This could not be more true. I'm of that very generation, went to an expensive technical school with no clue what I was getting myself into, and managed to flun

This could not be more true. I'm of that very generation, went to an expensive technical school with no clue what I was getting myself into, and managed to flunk out in the first year. Never even considered that possibility, because high school had been such a breeze, and now I'm stuck with a huge loan and nothing I can really do about it other than make payments. Minimum wage is difficult enough to deal with when you don't have an extra $200 coming out every month that you can't make go away. Of course I know about all of this now; in hindsight I would never have made those decisions. So, that's a huge lesson learned. It's something I think society will come around on eventually, but a huge number of students bought into the trap blindly, and are now stuck without a good escape plan. I've managed to get my life back together and I have things under control, but I'll be paying that loan off for the next 20 years if I'm quick about it. The only thing I've really gained is a strong distaste for the college system. I've had to learn to build my portfolio and sell myself to potential employers based on what I can do for them with my current skills, rather than what I have paid to put on my wall.