Richard Vedder
Contributor Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus at Ohio University, writing in Forbes makes the following observations:
"The conventional wisdom is that attending
college is a good investment. College graduates over a lifetime make,
in present value terms, on average about $1 million more than those with
high school diplomas. Since the cost of obtaining a degree, even
including costs associated with earnings foregone while studying in
college (as opposed to working full-time) is vastly less than$1 million,
obtaining a college degree is a good investment."
"A more correct nuanced view is that obtaining a college degree is a
good investment for a significant subset of the young American
population. However, for another large segment of the population, it is
actually not a viable proposition on strictly economic grounds.""For every 100 students entering a four-year college on a full-time basis, only about 60 obtain a bachelor’s degree after six (not the advertised four) years. Moreover, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, about 40 % of that 60% who graduate actually become underemployed —taking jobs typically filled by those with lesser education, especially a high school diploma. Thus out of every 100 students who start college full-time, only about 36 typically actually both graduate and get a good job in a timely manner. College is a risky investment."
A really big factor in the financial analysis is student loan debt of about $1.5 trillion. Too many students borrow far too much money when their prospects of earning a degree in a field that will provide sufficient salary to repay the debt is poor. As a retired university professor I can attest to the many students who attend college because it seems to be the thing to do yet they are not prepared for the rigors of college and are not motivated to excel. They would be far better off taking a gap year or two to earn money, explore career options, and mature to the point where they are prepared for college.
Will we have enough plumbers, machinists, mechanics, and other 'blue-collar" professionals in the future?
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