Dont' discount the value of learning a skilled trade.

[GMDino]

(09-01-2017, 11:33 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Oh, by all means. If you want to make the choice go to college and advance your education, perhaps with something you're highly interested in, that's a great thing.

My main problem really just stems from the sudden unnecessary degree requirement for getting a lot of jobs, and the overwhelming push to force kids into going to college. There's a lot of stupid people out there being pushed into getting college degrees, who really aren't helped by getting the degrees, but are then in debt for it. (The US student loan debt is somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5t right now.)

The cynic in me says when $1.5t is involved, you just need to follow the money to find out why this system is being pushed so hard despite it being unnecessary in most cases. The average monthly student loan payment for people aged 20-30 is like $350. Roughly 13.5% of the US population has student debt right now. Keep in mind roughly 30.4% of the US population is age 17-40.


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We're on pretty much the same page on this, it seems. :andy:

Can't say I disagree with the money grab angle.

When I started college in 1987 we were being told over and over we HAd to have a bachelor's degree to get a "good" job.  And to be honest most of my friends had dad's that had "good" jobs but they were factory type jobs and they all wanted us to "do better".  Add in the factories were closing from about 83 on and it seemed like a no brainer.

When I graduated with a BA in Communication in 1991 everyone was saying the only smart thing to do was to go for a masters so we would be ahead of all those people who only had bachelor's degrees. 

I chose not to do that.

All these years later I am in a job where I do use my communication skills, but not in the area I studied for:  radio.

Now it's almost ASSUMED that you have to go to college.  And that simply isn't (and wasn't ever) true.