By: Diane Benjamin
Many students are making the decision for technical/trade schools instead of 4 year universities and colleges. High paying jobs are going unfilled because college was deemed mandatory for success for many years. It isn’t, not everybody is meant for college. The cost isn’t worth the debt anymore.
Forbes just came out with their list of best value colleges, this is the Illinois list: (Illinois State didn’t make the list)
https://patch.com/illinois/wheaton/these-illinois-colleges-are-best-value-your-money
- University of Illinois
- Urbana-Champaign
- Ranking: 43
- Tuition: $15,054
- University of Illinois
- Chicago
- Ranking: 72
- Tuition: $13,664
- University of Chicago
- Chicago
- Ranking: 74
- Tuition: $51,351
- Northwestern University
- Evanston
- Ranking: 87
- Tuition: $49,047
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Chicago
- Ranking: 184
- Tuition: $43,680
- Wheaton College
- Wheaton
- Ranking: 237
- Tuition: $32,950
*All tuition prices listed are for in-state students.
The University of Illinois was Number 10 on another list: https://patch.com/illinois/champaign/here-are-biggest-party-schools-illinois-report
Here are the top-ranked party schools in Illinois and where they rank in the U.S.
No. 10: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The claim that college isn’t worth it or isn’t necessary doesn’t line up with the data. Over the next ten years, the level of education required for many jobs will go up. You can also see that the median wage for someone with vocational training, the postsecondary nondegree award, is far lower than the median wage for someone with even an associate’s degree.
https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/education-summary.htm
You can also see in data that doesn’t include that category (the government is just starting to monitor it) that educational attainment correlates with employability and salary.
https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm
It’s just capitalism. Employers want people with degrees, and they must want them because they percieve them to be better employees. Everyone can succeed in college, if they’re given the right resources.
There is a huge demand for doing doing jobs, not pushing paper. Electricians, plumbers, etc won’t have the debt but will still be highly paid. Those government stats are going to change. Companies no longer high just for degrees.
“The claim that college isn’t worth it or isn’t necessary doesn’t line up with the data.”
HOWEVER, what Crimson and the government data leaves out is the millions of people of that get the various degrees and still can’t find a job. Data also leaves out the damning selection of quota geared for diversity and H1B visas, stealing jobs from those that are more qualified. The argument that college isn’t worth it is a valid argument when one opens their mind and thinks past the usual less that complete government data. The argument that college isn’t needed when one opens their mind and researches the data on self start up businesses of non-college graduates.
Although a degree may be more beneficial to some employers as government continues to allow mega mergers, and the economy is experiencing an unprecedented economic decline, your government data does notthing to invalidate the claim. Employers want experience Crimson of which you didn’t even address of which would be another post for another day.
The second chart includes unemployment numbers and shows clearly that people who have an associate’s degree or higher are not only unemployed at a rate lower than the median, but at a lower rate than some college, high school, or no high school. In many companies, promotions are only attainable through having a degree, no matter how much experience you have. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with not going to college, but there’s a definite economic advantage to doing so, especially when you consider that college graduates often have a higher initial salary, even if non-graduates could end up with similar mid-career salaries, but the years that a college graduate had at a higher pay level has a huge impact on retirement.
Not liking the data doesn’t mean that they’re wrong.
I bet it doesn’t break down trade school verses high school grads.
Everyone can succeed in college if they pay the tuition.
@ crimson
I’m sorry but “Not liking the data doesn’t mean that they’re wrong.” Unfortunately however government data on employment numbers is greatly misleading due to how they report it AND THEY DO report in a way that is beneficial to the government to make it look like everything is rosy out there although the stark reality of how messed up the job market and the economy really is. No administration wants to admit the truth, nor does the next administration want to right the ship with more accurate figures as it will be their administration that will be spun by the opposition party in the next election for political gain. Your first mistake is using their data to prove a point. Much of the content of your posts exhibits wishful thinking based on government propaganda. I suspect that your heart is in the right place but your head is clearly clouded.
If everyone had a college degree, it would be meaningless. We need a diverse workforce, not cattle indoctrinated at government schools.
“Not liking the data doesn’t mean that they’re wrong.” crimson
BUT
“Liking the data doesn’t mean they’re right, either.” old stanky
While ISU didn’t make this list, it’s important to note they make many national lists, and enrollment for the fall is up eight percent.
Quote from an article on zerohedge.com titled, “The ‘Real’ America: 21.5% Unemployment, 10% Inflation, And Negative Economic Growth” on 6/13/18:
“It would be great, if the numbers that they were using were honest.
The truth, of course, is that the percentage of the population that is employed has barely budged since the depths of the last recession. According to John Williams, if honest numbers were being used the unemployment rate would actually be 21.5 percent today.
So what is the reason for the gaping disparity?
As I have explained repeatedly, the government has simply been moving people from the “officially unemployed” category to the “not in the labor force” category for many, many years.
If we use the government’s own numbers, there are nearly 102 million working age Americans that do not have a job right now. That is higher than it was at any point during the last recession.”