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In all fairness here, people have seen the ravages that the boom/bust nature of these kinds of trade jobs wrought on peoples' lives. Many parents out where I li
by bilbo0s 9y ago
In all fairness here, people have seen the ravages that the boom/bust nature of these kinds of trade jobs wrought on peoples' lives. Many parents out where I live here in fly-over country advise kids, "Hey... get a degree, and then get a job in construction if that's something you want to do. Because... you know... look at me and your uncle."
And out here, "...look at me and your uncle...", or "...look at your older sister or brother...", is usually a fairly compelling argument. As is having a degree when all of the construction jobs go belly up.
- jdietrich 9y agoBy the same token, student debt is a serious burden to bear if college is just a backup plan. "Get a degree" too often means "get a bachelor's in any old subject from a private college" rather than "get an associate degree with a clear career path from a local accredited community college or technical school". Young people aren't given a clear picture of their options. A bachelor's degree is often treated like a golden ticket to the middle class, rather than a very expensive and often questionably useful qualification.
- bilbo0s 9y agoWell out here people understand that associate's or bachelor's in liberal arts areas are useless degrees. Most kids want a job oriented bachelor's. something like Nursing, Education, and especially Science or Engineering. I think a lot of people would be surprised how popular Nursing degrees are in my neck of the woods. I don't know if they are popular nationwide, but Nursing out here is seen by many, (young ladies especially), as a ticket out of the ghetto or the trailer park.
- jnwatson 9y agoTech dries up too. I know several software developers than joined the Armed Services in 2000 due to lack of work.