Brewster Rockit by Tim Rickard for September 29, 2024

All of the others who became millionaires with an MA in Macrame are laughing behind his back.

Now if he had a degree in grape stretching then who knows??

His college major was shooting with a minor in aiming

Lots of money to be made in skilled labor jobs, but we raise our kids not to get their hands dirty.

Well that’s what happens when you tie yourself down to one subject.

That’s how “education” business is works.

Not to worry. It will all be “forgiven” by Election Day.

He’d heard of string-theory so he thought macramé would land him a lucrative career as a physicist.

Macrame? Are you kidding?

“Oh, no! We have an Exhaust Vent that’s vulnerable to random Space-Ship Torpedoes! If only we had someone skilled in Macrame to protect it!”

“At last, my big chance! I’ll be a hero! I’ll…”

[BOOM!]

Well lots of Kids today are looking at their Student Debt and thinking “If I could do it all again, I’d be a plumber.”

People who argue that everyone needs a college education so they can have a chance at a high salary miss the point. The reason college degrees were valuable was that colleges and universities did a fair, if imperfect, job of identifying the smartest or hardest working and weeding out the laziest and stupidest. Employers wanted those who were the best workers. But now there are so many colleges and so-called universities that virtually anyone can get a degree somewhere, so a degree by itself is pretty much meaningless. Degrees from top universities are still valuable, but not a B.A. in macrame from Eastern Little River Podunk State Consolidated U. We should reduce the number of colleges and convert them to specialty schools like construction trade skills, nursing, computer programming, etc.

And what kind career were you expecting with a degree in macramé.

I always heard a lot about the “college experience”. I didn’t see much networking and partying as I was working at Taco Bell until 1:00 a.m. and trying to study tensor calculus on five hours of sleep.

Due to a “clerical error”, I recently had my state income tax return “intercepted” for a 45-year-old student loan. It took some time to get that straightened out but it did take me back to the “bad ol’ days”.

I tell all coming out of high school not to go into debt to go to college. If you did not inherit enough money from your grandmother to pay for it, learn a trade instead.

This is a common problem. To a certain degree.

Both.

I took out my first student loan at 22. I’m 65 and I still have a balance of $35K. And I just don’t care. What my education (an MBA and two doctorates) did for my career is incalculable. The MBA allowed me to teach ROTC (the master’s is required in my service). After retirement, the PhD helped me become an adjunct professor and senior manager in the government. The second doctorate (which I didn’t borrow for, but I deferred payments during) teed up my consulting practice, which I’m still in. The degrees were key to me earning two federal pensions as well. My student loans were an investment, not an expense.

I did this little thing called “Working My Way Through School.” It was not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but I managed to come out without ever having to take out a student loan. I know that college is much more expensive today, but I have had conversations with college students as recent as just a few weeks ago complaining about the expense. When asked if they are working to help with the issue, some, but not all, looked at me like I had two heads. They want the degree but are unwilling to put in the extra effort to get the degree. I think this is a shame because having to budget school and work time will definitely help them be able to budget and plan better when they get into the real world.