More women than men obtaining advanced degrees

[Jsmythe]

This thread is about why there are so many women today who get advanced college degrees and stay single. In fact women in 2007 received 61% of the advanced degrees.

My theory is that this is a sign of love "growing cold", which is one of the signs mentioned by Jesus of the end times.

[HisAlways]

I received by associates degree at age 42, after returning to school. My husband only had a high school degree, and his own business has been struggling. He only decided to buy the business after I got my degree, and got a good paying job.

So, now I mainly support the family, and it bothers the heck out of me. I have to pay for everything, and I keep telling myself that God did not intend for the woman to take care of the family.

But, you're right. It isn't even given second thought today. I'm just one that does think about it a lot.

[Jsmythe]

Whenever I post something on this board I always think I sound like a crazy person.

I've actually been invited to be a professor in the Communication Studies department at a nearby university but the problem is that I only have an Associates degree. I think there are a lot of guys who in the past would have gotten Phds that probably are not getting them now.

[SumSam]

I have a female colleague at work who's also a good friend, she got married at 24, got divorced at 28, earned a Phd and has been working hard at a career for the past 12 years and enjoying it from all appearances...she's now a design department head.

At coffee the other day, she got talking about her humdrum routine of existence and how she should have been doing something quite different. I was like...? :scratch aren't you sitting pretty in a good career and a job you like? She said yeah, but she'd swap it all in an instant to run a home and take care of a bunch of kids. That came as a complete surprise to me! :twitch I'd always thought of her as a typical career woman, family a distant second...shows how off the mark one can be about a person, even one you've known for some years. :idunno

That conversation got me thinking about how many of us lead lives that are natural and keeping in line with our natural abilities and inclinations...I suppose that's a luxury in this day and age of "two incomes and a mortgage and car loan" households. We have a higher standard of living than our grandparents, but perhaps we've paid a price for it, which we don't fully realise. :thinking

[sophie]

Gee, I don't know if I should take offense at this or not:scratch.

Let me first say that I returned to school NOT of my own volition, but because this is what God wanted me to do. I finally decided to quit making my own decisions, and instead listen to what God desired me to do for a change.

For most of my years I struggled through school, including my first year in college, after which I dropped out, putting an end to my scholastic journey. I also struggled through life, relying on what I thought was right; what I assumed I needed. Be it my career, relationships, friendships-anything that involved choices and decisions- I relied solely upon myself. Suffice it to say, most of my decisions had negative consequences, yet the Lord has graciously helped me to learn from these lessons and also to see their positive effects.

While working for the State, my boss - the director of H.R., had a stroke. I was temporarily assigned, (for the next year), to fulfill her duties. About four months into my new responsibilities, I began to notice unethical behavior and decisions that management was making. A little voice inside my head told me I should quit. I did not listen to this voice and instead rationalized I could hold out to pay off a few more bills, then leave. Nine months later I was laid off so executive management could bring in someone of their own choosing.

It was on Jesus I leaned as I signed the paperwork, and quietly exited the building. I would have thought that regret and sorrow would have been flowing through my veins, but oddly, all I felt was relief. The Lord wanted me out of that cesspool and had given me signs even before my sudden departure. I have learned that when the Lord says “go,” He really means “GO!”

On days when I was not interviewing for a new job, I buried myself in Bible studies. Some months I had four to five interviews, other months I had no interviews. After the interviews I would ask the Lord to let me be hired.

Over the course of six months and many interviews, I never received a job offer, and by January I was full of self-doubt. I remember a very specific supplication I put before Jesus one night, where I reminded Him that I was
constantly buried in His Word, and that He knew my skills were marketable and that I was a very hard worker, so why wasn’t I landing a job? There was no answer. Another month went by; at this point, I was a basket case. I
questioned my skills, my intelligence, even my ability to interview. It was at this juncture, where my self-esteem had been all but decimated, that I again approached my Lord on this issue and said, “Maybe I’ve been going about
this the wrong way. Instead of seeking out the jobs that I want, and asking You to give them to me, maybe I should ask You, "What is it that You would have me do? What is Your purpose for me?” Although there was no clear
response, I believe I might have heard a muffled sigh, and the whispered word, “Finally!”:lol2

I rarely watch television, but over the course of the next two weeks, I needed an escape, so I tuned in to news and Christian channels. I noticed one prevalent theme in almost every commercial I was subjected to: get your degree. Finish your education. Having ADHD, I am scared of school, memorization, and tests. I was never a good student. My grades were barely passable. This is not something I would have picked for myself in order to boost my ego, and I reminded God of this daily. Yet He would have none of my protestations and, instead, flooded my mailbox with flyers from Christian colleges, I believe, to drive home His intentions for my life. Finally, I relented. I filled out an application for the Veteran’s Administration’s (VA) educational benefits, as the wife of a disabled, unemployable veteran. The VA is notorious for being slow, as evidence of my husband’s six-year wait to be deemed 100% disabled, so I thought it might take a good two years before I’d hear an answer.

Shortly after mailing the VA application, I received a call from a job for which I had applied back in November with the federal government. They asked whether I was still interested. I told them yes, and the interview was set up for early March. Upon interviewing, I was told their budget had changed and this was now a part-time, thirteen-month position, working four days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.. My initial though was “Oh no! I really need the salary of a full-time job,” but what came out of my mouth was, “This might be perfect if I get the funding to go back to college because it would allow me the extra time to devote to studying and homework.” I later found out that eighty-two people had applied for this position, but it was offered to me because of my husband’s Veteran’s Preference that I was able to claim.

A week before I was due to start my new job, I received notification from the VA that my application for educational assistance had been approved. I was
flabbergasted!:faint This had to have been the quickest approval in the history of the VA! I sat there speechless as I read and reread the approval. When I finally came out of shock, I could do nothing less than marvel at the Lord’s impeccable timing: from the move down to Central Illinois, to acquiring our farm, to getting me out of an unhealthy work environment- all so I could finally do His will- through the VA’s warp-speed approval to pay for my education in Him, to having me find the perfect job with limited hours so I could devote enough study time to prepare myself in the best way possible to bring Him glory. I learned seven years ago that God is good, yet I never cease to be amazed at His set-up, timing, and execution of events.

My hope upon graduating is to minister to those to whom I can relate, because I have been where they are, women who are battered and abused and have been made to believe they have no worth and do not deserve
anything better. By the grace of God only did I not encounter prison, yet I can relate to women feeling as though there is no hope because of bad decisions; women who believe they are destined to repeat the same destructive cycle over and over again.

On the belief that how we live our life here determines how we will serve God in heaven, my desire is to offer God’s promises as hope and myself as an example that God is true to His Word.

Our Father has revealed Himself and His love for me repeatedly, in so many ways, through so many miracles. He knew that the grace He bestowed upon me, grace I did nothing to deserve, would humble me to the point of
complete devotion.

My expectations in attending my Christian College and finishing up my BA, are to bear much fruit. I have come to realize that what happens to us is not as important as how we respond to it. I foremost need to learn how to apply God’s Word in any situation. I hope to discover what gifts I possess so I may hone them in order to minister compassionately. I want to learn how to think and respond like Christ about any situation or stronghold. I want to learn even more about my Savior, in order to take that knowledge along with my experiences and effectively minister, so that I may be able to bring Him glory.

I chose not to have children due to my upbringing and because, to this day, I don't think I would have been responsible enough. I would not want to have the affect on a child that my parents had on us, so I chose not to have children. Now is that wrong, or is that being responsible:idunno?

I think if God leads you to get your degree or a higher degree, it's perfectly fine:thumb.

Blessings!

[Theresa]

I've got four degrees - three were earned by the time I was 22, and I married my long-term boyfriend the next year. Three years later, I quit my job to start a family. I was a stay-at-home mom to my two girls until my (now ex) husband decided he was tired of being married (to me, at least). Now what was I to do? I did not want to re-enter business at that time - the hours I had spent at work prior to having kids was insane at time - my priority was my kids. What did I do? I went back to school to earn my master's in education - a decision I made in trying to keep with my view that my family was #1. So, here is a woman who earned an advanced degree because she felt it was the right thing to do. I subbed for seven years, being available for my kids and their activities the majority of the time - I am a very involved mom. I have only recently decided to leave teaching after a couple of really horrible experiences.

Please be careful of making a blanket statement condemning all women who have a lot of schooling. I am not taking away a job that a man has a "right" to. I am a single mom who made a conscious decision to focus on raising my daughters to the best of my abilities. I have not dated at all in 11 years, again, making the best decision that I could at the time, so I have not had an opportunity to find a man to "take care" of me. I am self-sufficient, with God's help. I have one failed marriage behind me - I do not believe that I am required to seek out a man just for the sake of having a man. Looking at the past 11 years, I am utterly surprised that we made it considering the limited income I had. God truly blessed us and used this time to pull me in closer to Him. I would not be in "this place" if it weren't for my having gone through a totally traumatic experience. I begin a new job on Monday, an entry-level job for which my advanced degree means nothing - and I am totally okay with that!

[WarriorX]

Yeah...... there's a girl at my church who's 25 and I wanted to ask her out and all that....... She's already a Kindergarten teacher but she's off getting her Masters now... she wasn't interested and hasn't kept anyone in the past very long anyway.... go fig eh... (And she's High-Maintenance....)

[NewWorldOrder]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a woman being educated. I do not have a college degree, it just wasn't for me, but my daughter really wants to go to college and get a degree. I think more women are just motivated more than ever to get degrees and a lot of them, unfortunately, have to out of necessity due to divorce or not finding a mate, which is the case for several women I know.

As far as men not getting advanced degrees, I don't have a clue. It could be that a lot of them either get their bachelors degree then go to work to support their families, or they go to work so their wives can keep going to college. :idunno

[NewWorldOrder]

Yeah...... there's a girl at my church who's 25 and I wanted to ask her out and all that....... She's already a Kindergarten teacher but she's off getting her Masters now... she wasn't interested and hasn't kept anyone in the past very long anyway.... go fig eh... (And she's High-Maintenance....)


She may just be keeping her priorities in order. She probably feels that if she gets into a relationship that she won't finish, and she may be right. It would be worse for her to get into a relationship, get married, and then start having regrets because she didn't finish her college education and then she decides to divorce. That's just me guessing.

One thing is for sure, every woman, and every man, needs to have employable skills. I drill that in my teenage daughter's head. If, for some reason, she decides not to go to college, then she needs to learn a skill that will make her employable so she isn't having to depend on her parents, or the govt. to get by.

[Theresa]

She may just be keeping her priorities in order. She probably feels that if she gets into a relationship that she won't finish, and she may be right. It would be worse for her to get into a relationship, get married, and then start having regrets because she didn't finish her college education and then she decides to divorce. That's just me guessing.

One thing is for sure, every woman, and every man, needs to have employable skills. I drill that in my teenage daughter's head. If, for some reason, she decides not to go to college, then she needs to learn a skill that will make her employable so she isn't having to depend on her parents, or the govt. to get by.

Yep, you are absolutely right.

WarriorX, she could either just not be interested in a relationship, or she has been scarred by something that happened in the past. Don't take it personally.