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Due to our stifling economy and slow recovery, some Americans view college as a bad economic decision right now.
Student loan debt puts most graduates way in the "red" when they embark on a new career. After budgeting utilities, groceries, travel/car expenses and the like, young professionals are drowning in debt.
Some young people (probably older people as well) have decided to skip school and/ or leave early and start their own businesses. I heard all of this on a news report two weeks ago, and thought it was interesting.
If the entrepreneurial spirit catches on, and college drop outs, people with only a high school education, and early retirees become successful, by putting products to market, starting businesses, making money, and creating jobs, can you see a downward turn in people entering our higher institutions of learning?
One good thing a recession will do, it will birth more job creators. If many are successful without going to school, or getting a degree, I see a trend we all may want to keep our eyes on.
And your evidence showing poeple will resort to starting a business is?
Many who go to college do so because they could not find a more successful avenue in their financial life. Many tried and did not get anywhere without a degree, many went straight from school because they can see around them what happens to many without a formal education.
I guess we can become like those third world countries, where everyone owns a business, but it is nothing more than a bazaar stand, but still a business. There is slim chance of success with any business, many more fail than succeed.
The downward turn in college enrollment will occur by people who should not have been there in the first place.
Colleges aren't going anywhere, but I can see more mergers in the future within state university systems to cut down on administrative costs.
I'm all in favor of the entrepreneurial spirit, and hard work too. But education will remain crucial to many, many fields, such as medicine, engineering, teaching, law, etc. There is no way to come out of high school prepared for most of the high paying white color jobs out there.
I'm afraid that more than ever, four years isn't going to be the goal anymore. A masters degree will be the new normal, especially in the STEM subject areas. My youngest has already announced he won't stop sooner than a PhD. And, since his interest lies in stem cell research, that may be exactly what he needs to do.
[quote=boxus;27591816]And your evidence showing poeple will resort to starting a business is?
According to the story I viewed the motivation was the economy. Doesn't mean that they are successful, perhaps willing to step out and take a chance and do something positive about their situation.
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I think quite the opposite. The more expensive colleges will become more elite, and the state colleges will become overcrowded and turn people away, but even now employers are looking for degrees and even advanced degrees for positions that never required them before. Most of that is because they can, with so many well educated people out of work, but the young people see this and still will do whatever they must including big loans to be able to compete.
Colleges will not be a thing of the past because the future is in service industries that require education. Unless we go back to an economy based on manual labor those without degrees will continue to be stuck in housekeeping, farm work, and fast food. Even retail is starting to show a preference for college degrees.
Some young people (probably older people as well) have decided to skip school and/ or leave early and start their own businesses. I heard all of this on a news report two weeks ago, and thought it was interesting.
As we continue to evolve into an information economy, education from elite schools (and in the liberal arts) will become more important. There are a handful of dropouts who started their own companies and made it big, but the worker bees who keep places like Apple and Facebook going are very well educated. For every Mark Zuckerberg there is a Sheryl Sandberg (with two degrees from Harvard).
If you don’t have a degree, starting a small business is not a bad option, but it is high-risk, high-stress and not for everyone. It may be that it’s harder and harder for those without degrees to live a middle-class life without starting a small business, but that doesn’t mean that everyone should start a small business or avoid getting a degree.
I don't see colleges disappearing any time soon. We still need plenty of professions that require a college education. Plus not everyone who starts up a new business will succeed. They will want a backup plan hopefully.
I highly doubt college will become a thing of the past, since some degrees, like the sciences, really do require extra years of study.
That being said, I hope for a resurgence of the trades/vocational work. Everyone isn't meant to go to college, yet that's what we've been trained to focus on from the time that we're small. And then to not be college educated in this age is damn near considered to be a death wish. So many students are dealing with a catch-22 -- not meant for college/can't find work because they don't have a degree (unless they're incredibly business savvy or they're computer programmers).
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