My ex cousin in law graduated top of his class in Harvard, then top 10 in Dartmouth. He was an economic analyst. When the economy took a shit; he got laid off. He now works for a company that pays him 1/2 of what he made at his previous job. He said paying back his student loans are really hard now. I do believe in higher education; but sometimes that type of educate requires top scale salaries.
He got fired for a reason! Had he been good at his job, he would have seen the crash coming. Kind of ironic, don't ya think? Sent from my baller ass iPhone 5 FAMS!
I actually joked about it once and it didn't blow over too well. His response was "we weren't assigned to analyze our own company. We were hired to streamline other companies."
It really depends on what is most important to each person. 1)What do they want to do for a career? There are some careers that essentially require a 4-year degree or higher. MDs, lawyers, many types of engineers, professors, etc. A 4 year degree will also open more possibilities, where a 2-year degree is more likely to train you for a specific career or job that you may be stuck with. 2) How important is financial success? Probability-wise, they will be more financially successful with a 4-year degree, and more even more financially successful with a grad degree. Yes, there are exceptions, but those are just exceptions. I think part of the difficulty is that at age 17 or 18, most people don't know what they want to do for the rest of their lives and their priorities are much different than when they are 30,40, etc. IMO, you should / they should plan for and assume a 4-year degree, and you can always cut back from there.
fwiw--I plan on bankrolling my sons to screw around for 3-6 months backpacking around the world right after high school. Well, maybe not bankroll, but I'll help them if I can get them work to help them pay the way. I got a lot more out of backpacking than I did out of any semester in college. I always respected Australians and the walkabout ethic. You can go anywhere on the damned planet and you'll meet Australians. I want my kids to think about the world like an Australian does, an interesting place to explore and see, and someday down the road you settle down and figure your future out. The most annoying thing is somebody proud of their country who has no other country to compare it to. I'd hate to see my sons be diehard Englishmen or Americans without seeing how other places work.
I agree with blazerboy, overall. He talks probabilities. As a man of math, probabilities and percentages are real things. I know a lot of people making bank. The people that went to school 4 years or more and studied hard, they have jobs that if they lose them, they'll be okay and find other, or similar means, elsewhere. I know a lot of people (a lot of family and friends) with little or no college education. They rode the mortgage wave, and probably made more in 5 years than I will in 10. They weren't educated enough to know that it wouldn't last forever. They spent and spent. Some of them are barely hanging on now. Shit, I'm trying to be responsible. I could have a decent house fully paid off, instead I'm 35-45% of FMV paid in. But beyond that, I try to be wise with the money. No bills besides the house, so I could float for a bit if I had to. But there are days, if like to cut the house in half and be done. That being said, it's not how much you make but how much you spend. If you're worried about their future, there are all types of savings accounts you could start to help out. Every little bit helps, even if. You can't contribute as much as they need.
I have come to the belief that the most important thing is to identify something that you have a passion for, acquire the knowledge to do that thing and follow through. Case in point, a friend of mine spent six years as an army scout, three tours in Baghdad, comes home and attends OSU for three years to become a Geologist..he realized just a few month ago that the limited income potential and the lack of in the field work was going to be a snooze fest. So he took the last of his GI bill and is learning to be an underwater welder..much more exciting, unlimited income potential and world travel. He will finish his education at his leisure now and make more part time than grinding for a government paycheck at best or being the lap dog of some oil company..
You can't ever go wrong going to school. 4 years is great, and a graduate degree is even better. I always wanted to write, but even though I went to an impressive undergraduate school (back when it was far easier to get into college), no one took me seriously until I had a law degree. Now I've written 15 books and don't have to practice law anymore. But it was that degree that made the difference. My oldest daughter dropped out of Lewis and Clark after a year (that killed me!), but 7 years later, she is now finishing her degree at PSU because she found she couldn't even get a job teaching English abroad without a degree. You cannot go wrong getting with education.
I got a Sociology BA from a UC school (4 year), graduated June 2012. Its working out pretty well for me, but I've been really lucky too and made the most of some opportunities. Most of my other friends with 4 year degrees aren't doing as well. Some of those are from well off families and could probably pull a solid entry level job if they wanted, but they're content to coast while planning on grad school in the near future. The ones who are really struggling are kind of stuck. I think its not considered THAT big of a crisis because a lot of people in the U.S. are struggling so there isn't a ton of sympathy or surprise when these kids can't get jobs with 0 experience. But having struggled for a while it REALLY sucks, you do realize quickly that there are a ton of people in the same boat though. My other friends who either got 2 year degrees or only graduated high school are all doing better than myself and my friends who just graduated if you just look at it right now. But you can really see the difference in potential between the two. I'm basically their equal and they've slowly worked their way up for the last 5+ years and are basically as far as they can go without some kind of degree. 11 months into my career I'm caught up to them, and probably project to skyrocket past them over time. My other friends with 4 yr degrees aren't making as much now but many have the beginnings of careers going and if I had to bet on who makes more long term I take the people with the 4 year degree all day (of course I'm probably biased). That said I know a lot of really successful 2 year stories. If you excel in 2 year and have a plan you can do very well. I know people who were average high school students, improved a lot in CC as a student (for a variety of obvious reasons), transferred to a high quality 4 year school and some of them continue to even higher education. I would absolutely recommend that to certain people if they are unsure about whether they want the 4 year college experience right out of HS. The main warning I have against them is that some people get entrenched at CCs for years and years just kind of floating along stacking up AAs that have no actual value other than qualifying you to become further educated.
I don't know what the working environment will be 15 years from now and there is always stories about people who succeeded with less (Gates and Allen didn't even graduate) . . . but if you don't want any doors closed and as many career options as possible, the 4 year degree seems like the obvious choice. Whatever the tuition amortization over 20-30 yrs (or whatever the career length) seems like a good investment.
Since we're ultimately talking life choices/decisions.... Teach your kids it's not how much they make, it's how much they spend.
You already know my thoughts on this subject. I have only a high school diploma and I make more than many of my friends with 4 year degrees. Including my brother, who is in debt big time from student loans. Its a sore subject. Society tells us we need to go to college to be 'successful'. Pure BS.
I'm not saying your pay wage shouldn't be important but a good 401K retirement plan is more important. There are a lot of companies that work your ass off and you don't get shit to show for it in the end.
