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

by Barbara Cox

Created on: July 11, 2009   Last Updated: July 14, 2009

More jobs than ever before are requiring a college degree just to make it into an interview. However, this doesn't mean that every graduating high school student should be enrolling in college. The world is full of highly successful people who do not have a college degree. We call them entrepreneurs and their stories are all inspirational.

After high school, 19-year old Jimmy was hanging around the house accomplishing nothing. His dad finally gave him an ultimatum - go to college or get a job! Jimmy, ever the defiant one, did neither. Instead, he decided he would start a business. There was only one thing he knew how to do really well and that was make and eat sandwiches. He couldn't make money eating them, but he might be able to build a business making them. He made samples, brought them to the local college dorms, and left a flyer with his sandwich menu and a phone number to call in the orders. Oddly enough, this worked! That was in 1983, and now, decades later, Jimmy John Liautaud can boast nearly 700 Jimmy John's sandwich shops across the country. Sandwich delivery is still the mainstay of his business and it continues to set him apart from his two biggest competitors, Subway and Quiznos.

This is just one of many stories of young people pushed to attend college who are not college material. Jimmy John chose an entrepreneurial path and succeeded, much to his dad's delight. Granted, not everyone has the entrepreneurial spirit to launch a new business at age 19, but college is an expensive place to search for your passion. It will be hard to get your child to enroll in college if he/she isn't ready. However, if you do manage to convince your child to enroll, you might be tossing that tuition down the drain. Instead, help your child find his or her passion and direct them to resources that will take them on a path to success. But, by all means, if your child enjoyed and excelled in high school, and he or she shows an interest in college, find a way to make that happen.

If your child shows an interest in the building trades, find out about apprentice programs. Trade Unions are a great source for this. Some private companies offer apprenticeships, too. The apprentice earns a paycheck while learning the trade and in a few years, he or she will be earning the same as others who have been on the job for a decade.

If food service is your child's passion, check out local cooking schools or bartending schools. Their curriculum concentrates entirely on the skills needed to succeed in their chosen career. The programs are short, so the student can graduate and find a job within a few months.

You child's career choice may not be what you would have chosen for your child, but the decision should be theirs. After all, it is their life and their future. Burdening your child with your hopes and dreams will only lead to resentment, unhappiness, and a feeling of failure for not living up to your expectations.

Who knows, your child could be the next Jimmy John Liautaud if allowed to follow his own dreams.

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