Employment gap less than high school vs. bachelors degree narrows in 2018.
Employment gap less than high school vs. bachelors degree narrows in 2018.


Why Many People Shouldn't Get a 4-Year Degree

by Lewis Loflin


The first question is, why am I going to college?

I went to college in the student loan program. My goal was a better job. I decided the cost was too high and the job opportunities too scarce.

I paid off the loans I owed, then switched back to community college. I got several degrees for a fraction of the cost.

The two years I spent at the four-year weren't wasted. They didn't apply for a job but broadened my horizons.

According to www.forbes.com, the federal student loan portfolio totals more than $1.6 trillion, owned by about 43 million borrowers.

According to www.forbes.com (May 18, 2022), "40% of student loan borrowers don't have a college degree."

That is a severe problem if true. Most of those people should never have attended college, in particular, a four-year institution.

Dreams of high-paying status jobs lure in students. Or from social pressure. Or they are talked into this by incompetent guidance counselors.

Most people should not attend a four-year college. Unless one is brilliant in math, science, engineering, etc., many liberal art degrees are worthless in the job market.

Foreign-born workers have already displaced 17% of American workers, nearly 1 out of 5.

A deluge of foreign workers was imported into the country to displace American workers with cheaper labor. Even high-tech workers are fired and replaced or never allowed even to apply.

Government employment created many jobs for college graduates, but that's over due to budget problems. Notice the above chart; it's not me, but The New York Times. Look at it hard!

One must be realistic with their skills and what the jobs market is looking for. See Intelligence Predicts Economic Social Outcome.

We must look at cost versus outcome. Many claims one can earn $1 million over a lifetime with a 4-year degree. Maybe or maybe not. Many liberal art degrees or general degrees won't do that.

An imported H1b engineer makes perhaps $30,000 a year, something an American citizen with over $100,000 can't afford to take. What about a graduate with a worthless liberal arts degree working as a bartender? Two-thirds of bartenders have a college degree.

To quote USnews.com

"The average cost of tuition and fees to attend a ranked public college in state is about 74% less than the average sticker price at a private college, at $10,423 for the 2022-2023 year compared with $39,723, respectively, U.S. News data shows. The average cost for out-of-state students at public colleges comes to $22,953 for the same year."

That is per year.

Others note: "The figures above do not include other costs your child will incur as a college student, such as room and board, books, supplies, equipment, and transportation. These additional expenses can increase your child's cost of attending college by a substantial amount."

I'd further add in the cost of interest on those loans most people get stuck with plus four years or more out of the labor force (at $20-$30,000 a year) those costs could double or triple. All of this in addition to the risk of being replaced by an imported foreign worker.

That could easily top $100,000.

On the flip side whattobecome.com claims (August 21, 2022) the following:

Bachelor’s degree holders see ROI only after 15 years of working full-time. (Education Data)

College graduates job statistics show that the return on investment in a bachelor’s degree in the first 10 years after graduation is -41.1%. On the other hand, graduates with a bachelor’s degree see an ROI of 38.8% after 20 years of full-time employment, while their lifetime ROI stands at 287.7%.

But that assumes one really does work full time and can stay employed. And it depends on the degree.

In 2022 signs of a prolonged economic downturn fills the news. What does that mean for college graduates buried in debt working marginal jobs?

What about a liberal arts degree? To quote one person, "Liberal arts degrees are only 'worthless' if the only thing you care about is money."

If one is $50,000 or more in debt they better worry.

To quote Dr. Walter E. Williams on the problem of education fraud,

How necessary is college anyway? One estimate is that 1 in 3 college graduates have a job historically performed by those with a high school diploma. According to Richard Vedder, distinguished emeritus professor of economics at Ohio University and the director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, in 2012 there were 115,000 janitors, 16,000 parking lot attendants, 83,000 bartenders and about 35,000 taxi drivers with a bachelor's degree.

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Lewis Frog www.lloflin.com

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