College Degree Value Decreasing

[tay1]

The expected income and wealth boost from earning a college degree has slowly been shrinking while the cost of college and student debt burden has been rising, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).


At the same time, degree holders still believe college attainment leads to future financial comfort.

"Financial well-being was higher for those who attended college, and even more so among those who completed at least an associate degree," the Federal Reserve Board's eighth annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), which surveyed more than 11,000 adults in November 2020, stated. "In contrast to associate degrees, certificates and technical degrees were associated with only modest increases in well-being over those reporting a high school degree."

And while research and recessions consistently show that higher education attainment generally leads to better financial outcomes, the actual value of the college premium is being revisited.

“We’ve been telling everyone college is the golden ticket,” ‘Making College Pay’ author Beth Akers told Yahoo Finance Live (video above). “Not really. It’s an investment, and like any other investment you need to make critical decisions and use economics to make sure that you’re making a choice that’s going to pay off for you.”

Data highlights the difference in perceived and actual value of a college degree in America

No thanks to the rising cost of college and the need to take on student debt, the boost in income and wealth from earning a postsecondary degree — known as the "college premium" — has slowly been shrinking.

finance.yahoo.com

 

[tay1]

Are you gonna make your kids go to college?

 

[deusavertat]

If you want to be a physician, engineer, lawyer or any job that requires a doctorate degree or equivalent then you have no choice. If you're tryna be a mechanic, construction worker, plumber, police or any type of low skilled manual labor, probably not worth it and trade school would be a better alternative. But even these trade schools are getting expensive from what I hear.

 

[Fozz]

Are you gonna make your kids go to college?

I will encourage them to go to college or a school that would lead them to a solid career.

 

[tay1]

I will encourage them to go to college or a school that would lead them to a solid career.

What if their passion was in the arts or something like archaeology?

 

[tay1]

If you want to be a physician, engineer, lawyer or any job that requires a doctorate degree or equivalent then you have no choice. If you're tryna be a mechanic, construction worker, plumber, police or any type of low skilled manual labor, probably not worth it and trade school would be a better alternative. But even these trade schools are getting expensive from what I hear.

I guess it’s the in between I’m focused on. If your kid wanted a degree in any of the occupations that you didn’t list.

 

[Fozz]

What if their passion was in the arts or something like archaeology?

I will for sure support that.

 

[deusavertat]

I guess it’s the in between I’m focused on. If your kid wanted a degree in any of the occupations that you didn’t list.

Um then no point in going to college if your life's goal is to become a mechanic or carpenter but I doubt my kid wouldn't want a career that requires at least a Bachelors. Children tend to gravitate to the types of careers their parents, and other family members have. I think there is value in going to college regardless of your chosen profession if you can afford it. I would prefer my kid go to college but if they aren't all that passionate about it and don't have a goal I'm not shelling out money for them to go somewhere expensive just to drop out.

I think my approach will be setting the tone for academic achievement way before college. If you get a 4.0 in high school you're probably smart and disciplined enough to figure out what you want to do and excel in it, college or otherwise.

 

[WASPS ANDD ASPS]

you have to make the system work for YOU.

degree or not.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

What if their passion was in the arts or something like archaeology?

Then I'd laugh at them for taking an oath of poverty.

My motto is--if you want to go to college, you better try to get a job that'll help you pay back that loan, or tuition money.

Because chances are, most other professions don't require you to go to school.

 

[tay1]

you have to make the system work for YOU.

degree or not.

That’s facts but just doesn’t work out for most people it seems.

 

[moderndarwin]

Loaded question.

Should of gone to college OP.

 

[blastercombo]

Again, levels to this. Those general education degrees from wherever don’t do much. People that graduate but didn’t put in the legwork well in undergrad, that’s on them. Now I’m not talking about price here either. I can go on all day about how they are price gouging everybody. I also get a kick out of people that never went to school but talk about how schools worthless.

 

[deusavertat]

What if their passion was in the arts or something like archaeology?

I would support it, especially if they study it at an elite university. If they are going to study Archeology at North Texas they are paying for it themselves.

Unless they are pre-health/archeology.

 

[tay1]

Loaded question.

Should of gone to college OP.

Graduated in December

 

[tay1]

Again, levels to this. Those general education degrees from wherever don’t do much. People that graduate but didn’t put in the legwork well in undergrad, that’s on them. Now I’m not talking about price here either. I can go on all day about how they are price gouging everybody. I also get a kick out of people that never went to school but talk about how schools worthless.

I find that people who down talk college just do so to mask their failure in education. I will always advise people to go to college even solely for the social aspect. You will never be around that many people again in life.

 

[703 hwy]

Sad part is we all know college is a hustle but still forced into it. Catch 22

 

[moderndarwin]

It depends on what you want out of life. It is still the surest path to financial security for most people. Not the only path but the most linear and prescriptive one.

If I were very wealthy I wouldn’t send my kid to traditional schooling likely. Or I may but insist that he does study abroad programs to really get a more global perspective of life.

If i was really broke I also wouldn’t send my kid to college because it’s not something that has to be rushed into. I’d recommend a trade school that aligns with his competencies and allows him to first build up maturity and savings. And then at age 23 or so he can make the call on what to do and whether he wants to do some community college + transfer to a 4 year after. Seen a lot of kids do this and I think it’s a great route for kids without resources.

 

[deusavertat]

I find that people who down talk college just do so to mask their failure in education.

This is usually my experience, but I think OP is being somewhat genuine. I have had people who clearly weren't smart enough to graduate high school much less go to college talk down at college graduates.

You have to remember for many jobs with resumes being equal, whoever earned the highest degree more often than most gets the job. Atleast in corporate and white collar professions.

 

[blastercombo]

I find that people who down talk college just do so to mask their failure in education. I will always advise people to go to college even solely for the social aspect. You will never be around that many people again in life.

In some form yes. I hear people say they learned zero in highschool. To that I say, you must be a complete idiot then

 

[tay1]

It depends on what you want out of life. It is still the surest path to financial security for most people. Not the only path but the most linear and prescriptive one.

If I were very wealthy I wouldn’t send my kid to traditional schooling likely. Or I may but insist that he does study abroad programs to really get a more global perspective of life.

If i was really broke I also wouldn’t send my kid to college because it’s not something that has to be rushed into. I’d recommend a trade school that aligns with his competencies and allows him to first build up maturity and savings. And then at age 23 or so he can make the call on what to do and whether he wants to do some community college + transfer to a 4 year after. Seen a lot of kids do this and I think it’s a great route for kids without resources.

So you believe college is best suited for middle / working class folk? That’s interesting.

 

[sreggie101]

I guess it’s the in between I’m focused on. If your kid wanted a degree in any of the occupations that you didn’t list.

brought this up in the umar thread. lotta degrees out there that he didn't list will leave u on the side of the road come graduation. aka you'll be studying that hidden starbucks menu afterwards.
but you'll still pay the high premium to get that degree in the first place. not worth the risk.

i think job hunting for a new college grad is tough enough. what with companies looking for experience by the time u graduate, which is ridiculous. but even then there are those degrees that don't even have postings.

granted this all depends on the plan or what u want to do with that degree. if you want to major in history and call it a day after graduation, then ill take a grande latte please with oat milk feel me?

but if you want to be a teacher, then great more power to you. the salary won't reflect the work needed to be a teacher, or your value to society, but if that is what you wanna do, fantastic.

i think especially today, just off the cost of living, some of these degrees ain't worth the time or money. i'd rather go the engineering route, and at least have that income growth potential. granted I'm using that as an example, am biased cuz I am engineer, and also realize that a lotta people are not about that life cuz math (but that is a diff problem).


i think the main driving force behind what a child wants to do has to be the balance between what makes them happy and what will help sustain them in life financially. what makes you happy can absolutely change for any number of reasons I get that, but at least when it comes to approaching college, that is the safest bet.

if u are miserable, it ain't worth the $...the stress will catch up with you. but I don't believe anyone can be happy and be dead broke worrying about bills and affording to live.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

It depends on what you want out of life. It is still the surest path to financial security for most people. Not the only path but the most linear and prescriptive one.

If I were very wealthy I wouldn’t send my kid to traditional schooling likely. Or I may but insist that he does study abroad programs to really get a more global perspective of life.

If i was really broke I also wouldn’t send my kid to college because it’s not something that has to be rushed into. I’d recommend a trade school that aligns with his competencies and allows him to first build up maturity and savings. And then at age 23 or so he can make the call on what to do and whether he wants to do some community college + transfer to a 4 year after. Seen a lot of kids do this and I think it’s a great route for kids without resources.

SUPER underrated alternative!

I know TONS of people who went to a community college for 2 years, crushed their courses and got perfect grades. Applied to Ivy league schools and have gone on to have fruitful careers. I'm not saying this is a "one size fits all" scheme. Obviously, you have to be considerate about what you study/career path you choose.

 

[sreggie101]

double.

 

[stuntman mike]

Should of gone to college OP.

c’mon man. how you going to write should OF in a critique about his education?