Lonerider,
Graduates nearly always come in 3 flavours:
The STRAWBERRY SENSATIONS are those graduates who have carefully selected their degree course in a mainstream discipline with a view to vocational excellence in that discipline and are to be applauded and have their cv sent to the top of the pile. The other 95% of graduates can be split into one of the two remaining flavours (usually within about 5 mins of tasting).
The ORDINARY ORANGE flavour are those who sensibly recognise that they either went to University for social reasons or to study a subject of which they were fond/good at, and who sensibly acknowledge that this time, whilst well worth it to them, makes them no better a generally-educated or interllectual individual than anyone else in society. These guys and gals are to be treated with complete parity of esteem as their colleagues who decided to try their luck out there in the real world. They are also to have their relative efforts praised accordingly.
Then there are the LEMONS. These last, and really rather bad tasting individuals, believe that in going through the motions of a degree course they have somehow been elevated to "Professional Status" and are destined for far greater things, none of which they really know anything about, but all of which will involve earning enough money to buy the trappings that will help silence the little voice inside them that says "I am as ordinary now as the day I was when I filled in the UCCA/PCAS forms 4 years ago". These nasty little bas@#~s will nearly always leave a bitter taste in your mouth - BEWARE!!
As for "graduates have shown that they value education" - I suppose that they have done this to the exclusion of the rest of us. I mean, if you haven't been to University then you obviously don't read books /journals, listen to educational programmes or actually go out into the big wide world and educate yourself first hand. Yes thats right, those models you read about in the text books actually occur in the REAL world too - groovy eh? The kind of arrogance that inspires a comment like "people whose only conversation topic is flying and football" defies belief. Exactly which planet do you come from?
In a previous incarnation I used to screen CV's and interview hopefulls in the city. The guys and gals were typically 23/24 years of age and the majority were graduates. I can tell you that with very few exceptions, the impressive candidates were the youngsters who had gone out into the real world and bought themselves a big 'ol chunk of Life Experience - these were the guys and gals with character, confidence, broad horizons i.e "ROUNDED INDIVIDUALS". Just how exactly do you become rounded by situating yourself in one of our great nations more undesirable suburbs for 3 or 4 years, attending lectures 3 or 4 days out of 7, writing the odd dissitation, and generally living it large down the boozer or student union, with a bit of a club sesh at weekends!?! (Answer in 5000 words or less).
I take your point that post-university folks are still youngsters in the scheme of things and have many years to experience life thereafter. I agree 100%. However - if they do so, harbouring the kind of narrow minded mentality and sporting the kind of superiority complex that you demonstrate - well the real lessons that life has to offer will be wasted on them.
Lonerider is quite right - if you do decide University is for you then give it your all, enjoy and try to aim for Strawberry or Orange flavour- remember nobody likes a Lemon!!!! If you really feel that in your heart of hearts University is not your thing - don't be press-ganged into it by the ill-advised and frankly small-minded twaddle that has been promelgated on this page.
I cannot claim to know the author of these comments and so hope that they are born of the "arrogance of youth". If not, you have my very deepest sympathy - I'll give you a wide berth at the bar!
Lonerider - are you surprised?
Last edited by JAR_monkey; 26th June 2002 at 23:48.