I think every person should think about what they want to do with their life, and if they want to be successful, they probably should get a degree /very complicated

Maybe a decade ago, my hematologist came into the exam room for one of my annual check-ups, looked seriously at me, and announced “Never let your children become doctors.” I assume he had just paid his malpractice bill or his daughter’s pre-med tuition. I answered that I frequently looked at my two daughters and asked them if they were sure they didn’t want to become plumbers. Doc paused for another moment and said, rather wistfully, “My neighbor is a plumber. He repaints his whole house every five years. He owns a boat!”

Yep, local plumber has more disposable income than a medical specialist.

If I had children, I would be encouraging them to learn a trade and how to run a business. A good roofer, a good mechanic, a good plumber will never be out of work and those jobs cannot be sent to China. I for sure would not be funding a $200,000 degree for my kid.

My partner originally earned an undergraduate degree because that is what his parents told him he had to do. After failing out of his first university, they enrolled him in a different one where he finally received his degree.

After struggling to make ends meet for two years after graduation, he finally talked to a few of his friends who are electricians and is now in an electrical apprenticeship program. He loves it and is really excelling! It took a while for his folks to come around (and I still don’t think they’re happy about it), but they’re impressed that he is working in a career where his hands-on learning style is being utilized.

Not everyone will excel in college and even out of those who do, some of them will enjoy working a trade more than an office job. I wish we encouraged that as a society….

We need more welders, more mechanics, more people in medical tech fields, etc.

Can you imagine how many US parents would pass out at the idea of telling their friends that their kids are in trade school instead of college?

The key is that the schools and their administrators have totally caved to the whims of the parents over actual education. Do you know what happens to a teacher, tenured or not, union or not, that actually tries to FAIL a U.S. high school student? In my day my parents would have punished me and thanked the teachers. Now, the parents will SUE the teacher and the school, and even in the face of didactic evidence such as failure to do homework, failing test grades and evidence of truancy the administration ALWAYS caves in and faults the teacher, with the resultant reversal of the failing grade and possible dismissal of the teacher. Therefore you have adults that have a command of language evidenced by sports figures getting interviewed in locker rooms today.

No, it was not “remedial” in the strictest sense – it was the actual Freshman English 101 class at a major 4 year state university – taught by TA’s. It certainly _seemed_ remedial, but back then the vast numbers of “advanced” high school students “placed out” of the two years of English classes. I could not as “Huckleberry Finn” and the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe weren’t standard teachings overseas, so my English Lit knowledge was lacking.

But my classmates certainly did not exhibit the prowess one might expect from 4 year high school graduates, and believe it or not, many actually failed the course. And this was 1974 – it is seriously more dumbed-down today.

When I arrived in Italy (it has since changed) the only degree that existed took around 7 years and was basically a PhD – no other degree option existed.

Which means that no matter how many times I tried to explain it, most Italians were convinced that I had somehow managed to get a full PhD by the age of 21!

So 80% of students are learning a skill that will allow them to actually get a job and make a living after school. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have more emphasis on vocational training here in the USA? Not everyone is meant for college, and college is not the “be all end all” goal. Earning a living and being a productive citizen is. But our society bought into the idea that everyone “deserves” a college degree, or that it is the only route to success. We need more welders, more mechanics, more people in medical tech fields, etc.

Seems that this is at least one area where Europe got it right.