Is college a smart investment of time and money, (measuring the zeitgeist)?

[RandomGuy1032]

No

no idea

[WindAtMyBack]

You should decide what you want to do with your life first, then figure out how to get there. Finances are a part of that equation, but not all of it. Then you have to weigh the whole thing against alternative uses of time and money.

Even degrees in the best areas take several years to pay for themselves. Other degrees take much longer or may not financially pay for themselves at all. But if a degree is the route to what you are passionate about, then it might still be worth it regardless of it's financial value.

You also have to compare apples to apples. People tend to compare apples to oranges. Looking at average pay with a college degree vs average pay without a degree is the wrong way to look at it. You have to compare having the same intelligence, motivation, work ethic, planning, etc. So you can't compare someone with a college degree, which takes a certain amount of effort, to someone who is lazy, unintelligent, with no ambition. If you are going to work hard to get a degree, you have to compare it to working hard without a degree.

If you don't go to college then what will you do? It's not necessarily wrong not knowing the answer to that. A LOT of people go to college without really knowing what they want either. You don't want to be complacent. You need to keep striving, keep planning, keep learning formally or informally, keep working hard, and always look for opportunities.

Another factor is your location. What is good in one place may not be good in another. So consider the local job market, and consider if you are willing to move someplace else.

If you don't know what you want to do now, which is understandable, it doesn't hurt to delay. Delaying with good reason is not the same as procrastinating. You have time to take a look around, maybe try a few things, change majors, etc. Don't worry about "getting rusty" with school. It will come back to you very quickly, especially if you have a better feel for what you ware doing and why.

[Oigit]

It very much depends on what your degree is in and if you don't get dragged into the negatives of collage life. But even if you get a degree in a high paying field and avoid the political/social mess that is modern collage can still can be a waste. Because the vast majority of people don't go from graduation to a high paying job at a fortune 500 company.

So it can really come down to what you do after collage, then collage itself. Because you would be surprised how many people have degrees in STEM fields and still end up working in retail. Simply because it's easier to complain about not getting a high level job right out of collage, rather then fighting tooth and nail to get one.

Lastly collage isn't the end all, be all. Trades are still very much a good option. I went to Job Corps after high school, got several IT certifications and hands on experience in working in electrical and plumbing. Sure I'm not rich and it took work to get where I'm at. But I have a good paying job with none of the student loan debit.

Also comparing the two I'd take going to Job Corps over collage. Simply because there was not nearly as much drama there that there is in a collage. Also unlike collage, Job Corps is very much treated like a job. So you leave there fully prepared to work and support yourself. Rather then being a fish out of the water like you would be if you zero experience working for a living before going to collage.

[Varanus]

College these days is only worth it if you have a specific career in mind that requires a degree, and it has positive growth prospects.

Vast majority of people are better off at a trade school or learning what they need online. The amount of people spending $50k+ per year to attend college to hopefully get a job that pays $50k/year is way too damn high.

[LazerBean]

If it's STEM or medical, yes. Otherwise, typically no.

[Sixgunsound]

As a teacher who is necessarily a college graduate, I can unequivocally say no college is not worth the amount of money it costs these days, especially in light of all the corporate welfare and endowments universities and colleges are getting which they claim is never enough.

[OddBeMe]

If the zeitgeist means jobs figures or salary averages of college educated vs non college educated…it is absolutely worth it.

Especially because most kids would get some type of loan subsidy or grant.

[joeldalton]

It depends. If you want to be a ‘thing’. Like an engineer, or accountant, or nurse…absolutely. If you’re going there to be a gender studies major then no.

[jamartheg]

No drugs are better