Just a general poll on what people think, given that the other threads suggest that going to college is not so smart right now. I'm not sure I believe the trade school argument, because we're going to get a flood of illegal (to-be-legal) immigration when they pass this amnesty coming down the pipe. Any ideas? If your (average to below-average) kid wasn't majoring in anything worthwhile, where would you tell him to go?
I assume your kid is actually you. I'd get into hyperbaric (underwater) welding or clean up crime scenes.
I remember back in high school, which was 13 years ago, there was this guy I know who told me that he is not going to college. He said that he asked the janitor for advice and the janitor told him that he got a great job and he doesn't think college is necessary. I don't know what happened to him, but I hope he went to college.
For any decent paying job one usually needs to attend some kind of school... maybe the equivalent of an apprenticeship, too. With Commie Socialist healthcare apparently our future, one should strive to be a part of it somehow... nurse, PA, physician. Career military is looking better all the time, too.
A sales job would be ideal. Your skills could be transferred to any business. Sky is the limit when it comes to your income potential.
College gives you a degree, but the degree isn't just a piece of paper. It's some kind of input into some employer's mental regression equation to assess whether they can take a risk on you to further their own business. But, now, taking that kind of risk (college debt) just to present yourself to an employer doesn't make sense. But at the same time, being "unskilled" tosses you into the same ring as illegal immigrants and a very tight labor market. I'm not sure how you can "win" either way. I lean towards suggesting subsistence farming as a valid means of living, but what prevents people from taking this path is property tax. My belief is that unless they get rid of property tax, there's no way to avoid debt slavery or unskilled-labor wage slavery. We can leave the college system and labor system the way it is, but we should give people true ownership of property so they can opt out of the system altogether. Property tax prevents us from reverting to the absolute basic means of avoiding the existing labor game. I've given this a great deal of thought, but there is no way to extricate yourself from government or corporate slavery in the US, short of navigating harsh labor or debt situations.
My daughter is becoming a nurse. I was some effin' relieved when she decided to do this. Good pay, you can have a job anywhere, you're actually helping people. 2 years community college and you're an RN.