Something's Wrong Here

So this morning I went to a reunion of sorts with the women I went to grad school with. For those of you who don't know, I am one of the 60% of women who do not use their master's degree. It is a horrifying statistic, I know, and I'll tell you why...

As I am waiting all alone at a table for eight for my girlfriends to show up, I found myself gazing outside watching all the beautifully dresses coeds and parents walk by on the street (it is parent's weekend here in college land). Of course the obscenity of 18 year olds in Gucci, Prada, and even one boy in a jailhouse jumper (he must have still been in his costume from last night...his parents must be proud!) all caught my eye, but what really caught my eye was a bright pink Cadilac driving down the street. I smiled, but was distracted when my friends finally arrived (20 minutes AFTER we agreed).

We all caught up, went round the table saying what we were all doing now 6 years after grad school. While most of us are still in schools, you cannot imagine my shock when one girl explained that she only worked in a school for one year before she quit to work for Mary Kay full time. It turns out that she could make more money in one month off her commissions, than she did from the great schol system. So she is now a full time Mary Kay agent. And we're not talking little stuff. She has 3 people that work for her, label her products, ship them, and take her orders. She is one of the top sales people in the country and is the proud owner of the pink Cadilac that went cruising down the street.

Now tell me...what is wrong with our education system when you can make 4x as much money selling Mary Kay and having a bumber sticker on your car that says "Lipstick for Jesus" than being a teacher or a school counselor?