University 101

MBA's, Engineers, Commerce grads, Lawyers, Doctors, Pharmacists, etc. seem to make their way through life in what many would consider a "successful" manner, at least economically.  A lot of arts and humanities undergrads seem to find themselves under or unemployed or in a McJob somewhere well down their preference list. 

Indeed, this article makes a reasoned case -- in a very entertaining and funny manner -- that a non-professional degree gives you little more than a whack of student debt.  So screw Arts, right? Head straight for a professional degree by the least painful method possible, right?

Or dump university altogether and get a trade.

Not under this Emperor, my faux-rational slacker-dude readers.

When I am Emperor, the basic rule is:  All capable will take a minimum of 2 years of General Arts/Humanities before being allowed anywhere near a "professional" or career degree program.  The idea is that you learn to think and get exposed to a wide variety of people, thinking, isms, ists, onomies and osophies BEFORE you get to hang out with a pack of like-minded, like-talented borgs trying to come up with an "edge" or the 4-decimal-point answer to everything. [Many Artsies already know the answer is a nice round 42].

Programs in philosophy, history, ethics et al pose questions without clear answers and provide context.  There is almost always another side to an argument that has at least some merit -- unless you've made up your mind before you hear it.  Which seems to be the norm these days.


We are talking of those who are capable of and vaguely interested in university.  The Emperor must cogitate on how to deal with the capable and disinterested who pursue trades or other collegeless pursuits. They might have to do their two years as well.

We may also have to tweek some of the curriculum entries.  For instance, undergrad courses whose only apparent purpose is to provide the easiest possible gpa booster as part of a plan to enter a faculty that already requires undergrad credits are going to have to be dis-credited.

The Emperor is considering adding a third year to this pre-career requirement.  The third year would involve being dropped into a non-first-world nation whose population were largely of different colours and beliefs from the candidate.  A lot would end up in Africa, but there are lots of other choices.   This isn't 3 weeks hammering nails for the Acme aid or church group so you can put "built a school for the underprivileged" on the resume. 

Instead, this is providing the student with some low-multiple (possibly "1") of the local average income and a plane ticket. See you in a year ... have fun ... learn something.  The intent is to get a "real" taste of the "real world".  Not the facile "welcome to the real world" real world.  But the REAL real world of people who only have limited options no matter how hard they work because they didn't win the ovarian lottery (watch this ... it will be part of the course load)