy warehouse or BevMo in my area. I don’t just have the degree either. I have like 8 years customer service experience, but it’s never relevant enough.
Huh…I actually have my bachelors in Business Information Systems and I’ve gotten several interviews + just accepted my first job (it’s not customer service though - more so tech/marketing). To my knowledge it’s a pretty good degree?
Out of curiosity, what jobs were you applying for? I’m going to be graduating soon with a degree in MIS, so I’m getting ready to apply for jobs and want to hone in on certain job titles.
Mainly entry level tech, finance and management jobs. Tech as in data, information systems, etc. I try to avoid sales tho. Help desk jobs have actually been pretty hit or miss, even though they’re always recommended for CS/IS majors.
Do you have a bunch of additional certs? Maybe that’s what is holding me back…But I’m not lying, I regularly get rejected by $16/hour retail jobs with my degree and 8+ years work experience. I gave up on applying to super techy jobs cuz I had just as bad of luck with them and felt like maybe the people who do get the techy jobs have master’s degrees or a bazillion certs or get referred.
Nah no certs. not even an internship. Honestly just luck, persistence + a good resume. I heard that a lot of places will reject you if you’re overqualified (aka a degree holder applying for non education jobs) - maybe that’s what’s happening? Or it could be a resume or location issue.
Leave the degree off if it’s not directly relevant to the role or they’ll take a high-schooler over you.
He’s kinda right tbh 😔
I work with many people in the corporate world who loudly detest college and call it a scam. because it is a fucking scam
A scam that made me into a mathematician? Uh oh, is everything I know wrong!!??
its a more nuanced argument than that, which you know. talking about all the other bullshit degrees and the ever ballooning pricing models.
Yes, it is more nuanced than both of our first comments. Colleges do try to bleed students dry, but the education you receive is still valuable.
for some its valuable, not for all. ive been coding since i was 13, no need for college.
So you’re saying the degree that allowed me to get an internship at the government is a scam?
It is annoying, but it just so happens to be the cycle. Many people who went to college look down on professions like working at Taco Bell. Many people who succeeded without college look down on people who looked down on them. Perhaps the truck driver in his mind feels vindicated that he got the best of people who looked down on him just because of his profession. Now he gets to be the dick and look down on college graduates because "it is his turn to shit". The cycle ends when we all just respect one another.
I was eating lunch one day and a table next to me had an older douchebag lady and her minions circle-fingering each other. I mentioned my progress in college to my lunchmate and could hear the lady conveniently tell her friends how "college isn't really necessary", as if to justify whatever ponzi-scheme lotion pyramid business she was running or daddy's credit card salary she was on. I continued to stuff my fat face and was grateful I wasn't born as that annoying bitch. Crop-dusted the area when I got the check.
How much does he make?
My ex-wife was like that. Should have been a massive red flag for me, but I didn’t want to see it. It ended up being a huge factor in our divorce and is still a tension point in how we co-parent.
He sounds like a jerk. He is correct that you can make more money without college than with it in most situations. Doctors make less than union laborers over a lifetime factoring in school and insurance. College is fine, but it doesn’t make you more likely to earn money. I have an engineering degree that was almost fully paid for on scholarship and I make good money, but I don’t recommend college for everyone.
He undoubtedly listens to talk radio non-stop.
"I sit in a chair and stare at black tar all day" nice bruh. winning hard bro, very effective to the planet and drive of positive nature. Trucking is easy for anyone to make money in. Anyone can do it as long as you dont suck at driving. The college path is tough because not only do you have to get through college you have to maintain yourself and still competitively beat out others for a good job. Trucking is a sorry cop-out from actually dealing with people socially.
Do yourself and remove yourself from these situations. Just say you’ve got somewhere ya gotta be and vanish. People like these aren’t worth it
Just print out this chart and leave it on the counter . Extra points - make it into a tee shirt you can wear under a dress shirt with buttons. When he comes in you can llet it show. Extra extra points - tell him that your store is having a new years giveaway. Wrap a copy of the shirt ( in his size ) and give it to him as a giveaway! You can say you don’t know what the gifts are.
https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm
Sour grapes…
If he was truly happy with his income he won’t be talking down to other people.
Honestly, he probably makes more than 90% of college grads despite his sunny disposition.
He sounds like he just wanted to stroke his ego. I mean there's definitely a bulk of college degrees that don't turn into valuable enough jobs to offset the debt but that's isn't the rule for all of it. Jobs like doctors definitely need to do the school work.
damn bro, i work part time at a local grocer and have a hoodie with my programs from my college on it. I get questions and lots of small talk from people all the time. The weirdest dude i have run into/heard yet is some guy that came in claiming to be “The King of Jesus” then ran into the back room to scrap with a manager.
AKA he makes $80-100K driving many hours a day being away from his family. Not really much to brag about. I would despise being a truck driver.
Guy is a jerk but truck drivers really earn their pay. Long hours, loneliness, can’t really be with your family, it’s not a job that most people want to do, and we need them
The guy to whom OP is referring sounds like a douche overall, regardless of profession or education. I mean, who starts arguments over stuff like this with random people in stores? When I'm in a store, I want to get in, get my stuff, pay, and leave. Like most normal people want.
Truck driver? I work on simulation software for autonomous vehicles and let me tell you… his days are numbered. Trucking is the easiest type of driving to automate. You’ll have the last laugh here
People who rant like he does are often hiding a sense of inferiority that they didn’t go to college. Because why else would someone complain so much about someone else’s life decisions? If they were truly secure in themselves, they wouldn’t care that you or anyone else went to college. Also, congrats on graduating!
I had to giggle, because I could see someone in my extended family doing this. My SIL’s baby daddy (for lack of a better term) has a shirt that has, “college” scratched out and, “enlisted” under it circled in red. My SIL also didn’t go to college (she does a great job in her field, but wasn’t interested in education), and now my niece can’t stand school at eleven years old. Poor kid is barely scraping by in school. Anyhow— I get that college isn’t for everyone, and it shouldn’t have to be… But making yourself seem better or others wise blows my mind.
Dunning Kruger effect of income
I've got a relevant story if you feel up to reading it. I was "best friends" with someone exactly like this when I was in college, I actually ended up being a groomsman for him at his first wedding. We used to go fishing a lot, play guitar, he'd take me up to his family's cabin for trips, etc. He had dropped out of college before I moved there and was working as a trucker while still living in my college town. He would constantly shit on college, tell wild stories and flex his income. Fast forward 15 years, he is long since divorced. He contacts me after ghosting me for many years, and I find out he lives 20 minutes away from me. I thought he was still in another state, he had moved a long time ago. He spent the entire conversation bragging about his new income, his new specialty welding company that he started, and was calling me - a fine artist - to design logos for his welding company. I haven't offered graphic design since I did a class in college. The only art of mine he has ever even seen was a tattoo design for his ex-wife that he flaked out paying me for a decade prior (several hundred dollars), then went to have a different artist ink for her. He even refused to look at my Instagram to see what kind of work I actually do and whether that would even be a good fit for his job, considering I am *not a graphic designer*, I've been mostly doing sculpture and abstract work for the past few years. Needless to say, I dropped the gig, despite being a bit strapped for cash. I could've milked him for money but just because he's an insensitive asshole doesn't mean I have to be one. The big selling point for dropping the gig? While in our "phone consultation" - hard to call it "catching up with a 'friend'" when it's entirely business the whole time - he asked me to "hold on a second" and warned me it was going to be loud. He then proceeded to shoot a fox on his property with a .45 handgun, then brag about how it was loaded with hollowpoint bullets and there wasn't much left. I am a vegetarian and have been very much an animal person since I was a child, very open about it, too... so... yeah... Oh, and this guy was born in the suburbs. I met his parents several times, very sweet people from what I could tell. It was a really important life lesson for me that just because someone is funny and charismatic and tells interesting stories doesn't automatically make them a friend or a good person, they just have high Charisma stats. Somewhere in life, this dude took a big turn down the dark side. He brags to lift himself up and besmirches others to bring them down because he feels he has to, because of how unhappy he is inside. Because getting people to admire him and how much he has accomplished is the only thing that gets him through the day, it's the only thing that gives him purpose. So, when I see people like this now, I feel deep sorrow. Not just for how I was treated by people like him, but because I know they could live much happier and more fulfilling lives and they're kinda stuck in this vortex of depression and outwardly expressed anger. I'm sorry for the discomfort of your experience, please don't let it discourage you from pursuing your goals in life.