Today, many college students are finding their plans for the future have been thrown off by the Coronavirus pandemic. Some are facing tanking grades and extended stays in college. Others are finding the industries they studied for are no longer hiring. Many college students and recent graduates are frustrated at the state they find themselves in. For some, this means turning to other kinds of career development, such as apprenticeships, bootcamps, and more. While they may not have intended it, those taking these options seriously may end up better off than their peers. And hopefully, one silver lining to come out of this pandemic will be a greater number of young Americans skipping the traditional college experience.
It’s still the case that around 69% of Americans go to college. Compared to just 40% across Europe, and 30% in Germany, that’s astonishing. Especially given that so many European students can attend college for almost free. But is the amount of Americans going to college really a problem?
What’s Wrong With Too Much College?
For those who say yes, student debt tends to be the big focus. It’s a serious problem, and the average degree at a US college now costs more than $35,000. But the problem is deeper than that. If degrees were this expensive, but still delivered on their promise of a higher-paid career, it might be okay. However, the evidence is growing that college graduates are getting very little in return for missing about four years of potential experience and going many thousands of dollars into debt.
It simply isn’t sustainable to keep working with a system that leaves as many as 85% of Americans unsatisfied with their work. Many people are aware of what’s holding them back as well. When you dig into poll data, it’s very clear what the problem is. People don’t feel passionate about the jobs they’re doing, and they don’t see opportunities for advancement or growth. It’s easy to see how this happens given that only 27% of Americans work in fields related to their degree. This means that the entire four years they spent in college were spent preparing for a career they now don’t have. Learning how advancement works in a given industry, meeting people who can help with networking and mentoring, and even getting the necessary certifications for advancement are all important steps to starting a career on the right foot. It’s understandable that people are frustrated when they go back to square one. Why might they have to go back to square one? This could be a number reasons, like finding out that their area of study doesn’t translate to a steady job or they simply need to start paying back their loans.
The schools themselves are not providing much clarity on this or anything else. We know that as many as one in ten students change their majors more than once. Sometimes it’s the right call, but often it’s a decision that delays graduation and can leave significant gaps in training. Similarly, some are ending up as perpetual grad students because they don’t know what else to do with themselves. Students change majors so often because they don’t have any reason to be at a university in the first place besides knowing it’s the “right” thing to do and being encouraged to “get a degree” by teachers, parents, and mentors. The cherry on top of this terrible sundae is that, even in terms of general critical thinking skills, many students show no improvement after four years of college.
These problems don’t end when students graduate either. Many employers simply require a bachelors degree in any field. But now, almost everyone who might apply has one. So it’s become harder to choose between potential hires, which is problem for both employers and job seekers. For the job seeker, it means you have to do more work to show your experience and skills. The degree on your resume was supposed to do that for you, but now many are finding they need additional certifications or extensive interview processes to find work. These long hiring processes are difficult on employers too. They now have to invest much more time and energy into filling positions with qualified candidates. As many as 2 out of 5 employers say recent graduates lack the necessary skills and experience to do the jobs they’re hired for.
This is the central problem. College degrees are meant to communicate something important about the degree holder. They indicate that one has completed a rigorous academic program and is prepared to work in the related field. But not every job needs such rigorous academic preparation, and colleges have expanded their offerings to be about much, much more than academics. Colleges today are trying to be everything to students and this is part of why college has become so expensive in the first place. We don’t actually know what we’re paying for! Is it the athletics? The job training? The fun residential experience? Until we figure it out, we should stop selling it as a bundle to people who just turned 18 and telling them they have to buy it all just to get the career development.
It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way
It doesn’t have to be this way. People in Europe are facing similar economic conditions, have college provided for free, and still manage to make better choices about job training and career pathways. The problem in the US is that young people, their parents, and their teachers want them to go to college. So how do we convince people to skip it?
Showing them how great a career in the trades can be is part of the puzzle, but it’s not just about pay. You can make a lot of money in the trades in the US now, and many people are aware of this. The deeper question is how to normalize this culturally. This means asking what students are trying to get from their college experiences. For some it is education or job training, but for many it’s something else.
The Germans (and other Europeans) seem to have figured it out. It might just be a matter of German directness leading people to make practical choices versus American politeness leading people to made “traditional” ones, but what else do they do differently?
For one, students are introduced to trade school as an option much earlier. They attend different high schools, depending on whether they’re planning to go to college or trade school. There is also just more respect for people who work in the trades in these countries. This cultural shift may be most difficult to pull off, but people like Mike Rowe and his Dirty Jobs program have started to make the case for working in the trades.
Finally, many Germans and other Europeans also take a gap, service, or travel year. This may be a key part of the puzzle. Young people want all the things they’re paying a college for: a chance to explore and to meet people, to have fun, and to establish themselves as an independent adult. It just doesn’t make any sense to call that job training or education.
Convincing Students to Try Trade School
Convincing young people that trade school or other options, such as apprenticeships or income share agreement (ISA) programs, are worth considering is an uphill battle. But giving young people what they want might encourage them to consider it. So, we need to give them opinions for residential experiences, travel, and exploration, that aren’t tied to a four-year degree,
There are already some alternative education providers in the US who have started doing this. In particular, Praxis is a great program that teaches young people how to become entrepreneurs through mentoring and skills training. The big insight of Praxis is that their programs include in-person seminars. This gives participants a chance to travel and live with other young people. They also group participants into “cohorts” so they can form relationships with other young people.
A similar option is a live-in apprenticeship program. The advantage of these programs is that you’re getting all the experiences and relationships you might want from a college. You just don’t have to also study something completely unrelated to the work you’ll actually end up doing. Even the most difficult apprenticeship isn’t going to make you take “general education” courses that have nothing to do with your field.
Even if you can’t find a program which serves both needs in one, this doesn’t mean college is the only option. Gap years are a smart idea for young people who want to explore, find themselves, and form relationships before staring a job training program. One popular option that’s starting to see a comeback is WWOOFing. This program allows young people to work for room and board at organic farms around the world. It’s a great way to travel and meet people without going to college. Or, for residential experiences that do include specified job training, a service year can be a great way to make friends and explore while you learn directly applicable skills.
As we encourage more young people to skip “the college experience,” we should show them that a career in the trades can be well-paid and fulfilling. This isn’t the entire battle though. We also need to give young people the opportunity to get some of the social and cultural experiences that keep drawing them back to college like moths to a frat-party flame.
