[bandycpa]

nmap,

It may have been my generation that started the switch from "the betterment of society" to "the betterment of our earnings" as the motivation to get a college degree. My Dad was a coal miner, and he made pretty good money. But, he told me from the time I entered school at the tender age of five, "Son, you're going to college." All the way through elementary, middle, and high school, going to college was the goal...so much so that my high school graduation was merely the next step to "13th grade" rather than the emotional goodbye that a lot of my classmates experienced. Needless to say, going to college was the plan from the get-go.

Dad's logic was twofold: 1) It would allow me to make more money after graduation so I could better take care of my family, and 2) He forbade me from working in the mines as he did (he knew it was dangerous and ultimately bad for one's long-term health). I didn't know what my major was going to be in college, but I knew I was going there. Dad (and Mom too) made sure of that.

So, I had no grand vision of bettering society at the time. My going to college was simply fulfilling the desire my Dad had for me from a very young age. I am glad that he put that notion in my head early on, for I finally "got it" while in school and found what I was supposed to do in life. Hey, somebody has to keep track of the numbers and the tax laws!


Bandy