Opinion editor's note: Published in Star Tribune Opinion letter We hear from readers online and in print every day.Click to contribute here.
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I am a subscriber who is disappointed in the editorial “What's that degree worth?” (March 23), advocates measuring the value of universities by what is reported. boot graduate salary.
The first problem is that the cited Department of Employment and Economic Development tool only includes wages for people employed in Minnesota. University of Minnesota graduates working out of state, the self-employed, and those seeking additional education or fellowships immediately after graduation are excluded. A better tool is the Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) Explorer, which shows earnings one, five, and 10 years after graduation and includes 96% of the U.S. workforce.
The second problem is that the editorial misrepresents the true cost of attending college. Considering need-based financial aid and merit scholarships, her average net tuition for a first-year student at a private university in Minnesota is less than $15,000.
Most importantly, it suggests that starting salary is the best measure of whether going to college is worth it. That's wrong. Liberal arts graduates earn less than those with technical degrees in the first few years after graduation, but over time, their leadership and problem-solving skills earn them greater responsibility and greater impact on society. You can get a position that gives you.
Graduates of Minnesota's private universities include entrepreneurs, business executives, medical professionals, educators and scholars, scientists and engineers, elected officials and policy makers, creatives, lawyers, and leaders in countless other professions. It is included. The fact that some of them took low-paying jobs immediately after graduation is not a sufficient reason to exclude liberal arts degrees.
Of course, students (and their parents) need to be well-informed before choosing a university. However, you should consider what a liberal arts graduate can accomplish over the course of their career, and you should not base your decision on the average hourly wage in Minnesota two years after graduation. According to the Strada Foundation, “Liberal arts graduates…grow exponentially in the second half of their careers, experiencing rapid wage increases in their late 30s and early 40s.”
Because we know that graduating from college is the single most powerful means young people have to achieve social mobility, our efforts are designed to protect against misleading and intimidation tactics. The focus should be on encouraging young people to continue their education rather than discouraging them.
Suzanne M. Rivera, St. Paul
The author is president of Macalester College.
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When editorial boards express opinions about the value of higher education, they should have a clear understanding of what “liberal arts” and “liberal arts education” mean. That is more beneficial.
“Count us among the surviving supporters of liberal education. We believe that society needs poets and philosophers just as it needs physicists and accountants. The statement ” reveals the author's mistaken impression that liberal arts refers only to the arts and the arts. Humanities. For those less familiar with higher education, this false impression may be understandable, given that the term “liberal arts” includes the word “arts.” But most, if not all, members of the board think he has a BA degree, and liberal arts has always been a broad spectrum (from the ancient Greeks to modern times). You should know that I have been referring to the knowledge and research of. This includes mathematics, natural sciences, history, philosophy, social sciences, music, writing, communication, and fine arts.
Top feeder programs for physics PhDs include many liberal arts colleges. (Carleton University in Minnesota is notable in this regard.) Similarly, medical schools typically draw the majority of their admitted students from liberal arts colleges. Graduates of liberal arts colleges then go on to law school, business school, and sometimes pursue careers in accounting.
I've been teaching at liberal arts colleges for over 40 years, and the thousands of students I've taught, advised, and mentored have gone on to a wide range of professions, from science, health care, law, and business to film and music. I am employed. And journalism. No matter what profession they hold, they all believe in proving the value of a liberal arts education to their lives and careers. Blaming “liberal arts” as a low-paying prospect for future college students is patently absurd. The Star Tribune Editorial Board should refrain from perpetuating myths about the liberal arts or using these misconceptions as a framework for interpreting employment data.
Michael Griffin, St. Paul
uber and lyft
Without drivers, the issue of salary is meaningless.
I have been closely following the wage issues related to Uber and Lyft services. I believe there are even bigger and potentially more significant challenges facing the transportation industry in the not-too-distant future. My wife and I recently returned from Phoenix. We downloaded his Waymo app and requested a driverless vehicle to pick us up. It kept us informed of its approach, honked its horn when it arrived, and the car (Jaguar) already “knew” where we wanted to go at the quoted price. We were nervous as we had chosen a crowded shopping mall as our destination. Not only did he drive us there safely, but he also stopped and avoided pedestrians and dropped us off in front of us in a very safe spot. When I was ready to be picked up, I used the app to request a pick up. It was waiting for us at the same place we dropped us off and took us home without any problems. Then we watched the next driver leave to pick up. Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence is here to stay.
Rod Martell, Minneapolis
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I just finished reading the article “Minnesota can do better than Uber or Lyft” (Opinion Exchange, March 23) and found the following passage humorous. “Minnesota has all the talent to create its own rideshare app.” This seems very similar to the logic that led to the debacle formerly known as his MNLARS. Ta.
For Minnesotans who didn't go through that nightmare, it took more than a decade to develop, doubled its original budget, and ultimately cost the state $100 million before being mercifully euthanized in 2021. It was a domestically produced software program created in the past.
It is well known around Minnesota government that MNLARS was in trouble long before it went live in 2017. The audit revealed many reasons why the system fell short of expectations, including initial miscalculations of project scope and cost, and failures to reconfigure. The state's outdated business processes, sloppy governance and inadequate testing of the technology frustrated three governors and numerous agency heads before building the system on top of it. Not to mention the Minnesotans who tried to update their tabs or get their licenses.
There are two apps that work. Consider how you can play in the same sandbox as Uber and Lyft. please.
Tim Labash, Apple Valley
society
Aren't guns and TikTok both evil?
Last week's column by Jennifer Brooks, “Hey, America, let's get our priorities straight” (March 22) missed the point.
What if a Chinese-led company could identify a 9-year-old by face among its millions of users, tell them who their legislators are, tell them how to contact them, and tell them to send messages in support of TikTok? It should all be done within a few hours. As Americans, we should be concerned.
yes. Gun violence is a serious problem. But so do Chinese-led companies like TikTok. Congress should shut down TikTok if it doesn't sell to a U.S. company. and Pass sensible gun control laws.
Nicole Webb, Minneapolis
