Week of 2/24/19 – Worthless, The Young Person’s Indispensable Guide to Choosing the Right Major by Aaron Clarey
If you are thirsty for a glass of the cold, hard truth, look no further than Worthless. The author, Aaron Clarey, describes himself as “The only motorcycling, fossil-hunting, tornado chasing, book-writing, ballroom dancing economist in the world.” In the opening paragraphs of the book, Clarey emphasizes that Worthless may be the most important book that you ever read. It is a large persuasive essay that provides valuable insight on making one of life’s most difficult questions, “What are you going to major in?”
Clarey’s book goes in-depth on the idea of the ranked worth of college degrees. His arguments are almost purely economic and are intended to warn people before financing their education with debt. Plenty of expert quotes, reported statistics, anecdotal evidence, and official accounts are included in his critical inquiry of higher education. Clarey’s target audience is young people that are unsure of the career prospects that exist in the real world and are searching for relevant advice to inform their decisions.
Making mindlessly superfluous decisions as a young person when it comes to college may be one of the most destructive behaviors you can engage in. It is in your best interest to think critically about your financial situation, the prospects of your future, and the state of the economy when choosing a college major. A dreadful, but altogether not uncommon, fate that many college graduates suffer today is student debt slavery. Normal people graduate from college and find that it is incredibly difficult to obtain a well-paying job. When these issues began to affect a vast quantity of people, movements like “Occupy Wall Street” sprung up. Today, there is a largely ignored but growing sentiment among millenials and GenZ to nationalize student loan debt, a strongly left-wing proposition. Clearly, the effect of college on these unlucky people is profound and deeply troubling.
I am very glad to have read Aaron’s book. I now know exactly what I want to major in and have a more informed and holistic idea of what the higher education scene looks like. I urge all students at Oliver Ames, especially upperclassmen, to purchase Clarey’s book on Amazon. You won’t regret it! And, as always, enjoy your reading!
There will be an opinion editorial in the Daily Olivian that will serve as a corollary to this book review. Please consider reading it if you want more details about this topic!
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