In the first two parts of this I looked at some reasons why going to college may not be the best thing. There are a number of problems, both subjectively and objectively.
So what? You might say. Look at the reality: it’s hard to land a job without a degree. A bachelor’s degree has been shown to not only increase your chances of getting a job, but also improves your chances of getting a good paying one. That may be true, but what kind of job are we talking about? Certainly, in terms of pure salary that one is likely to get from a job thanks to having a bachelor’s degree is, on average, higher, but there’s more to it than that. Do you know that among the current top 10 growing job categories only two (accounting and postsecondary teaching) require bachelor’s degrees? Of the 30 jobs projected to grow the fastest, only seven of those require degrees? What that means in order to get in on growing job markets, more than half the time you don’t need to spend four years and over $150,000 to get a good job.
Yeah, but those jobs don’t pay as well, you may contend. That’s true, but if we’re going to look at it from a purely economical point of view, let’s take the time to do a little basic addition here and see what’s what.
Let’s say you had two basic options:
1. Take the money you would have spent going on tuition, room, board, school fees and instead, put it in a simple CD investment at a bank (CD investments offer a much lower interest rate than other more highly recommended investments, but are considered more secure) and get a low paying job on your high school diploma.
2. Go to college, get your bachelor’s, and (hopefully) get a higher paying job after graduating.
Who comes out ahead?
Bachelor’s Degree salary at 25: $62,440
High school degree only at age 25: $39,480
Average college costs (tuition, room and board): $39,800 per year at private institutions
Average student loan debt: $25,250
Total income of a jumbo CD investment after 7 years (18-25): $182,870
Total income of a jumbo CD investment after 12 years (18-30) vs. Total salary of an average male with a bachelor’s degree from 25-30 (minus college costs): $399,400 vs. $153,000
How about at 40? $838,320 vs. $777,400
See some example jumbo CD investments here.
Yes, this is oversimplified. For instance, it doesn’t take into account that many university students have part-time jobs will working, or receive grants or scholarships. It also doesn’t take into account that many students rack up credit card debt or also have the costs of parking or athletic memberships, among other things, to consider. My point is not so much the amount you would come ahead, but the idea that going to college isn’t necessarily the most logical choice, much less the only one.
The point is why are people so uncreative as to think the only path to success and/or happiness is college? There is no reason to think that college is a safer, more certain path towards success than, say, starting a business. I like the way it was put on a blog I read recently: “Failure is a part of life. Better to learn it at 18 than at 23 or older when you’ve been coddled by ivory blankets and hypnotized into thinking success was yours for the taking. Get baptized in the river of failure as a youth so you can blossom in entrepreneurial blessings as an adult.”
To summarize, I highly recommend checking out this particular debate if you're interested in this topic. I have to warn you though, it's two hours long. And by rights, it should be. There are no easy solutions to this problem.
So what? You might say. Look at the reality: it’s hard to land a job without a degree. A bachelor’s degree has been shown to not only increase your chances of getting a job, but also improves your chances of getting a good paying one. That may be true, but what kind of job are we talking about? Certainly, in terms of pure salary that one is likely to get from a job thanks to having a bachelor’s degree is, on average, higher, but there’s more to it than that. Do you know that among the current top 10 growing job categories only two (accounting and postsecondary teaching) require bachelor’s degrees? Of the 30 jobs projected to grow the fastest, only seven of those require degrees? What that means in order to get in on growing job markets, more than half the time you don’t need to spend four years and over $150,000 to get a good job.
Yeah, but those jobs don’t pay as well, you may contend. That’s true, but if we’re going to look at it from a purely economical point of view, let’s take the time to do a little basic addition here and see what’s what.
Let’s say you had two basic options:
1. Take the money you would have spent going on tuition, room, board, school fees and instead, put it in a simple CD investment at a bank (CD investments offer a much lower interest rate than other more highly recommended investments, but are considered more secure) and get a low paying job on your high school diploma.
2. Go to college, get your bachelor’s, and (hopefully) get a higher paying job after graduating.
Who comes out ahead?
Bachelor’s Degree salary at 25: $62,440
High school degree only at age 25: $39,480
Average college costs (tuition, room and board): $39,800 per year at private institutions
Average student loan debt: $25,250
Total income of a jumbo CD investment after 7 years (18-25): $182,870
Total income of a jumbo CD investment after 12 years (18-30) vs. Total salary of an average male with a bachelor’s degree from 25-30 (minus college costs): $399,400 vs. $153,000
How about at 40? $838,320 vs. $777,400
See some example jumbo CD investments here.
Yes, this is oversimplified. For instance, it doesn’t take into account that many university students have part-time jobs will working, or receive grants or scholarships. It also doesn’t take into account that many students rack up credit card debt or also have the costs of parking or athletic memberships, among other things, to consider. My point is not so much the amount you would come ahead, but the idea that going to college isn’t necessarily the most logical choice, much less the only one.
The point is why are people so uncreative as to think the only path to success and/or happiness is college? There is no reason to think that college is a safer, more certain path towards success than, say, starting a business. I like the way it was put on a blog I read recently: “Failure is a part of life. Better to learn it at 18 than at 23 or older when you’ve been coddled by ivory blankets and hypnotized into thinking success was yours for the taking. Get baptized in the river of failure as a youth so you can blossom in entrepreneurial blessings as an adult.”
To summarize, I highly recommend checking out this particular debate if you're interested in this topic. I have to warn you though, it's two hours long. And by rights, it should be. There are no easy solutions to this problem.
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