Quote:
Originally Posted by widebody911
This is a multi-faceted problem. First of all, we have to accept that education is an industry, and student loans are a form of subsidy. It's analogous to the legendary ripoffs in the defense industry, when they were selling the US government $1200 toilet seats.
- The student loan program is a cash cow for the education industry, both public and private. Some 'schools' get upwards 90% of their revenue from this stream.
- The specifications for this 'product' have become bloated.
- The education industry pushes a lot of 'products' that aren't worth anything in the real world, ie degrees in 16th Century Left-Handed Basket Weaving.
- The education industry has convinced people that you need some form of their product, no matter how arcane, or you're not employable.
- Employers have also been convinced that they should only hire people who have bought the product.
- People get a degree because they're taught that any degree is better than no degree
- clueless kids out of high school go to college with no FN clue, and just want to party
- a lot of the private 'schools' are selling 'degrees' that are are utter schidt. I've seen the course catalogs of some of these, and it's a ripoff.
I'm not saying all college education is worthless; we need doctors, engineers, and (grits teeth) lawyers. My feeling is that if your degree doesn't prepare you for a profession or trade, why are you spending the money?
For the record, I don't have a college education. I couldn't afford it, and the prospect of being thousands and thousands of dollars in the hole right off the get-go terrified me, but that's a story for a different day. |
I agree with everything Thom said. The sad part, really, is the point about employers. So many employers "require" a bachelor's degree simply because they can, not because it's really necessary for the position. Large corporations also have pay grades that automatically pay someone with a degree, or advanced degree, more than a non-degreed counterpart -- regardless of performance.
Prospective students know that it's simply getting your ticket punched. You've got to get a degree -- any degree -- to have the doors of employment open for you. So they rack up $100K in debt with the understanding that their lifetime earning power will be more than that $100K.
My ex had a degree in Psychology from a prestigious private school. $100K in debt at graduation ($42K/yr and took 5 years -- her parents were in over $100K as well). She was simply unemployable in her field. Every job that posted a BA requirement ended up hiring a MA or PhD because they could. She ended up working at a law firm, nothing to do with her degree, and making MORE than what others with her degree were making in her field. She now works in the banking industry where she is responsible for training and integrating all of the recent college grads they hire. She says the business/accounting grads are absolutely unprepared for the real world jobs. She's amazed at how clueless this generation seems to be. And she's only 29.