5 ms·
College isn't as appealing as it once was. In order to participate in the economy, we need a well-paying job. We're told to get a well-paying job, we need a goo
by EarthIsHome 6y ago
College isn't as appealing as it once was. In order to participate in the economy, we need a well-paying job. We're told to get a well-paying job, we need a good degree. To get a good degree, many of us have to go into debt. We finish college with a good degree but are saddled with thousands of dollars of debt (sometimes tens of thousands). And this college debt doesn't go away if we go bankrupt. It will always follow us. So, while we're trying to pay back our debt for a good degree for a dream to live well in this life, we also have to pay for our housing, to live, to eat, etc. It makes it so hard to save up for a house or anything permanent. Everything always seems precarious because it is. We're precarious. What's the point of a college degree if we're going to be in debt while working after getting the degree? Might as well skip the whole college part.
- gdubs 6y agoIt’s too bad college has become so transactional. Not judging — there’s a lot of wealth inequality in the world, and the vast majority of people don’t have the luxury. But there’s another aspect to college — the friendships, the discovery, finding interests, finding yourself. These aspects have gone to the wayside, because for the majority of people there’s just not enough money to justify this. It feels similar to the cuts to art and music in lower schools - “what good are those programs for getting a job?”
- mdszy 6y ago>thousands of dollars of debt (sometimes tens of thousands) I'd almost venture to say "tens of thousands of dollars of debt (sometimes hundreds of thousands)"
- Ididntdothis 6y agoYou are still way better off with college than without. It’s not as good a deal as it used to be but it’s still the best deal available.
- kevinskii 6y agoI'm not so sure. I would probably choose a vocational apprenticeship over a B.A. in Sociology from State U.
- magicsmoke 6y agoA B.A. in Sociology isn't a good comparison to vocational apprenticeships. A better one would be a B.E in some kind of engineering.
- kevinskii 6y agoI agree with you, but that wasn't the claim that I was replying to.
- Ididntdothis 6y agoHow many people with a vocational degree make >100k? Not many. The path to higher income is paved with credentials if they make sense or not.
- vzidex 6y agoI think it depends on what you're doing. If you want to be an artist or a writer, maybe community college would be a better deal. On the other hand, if you want to be an engineer then it's pretty important to go to a reputable institution - at least in the field I work in.
- methehack 6y agoI think in state tuition at a public university is often still a very good deal w/o nearly the debt profile.
- clairity 6y agoin states with good public universities, the best value is 2 years at a good community college, then 2 years at the state school. even 2 years at a good state university is getting ridiculously expensive ($60K+).
- thelean12 6y agoWhat state schools are $60k+ for 2 years for in-state residents? Berkeley was my guess for an expensive in-state tuition rate and they're $38k for 2 years. Unless you're including housing/food/etc.
- clairity 6y agoyes, total cost, as that's the truer measure.
- thelean12 6y agoCertainly not an option for everyone, but a ton of people in my state school class still lived at home. A good percentage could have lived at home but chose not to. It's also hard for me to include housing because you'd need housing no matter what path in life you choose.
- clairity 6y agothat's true, but that ignores opportunities/opportunity costs, which would cover housing/food in an alternate scenario.
- colinmhayes 6y agoUIUC is 25k a year just tuition and fees. Expensive college town room & board plus opportunity cost of education instead of working easily gets you to 30k a year.
- dastbe 6y agoI think the level of economic anxiety (precariousness) people have is one of the biggest mental health risks in the US. It lowers people's ability to perform cognitive tasks and results in more bad decisions.
- dakna 6y ago> What's the point of a college degree if we're going to be in debt while working after getting the degree? Might as well skip the whole college part. A bachelor's degree serves as a barrier of entry for many roles outside of IT. Historically the pay gap between the jobs you can get without, and what you make after clearing this barrier, made up for the initial investment rather quick. Now that there are diminishing returns on that investment, you need to optimize on a case by case basis. Does your chosen profession allow other paths to high paying jobs? Can you get the degree with less investment using less costly credit hours (community college first, then state university)? Is the peer group and the resulting network formed after attending college valuable enough to boost your career 5 years later? There are not that many well paying jobs accessible without a degree, I think cost optimization is worth it in the long run instead of not going to college at all.