Yeah, unfortunately I think I see a whiplash effect happening here.
I do think it's good that there is increased recognition that college is very expensive and might not be a no-brainer financially. I do think it's generally right that parents had been oversold the "golden ticket" thinking about college for a long time.
But now I see a certain part of our culture swinging this pendulum way too far, to whatever the opposite of "golden ticket" is. And maybe that could have even been a useful realignment, maybe if upper class and upper middle class kids were the ones buying into "your college degree will be useless", then this might bend the trend toward evening out the balance of power in society.
But no, of course that's not how this is working out. Instead, I see smart working class kids being turned off of higher education, making good money early in their careers, but then hitting walls at their organizations, which they can't advance past without a degree.
Agreed, college shouldn’t be seen as a no brainer- but, like most things in life, if you have a realistic plan, and clear goals it does make sense. Almost none of the value in college is from classes- but from the opportunity to work directly with experts in what you are interested in. You have to take the initiative to make that happen, it’s not automatically part of the curriculum at most schools.
I do think it's good that there is increased recognition that college is very expensive and might not be a no-brainer financially. I do think it's generally right that parents had been oversold the "golden ticket" thinking about college for a long time.
But now I see a certain part of our culture swinging this pendulum way too far, to whatever the opposite of "golden ticket" is. And maybe that could have even been a useful realignment, maybe if upper class and upper middle class kids were the ones buying into "your college degree will be useless", then this might bend the trend toward evening out the balance of power in society.
But no, of course that's not how this is working out. Instead, I see smart working class kids being turned off of higher education, making good money early in their careers, but then hitting walls at their organizations, which they can't advance past without a degree.