College waste and inefficiency

I got very lucky going to college in Georgia. With the HOPE scholarship, my college experience was pretty much free.

I got my degree in accounting in 2010 and I'm a staff accountant today.

Unfortunately, looking back, I think about how much time the university system wastes.

I went to college for accounting from fall 2006 to spring 2010. My total program was 120 credit hours. Of that total 120 hours, only 24 credit hours was related to accounting.

Principles of Accounting 1 (3 credit hours)
Principles of Accounting 2 (3 credit hours)

Professional Accounting (1 credit hour)
Transaction Analysis (1 credit hour)
Cost Accounting (3 credit hours)
Intermediate Accounting (4 credit hours)
Tax Accounting (3 credit hours)
Accounting information systems (3 credit hours)
Audit (3 credit hours)

I went to college for accounting, yet I was forced to take several classes that were a complete waste of time.

Psychology 1101 (3 credit hours)
English 1101 (3 credit hours)
English 1102 (3 credit hours)
Perspectives culture (3 credit hours)
Perspectives art/environment (2 credit hours)
Sociology families and society (3 credit hours)
Philosophy great questions (3 credit hours)
American Folklore (3 credit hours)
History of Film (3 credit hours)
Geography Weather (3 credit hours)
Geography Landforms (3 credit hours)
Nutrition (3 credit hours)

Now, I went to college for accounting. Only one fifth of the time was spent learning accounting. A full 96 credit hours were mostly unnecessary however 120 credit hours are required to earn a bachelors degree.

If you were able to take only what your major required, you could easily finish college in 2 years.

Luckily for me, scholarships made my education free.

Back in 2006, I remember tuition went for $2,500 a semester. My degree would have cost me roughly $20,000. Since only 20% of my courses were accounting, the cost would have been only $4,000.
$16,000 would have been a complete waste of time and money.

The most common defense I've heard for classes like English, Sociology, humanities, and liberal arts are to make you a more well rounded person. Biggest load of that I've ever heard in my life.

Well rounded. What does that even mean? And is it worth $16,000?
$16,000 to waste your time and provide no help or use to advance your career in accounting.

And its not like Accounting is a useless degree. Its part of STEM.

But the way the university system is set up, it is designed to extract as much money from a student as possible. No matter what degree you choose, you will need roughly 120 credit hours to get a degree. You can major in chemical engineering and still have to sit though a sociology class.

Tuition costs keep on rising as well.

Today, tuition at the same college goes for $260 per credit hour.  With 120 credit hours, total tuition will come out to be at least $31,200. This assumes tuition doesn't increase over the four years (don't count on this assumption). Your relevant classes cost $6240. The required waste of time costs $24,960.

Kids going to college. If you aren't getting scholarships, really consider your options.

Consider the trades. Research the salaries and requirements of becoming a plumber, mechanic, electrician, or a welder. Its going to be much faster, cheaper, and efficient.

Recommended reading.

Worthless by Aaron Clarey