I apologize for derailing this thread & wish I didn't post what I did last night. My intent was not to offend or scapegoat, but to stand up for my generation. We get bashed all the time, and what i often read isn't reflective of my experience.
No trying to start a debate, but to clean up a few lingering ambiguities:
@DrJacket I have no respect for Vad Lee. And I agree with you – Paul Johnson is as honest and as straight a shooter as they come. Sometimes I think this works against GT’s program, but I sure as hell respect CPJ for being an honest man. . . even if I disagree with him re: the nature of my generation.
@18in32 is correct about the nature of law school. In that way, my post was misleading. I can’t complain about the money I’m making now. To be clear though, I knew the nature of the legal profession before I went to law school. I worked for a top firm for several years. Where everyone saw a declining labor market, I saw inefficient firm structure and the opportunity to disrupt. Also, I didn’t go to law school for the money. A finance + CS skill-set was in demand, even during the great recession. I just thought my talents were better spent on developing things like applications for the blockchain than doing quant trading.
@Animal02 – you misunderstood my point. I’m not referring to the entitlements granted to university professors. I was referring to the state funding per student. There’s nearly a 1:1 correlation beginning during W’s first-term with a decline in state funding for higher education & an increase in state spending on long-term entitlement-related obligations. Also, while this is difficult to do, we have to consider the social and public benefit that some of these admin costs bring. GT has had a huge positive effect on Atlanta. This was made possible by a lot of research & PPP projects. These activities require professional administrative support that doesn’t come cheap. You raise valid points, but, like my comment, they need context. That said, I’ll withdraw complaint #3. I can’t really complain about the cost of my education. I’m the first person in my family to get a college degree & I got 2 of them from GT & a law degree from an over-ranked, over-priced private institution. I relied on student loans b/c I didn’t have a dollar to my name, but I was able to pay them off before I was 30. Thank you, America for giving me that opportunity.
@Skeptic – I spent a year working with a university to revamp its tenure program & consulting with universities nationwide…based on what I learned, you’re spot on. Lol ironically merit factors are what universities use to deny tenure to specific units (if anyone is a med school prof on tenure track, start looking for options now).
In the words of jerry, Go Jackets!