I recently had a conversation with a young teacher who just got his first probationary teaching job, three years after he received his university degree and teaching credential! Since graduating from college, he has been working part-time as a substitute teacher and behavioral specialist, while holding down another job on weekends and evenings at Macy's in order to pay his bills. In addition to his normal living expenses, his bills include a substantial student loan that he took out in order to get his college education. During my conversation with this young man he told me, "My generation feels deceived. We did everything we were told to do, and most of us cannot even find a good job!"
The CBS television show, "Sixty Minutes," aired a segment on May 20, 2012 entitled "Dropping out: Is college worth the cost?" In the story, "Sixty Minutes" reported that college graduates in this country have now accumulated over $1 trillion in student debt, and the amount is rising annually. Many of these new college graduates will be paying off their student loans well into their 30's and 40's. Even filing bankruptcy will not relieve them of this debt. Student loans can no longer be discharged in a bankruptcy. In addition, the vast majority of these students took on the loans because they were told by their parents and teachers that getting a college education would put them on the road to success; any debts they acquired would be well worth the burden. Now, as these students graduate and face a discouraging job market, many of them are wondering if they were lied to.
Of course, no one intentionally lied to these young people. The importance of a college education has been hammered into our society over the past 30 or 40 years. It is one of those "facts" that everyone believes. However, is a college education really necessary or even beneficial for everyone?
In researching my Kindle book, "Dangerous Lies We Tell to Children and Ourselves," I learned that only about 27% of the U.S. population actually has a Bachelor's Degree or higher. However, the other 73% of the people who occupy this country have managed to live, get married, raise children and often earn excellent incomes. Some of them took vocational courses after high school, but were able to spend far less money than is necessary in order to get a four-year college degree. Most of them are performing important and essential jobs in our nation, working as radiology technicians, auto mechanics, salesmen, brick masons, bank tellers, plumbers, electricians, home healthcare providers, cashiers, welders, crane operators, secretaries, registered nurses, and physical therapy assistants. We need people who work in these occupations, as well as in similar jobs.
Often people who work in these jobs earn more than college graduates. In fact, many college graduates end up taking jobs or later getting trained in occupations that do NOT require a college education. In other words, these young people could have ended up doing the same work, and saved a lot of money, by being trained in these occupations directly after high school.
Before we imply to the next generation of young people that college will guarantee them future success and is worth the expense, we need to carefully examine the interests and abilities of each student and help them decide if there is a less expensive way for them to become successful, contributing members of our society.
Does your current occupation require a college education? Was it worth it for you, and the other people you know, to borrow money for college?
You are reading from the blog: http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/
Photo courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com/
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