Strange that I am the third highly educated reader to comment!
I loved studying, and learning is still my favorite thing in the world. I learned at various occasion that some people consider me more than them because of that. It never ever occurred to me that I may be better because I love school, somehow always simply considered it made me weird.
And I kind of assumed you had a degree, because a career like yours seems to follow a degree of some sort, but I find you even more impressive for having managed all of that without the support of a degree to open doors for you.
I have multiple degrees including two masters. I gained a ton of knowledge I still use. The most valuable thing it taught me was to be a critical thinker (liberal arts and social sciences for the win)
College wasn’t for my husband who is gifted and severely hard of hearing. He only attended one year of college and never got a degree. Now, 20 years later he’s read hundreds of dense textbook like books on topics like quantum physics, sociotechnical systems and philosophy. He is one of the critical thinkers I’ve ever met.
I stopped judging people based on their education long ago. The thing I value (especially in today’s world) is critical thinking which you may or may not get in a college education.
P.S. I find you to be quite a critical thinker. It’s why I subscribed! I’ve never once wondered whether you have a college education.
I agree about critical thinking, and thank you! That's a wonderful compliment. With the right mindset, I think some people do hone critical thinking through education. Others do the opposite and sort of flatten their ability to think critically in favor of appealing to good grades. Maybe that depends on the institution.
As a former college teacher, I think you kind of called it in terms of how higher ed can both create and flatten critical thinking. It's kind of wild, tbh.
Oh, Dana! First, I have to thank you for this essay; its insight and humor are helping me out during an early-morning colonoscopy prep 🙃 Your "moving-but-incorrect interpretation of Machiavelli" alone honestly made my morning; I'd gladly read that essay!
I am highly educated and was the overachieving gifted student with a bright future, and yet I often feel similarly to you (inferior, mostly; a loser sometimes) because I make less money than most all of my peers. There's no winning, truly (except we've both won because we like the lives we're living).
Also despite alllll that education (which I loved and thrived in), I had to Google the definition of auto-didact and truly did not know the source of that ends/means quote.
Another fun way to feel inferior — you got all the good grades and graduated from college, but don't perceive the jobs you get (regardless of pay) as being as prestigious as others' or as being "living up to your potential" ;) That's my particular flavor.
Also, to Dana and any educators, feel free to correct me if I misread things, but that felt really mean-spirited of your teacher.
It was an odd move from that teacher! He wasn't mean-spirited, and this was a particularly tight-knit class, so it didn't totally come off as cruel. But it was a weird move, and I definitely felt picked on a little; I think my classmates knew that and that's why they rallied behind me ❤️
As a former Gifted Kid (TM) and holder of two advanced degrees, I both do not think you are stupid because you lack a degree AND think that being Smart (TM) can be severely overrated, both in terms of, like "making it," and also in terms of personality. Both my spouse and I have PhDs, but we're both "failures" in that neither of us are working in academia, I'm stuck at a job that I hate, we've never owned a house, etc., etc. We're redefining what success looks like for us at this stage of life, but both of us went through/are going through a bit of grief and some un-tethering of our senses of self to the "smart person" identity because it didn't get it us all that we were promised.
Also, a lot of Smart (TM) people are assholes.
TBH, I think you're rad (and smart) as hell and have taught me lots about money and helped me changed my relationship to it, which I DEEPLY value and for which I am eternally grateful!
It's interesting how "educated" denotes class in that way. That's not what the category means on a survey, but it definitely carries that connotation — if you're educated, you're higher class. That's why people in my working class community tend to become anti-intellectual and sneer at people with higher education. And it's certainly why I feel so inferior among people with more formal education than I have, despite my experience and all I've learned on my own.
I've looked into immigration to leave the U.S., and I've found that not having a degree would be a hindrance for me.
Strange that I am the third highly educated reader to comment!
I loved studying, and learning is still my favorite thing in the world. I learned at various occasion that some people consider me more than them because of that. It never ever occurred to me that I may be better because I love school, somehow always simply considered it made me weird.
And I kind of assumed you had a degree, because a career like yours seems to follow a degree of some sort, but I find you even more impressive for having managed all of that without the support of a degree to open doors for you.
Thank you! I'm not surprised that many of you all are highly educated; I think Substack attracts that. Happy to have your perspective! :)
I have multiple degrees including two masters. I gained a ton of knowledge I still use. The most valuable thing it taught me was to be a critical thinker (liberal arts and social sciences for the win)
College wasn’t for my husband who is gifted and severely hard of hearing. He only attended one year of college and never got a degree. Now, 20 years later he’s read hundreds of dense textbook like books on topics like quantum physics, sociotechnical systems and philosophy. He is one of the critical thinkers I’ve ever met.
I stopped judging people based on their education long ago. The thing I value (especially in today’s world) is critical thinking which you may or may not get in a college education.
P.S. I find you to be quite a critical thinker. It’s why I subscribed! I’ve never once wondered whether you have a college education.
I agree about critical thinking, and thank you! That's a wonderful compliment. With the right mindset, I think some people do hone critical thinking through education. Others do the opposite and sort of flatten their ability to think critically in favor of appealing to good grades. Maybe that depends on the institution.
As a former college teacher, I think you kind of called it in terms of how higher ed can both create and flatten critical thinking. It's kind of wild, tbh.
Oh, Dana! First, I have to thank you for this essay; its insight and humor are helping me out during an early-morning colonoscopy prep 🙃 Your "moving-but-incorrect interpretation of Machiavelli" alone honestly made my morning; I'd gladly read that essay!
I am highly educated and was the overachieving gifted student with a bright future, and yet I often feel similarly to you (inferior, mostly; a loser sometimes) because I make less money than most all of my peers. There's no winning, truly (except we've both won because we like the lives we're living).
Also despite alllll that education (which I loved and thrived in), I had to Google the definition of auto-didact and truly did not know the source of that ends/means quote.
Happy to help! And good luck with the procedure :)
That's a great point about feeling inferior when you make less money, too. I guess our culture just creates too many metrics for us to live up to.
Another fun way to feel inferior — you got all the good grades and graduated from college, but don't perceive the jobs you get (regardless of pay) as being as prestigious as others' or as being "living up to your potential" ;) That's my particular flavor.
Also, to Dana and any educators, feel free to correct me if I misread things, but that felt really mean-spirited of your teacher.
It was an odd move from that teacher! He wasn't mean-spirited, and this was a particularly tight-knit class, so it didn't totally come off as cruel. But it was a weird move, and I definitely felt picked on a little; I think my classmates knew that and that's why they rallied behind me ❤️
Yeah, it came off as a well-intentioned but ultimately poor choice from the teacher. I'm glad your friends supported you!!!
As a former Gifted Kid (TM) and holder of two advanced degrees, I both do not think you are stupid because you lack a degree AND think that being Smart (TM) can be severely overrated, both in terms of, like "making it," and also in terms of personality. Both my spouse and I have PhDs, but we're both "failures" in that neither of us are working in academia, I'm stuck at a job that I hate, we've never owned a house, etc., etc. We're redefining what success looks like for us at this stage of life, but both of us went through/are going through a bit of grief and some un-tethering of our senses of self to the "smart person" identity because it didn't get it us all that we were promised.
Also, a lot of Smart (TM) people are assholes.
TBH, I think you're rad (and smart) as hell and have taught me lots about money and helped me changed my relationship to it, which I DEEPLY value and for which I am eternally grateful!
It's interesting how "educated" denotes class in that way. That's not what the category means on a survey, but it definitely carries that connotation — if you're educated, you're higher class. That's why people in my working class community tend to become anti-intellectual and sneer at people with higher education. And it's certainly why I feel so inferior among people with more formal education than I have, despite my experience and all I've learned on my own.
I've looked into immigration to leave the U.S., and I've found that not having a degree would be a hindrance for me.