To be fair, it's not just a matter of saving responsibly. Many people were fed a lot of lines about needing a college degree to get a decent job (and there are a lot of jobs that require a degree to get hired, even though the degree isn't related and not needed), and that it was fine to just borrow to get the degree. When they were finished, they found they could still only get a low-paying entry level job, but now they were saddled with enormous debt that is very hard to pay off with such a low wage.
You can argue that they should have known, but they trusted parents, teachers, and guidance counselors. If they'd been told the truth, some would have made different choices. For instance, encourage them to work for a year or two first, if they had no savings or weren't sure of what they wanted to do. Tell them that STEM jobs like engineering would result in a decent job, but other majors would frequently not get them good jobs. Encourage them to look at trades or associate degrees like Dental Hygienist.
Instead, they just told them they needed a degree to get a good job, yes they'll have to pay off the college debt and here's a calculator to show monthly payments. That means nothing to a student who has never had to pay for rent/food/transportation/etc. I'm a proponent of teaching students about personal finance in high school, and they should include a unit on planning for careers and college/trade school. Help them look up entry-level salaries, plus cost of living so they have a better idea of what those "monthly payments" will actually mean. It just seems cruel to push them into getting an expensive degree, so they're in the world for the first time loaded with debt, and then blame them solely for being a mess.
When they were finished, they found they could still only get a low-paying entry level job
Please. If you major in anything even remotely useful you can get far more than a low paying entry level job.
Cut your bullshit excuses. These idiots knew exactly what they were doing by majoring in a useless major and partying for 4 years.
And last I checked their evil “guidance counselors” never told them a blue collar career wouldn’t be enough. Millenials simply avoid blue collar work because they are snobs and think it’s trashy. You sound like a damn Bernie Bro.
Bernie bro? Seriously? Nowhere did I advocate for universal income or healthcare or paying off other people's loans or whatever other nonsense he preaches. I advocated telling inexperienced kids the truth and giving them a full picture of their prospects instead of pushing them toward an expensive option without making sure they understand the ramifications.
There are a lot of majors that won't result in a very good job right out of college, and lots of people chose majors because they were interesting, because they were told any college degree is a ticket to a good job. And if your teachers weren't snobs about blue collar work, you must have had very unusual teachers indeed.
Your point about everyone in a position of power funneling them into college is completely valid. Teenagers don't have the life experience to make the best decisions for their future, and if there's not a Mike Rowe-type influence showing them a path into lucrative trade work then they'll just trust that a college degree is always the best option and never question it.
To be fair, it's not just a matter of saving responsibly. Many people were fed a lot of lines about needing a college degree to get a decent job (and there are a lot of jobs that require a degree to get hired, even though the degree isn't related and not needed), and that it was fine to just borrow to get the degree. When they were finished, they found they could still only get a low-paying entry level job, but now they were saddled with enormous debt that is very hard to pay off with such a low wage.
You can argue that they should have known, but they trusted parents, teachers, and guidance counselors. If they'd been told the truth, some would have made different choices. For instance, encourage them to work for a year or two first, if they had no savings or weren't sure of what they wanted to do. Tell them that STEM jobs like engineering would result in a decent job, but other majors would frequently not get them good jobs. Encourage them to look at trades or associate degrees like Dental Hygienist.
Instead, they just told them they needed a degree to get a good job, yes they'll have to pay off the college debt and here's a calculator to show monthly payments. That means nothing to a student who has never had to pay for rent/food/transportation/etc. I'm a proponent of teaching students about personal finance in high school, and they should include a unit on planning for careers and college/trade school. Help them look up entry-level salaries, plus cost of living so they have a better idea of what those "monthly payments" will actually mean. It just seems cruel to push them into getting an expensive degree, so they're in the world for the first time loaded with debt, and then blame them solely for being a mess.
Please. If you major in anything even remotely useful you can get far more than a low paying entry level job.
Cut your bullshit excuses. These idiots knew exactly what they were doing by majoring in a useless major and partying for 4 years.
And last I checked their evil “guidance counselors” never told them a blue collar career wouldn’t be enough. Millenials simply avoid blue collar work because they are snobs and think it’s trashy. You sound like a damn Bernie Bro.
Bernie bro? Seriously? Nowhere did I advocate for universal income or healthcare or paying off other people's loans or whatever other nonsense he preaches. I advocated telling inexperienced kids the truth and giving them a full picture of their prospects instead of pushing them toward an expensive option without making sure they understand the ramifications.
There are a lot of majors that won't result in a very good job right out of college, and lots of people chose majors because they were interesting, because they were told any college degree is a ticket to a good job. And if your teachers weren't snobs about blue collar work, you must have had very unusual teachers indeed.
Your point about everyone in a position of power funneling them into college is completely valid. Teenagers don't have the life experience to make the best decisions for their future, and if there's not a Mike Rowe-type influence showing them a path into lucrative trade work then they'll just trust that a college degree is always the best option and never question it.