College Open Houses and Degree Options.

 
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EarthWindandFire
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Post by EarthWindandFire » Tue. Oct. 13, 2015 1:54 pm

It's that time of year parents, the fall open houses have begun so get your checkbooks out!

My oldest just turned 16 in August but we wanted to bring him to a local college that his grandmother works at for a stress-free open house. We had a good time, better than expected, but he seemed disappointed by his early career path choice which is Sports Medicine. He seemed more interested in pursuing Sports Management than anything else.

Has anyone here have any experience with the Sports Management field or know someone that has pursued that college and career path?


 
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Post by johnjoseph » Tue. Oct. 13, 2015 2:48 pm

I have known young people in my area that have obtained their degree in sports management and later went back for a second degree in sports medicine...when asked why they did that they shared that their were more opportunities in sports medicine and that would get them in the door to utilize the sports management degree if they stayed with one employer for a longer period of time. They eventually got into sport management and moonlighted with the sports medicine for extra money. Of course...they had to move to highly populated areas to obtain either position...those degrees don't fly in rural northern Maine. Hope this is helpful!

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Tue. Oct. 13, 2015 8:10 pm

http://ussa.edu/academics/course-descriptions/bac ... s-science/

Does not seem like a very challenging curriculum for a BS degree...he want to double major in something else too? Psychology seems like a good fit.

 
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Post by KLook » Tue. Oct. 13, 2015 8:20 pm

Thomas College in Waterville, Maine has a Sports Management program I believe. I had classmates go there, my younger brother, Cousins, my sons, and my niece is going there now. None of them were in Sports Management, but the success of the aforementioned people speaks well of that school.

Kevin

 
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Post by rubicondave33 » Tue. Oct. 13, 2015 8:23 pm

Careful with the sports management degree. My oldest son thought that was what he wanted to pursue until the advisor at the university informed him that there is no money in the field, the money is paid to the players not the office. He went into business and is doing quite well for himself.
I'm also working with an account manager from one of our vendors on my current project who completed his degree in sport management. He went back for business management after working for a MLB team for two years. He couldn't pay his bills or his loan on the salary he was earning working for a major league baseball team.
Just my .02

 
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Post by samhill » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 8:17 am

We are taking our therapy dog down to Thiel College in a bit for a mid-term stress release visit, I'll ask to see what the offer & what the job opportunities are. I know that LECOM in Erie has a huge sports medicine program & they seem to do everything right, even went so far as to build a gym & sports complex that is open to the public & the same for other fields so that students can get hands on training & experience as well. I would think the management side would have fewer opportunities but more $, just a guess on that one. :)

 
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Post by EarthWindandFire » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 8:38 am

Thanks for the comments!

I think that parents are often guilty of wanting to live vicariously through their children. This particular school (Jack Welch School of Business) does a good job of marketing this degree program because of Jack's name recognition as the former CEO of General Electric.


 
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Post by coalnewbie » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 8:56 am

My oldest son thought that was what he wanted to pursue until the advisor at the university informed him that there is no money in the field, the money is paid to the players not the office.
Agreed and our horse riding trainer has a degree in psychology. The house cleaner that lives in our barn appt has a a degree in business management etc.etc. Most of these degrees are completely useless and just inflate a mostly useless education academia. Most parent just want the kids to graduate but with no real investigation of job prospects. Liberal arts is a disaster and at best just graduate commie loving derelicts. Science is the only way to go.

 
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Post by samhill » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 9:48 am

I experienced this problem when I took my grandson to a few local colleges & the problem becomes since there are so few jobs in many fields by the time you get your degree (especially a 4 year degree) the jobs that were hot are by then all filled. I'm still not sure what way my GS is going, so far it's biology or political science, kind of an odd bag there! It becomes a gamble with a bit of an educated guess. :?

 
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Post by franco b » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 10:53 am

coalnewbie wrote: Liberal arts is a disaster and at best just graduate commie loving derelicts.
Sadly that is probably true as taught today. An easy way to serve time in pursuit of a degree.

It is also true that the Liberal Arts are that from which all else proceeds. While biology teaches the nuts and bolts of life, liberal arts teaches the values with its exposure to the greatest minds in history. Jefferson is the ideal prototype.

Getting a living is the objective today as opposed to how to live or even why. A grounding in the liberal arts should precede any specialty.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 11:06 am

coalnewbie wrote:. Agreed and our horse riding trainer has a degree in psychology.
Makes sense to me. Many of the people that I know who own horses are nuts. :D

Wise decision to check on the employment opportunities before committing to a particular field. As Simon mentioned, many degrees are not specialized enough to cut you from the pack and into a career.

 
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Post by rberq » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 4:29 pm

samhill wrote:… the problem becomes since there are so few jobs in many fields by the time you get your degree (especially a 4 year degree) the jobs that were hot are by then all filled.
So the only jobs still open are to TEACH whatever you have a useless degree in, like Sports Management – hence the prevalence of degree programs for which there is no redeeming social value.
coalnewbie wrote:Most of these degrees are completely useless and just inflate a mostly useless education academia … Liberal arts is a disaster and at best just graduate commie loving derelicts. Science is the only way to go.
I regret that I can’t argue with all that CN says, like I usually do. :P But liberal arts can be valuable if you also get specific training in some field. For example I attended a liberal arts college but was self-taught in computer science at the same time. My college roommate majored in English and became a lawyer – as he explained it, words are the tools of a lawyer’s trade, so while his BA by itself was worthless, the study involved in earning it was very useful.
coalnewbie wrote: Most parents just want the kids to graduate but with no real investigation of job prospects.
“College” as an end in itself has been vastly over-sold and – sorry to sound elitist, but many kids are not equipped to get much benefit from it and wind up just learning (finally) what they should have absorbed in high school. Especially with for-profit schools that profess to teach specific job skills, you have to be VERY careful that they are providing the actual skills that are needed, PLUS access to the required in-service training for a field like nursing or medical lab which you WILL NOT get any other way than through the school.

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 5:26 pm

Rob R. wrote:
coalnewbie wrote:. Agreed and our horse riding trainer has a degree in psychology.
Makes sense to me. Many of the people that I know who own horses are nuts. :D

Wise decision to check on the employment opportunities before committing to a particular field. As Simon mentioned, many degrees are not specialized enough to cut you from the pack and into a career.
Better to just shoot those folks .. they are too far gone.... :lol:

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 5:28 pm

samhill wrote:I experienced this problem when I took my grandson to a few local colleges & the problem becomes since there are so few jobs in many fields by the time you get your degree (especially a 4 year degree) the jobs that were hot are by then all filled. I'm still not sure what way my GS is going, so far it's biology or political science, kind of an odd bag there! It becomes a gamble with a bit of an educated guess. :?
Biology and physics ... where else where we would get out lab technicians from (not kidding).

 
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Post by samhill » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 8:28 pm

Didn't get the chance to talk to the prof's at Thiel but most students said if they were looking in those fields it would be more towards the sports medicine for job opts. Thiel isn't geared toward those studies & most of the ones today were more likely to stay for two to four years then go on to another school but many weren't quite sure except for two that were going to be vet's.


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