College Grad: ‘I wish I’d gone to prison instead’

Lucedaleblessed

Active Member
It is just awful that it has to be like this.

I hope that the graduates somehow manage land a job soon or our country could ending up with a lost generation in 20-30 years.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
We've essentially decided to skip the 4-year college path out of highschool with cost being a primary factor. I estimate both difficult child's will start at a much lower cost community college for the first few years. Afterall, people only look at where you got your diploma, not where you spent your frosh/soph years.

If anyone in our house has a shot at a scholarship, it will be easy child. But that's so far off, I'm not even worrying about it right now.

The cost of higher education is skyrocketing. I read in one state the mayor of a college town is actually considering charging college students a TAX just for being a student, to the tune of $150 per semester. That's just outRAGEous!

The student in the article above lives in my area, and it's VERY expensive to live here, and the job market is essentially flat. Not a lot of layoffs, but also not a lot of open jobs either. Makes it really tough for people just coming out of school. You really have get creative in your job search. Sometimes the job you want has to be approached from a less obvious angle.
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
It IS a sad and shocking state of affairs.

I think that as a society, we're approaching one of those turning points. I know that when I graduated from high school, the assumption was that a university degree--ANY degree--was a ticket into the job market. That just doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

In my area, there are 3 universities in the city where I live, and another 5 within 2 hours of here. The pressure on young people to enroll in university is very high. BUT...they're graduating with crushing debt and slim job prospects in a limited number of shrinking fields.

Meanwhile, a lot of the skilled trades and "applied" jobs are desperately looking for people. For those jobs, a 2-year community college diploma leads to an apprenticeship and much better job prospects, all with siginficantly lower tuition fees.

For students going through high school right now, I'd strongly encourage them to give some serious thought to what they want to do, what they're good at, and whether a university degree will actually get them into a job they think they'll enjoy, be good at and do well in.

Tough times. We need better solutions.

Trinity
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
That No Child Left Behind thing has done so many people a disservice. If Miss KT had followed the plan her counselor set out, she would have dropped out of school. There's no way she would have taken 4 years of science, four years of math, and several other "requirements" to get into the 4 year university that gradewise, she wouldn't qualify for, and it isn't affordable anyway.

Add in the student loan factor...the monthly payments after graduation are staggering. Son #2 is expected to pay $900/mo.

Our poor kids.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
husband finished college with a sizeable student loan as well, which he was STILL paying down when we got married some FIVE years after he'd graduated! I think it took us another two years to finally pay it off, and that was with MY income added to the financial picture.

I certainly don't want that hanging over my kids when their embarking on their future. Not the greatest way to start out in life.
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
My Step D just finished paying off her student loan last year. She's 32. And she didn't do any advanced degrees or anything. Just a 3-year Bachelor of Arts from a standard university.

Little easy child is already starting to think about his career prospects, and he's been asking about whether he should go to university or not. I've been telling him that it depends on what he wants to do for his job, and trying to help him think beyond univ. as his only option.

Scary to be having this conversation with a 7-year-old, but I figure it's a good opportunity to get him started thinking about it.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
This is why it is very important for kids to research the job trends and what careers are hiring well on a consistant basis before deciding what to study in college.

I told my art teacher I was seriously tempted to change my major. (I am) He grinned at me and said "Why? You still have to make a living."

So true.

And I wouldn't change it, even if it's tempting.
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
This is why it is very important for kids to research the job trends and what careers are hiring well on a consistant basis before deciding what to study in college.

Lisa, this is EXACTLY it!

When I was in univ, I studied English Literature. Fine, so I have a degree, but not once has it ever proved useful in any work I've done since then. (However, I CAN blather on ad nauseam about Neoclassical poets) If I had to do things over again, I would try much harder to figure out what I wanted to do before I started university, and study that, rather than spending so much time after graduation floundering around in search of the right job.
 

eekysign

New Member
I've got almost 100K in educational debt, at age 27. There is no way I could have avoided it, in my line of work. I'm doing what I wanted to do, but I'm not working in the more lucrative areas of my profession....which I'm OK with. Personal decision. But......

I'm currently scheduled to pay $600-1000 a month until I'm 50-something. Welcome to my generation, who will never own their own homes, buy a new car, or be able to afford kids. Huzzah. Everyone I know that's gotten married in the last 3-4 years has friends living in their homes as renters 'cause none of us can afford to live as a simple married couple. And they wonder why we're slow to "grow up".
 

JJJ

Active Member
husband and I were both blessed with parents that were able to afford to send us to college and we were able to get a start on life without crushing debt. We cannot afford to give that gift to our children. But the sad reality is the Kanga will never be able to attend college and Eeyore is iffy. Piglet may be able to qualify for a scholarship and Tigger can attend local community and state colleges through a Phd so he's never leaving home LOL
 
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