In June 1971 I got awarded a few doctoral degrees, in real stuff. However in the spring of 1971, for example, there were no job interviews at MIT and Harvard Med were sending grads still into the military. It was Vietnam. Furthermore there was no money for anything near research and Nixon just took us off the gold standard. So today is wonderful compared to June 1971.
But alas I had a plan B. I was thanks to my father an electrician. I could work with my hands, install circuits, switches, motors, etc. I had a skill and moreover my father now had a company that did electrical work on explosive sites, BU Gas and Exxon. Thus I had a job! Not in EE, medical research, just working with my hands, and yes head, and with a salary.
But upon telling the MIT faculty of my career movement I found myself back on campus teaching, I believe at $8,000 pa! I was making at the time, I believe, $50 per hour on my non-union electrician job. But back I went, remembering that if all else failed I could go back again, thanks to dad. The two rules he instilled in me were: (i) always have your own company and (ii) always have a skill which can be monetized, namely people are willing to pay you because you can do something of value. Plumbing, carpentry, electrician.
Thus this need for college for everyone is a total waste. There are more than 10 times the number of PhDs at MIT now than when I was there. Are there 10Xs the number of competent people, doubtful but there are clearly NOT 10X the number of jobs. And not one electrician in the bunch!
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