Data collected from the US Dept. of Education by Michael Itzkowitz of Third Way sheds some light. Mr Itzkowitz reports that it’s not all bad, but it could be better.

What advice did I give my own my own children?

I told them not waste money on college if they didn’t know what they wanted to be when they grew up. These days, taking a gap year or working is completely acceptable while students ruminate. Think of college as the place to gain marketable skills you couldn’t get in high school. It’s not an expensive 4-year party free-for-all.

College is not an expensive 4-year party. It's for adding to your skill stack. Click To Tweet

If you do go to college, choose a major that will earn enough money to pay your student loans back. My children majored in education, accounting, pharmacy, and education… in that order. The first exited her education career after one school year to go after entrepreneurial pursuits. (I started my longest-lasting business in a similar manner.) Number 2 is still in accounting (a hard to acquire, in demand skill). Number three is in her third year of pharmacy school (hard to acquire, in demand). Number 4 is in her third year of education. These are majors that all have the ability to service student loans, because they are hard to acquire, in demand skill sets.

So what other majors pay the bills?

STEM majors top the list according to the NYT article. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Any major that provides specialized skills that are in demand and hard to acquire. Fast food jobs may be in demand, but the skills aren’t particularly hard to acquire, except for maybe management. Left-handed puppetry may be a hard skill to acquire, but there’s no demand for it in the marketplace.

Again… Hard to acquire, in demand skill sets… The US is full of intelligent 20- and 30-somethings living in their parents’ basements working $15 an hour jobs, because they majored in stuff like this. And they may be trying to pay off what the article reports is an average of $88,000 ($22,000 per year).

At well over twice that ammount, private schools (which are even more expensive have an even more abysmal track record of graduates being gainfully employed.

So does it have to be STEM?

Of course not! There are literally a metric crap ton of other skill sets that students can pursue, and many do not require a college degree. I once had a student with a knack for learning (and speaking) foreign languages. He’s probably an interpreter. Others were personable and have literally become YouTube entrepreneurs.

The notion that a college degree is needed to be successful is an outdated relic of the Baby Boomers’ advice to Generation X.

In many schools, students can fill out online questionnaires to see (e.g., Career Cruising) to better inform them of their interests and abilities. Everyone is good at something, and we usually like to do things that we are good at.

As Always…

Thanks for reading! I hope this information provides food for thought. Remember that I am not a certified financial planner, a certified public accountant, a licensed real estate agent, etc. My content is for educational purposes. I am a math educator who happens to have a finance degree. Like they say, never take financial advice from a math teacher! (Do they really say that?)

But you should spend less than you earn, invest the difference, and stay out of debt!

I would so appreciate your sharing my content with anyone you feel could benefit. And if you would like a free exploratory conversation or just want to shoot the breeze about personal finances, call me and leave a message or send a text to 570-731-0425.