In the past I believe many kids have been told that once they graduate from high school they have to go to college in order to be successful. This could not be farther from the truth. There are many possible ways to have a successful career whether you go to college or not.
Of all the ways, trades have become the most popular career paths outside of college. Some of the most common trades are: plumbing, welding, electrical, construction, and carpentry. The benefit of a trade opposed to college is that you do not have to spend four years learning them in school. Instead, you can go to one year programs or even jump straight into the trade and learn from work experience. These programs can help with getting into apprenticeships or higher paying jobs and cost nearly a quarter of the price of traditional colleges.
Some of the biggest issues with college are the price, and many people do not believe a degree will really help them. First the prices of college have become so high that the average amount of time to pay them back is 21.1 years. The average price of a public college is $10,662 and out of states gets all the way up to $23,630 per year.
Another issue is whether or not all the time you spent getting a degree was worth it. Spending all four years studying for a degree is great but a study shows that this may not even get you in the door at a job. An article by Jack Kelly revealed, ¨A recent report by Intelligent, an online magazine dedicated to student life, revealed that 38% of employers avoid hiring recent college graduates.¨ This means that even though you spent the last four years of your life learning about your specific career, a large percentage of companies will turn you away because of a lack of prior experience.
On the other hand, Massachusetts has been working toward more affordable college. One of the ways they have done this is by passing a law that grants every Massachusetts resident access to attend community colleges for free as of July 29, 2024.
While I do believe that college can be useless, I also think that it is needed. For professions like lawyers, doctors , or even engineers I still believe that college is absolutely necessary and I understand the price that comes behind it. I just find myself thinking that overall the time and money put into college only gets most people into the same or even worse situations that people who did not go to college are in. Most people in America have enough debt already, and having college add to that sets people up for failure and is not always worth it.
