I reject the premise that most English majors are racking up $160k in debt. It certainly happens, but not if you go to a state run school, not if you do your first two years at a. community college. Even with private schools, people seldom pay the full sticker price. If you are low income there is a lot of aid. Even top tier colleges like Harvard limit tuition, room and board to no more than 10% of income. So if your parents make $75,000- it costs you $7,500 to attend, not the $80,000 sticker price. Granted, Harvard is among the most generous- but all private schools do a decent job with financial aid.
I agree with your last point. A college degree is the equivalent of a HS diploma back in the day. Employers want to see that potential employees have the gumption and discipline to earn, achieve and learn. And if they are no proven, adept learners most employers aren't interested. With the proliferation of technology- the workforce needs to be increasingly able to adapt to and implement technological advancements and apply it in the workplace. If you are not literate or unwilling or unable to learn and adapt- then you will struggle in the workforce.
You're dead wrong, and that is a horrible example. Harvard has the largest endowment of any school, $40bn, and it's more than 30% larger than the 2nd largest (Yale at $30bn). No one is paying $7,500 to go anywhere but a community college you boob.
I graduated from university a decade ago, paid half out of pocket, got the other half on scholarship. Cost of the school, without room & board, was about $88k at the time, so about $100k after paying for rent and food and a little bit of entertainment money.
Most of my classmates (who did not study engineering, law, or medicine) are still paying. And working as servers at restaurants or walking dogs - not even kidding. The ones doing a little better might teach yoga or do personal training or day care They did not need to drop 6 figures on a degree to do those things.
I worked all through HS and college. Studied engineering, am damn good at it, made $330k last year. College was a great deal for me, and would have been even at $250k. It was not a good deal for my peers who now walk dogs and serve up french fries.
It's not a good deal if you make fucking $52k dude.
Second, congratulations on your success and making $330k last year. I'm guessing that you didn't start at $330,000. Nor do I believe that your results are typical for an engineer ten years out of university. Our new employees don't make $52,000 a decade after initial employment either. They do much better too.
Also, I know I make a lot, and I am extremely grateful for it and proud of having earned it.
But you gotta understand, it's not that crazy in a highly skilled field. Entry level salary in the bay for a software engineer is $138k - not including stock options. Lots of 22 year old kids make $175k+, and their education did not cost more than an english degree. This is a 4 year bachelors from any fucking state school.
For kids who aren't top tier intellectually, attending college is not a good use of their money.
I reject the premise that most English majors are racking up $160k in debt. It certainly happens, but not if you go to a state run school, not if you do your first two years at a. community college. Even with private schools, people seldom pay the full sticker price. If you are low income there is a lot of aid. Even top tier colleges like Harvard limit tuition, room and board to no more than 10% of income. So if your parents make $75,000- it costs you $7,500 to attend, not the $80,000 sticker price. Granted, Harvard is among the most generous- but all private schools do a decent job with financial aid.
I agree with your last point. A college degree is the equivalent of a HS diploma back in the day. Employers want to see that potential employees have the gumption and discipline to earn, achieve and learn. And if they are no proven, adept learners most employers aren't interested. With the proliferation of technology- the workforce needs to be increasingly able to adapt to and implement technological advancements and apply it in the workplace. If you are not literate or unwilling or unable to learn and adapt- then you will struggle in the workforce.
You're dead wrong, and that is a horrible example. Harvard has the largest endowment of any school, $40bn, and it's more than 30% larger than the 2nd largest (Yale at $30bn). No one is paying $7,500 to go anywhere but a community college you boob.
I graduated from university a decade ago, paid half out of pocket, got the other half on scholarship. Cost of the school, without room & board, was about $88k at the time, so about $100k after paying for rent and food and a little bit of entertainment money.
Most of my classmates (who did not study engineering, law, or medicine) are still paying. And working as servers at restaurants or walking dogs - not even kidding. The ones doing a little better might teach yoga or do personal training or day care They did not need to drop 6 figures on a degree to do those things.
I worked all through HS and college. Studied engineering, am damn good at it, made $330k last year. College was a great deal for me, and would have been even at $250k. It was not a good deal for my peers who now walk dogs and serve up french fries.
It's not a good deal if you make fucking $52k dude.
First off, you are wrong about Harvard's cost of attendance:
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/harvard-initiative-to-attract-low-income-students-includes-free-tuition/
Second, congratulations on your success and making $330k last year. I'm guessing that you didn't start at $330,000. Nor do I believe that your results are typical for an engineer ten years out of university. Our new employees don't make $52,000 a decade after initial employment either. They do much better too.
Also, I know I make a lot, and I am extremely grateful for it and proud of having earned it.
But you gotta understand, it's not that crazy in a highly skilled field. Entry level salary in the bay for a software engineer is $138k - not including stock options. Lots of 22 year old kids make $175k+, and their education did not cost more than an english degree. This is a 4 year bachelors from any fucking state school.
For kids who aren't top tier intellectually, attending college is not a good use of their money.