Let the Buyer Beware

Reaction to US Census Bureau Article
by the Liberal Arts Dude

My reaction to the article below? A big sarcastic “wheeeeeee…” So I guess the big lesson to young people is go to college. It’ll make your earnings double of what you will earn with only a high school diploma. Well, if the argument is framed that way, I guess you can say that going to college is a good idea. And that going to college – having any major just as long as you graduate – is what a young person should do to ensure a bright future. But how about if you frame the argument in a way other than “high school vs. college?” How about framing it along the lines of:

- How about comparing the earnings of people with associate’s degrees in technical fields like graphic design, web development, nursing, radiology, physical therapy, etc. to the salaries of college grads with Liberal Arts backgrounds?

- How about some data on how many people with Liberal Arts degrees eventually had to shell out more money for technical certifications or associate’s degrees AFTER they had already gotten their college degrees so they can have the necessary skills to start a viable career?

- How about some data on how many Liberal Arts grads found it necessary to shell out even more money to enter a graduate school program because the career paths they chose require an advanced degree and an undergraduate degree, by itself, sure as hell isn’t going to be the ticket to get to that path?

- How about some data on the amount of debt the average 30-35 year old person in American society carries as a result of all that investment in education, compared with the annual earnings they have or assets they have saved?

- How about some data on what types of jobs most people with 4-year degrees hold, and how relevant these jobs are to the college majors they held?

My point is not to be a curmudgeon (although it probably seems to be that I take great pleasure in doing so). My point is that college isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, especially if you are talking about providing the necessary skills and training for young people to make a viable living. Sometimes an associate’s degree is perfectly fine to start with. How come there isn’t much stress in American society of the benefits of associate’s degrees, and hence, more funding so that such skills and vocational training is within the reach of the average person? I understand financial aid for such training programs is small to nonexistent, especially compared to the amount of aid the government funnels to 4-year degrees. I speak from experience of applying and researching different ways to fund a technical training program and finding out that the Federal Government doesn’t provide an easy way to fund such a program the way it did a four-year college degree.

Am I being overly cynical? I sure hope not. But more and more I feel that the government, universities, and financial institutions that provide interest-bearing, long-term loans to young people are all in cahoots in one, big elaborate con game. The objective is to fleece the average person for as much money as they can and to ensnare him or her to so much debt that it will take decades to pay it off. The carrot being dangled in front of the mark is the promise of a better future via the vehicle of a college degree. And of course, being marks that we are, we won’t know we’ve been had until years later. But by then it will be too late and we are ensnared and legally obligated to pay those loans back. That’s a pretty steep price to pay for what is essentially, four years of thinking deep thoughts and writing interesting papers about interesting stuff that ultimately, the world cares little about and won’t generate a cent in the marketplace. Let the buyer beware.

Copyright 2005