As a working class American from a working class family, I consider a classical or liberal arts education a luxury for the idle rich. It's a status symbol to be

As a working class American from a working class family, I consider a classical or liberal arts education a luxury for the idle rich. It's a status symbol to be an expert in romantic poetry or German literature but unable to get a job in an industry that would also allow your children to get such an education. I didn't just make up this opinion -- it's a material fact of life in America. As an 18 year old from a working class family, you can make the choice to study for the pleasure of it, but this will almost certainly bring you misery after graduation, as you see that you will never have the means to pay off your massive student debt. You might get lucky and fall into some means of supporting yourself in your field, or you might get slightly less lucky and fall into some means of supporting yourself that is outside your field (I'm a history major making a decent living in IT/Software). Far more likely, you will start your career at some gig that requires any Bachelors degree just because that's an easy way to cut down the pile of resumes. If you're unlucky, you will be competing for the same jobs as recent high school graduates, except you'll be several years older and with a pile more debt than they have. I'd love my daughter to have a liberal arts education, but not at the expense of being able to provide for herself.