My opinion on the value of a college education has changed drastically over the past 3 decades. I used to think having a college degree was a mark of distinction. That college educated people were smarter, proved they could persevere through difficulty, were better informed and would be better employees – especially in white collar jobs. For graduates with Master’s Degrees, I thought this was doubly the case. Those with PhDs, medical degrees, law degrees or multiple degrees were clearly the cream of the crop.
My experience in working with college graduates has completely changed my mind. I’ve known plenty of people with Master’s degrees who I thought were complete morons. They couldn’t write a coherent email, much less create a proposal, a letter or a presentation. Their analytical skills were abysmal as was their work ethic.
I’ve had 100s of employees who had Bachelor’s Degrees who were unimpressive. Many hard a hard time explaining why they even chose a particular major in college.
Then there’s my person college experience. As I reflect on the 30+ courses I took in high level math, science, and computer science (many of them honors courses), I realize that none of them helped me in the least with anything in my life. They didn’t help me get a job. They didn’t help me build my career. They didn’t help me develop any skills I used in the real world.
Except for one thing – dealing with failure and having some humility.
I failed to graduate from college. It was devastating to my ego to go from being the valedictorian of my high school with an identity as “The Smart Guy” to being a college dropout.
Now, I wish I had never gone at all. Had I known I was going to stop out, I would have joined the working world immediately when I was 18 and advanced quickly. I would not have struggled trying to go to school part time while working crappy service jobs for a decade. I would to have had to repay over $5K in student loans that earned me literally nothing.
Which brings me to today’s topic – student loan forgiveness.
I’m calling bullshit on this.
College has become 4-8 years of expensive, extended adolescence. While I imagine some students actually work hard and learn valuable skills to prepare them for work, I am certain many more are basically having 4 more years of high school, except with more partying and vacation time.
I’m sure it is a lot of fun for many of them. They might even learn how to do some things like think and write while they are there.
But why should the rest of us taxpayers pay for their vacation?
Contrary to this argument, I think the entire higher education system is rife with problems. The fact that the student loan debt cannot be discharged in bankruptcy (thanks Joe Biden) is criminal. The exorbitant tuition rates are absurd.
That employers still rely on “college degree required” as a filtering mechanism fr hiring and promoting is simply piss poor, lazy management.
I think need to have real internships and apprenticeships. Not the kind where only rich kids are eligible because their parents can subsidize their expenses, but the kind where young people who have basic skills (reading, math, etc.) are trained to develop into fully capable workers over time.
Guilds used to do this. Some trade unions do this today. When I managed sales teams, I effectively did this with ALL of my employees because nobody came onboard knowing what to do.
So what does college become?
A haven for the elite and the wealthy. It’s a playground for adolescents whose parents can subsidize their lives in school and beyond.
The rest of us need to get on with making a living.
As for those who aren’t wealthy – they have a choice like all the rest of us. They can choose to go to college, incur a lifetime of debt and “play grownup” while taking easy courses, having fun and d**king around with Women’s Studies, Economics and International Relations. But it won’t be free.
Like artists, musicians and fine arts majors – you are making a choice. A choice to be broke while also racking up debt that will make your life even more difficult.
Your choice – your cost.
There is no free lunch.