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Chinese youth are "Lying Flat" and the idea is spreading to the USA...

And the notion is not that dissimilar to those in the west who live the nomadic life and get out of the rat race.

In China they work from 9am to 9pm 6 days a week (known as the 9-9-6) and the people have decided that that's a crappy way to spend your only life on this blue ball. And for what - a bigger house, some toys you don't really need. The youth are pretty happy if they have clothes, a phone, and food. A roof of over their head - meh a tent will do.

And it's a pretty good ploy because businesses are having to pay more and have to beg people to work at their plants. All the minimum wage arguments will go out the window if the people simply get together and refuse to work until you meet the employee's pay requirements.

How does this apply to your post - well they are less attracted to university because the degrees in non-STEM-related fields pay very little. In Canada a Bus driver makes more than a teacher - so why would you do a 5.5-year degree in teaching that sets you back $60,000 to then be a substitute teacher for 10 years making $26,000 a year when you can be a bus driver and make $60,000 a year after 6 months?

When I taught in Canada I was kind of dismayed by some teachers. The teacher asked a class of students what they wanted to do when leaving school and one girl wanted to be a hairdresser/aesthetician. The teacher scoffed at the notion as if this was not a worthy career. It's as if any career not related to the CORE subjects in schools is unworthy. Now I get that kind of thinking here in Hong Kong because in general only academic jobs pay anything. In Hong, Kong Teachers get paid in a month what a bus driver makes in nearly a year! So yes here you have to strive for academic jobs - but not in the west.

The girl could wind up working as a hairdresser for the movie stars and she will earn what the entire school faculty makes in a year! Plumbers - lol they take in 5-10 times what a teacher makes and probably eclipse some doctors.

To be fair - the University is not an entity that is about "getting a job" - for that there are trade schools.

I went to university to become a teacher because in Canada you must have a BA or a BSc. In order to be a high school teacher, you needed to choose a "teachable" subject - English, Maths, Science, History. Thus, you need an English degree if you want to be a high school English teacher.

The University served as a clear path to a career in my case. However, just getting a degree in English or Sociology is no doubt more problematic if you plan on getting a job.

With luck, kids will have very good academic advisers in their high schools to help them plan their future (along with good parents) so that they know exactly what their university degree will get them.

There is no way I would have done an English degree if I were not going to become a teacher. I preferred psychology and philosophy but switched to English because, again, it was a "teachable subject" so it would give me more teaching options. I was mostly trained as an elementary school teacher. But The dean of education advised our class to choose two teachable subjects and they gave us a high school practicum as well. Basically, it gave our graduating class a much stronger initial resume and the ability to teach K-12 and two subject areas to teach in High School over just one.

Lastly, The best-paying jobs are in the STEM-related fields. If your kid just doesn't have the head for science/math etc then it's probably better for them to find something they like and train for that. Spending $60k for an Anthropology/English double minor is not a good idea.

And if you know someone who goes into teaching I would also advise they get their major or minor in Math or Science - something to fall back on if you want to change careers and there is a massive early dropout rate in teaching these days. With an English/History double minor or something like this - you're stuck. There is no real fallback option when you eventually burn out. So you get these tired old cranks hanging on 10 years after they should have quit.

Check ou the Chinese Lying Flat - it's coming (and/or) already arrived in the west.




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