> Basically, I've come to the conclusion that college is not for all.
Of course college is not for all. It is not something everyone just "does" because of "jobs". High schoolers and college students feel entitled. The vast majority should not be in college nor do they need a college education. If you are an 18-20 year old and cannot see this, then you sure as hell should not be in college.
Intellectual exploration? Community college is good enough. Parents taking $40K/year loans for tuition/rent for your private or flagship state university? Majoring in humanities? Ha. Go ask those graduates if college was worth it.
Well sure, it's easy to say that in hindsight, but that's not what these students were told growing up.
A generation was told that if they got into university and did well, they'd get much better jobs and be set for life. And it's easy to understand why, because this was true for their parents' generation. Educated employees were in much shorter supply, and thus in a much better position to capture the increased wealth of a booming economy.
Is it any wonder people feel entitled when they were told constantly that they would be rewarded for what they were doing?
One problem, though, is that many students whose loans are becoming problematic were in school during the financial trouble leading up to 2008 and 2009. During that recession, people without degrees had negative growth in jobs (job loss), while college degree-holders dropped nearly to zero, but did not actually go negative. Associate degree-holders were almost half-way between other the two. Of course, it's great to tell students that they should strongly consider the trades or other paths, but the reality is that those careers are less safe in economic downturns.
Of course college is not for all. It is not something everyone just "does" because of "jobs". High schoolers and college students feel entitled. The vast majority should not be in college nor do they need a college education. If you are an 18-20 year old and cannot see this, then you sure as hell should not be in college.
Intellectual exploration? Community college is good enough. Parents taking $40K/year loans for tuition/rent for your private or flagship state university? Majoring in humanities? Ha. Go ask those graduates if college was worth it.