Are parents justified in pressuring their teenage children to get a college education?

by Karen Gilbert

Created on: July 07, 2009

Is college the answer for everyone? It must be because I teach in a technical high school and though our students are training for specific trades such as plumbing, HVAC, and electrical, we keep telling the students and their parents our academic curriculum will get them into college. We seem embarrassed to be a trade school. Why should my students go to college? Why do we seem to respect and regard more highly doctors and lawyers? Is it because they have degrees?

Why did I want my son to go to college? Why did my father want me to get a university education? Why did my father's parents admire him for using his GI Bill to get a degree? The answer is simple; we believe the college degree means a better job. And by better job, we mean that we earn more money. Do we?

My tuition, room and board in 1971 totaled $2,700 for the year. I had no college loans to burden me as I entered the work force. I secured a teaching position for $12,000 per year, approximately what it cost for my four years. Today's college education often exceeds $100,000. What sort of return is there for that investment? Would a financial planner see today's college education as a wise purchase as compared to years past? What sort of job does one find to make it worth my while? What is the average annual salary for a college graduate? What security is there for them in today's economy?

If you choose the corporate route looking to climb the corporate ladder to increase your income, moving up the ladder often means a move around the country. You never pay off a mortgage. You are always securing another. You repair your "new" home and should get a reprieve for ten to twenty years, but you move again and repeat the process. Your promotions really cost you. And what if you are downsized or your job winds up offshore?

Why not a trade instead of college? Perhaps years ago the white collar worker made more money than a blue collar worker, but is that still the case? Have you needed a plumber lately? $65 per hour seems to be the average. What did you pay the last time you needed your house painted? Masonry work? Masons can get anything they want; try to find one! And most importantly, I can't send my toilet or chimney to Mexico or China or India to be repaired. Job security.

There is no shame in being a tradesman. They need to be good with their minds and their hands. They have the opportunity to make more money simply by starting out of the gate four years, and in many cases these days five years, sooner. By my calculations, that makes them ahead by $100,000 as compared to the college graduate being in the hole by $100,000. So who is richer and smarter which this debate is really all about?

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