Do Americans truly believe College is essential? (salary, legal, drug)
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One thing I have always heard perpetuated by Americans on social media, In the media itself since I was a kid was that you need to go to College to not end up impoverished. Even In TV and movies growing up you would see that if a high school student wasn't accepted into a College it was seen as the end of the world. In Europe and here in OZ/NZ this way of thinking is very strange to us. There are PLENTY of well paid skilled occupations that don't require university. In fact leaving school at 16-18 is quite common where many may go on to learn a trade for example and earn a salary higher than many who go to University.
Is the College obsession in the US really a thing or just something we see In the media? It's just something I'm alien to and wanted to see if it's actually a thing.
53% of Americans have college degrees so clearly not everyone attends or finds attending necessary. It likely breaks down to family expectations, academic ability and to a lesser degree finances. We expected our daughters to get degrees. They did. Both went on to get Master’s degrees as well. They had zero student debt because we made saving for their educations a priority and we’re lucky enough to be able to make that happen.
IMO, US schools need to have 2 tracks: College or Trade School/Apprenticeship. Not all kids are suited for college nor are all suited to learn a trade. Both groups should be equally supported by the schools.
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In order to be more inclusive, my employer has eliminated the degree requirement from many of the jobs, including the lowest level position that I manage. The interesting result is that we still end up hiring the person with the degree, as they are the best qualified. Not because of having the degree, but because their previous jobs were more closely related, more responsible, and better prepared them for the work. I suppose eventually if people stop getting degrees we would end up hiring more people without one, but for now those with degrees are apparently still at an advantage.
Where America falls down is the lack of trade schools. Some school districts will have a vocational-technical school and/or some rudimentary "shop" classes. We have national standards for some trade work; electrical work is governed by the National Electrical Code (NEC) and plumbing work is governed by the National Plumbing Code that one must comply with. In my hometown of Baltimore we have one VoTech school that's been around a long time, that being Mergenthaler High School. That's just one vo-tech school where there are numerous junior colleges, full colleges and universities in the state. I don't recall seeing any emphasis on trade education and most of the unions are gone and with their demise went the apprenticeship programs offered by many unions. This needs to be fixed or else we'll keep importing skilled trades from south of the border.
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Last edited by Mike from back east; 05-08-2023 at 10:12 AM..
I do not think that a college degree is necessary to make it in life. I don't have one. There are jobs out there that do not require a college degree and there are positions out there that will accept work experience in lieu of a degree.
I do think that a college degree makes life easier. It allows you to advance in your career faster and makes you eligible for a much wider range of jobs.
I don't, however, think it's necessarily smart to take on a large amount of student loan debt to obtain your degree. You definitely don't want to be in the position of graduating from college and *needing* to earn a minimum of $150K just to keep a roof over your head and pay your bills.
One factor is what kind of life does a person want to lead for the next 50 years after they get out of high school. It's difficult for people to look that far ahead, and just as difficult to make predictions about the 'work world', but I look at people who are, for example, in their 20s and 30s working on construction. How they gonna feel working on construction in their 50s and 60s?
And there is such a thing as being generally knowledgeable, that one gains from further education. At my school we had a 'head custodian' who was responsible for running and maintaining that HVAC systems, electrical systems, etc. I was never too sure about him just knowing that in everyday life he didn't even know the difference between 'tests' and 'testes' (and I'm not joking). You might ask why that matters. Well, when he came into contact with our parents community and he said such dumb stuff, it was embarassing and they wondered why we would hire such a person. General knowledge matters in many jobs when one comes in contact with the public.
And then there's the question of keeping up with advances in technology. And, let's face it, there are fewer and fewer jobs that do not include some aspects of evolving technology. Even back before I retired in about 2006, I went in to have my annual required car inspection. The guy doing the physical work seemed pretty competent. But then there was a big delay -- to print out the inspection report and sticker, he had to go online to connect with the state website. He didn't know how to do that, and I had to wait around until another person at the facility could come and do that for him. Minor inconvenience for me, but annoying enough that the following year I went somewhere else. And that's a very superficial thing...but the guy couldn't keep up with technology.
And then there's what someone is actually or legally qualified to do. Sometimes I have a regular handyman do minor electrical things around my house. But then there are journeyman electricians and master electricians, and each category is qualified for different levels of electrical work. And, I presume far different amounts of $$$.
I'm not saying everyone should go to a 4 year college. But, further education beyond a mere high school degree makes a difference in one's life. Community colleges have, in many cases, taken the place of a trade school. That's fine. But for someone who doesn't have the stamina to even do community college...do I really wanna hire them when there are more qualified people out there?
One factor is what kind of life does a person want to lead for the next 50 years after they get out of high school. It's difficult for people to look that far ahead, and just as difficult to make predictions about the 'work world', but I look at people who are, for example, in their 20s and 30s working on construction. How they gonna feel working on construction in their 50s and 60s?
And there is such a thing as being generally knowledgeable, that one gains from further education. At my school we had a 'head custodian' who was responsible for running and maintaining that HVAC systems, electrical systems, etc. I was never too sure about him just knowing that in everyday life he didn't even know the difference between 'tests' and 'testes' (and I'm not joking). You might ask why that matters. Well, when he came into contact with our parents community and he said such dumb stuff, it was embarassing and they wondered why we would hire such a person. General knowledge matters in many jobs when one comes in contact with the public.
And then there's the question of keeping up with advances in technology. And, let's face it, there are fewer and fewer jobs that do not include some aspects of evolving technology. Even back before I retired in about 2006, I went in to have my annual required car inspection. The guy doing the physical work seemed pretty competent. But then there was a big delay -- to print out the inspection report and sticker, he had to go online to connect with the state website. He didn't know how to do that, and I had to wait around until another person at the facility could come and do that for him. Minor inconvenience for me, but annoying enough that the following year I went somewhere else. And that's a very superficial thing...but the guy couldn't keep up with technology.
And then there's what someone is actually or legally qualified to do. Sometimes I have a regular handyman do minor electrical things around my house. But then there are journeyman electricians and master electricians, and each category is qualified for different levels of electrical work. And, I presume far different amounts of $$$.
I'm not saying everyone should go to a 4 year college. But, further education beyond a mere high school degree makes a difference in one's life. Community colleges have, in many cases, taken the place of a trade school. That's fine. But for someone who doesn't have the stamina to even do community college...do I really wanna hire them when there are more qualified people out there?
We wanted our kids to get their college degrees. If they then wanted to pursue trade school perhaps with the goal of running their own business one day, that would be awesome. But it is so much easier to go straight from HS into college while your academics are fresh.
If they wanted to go into construction, that would be awesome. Learning how to build a deck, lay flooring, put up dry wall, cut tile, etc would be enormously helpful skills whether they wound up doing it FT or just spent a summer or two as a helper.
If they want to get IT certifications they can do that or any other business licensing exams that they might need.
I was always book smart, but never very good with my hands. Even as an adult, I have tremendous difficult assembling things and the like - it will often take me several attempts or just sitting puzzled trying something that many people would grasp intuitively.
I'd have probably never made it as a tradesman - no aptitude for it. College was great for me.
In saying that, there are tons of people who go to colleges who would be best served by some sort of skilled trade program, or the military. The decline of trades programs to lead people to successful non-college careers is a huge contributor to why men today end up with drug, alcohol, and crime problems. Many men aren't college material, and there isn't a clear pathway for young men to get out of high school and into a career with a future.
I have never believed that everyone needs a college degree. I myself have a Master's, but my husband did not attend college. He always gravitated towards hands-on occupations and in his early 20s, went through a training program sponsored by BMW of North America and became a line mechanic. Fast forward 30 years and he owns a small repair shop--including the land it's on--and it has more than amply provided for our family of five. I have not worked since our children were born and we live in high-COL Southern California, so that tells you how well he's done.
We've always told our three kids that university was only one option. One of our daughters is about to get an engineering degree. The other is also in university and plans to become a speech therapist. Our son is just finishing high school and has yet to decide, but if university is not for him, we are completely fine with that as long as he has another plan that allows him to make a good living. Trades are great.
Prior to 2012 I would say most Americans believed a college degree to be essential. I recall when Lebron James decided to skip college and go directly to the NBA. Many people disagreed; felt he was damaging himself by not attending a university. Caused a bit of an uproar. At the time society was pushing college or else you're a failure. Looking back, this chain of thought made no sense. Why would anyone delay and/or possibility jeopardize millions to get a piece of paper? It served him no good. Lebron got the last laugh. Guy is now a billionaire and has never stepped foot in a university lecture hall.
I have a college degree. It prepared me well for what I do now. I enjoyed my college years and have plans to seek additional education if and/or when the need arises. Unfortunately, society went wrong when we pushed degree or bust. Not everyone is cut out for college. A society should have multiple pipelines for individuals to become successful. A college degree is a means to an end. Not the end.
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