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Those with a Bachelors or higher have an unemployment rate now of 4.3%. This is very low!! We should do more to make higher education inexpensive, but lets not discredit a 4 year degree.
Nobody is discrediting them, it's just that the expectation of all these kids going off to college without a real plan or definitive interest in an area of study can be more harmful than beneficial. Many kids are only going to college because they're expected/somehow obligated to by their parents rather than actually wanting to.
Many of these people would be better off learning a trade or getting training in something else than going to college for some degree that doesn't do much except say "Hey look, I paid x amount of money, showed up for class, and did at least some of the work" ; many of these kids find out that they can't get a job related to journalism, or English, or philosophy, or art, without going back and spending even MORE.
Would it be better for many (not all) 18 y/o's to shoot for learning a trade?
Absolutely. Unless you're truly driven to do something specific at 18, there's no good reason to spend so much time and money on traditional college classes. I think most people would be better off waiting until they're more sure of who they are. Most 18-year-olds are not.
An article on new auto plants (Audi, Volvo, & HYundai likely) this weekend indicated the minimum bar for a production worker is expected to be a 2 year degree, or some military leadership training in place of that.
I agree that many kids should not be in college. My daughter is one of them. She is in her second year of college and it has not been an easy road. She was never a strong student. She wants to be there but she doesn't have the discipline or desire while there to do what she needs to do.
After her first year away at college, which was not good, she came back home and worked for year while going to community college.
In that time, she looked for alternative "trade" careers. Guess what? For a female, they are very limited. Sure, the trades accept females but you need to have a desire and aptitude for electrical/plumbing/steamfitter etc. You also need to have some ability to handle heavy manual labor. At 5'3" and 100 pounds, ummmm, not so much for her...
Anyway, it seemed her only avenue was hair stylist--an interesting job for those with the desire and creativity. Based on interviewing several stylists it's a horrible job with regards to benefits. She's only mildly intrested. The school cost $16,900 for the year. Not something we wanted to pay or borrow for when she's "not sure."
I would be somewhat happy for her to just stop school, come home and try to get some sort of office job. But, she did try that last year while home and they don't even want your resume unless you've got some sort of degree--this just to be administrative. It's crazy. Her options are waiter and folding shirts at the local American Eagle store.
So in defense of some of these kids, they go to school because they have to and not because they want to. They are forced by a job market that requires a bachelor's in ANYTHING just to be a receptionist.
For females, it's doubly hard because they aren't often physically able to do some of the trades work. Those are great jobs--I should know because my husband has made a very good living in a trade with no college degree.
A college degree is worth it, but you have to actually put the effort in. Here are some statistics about current college students:
-The typical U.S. college student spends less than 30 hours a week on academics.
-Today, college students spend approximately 50% less time studying than U.S. college students did just a few decades ago.
-35% of U.S. college students spend 5 hours or less studying per week.
-50% of U.S. college students have never taken a class where they had to write more than 20 pages.
-32% of U.S. college students have never taken a class where they had to read more than 40 pages in a week.
-U.S. college students spend 24% of their time sleeping, 51% of their time socializing and 7% of their time studying.
This is how students act and we wonder why they can't find jobs?
I was at my sister's high school graduation this summer,and as they were seated, they were asked; ''Those of you planning on attending college next year, please stand up.'' and literally 95% of the graduates stood up. I thought to myself ''My god you fools, you can't all make it this way. Whose gonna plumb, paint, roof, and take out my trash.'' Trades to this day are kinda still vital in some cases.
Yes, everyone wants to make 6 figures automatically just for sitting around a college campus for 4 years but that's not feasible. And colleges have dumbed down to accomodate this capitalistic desire for money.
Now we've got these unemployable college graduates throwing their hissy fits on Wall Street because they didn't get their 6 figure wage job but consider themselves far too good for "menial jobs".
The tuition at my school, University of Maryland, is about $8,000 a year. That's if you commute.
We are a top 20 business school and engineering school and the number 1 criminology school in the country. We're also pretty good at science and math.
If you attend a community college and then transfer into UMD that's even cheaper. If you do something like accounting or engineering or math and get GOOD GRADES then you are pretty much guaranteed a good job right out of college. Think making 50K+ as an accountant or 60K+ as an engineer, or over 40K (and job security) as an NSA analyst. And this isn't just at Maryland, this is at a lot of state universities throughout the country. Hell, places like Michigan are up there with the Ivies in terms of academics.
If I was paying my own way through college (I'm incredibly lucky and thankful to have parents who were able to save for it) I would definitely pick a cheap but great school and a program that has good job prospects. Heck, I'm not paying my way and I still did that.
There's no reason to take on boatloads of debt. The ivy league schools are pretty generous with their financial aid, particularly if your family makes less than $60K a year (free tuition). There are many state universities that are well-regarded and cheap. Going to community college for the first two years lowers the cost as well.
Then there is also the option, for those who are willing, to join the military and get the GI Bill.
So yes, if you're not paying out the ass and if you're getting a degree with good job prospects, it is certainly worth the cost.
i'm going with this answer right here.
i take it the $8K/year figure for U of MD is in-state tuition, right?
Absolutely. Unless you're truly driven to do something specific at 18, there's no good reason to spend so much time and money on traditional college classes. I think most people would be better off waiting until they're more sure of who they are. Most 18-year-olds are not.
Many 18 year olds are. Especially if you're looking at a career such as law, medicine or anything requiring a graduate or post-doctorate degree.
I'd personally want my 18 year old in college (again state schools are excellent) in a strong major, rather than at home or roaming the streets. And even if you don't know exactly what you want to do, college gives you exposure to fields you may not even know about.
I was a research tech, a phlebotomist, worked for an organ transplant lab, a janitor, a camp counselor, learned how to work around radiation, an autopsy assistant...this would not have happened had I stayed home.
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