Should Kids Even Go To College Anymore? Is It Worth It?
I remember many moons ago when you would begin conversations about what to do after high school. It was always implied that a responsible, thoughtful, investing-in-their-future Youngblood would choose a 4 year school AT LEAST. That is what you were supposed to do.
For whatever reason, I typically felt inclined to do the opposite of what everyone told me to do. Maybe because I was dumb, maybe because I was young, maybe because I was an asshole, or maybe just to spite anyone who expected something of me. I never once intended to be a loser. I honestly just didn’t know what I wanted and was afraid of commitment I guess.
Parts of me wanted to go to school, but the ones that didn’t won in the end. Attending a typical state college would’ve been an amazing experience, and I imagine I would’ve found a wife and maybe chose right the first time. Who knows. I definitely would have made a lot of friends and life-long acquaintances which no doubt could’ve proven to increase my success in whatever venture.
I was hung up on the idea of paying a ton of money for a piece of paper you hung on the wall. It seemed ludicrous to me. My thought was that I would find my own path - although I didn’t know where it started. There were deep hopes of becoming famous making music, but I either didn’t try hard enough, want it enough, or lacked the special chemistry and luck that the profession requires.
Instead of going to school and making memories and meeting girls and learning and getting a degree, I fell aimlessly into a few different locations. Eugene for 3 months. Back home to my parents. Renting a house with some friends in the town I grew up - for 3 months. Back home to my parents. Renting an apartment in Tualatin to attend “Community College” for 6 months. Back to my parents. It was after this last stint I realized I had to do something with my life. I did not want to be a fucking loser.
The interest in music helped me find an audio recording school in Tempe, AZ called “The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences”. It was basically a trade school. It cost $15,000. My parents paid for it. I have no debt. This turned out to be one of the beginning steps of turning my life into the thing it is today - and I could never possibly thank them enough for it.
This is all a preamble to ask the question “Should kids even go to college anymore?”
In this time period, between 2002 and 2006, it still made sense - somewhat - for a high school graduate to enter college. It was relatively affordable, and in most cases would actually land you a job that would pay off those debts. Now, it is very close to making zero sense to attend college.
You are saddled with crippling debt, of which you can never escape. Like some weird shitty tattoo that you put on your forehead when you turn 18, this thing follows you everywhere. The only difference is you can actually remove the tattoo.
Couple this with the crushing realization that most of the degrees being taught right now will get you nowhere. Unless you are studying in the medical field, with AI, computer programming, or engineering, you probably wasted a ton of your time and effort - I hope you made some good friends 🤣
Anyway. This has been the dilemma for the last ten years as I speak with my kids about what I think they should do. They have bounced around back and forth - and with the knowledge that I cannot help them pay for secondary education, I believe they may go into “the trades”. This is a great route. No debt. Almost instant paychecks with on-the-job training. I wonder if it will change? Will they make college affordable again? Will degrees become more valuable? I do not even know what to say
