For several students, attending college was not a decision, it was an inevitability. For the past several decades, the general opinion has been if one can get into a university, they should attend. As the cost of higher education continues to rise, however, people are starting to call into question whether college is truly a worthy investment. Should we encourage students that struggle in high school to try to get a college degree, or would they simply be wasting their money? But if we don’t encourage these students, would we be systematically preventing people from moving up the socio-economic ladder?

In most cases, a college degree will pay for itself over one’s lifetime. According to the New York Times “Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree.”  According to the Brooking’s Hamilton project, “the average bachelor’s degree holder makes $570,000 more over a lifetime than the average high school graduate.”

Recently, however, a significant portion of college graduates have not been able to attain employment, or are “underemployed:”working in jobs that don’t require a college degree. We no longer live in a world where a college education guarantees a high-paying job. Unfortunately, while any degree teaches you something, it might not teach you skills applicable in the job market. The job demand for an artist, for example, is much lower than for an engineer. Our American economy and society is driven by supply-and-demand, and while art is a luxury for many, we all need engineers to build the roads we drive on.

The question of whether a college degree is a necessity wouldn’t be as pressing, however, if higher education wasn’t so expensive. On average, it costs a student at least $100,000 to achieve a bachelor’s degree (“What’s the Price Tag”).Many students take out loans to cover this expense.“In 2012, 71 percent of students graduating from four-year colleges had student loan debt” (“A Look at the Shocking Student Loan Debt”). As of 2018, the student loan delinquency rate is 11.8%. Perhaps the statistics that report that a college degree will eventually pay for itself are from previous times, where graduates made more than their parents and college wasn’t nearly as expensive.

The high college drop-out rate shows that trying to achieve an college education may not be the best use of every young person’s times. “the Institute of Education Statistics estimates that 40% of attendees at a four-year college drop out before completing their degree” (Hamm). Many times, students are not truly prepared for the rigor of college classes and simply attended college because that was what society told them they needed to do. Oftentimes, these students walk away from college with student loans and nothing to show for it.

Many students are turning to trade schools instead of four-year universities. “Trade school is hands-on, technical education” (“Trade School vs Traditional College”). It does not require “general education” courses that many four year universities require. Rather, students only learn skills that are directly applicable to their given trade. Trade school costs much less than a four year college ($33000), and in most instances only takes 2 years (“Trade School vs Traditional College”).

What detours students from attending trade schools is mostly likely stigma; trade school is perceived as less difficult and less prestigious than attending college. Those that attend trade school are oftentimes painted as “dumb” and not as hardworking as university students. This perception is entirely false. Those that have attended trade school are highly skilled in their fields. Additionally, they are paid quiet well, in some instances they make more money than those with a college education. According to PayScale, the annual wage for an experienced welder can range from $31,079 to $72,159, and the annual wage for a master electrician can range from $42,578 to $94,984. In contrast, the average salary for those that receive History degrees is $61,000. Job demand for skilled vocational workers is also on the rise. Because Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, by 2020 there will be 31M vacant trade worker positions. Already, 62% of firms are “struggling to fill important trade positions” (“Skilled Trades in Demand”).

Institutions such as Brookings are investigating whether the K-12 schools system should encourage trade school over college for students that are struggling in school. Many argue that this sort of encouragement would concisely keep lower performing students in the lower economic class. In actuality, however, getting trade certification can be more valuable than a four year degree.

There are many illegitimate arguments, however, that try to convince students they do not need higher education. Most names the “famous person X didn’t need a college degree, so why do I?” For example, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard in 1975 to create his multi-billion company, Microsoft. Gates, however, came from a very wealthy family, and would have been able to return to his studies if his company had failed. Gates even says to this day that students should stay in school and receive a degree, because this is a more stable path to success (CNN). Unfortunately, most people will not have the same genius combined with correct timing as Gates had to achieve success. Therefore, the argument that a college degree isn’t necessary to achieve success based on incredibly small pool of extremely gifted people should not be used.

I do not wish to discourage young students from trying to pursue college, even if they struggle in high school, if that is truly what they want to do. But society shouldn’t pressure young people into thinking that a college education is the default path to success, because it certainly is not. A college education is only worth the effort you put into it. High schools should not make students feel dumb if they do not want to go to college. Rather, they should connect students to training programs where they can learn skills they truly enjoy. One doesn’t need a college diploma to be a productive member of society. Rather, they should learn a skill that helps support and grow the American economy.

 

Sources

“Average Experienced Welder Hourly Pay.” Ecologist Salary, www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Welder/Hourly_Rate/a034d8ed/Experienced.

“Average Master Electrician Hourly Pay.” Ecologist Salary, www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Master_Electrician/Hourly_Rate.

“Bachelor of Arts (BA), History Degree.” Ecologist Salary, www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Bachelor_of_Arts_(BA),_History/Salary/Page-2.

Bershidsky, Leonid. “Underemployment Is the New Unemployment.” Bloomberg.com, Bloomberg, 2018, www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-09-26/unemployment-numbers-hide-the-effects-of-underemployment.

Fox, Emily Jane. “Bill Gates, World’s Richest College Dropout, Says Stay in School.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, money.cnn.com/2015/06/03/pf/college/bill-gates-college-dropout/.

Hamm, Trent. “Why You Should Consider Trade School Instead of College.” The Simple Dollar, TheSimpleDollar.com, 19 Oct. 2017, www.thesimpledollar.com/why-you-should-consider-trade-school-instead-of-college/.

Leonhardt, David. “Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say.” New York Times, New York Times, 27 May 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/upshot/is-college-worth-it-clearly-new-data-say.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=1.

“Skilled Trades in Demand (Infographic).” Adecco Staffing, USA, www.adeccousa.com/employers/resources/skilled-trades-in-demand/.

“Trade School vs Traditional College.” Trade School vs College | What You Want (and Don’t Want) to Hear, careerschoolnow.org/careers/trade-school-vs-traditional-college.

“U.S. Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2018.” Student Loan Hero, Student Loan Hero, studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/.

“What Is a Trade School? Should You Go To One?” CollegeVine, CollegeVine, 29 Nov. 2018, blog.collegevine.com/what-is-a-trade-school-should-you-go-to-one/.

“What’s the Price Tag for a College Education?” COLLEGEdata, www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064.

“Why We Still Think College Isn’t for Everyone.” Brookings.edu, The Brookings Institution, 28 July 2016, www.brookings.edu/opinions/why-we-still-think-college-isnt-for-everyone/.