Blaze-
Once an affordable investment in the future, the cost of attendance at universities has soared to all-time highs. And it’s only getting worse. Some families are paying upward of $90,000 a school year at some private universities, and graduates face sky-high payments on their student loans.
While some conservatives have argued that it’s time to abandon the four-year university and to invest in the trades, others think college is still beneficial for some. And some even want young conservatives to attend elite universities in hopes of reclaiming America’s institutions.
On “Zero Hour,” Mike Rowe, Emmy Award-winning TV host, producer, author, and CEO of the MikeroweWORKS Foundation, sat down with James Poulos to discuss the state of higher education in America.
Even though more young Americans are attending college at unprecedented rates, Rowe thinks Americans are “overeducated but I also think conversely, or maybe perversely … underinformed.” more
Unless you’re a STEM major, or maybe business, you won’t get a good return for the money spent on a college degree. There’s a glut of lawyers, so a law degree isn’t guaranteed to land a well paying job. What gets me is the left will bitch nonstop about financing a college education, but are silent about tuition.
Over the years the number of administrators, (a tiny fraction of the employees of the university before) surpassed the numbers of professors. Thats what the students are paying for. Worthless bureaucrats that do nothing.
An actual machinist, not a set up guy, not a PHD (push here dummy), A guy that can actually make parts,to print, can name his wage right now.
At about 1:50:51 in the following video, Mr. Sachs mentions that Americans with college degrees have a life expectancy of about 83 years, but those without have a life expectancy of about 75 years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsjKZstp-XU
In the future, those numbers should converge as college graduates become less employable than people without college degrees.
College remains a good investment IF: the 4-year degree is necessary for a professional degree or graduate school in finance or STEM, necessary for entry into jobs that require bach degree (government, military commissioned officer, corporations that require it), or (and preferably) the degree is at a top name/IVY (where what is being got is snob-value resume cred and networking connex).
@Brad
I knew a toolmaker who was an absolute wiz.
He could run 2, sometime 3 machines at once, his stuff was dead on, every time.
These were all production tools, one offs, no learning curve.
The rest of the toolmakers hated him, put them all to shame. Not that they were bad, he was just that good.
He was trained by his father, never went to any schools for it. His father was an immigrant from Nazi Germany, brought over after the war.
His name was Klein, kinda funny, he was a big guy, klein in German means small/little.
I imagine he has done well, was making $35 an hour in the 80’s.
Just think how far the border invaders will go in yard working, or maybe in a big money criminal career.
No student loans in this household. And we solved the potential problem of stupidly paying for indoctrination by establishing a few rules: 1. We wouldn’t pay for any classes with the word “Studies” in the title or description, 2. The kid had to get a degree in something that would earn them a real living wage upon graduation, and 3. The kid couldn’t consider — even for a moment — the option of moving back home after graduation. These rules — tough as they seem in modern times — were an act of love. We didn’t want to rob our child of their shot at growing up into the responsible, highly-capable adult we know she is. This year, 7 years after receiving her bach degree in Finance, she purchased her first home.
Stop with the damn central planning. Get government 100% OUT of education, from birth to the last day of college or whatever. No STEALING MONEY for parents, no loan guarantees, no grants, no mandates…NOTHING. College is for some, specialized training for others, but NOBODY but the parents, students, private lenders, and service providers should be arriving at the decision of what teaching is appropriate. A fully competitive, free market in education is the ONLY EAY to properly run a system that vital to our society.
I have a 2 year Associates degree in Electronics from a trade college. Not rich, by any means, but getting by comfortably.
Dropped my plane off at the avionics shop last week from my airport which is 7 miles away. The shop owner had one of his apprentices drive me back to my airport because he needed a part from an avionics shop there too.
The kid who drove me was 18 and just graduated high school the year before. At age 18, he joined a youth flying club where they learned about flying, airplane mechanics, and avionics. He landed the apprenticeship about two months after he graduated.
Now, he gets to earn a living while while receiving on the job training and the requisite work hours required by the FAA to pursue and Airframe & Powerplant license which is required to earn a living as a primary aircraft mechanic. There is also an avionics license path. People with A&Ps can easily earn $60k to $80k per year. Those who build enough time to get licensed as an “IA” which is an FAA approved inspector of aircraft work and own their own shops can earn over $250k per year. And they can get jobs damn near anywhere.
…based on what I’ve seen out of Boeing, NASA, and Oceangate, not to mention numerous bridges, I’d say that an Engeneering degree is of dubious value these days too, and dont get me started on a medical one…
All Universities and colleges’ should be self supporting (no taxpayer funds)! If the Professors/instructors and administrative flunkies have a valuable product to offer/sell they should be able to make a profit from those interested in the product (They should also have to rent the taxpayer funded facilities they use)!
@ 1241: dead right, let the parasites pimp pedocrat causes on their own dime & time
Marooned
Monday, 2 September 2024, 0:49 at 12:49 am
“At about 1:50:51 in the following video, Mr. Sachs mentions that Americans with college degrees have a life expectancy of about 83 years, but those without have a life expectancy of about 75 years:”
…people without college degrees tend to do more dangerous jobs.
Being a garbageman is inherently more risky than being a lawyer, even though they both deal in filth and waste…
SNS — Yeah, but the garbageman’s filth and waste is authentic and honest. He can rest his head on his pillow at night knowing he did something good and essential for his fellow man; something few lawyers can claim.
AbigailAdams
Monday, 2 September 2024, 16:17 at 4:17 pm
…and garbagemen take OUT the trash while lawyers DEFEND it.
…but the real point is that non-college jobs tend to be real, often dangerous work while the ideal college job is shuffling papers anonymously for Wells Fargo in a nondescript office where the only REAL danger is that you’ll die in your nondescript office doing a job so unimportant that no one even notices it isnt getting done until they find you by the smell…
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lindsaykohler/2024/09/02/why-the-death-of-the-wells-fargo-employee-found-at-work-is-so-jarring/
…the ultimate triumph of feminism, BTW. No family to miss her either, apparently…
SNS — Yes, I didn’t miss your point. And wasn’t that about the saddest thing you ever read — about that poor soul who died in her cubicle and NO ONE even knew it for FOUR DAYS!! Awful! Note to self: call/check in with people I hardly know just to say “hello, how are you?” once and awhile. It’s a lonely world out there.