I see a lot of articles along these lines on the intertubes anymore:
When are Americans going to wake up and realize that the 60s and 70s-era nostalgia for the “value” of a college degree is just that — nostalgia?
A degree does not guarantee you or your children a good job anymore. In fact, it doesn’t guarantee you a job: last year, 1 out of 2 bachelor’s degree holders under 25 were jobless or unemployed. Since the recession, we’ve lost millions of high- and mid-wage jobs — and replaced a handful of those with lower-wage ones. No wonder some young people are giving up entirely — a 16.8 percent unemployment rate plus soaring student loan debt is more than a little discouraging.
I really don’t have any idea about this. When I got to be a junior in high school, everyone was talking about college. Or it seemed that way. It was a forgone conclusion that college was a required next step before getting a meaningful job.
Strictly speaking, that thinking was incorrect. But it seems more incorrect than ever now, with the debt load that college imposes on a student, or their parents.
I often think about the plumber for my parents. He’s been taking care of plumbing needs for my parents for years now. He charges minimally $300-$400 for a visit. He typically makes 3 visits a day, 5 days a week. Do the math and that’s a pretty good living. Add in the fact that it’s there are almost certainly a lot of jobs that he charges way more than $400 and it’s likely a real good living.
It’s not just plumbers either. I know other trades people that also make a nice living for themselves.
It’ll be interesting to see where things like this end up by the time the boy and the lass have to worry about these kinds of choices.
2 replies on “Will College be Worth It?”
Maybe all they’ll need are union cards!
Gerry,
I’ve considered this rather often. The thing is, and only a few people are really considering this issue, the average tuition rate has grown at an astronomical rate! It cannot continue to grow like this forever. I don’t know that the bottom will ever just “fall out”, but there will be a point that people just won’t be able to afford to go and will decided that taking on a debt the size of a mortgage for a so-so job is ludicrous.
Education is important. Education doesn’t not just mean college, however. Your parent’s plumber went to a trade school. I guarantee his return on investment is much, much greater than the students graduating with $80,000 of debt for a “business degree”.
I am saving for my children’s education, but I’m not banking on the 6% increase in cost that all the savings calculators project. It cannot grow that much above the rate of inflation.