As soon as 2020 65% of all US jobs will require some education beyond high school. This does not always mean a four year degree, but does in a lot of cases. Nevertheless, 65% of jobs will require education beyond high school.

For a long time now US children were provided a free high school education, and for a long time that was enough to secure and earn a profitable living. Not going forward. The free high school education doesn’t take someone as far as it used to.

Something like 70 tuition free hours at a community college to be used towards a certificate program or associates degree makes a whole lot of sense.

I was nervous about leaving school with 17k in student loans and that was before I even started college. I see kids now not even flinch when you tell them they will leave with over 100k in debt at some of these schools. The money and thought of paying it back is not real to a lot of them until after they leave college.

_________________

It's almost impossible to think of the real consequences of that decision until the first payment is due.

_________________

That’s exactly the reason not to push it even more on people. Because 65% of jobs in America do not require any type of secondary education to do the job. The number isn’t close to that.

There’s a lot of things that need to change but this push to make every one a college graduate is going to have the obvious effect that we are seeing today, employers “recommending” a bachelors degree to run Excel and other basic programs 8 hours a day. It’s total bullshit and your proposed solution is only addressing one half of it, and exacerbating the other.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

That's life.

It doesn't have to be

_________________

Great Sinatra song.

_________________

I still do not understand why more schools do not hand out or make applications to trade unions more available in school.

_________________

65% of jobs as soon as 2020 will require some education beyond a high school diploma, that is just the makeup of the US of the economy.

Nowhere in my post did I say to push everyone to be a college graduate, in fact what I proposed is not that at all. I proposed giving 70 hours of community credit tuition free for whatever the person wants to use it for. Some may use it to launch a college degree, many many other will use it to gain a certification of some kind and find a job that route.

It fucks up the graft.

_________________

Agreed.

All decisions have consequences.

And?

_________________

You seem to be misunderstanding my point. That’s a bullshit number. I don’t know where you got it from but I know it’s a bullshit number. I would be willing to bet that almost every poster on this board knows somebody without a college degree working in a job that “requires” one.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Isn't one of the more important metrics of judging a schools success the rate at which graduates go to university?

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

That's the graft.

_________________

Everything should be free!

I got it from a Georgetown University study. Take it up with them if you have a problem with the numbers, but forgive me if I trust them more than I trust Farve Fan. I know your bullshit anecdotal evidence proves the contrary, but that is why it is anecdotal, and also why it is bullshit.

Ok. Keep believing that 2/3rd’s of jobs in this country require a college degree to do them and then also keep wondering why this student debt problem will never get solved.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Well it is more about how many students are accepted to four year schools and not who actually goes. Just like all the schools who advertise all of their students who take AP classes but fail to mention how many actually score high enough on the tests to earn the credit.

_________________

Keep believing that I stated that 2/3rds of the jobs in this country require a college degree and and then also keep wondering why people think you are a dipshit that can’t read.

I think there is a discussion in here between the both of you. My opinion is that perhaps close to many require a college degree to be hired. I do not believe that many jobs are such that people without degrees cannot perform them. I think with the general inflation of college educated people and lack of jobs in many degree fields leaves people working below their education. In other words, if a company can hire a college grad do do a job at 30k and a HS grad to do same at 30K there you go.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

This happens now out here. Example near the HS my kids went to. There is a lot of machinery businesses that are doing huge business with many contracts. They come into school coordinating with seniors and getting internships and apprenticeships going.

It should happen much more. Of the top of my head if the electricians school on 115th and Ridgeland or wherever went to all the area HS within 3 miles they would have no shortages.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

I don't wonder that because people don't think that. Replace college degree with secondary education and my post is accurate and yours is still comically stupid.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

You guys can both be correct.

Employers may require a college degree. At the same time, the job tasks do not demand specialized knowledge provided by a college. The college degree is more an indicator of potential ability than a requirement to be able to perform the work on Day 1.

If the market suddenly wasn't supplying college graduates, employers would be satisfied filling the position with non degreed employees.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Gee I wonder what caused this problem.

Prior to 1976, you could discharge your student loans in bankruptcy.

Congress then changed the law: student loans were dischargeable if they had been in repayment for five years. Subsequently, that period was extended to seven years.

In 1998, Congress removed dischargeablility except if a debtor could show that paying back the student loans would create an undue hardship. In 2005, Congress extended this protection to private student loans.

_________________
Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Government subsidized student loans are a perfect example of something with good intentions but horrific results. You can't afford $20k per year in tuition/board? That's ok, we'll loan you $15k per year. Oh wait...your college conveniently just raised their tuition/board to $35k. Ok, we'll loan you $30k per year. Whoops, tuition is now $45k. And so on...

_________________

It is not all that hard to see the vicious artificially begun then continued inflationary spiral. Give easy guaranteed loans for college. Many more go to college on loans. Colleges raise tuition at will. Rinse repeat.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

Sorry I am late to this thread. The original comment from Spiral about this being like the housing crisis is very true. We are burdening our future leaders with debt that hampers their ability to buy a house, start a family, and mature in the way generations before them have.

When you go to college, you are already behind in starting a career and generating wealth. The trade off is you increase your long term earnings potential, so it’s worth that initial sacrifice. But when folks are graduating with six figure debts, you are burying these folks even further.

As I have said over the years, our education is the best place to reduce income inequality. It starts in pre-K with teaching kids to read and stretches all the way past high school with equipping folks with skills that employers need (not just college education but technical/trade skills for those not going to college).

The cost of college has risen for two main reasons:

1) states like IL have cut allocations to universities.
2) colleges have spent way too much on fancy campuses and administration.

It is sad, and there is no easy answers, like healthcare. I can’t believe I am paying about $200k for my daughter to attend IU. I have no clue how folks on median incomes could ever afford this, and it saddens me greatly. The current system reinforces inequality because kids like mine already have inherent advantages, and then they will not be burdened like lower income families. I would absolutely be willing to pay more taxes to boost education and improve the entire system.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

Yes government loans handed out like Halloween candy is a big problem. You have de-linked the current cost until it is too late. It has allowed universities to raise prices well beyond inflation.

UIUC and UIC cost me about $5,000 per year back in the mid 90’s. Today is many multiples higher.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You