What would happen if...

I disagree; the years of grade school and high school spent learning math and science and how to think are all preludes to learning a specific subject in depth. No one can enter a four year engineering program with zero math ability and graduate as a professional, just like no one can enter a music school with zero musical ability and graduate as a professional.

The entry requirements into most college engineering programs do not require anything exotic. They usually require a high school course in chemistry and/or physics and math up to the level of integrated algebra and trig. In fact, I would argue that anyone with a high school diploma should have command of those skills these days. (I say should because I recognize that some people try to get out of HS while learning as little as possible). Anyone who graduates HS with "zero math ability" never should have graduated.

As far as "graduating as a professional", what I mean is that the individual is ready to take up a position in the field. Granted, they do not have the expertise of a seasoned practitioner but they are ready for gainful employment.

To take your analogy even further, once you graduate as an engineer you still, essentially, know nothing compared to people who are experienced in the field. It's likely you've never even been part of an engineering team working on a project, unlike a music school graduate who has probably played in bands or orchestras for a while.

This only supports my argument. (Although in all fairness, it is common for engineering students to do internships or work co-ops before graduating but these tend not to be on-going as would be the case with music ensembles.)


Nitpicking the analogy aside, the crux of the issue is that being a doctor, engineer, or business major has the potential to lead to reasonably large profits for an employer. Being a musician has much less potential to affect an employer's earnings in comparison, and that's why musicians get paid a pittance despite spending just as much effort developing their craft. Ultimately, it IS about supply and demand.

No, as you say, it's all about profits, and by extension, the bizarre notion that everything has an equivalent monetary value.
 
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