Last week I delivered a keynote speech on evaluating and preparing teenagers for college at a parent meeting of a nearby high school. After my speech, the parents headed to break-out sessions, and I waited around to answer questions and sell my book. While I waited, a father and math teacher at the school, who had not attended the meeting, came over to talk.
He expressed concern that our society, schools, and academia, are pushing way too many kids toward college. He believes that today’s undergraduate degree is yesterday’s high school degree and that having a BA or BS doesn’t offer much job security. He believes most young people go to college because it is expected and that our secondary schools do little to encourage or offer viable options and related skills. He said we all need to take a realistic look at what college students can expect once they graduate. In increasingly more cases, he believes the ever-rising cost of college is not a smart investment for many young people.
The debate over whether college is worth it has been argued in the last couple of years, primarily due to the high costs of attending, the dismal unemployment rate, and the sluggish economy. A recent report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce ascertains that while employment and earnings for college graduates is down from past years, “extensive research, ours (the Center) included, finds that a college degree is still worth it.” The report continues: “A Bachelor’s degree is one of the best weapons a job seeker can wield in the fight for employment and earnings…Unemployment for students with new Bachelor’s degrees is an unacceptable 8.9 percent, but it’s a catastrophic 22.9 percent for job seekers with a recent high school diploma—and an almost unthinkable 31.5 percent for recent high school dropouts.”
The report goes on to explain that the choice of major makes a big difference. Some of the major findings in the report: “1) Choice of major substantially affects employment prospects and earnings. 2) People who make technology are better off than people who use technology. 3) In general, majors that are linked to occupations have better employment prospects than majors focused on general skills. But, some occupation specific majors, such as Architecture, were hurt by the recession and fared worse than general skills majors.”
Regardless of this report or the opinion of the father/math teacher, I do believe college is worth it if the student is motivated, serious, and ready for college. And determining college readiness is, of course, the purpose of Toward College Success: Is Your Teenager Ready, Willing, and Able? If that student is not ready, she needs to pursue something else—gap time, job, military, apprenticeships, etc.—until she decides she is motivated, serious, and ready, willing, and able.
Read the Center on Education and the Workforce’s report at: http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/Unemployment.Final.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment