The Trouble with College

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) “estimates that college-goers are now forking out 1246% more than their predecessors were in 1980 — and that’s just on tuition fees. Textbooks, materials and other educational supplies have also soared 949% since then. Both are way ahead of overall inflation, which has climbed a relatively modest 285% over the same period.”

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A student loan crisis is coming from the next generation of teenagers doing cost/benefit analysis of going to college. Who are we kidding!? Teenagers don’t do this. Teenagers are ill-equipped to have the social/emotional savviness to make wise decisions about their economic future 20 years down the road.

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We need a massive overhaul to the system.

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We need to normalize attending community college for education and acknowledge that many four-year institutions are for rich kids to party and nerdy kids to try on a new identity and learn about sex.

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Two-year Associate’s degrees should be enough for most jobs.

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A Master’s degree should not be required for many positions, including some of those in academia (hello, adjuncts), and a PhD should be reserved for those who are doing something special/niche.

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Trade school is a sensible idea for many people. Not everyone wants a desk job.

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More to come on the trouble with Higher Ed.

This is an area I’ll be returning to fairly regularly, I expect.

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What are your thoughts?