Education System/Degree
Information from The State of Sarkhan Official Records
Let’s break this down and evaluate each degree to determine if it falls under the pyramid scheme (MLM-like) model based on its described utility, cost, and likelihood of return on investment:
Geography
- Description: Pay someone to tell you about their gap year, or become a tutor.
- Verdict: MLM-ish. While geography has its niche applications (like GIS analysis or urban planning), most people end up teaching or stuck in an unrelated field unless they specialize heavily. If you're just paying to hear about exotic travel stories, you're not climbing far up this pyramid.
English
- Description: Useful for looking clever and landing jobs that value "soft skills," but won't get you far unless you're attending a prestigious university.
- Verdict: MLM-lite. This depends on where you study and your career ambitions. While you might land a decent job, much of its worth is tied to networking and prestige. It’s not outright predatory, but it heavily rewards privilege.
Media Studies
- Description: Useful information, but only useful for teaching media studies or working in media.
- Verdict: MLM adjacent. Despite popular perception, it teaches real skills (like analyzing trends, video editing), but demand is hyper-competitive. The market pyramid is steep, with few at the top enjoying success.
Film
- Description: Hope you like being Joel Haver.
- Verdict: Pure MLM vibes. Many dream of being a director or working in Hollywood but end up working for free on indie sets or going into adjacent careers like editing. The hierarchy of "exposure bucks" makes it feel like you’re paying to play in someone else’s pyramid.
Science
- Description: Could theoretically get you a job, but more often leads to teaching.
- Verdict: Not MLM. While the academic route can feel pyramid-like (publish or perish), the practical applications (pharma, R&D, labs) are solid. However, don't expect "mad scientist" money unless you're at the cutting edge.
Medicine
- Description: Demanding job that leaves little room for lateral movement.
- Verdict: Definitely not MLM. If you make it through, you're essentially guaranteed a career. However, the steep cost and grueling process can feel like indentured servitude before the payoff.
Mathematics
- Description: Only useful if you apply what you’ve learned, not if you rely on the degree itself.
- Verdict: Not MLM. Math is a Swiss Army knife degree, and its value is tied to practical application (data science, engineering, finance). It's not predatory—just very niche and requires independent initiative.
Gender Studies
- Description: Useful but often requires further study or experience to make it practical.
- Verdict: MLM-leaning. It produces valuable insights, but the career trajectory often involves academia or activism, which can feel self-perpetuating. Not exploitative, but the narrow pipeline feels like a funnel to the same end goal.
Business Studies
- Description: Useful, but some degrees are scams.
- Verdict: Depends on the school. At elite universities, business degrees pay off. At for-profit or lesser-known institutions, they’re closer to a pyramid scheme.
History
- Description: Useful information, limited practical job prospects unless you’re a historian.
- Verdict: MLM-leaning. Outside academia, opportunities often require adjacent skills like writing or curating. It doesn’t exploit you but offers a slim path to ROI.
Sociology
- Description: Is it MLM if someone else cites your work?
- Verdict: MLM adjacent. Its practical use often funnels into academia or policy work, which can feel like a self-contained system with limited upward mobility.
Art
- Description: You didn’t need a degree to do art, but you might become a tutor.
- Verdict: Classic MLM energy. While it can unlock doors (animation, design), many end up drowning in debt while being told to “build a portfolio.” Success heavily depends on individual talent and connections, not the degree.
Culinary Sciences
- Description: Will get you a job, but a degree isn’t strictly necessary.
- Verdict: Not MLM. While unnecessary for entry-level culinary work, a degree can accelerate your career in professional kitchens or food science.
Teaching
- Description: Feels pyramid-like if your course is to teach others the same course.
- Verdict: Not MLM. Teaching degrees fulfill a clear need. The system that underpays teachers, however, might feel MLM-like.
Information Technology
- Description: Legit job with clear demand.
- Verdict: Not MLM. Tech degrees pay off as long as you keep your skills current.
Politics
- Description: “At least you won’t be teaching politics.”
- Verdict: MLM adjacent. While some politicians succeed without degrees, most rely on connections rather than coursework. It’s a networking pyramid disguised as academia.
Economics
- Description: Extra politics degree.
- Verdict: Not MLM. Economists are in demand across industries, but the abstract nature of the field makes it inaccessible without additional skills.
Psychiatry
- Description: Clearly useful and tied to a specific, in-demand job.
- Verdict: Not MLM. A clear path to a legitimate career, albeit with high upfront costs.
Summary:
Not every degree is an MLM, but many flirt with the concept due to over-promised career paths, steep costs, and limited ROI unless you’re at the top of the pyramid. Degrees like IT, medicine, and science are clearly worth it, while fields like film and art might require a healthy dose of skepticism before enrollment. As MoNoRi-Chan would say, "Always check the ROI before you climb the academic pyramid!"
