The Push Away From College Education To Career Education
Why are families beginning to move away from college education?
There are several reasons for this, the cost of college education, the lack of jobs…
Recently there has been a shift in many families from the focus on college education to career preparation. There are several reasons for this, the cost of college education, the lack of jobs for college educated students, etc. This is leading many families to evaluate the purpose of a college education and whether or not it is worth it for their children to pursue this level of education. Is a college education really worth the sacrifice? When Gallup asked Americans in 2019 about the value of college degrees, just 51 percent answered, “very important,” down from 70 percent in 2013.
The rising cost of college education.
This is one of the first components of this discussion that families are considering when it is time to consider college for their child. College costs have been on a mostly upward trend for the last two decades. According to US News and World Report, in addition to rising tuition prices, paying for housing, food, transportation, books and other school-related fees can add thousands of dollars to college expenses. So, families not only have to consider the cost of the tuition of a school but all of the related costs that come along with it. Many times, this is just too much to bear for a family. Even if their child gets student loans, those loans don’t cover the related costs. This is a major reason why many families are looking for another way to educate their children in order to ensure that they will have a successful future.
The lack of jobs for college educated students.
According to Resumebuilder.com, 28% of recent college graduates are working at jobs that only require a high school diploma; 6% have jobs with no education requirements at all, 1 in 5 recent grads are working at jobs that are unrelated to their major, 84% of recent grads say finding a job was ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ difficult and 40% recent grads still seeking employment have lowered their salary expectations. This issue has been on the rise, students are leaving school and having a much harder time finding a job that matches what they went to school for and the salary that they need to make in order to be independent. This lack of open positions is just another reason that students don’t see the need for a college degree these days.
The availability of so many other opportunities.
Businesses like Google, IBM, and Accenture have made high-profile moves to boost skills-based hiring. In a report earlier this year, the labor analytics firm Burning Glass found that just 9 percent of Accenture’s “computer support specialist” listings required a bachelor’s in 2021, down from 46 percent in 2017, according to the Washington Post. Many students are finding that if they get certificates and training in the specific field that they are interested in, they can obtain the job that they are looking for without investing the time or money in a four-year college program.
It is time in my opinion that we start presenting students with a plethora of options and opportunities when it is time for them to decide what they want to do with their careers. About 10 to 20 years ago, a college education was necessary to ensure that one could make good money and have a career with longevity. However, now there are many more options and considerations for students as they are making this decision. We would be doing students, our children, a disservice to only educate them about one pathway to success. This is especially true if they are not fond of the structure of the traditional school. By making them aware of all of the possibilities it will inevitably lead to a more fulfilling, happy and productive life for them in the long run.