I agree. People learn best when they have an immediate need for the knowledge. (That said, I’ve got teen relatives who live in a state that requires personal financial management.)
Depends on the job. I’m fine with teaching kids specific facts/skills that might be useful for particular jobs – engineers, accountants, nurses, etc. I don’t know of any employers who want engineers say they don’t care about major, European History is fine, because any college degree teaches you to think critically.
And, do colleges actually “teach students to think critically”? If so, how do we know that?
I don’t think it actually does that very much. It does however teach you how to learn and study.
When I am hiring somebody inexperienced, i tend to not care as much what their major was. I tend to look at what classes they took. I care very much whether they took classes that required them to think mathematically.
Engineering and nursing are two professions where you are expected to learn specific facts and skills in college as i understand it, similar to accounting say.
Most of what i did in college was solve mathematical problem sets. I had a lot of late nights arguing with other students about the right answer. I had my mathematical explanations graded and corrected. The next time i did better expressing myself. I use these skills at work all the time. And I work with lots of people who do not have those skills (generally not actuaries or math people), and it shows in their inability to understand my work unless i explain it in certain ways.
That is anecdotal evidence. Here is some more: your very use of the phrase “how do we know” implies an evidence-based approach to knowledge which does not come naturally to people, ie i’m guessing you asking that question itself implies an education.
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I tend to think that talent without training doesn’t get you very far, at least in fields heavy in math and engineering. This is partly because they require interfacing with a large, deep well of established knowledge.
A talented person can get farther in software development, say, which is a relatively newer field that is changing very quickly. In that case, I’m not sure that a college degree is usually required for some kinds of software development. Or at least it wasn’t 20 years ago.
I refused to go into debt for my kids’ college. Result is kid 1 is 25 with about 3 years of college and $8k or $10k in debt in her name. She also has some health issues developed since HS that make it hard for her to work, so I’ll probably end up paying those loans if they don’t get forgiven. I haven’t told her that. I did pay when she was going to community college part time.
Kid2 is 21, and we bought her an expensive horse in HS as her dream was to be a trainer. She tried that for a year after HS then sold the horse to do a missions thing. She now wants to be a pastor, but instead of going to the local $$$ church school where her dad & I went, she is doing the online version. She’s also going part time while working full time in her field. It will take a while but she won’t be in debt and I’ve committed to helping with the modest fees. (I think it is one course every 6 weeks and about $400/course.)
I look at my friends’ kid, another 25yo. Got thru school on her own with scholarships and loans, working on a masters. Working full time for the school system bc that’s the job she could get. She really isn’t in a better place financially than my no college younger kid, and won’t be for 10 years based on what she told me, bc of school debt.
Something has to change.
I’m surprised a bunch of actuaries haven’t saved enough to send their kids to college debt free.
I’m not saying that’s the American norm, but I’d think it would be quite common in a group like this.
My first 2 graduated debt free thanks to me and we expect the same of the 3rd. First 2 both gainfully employed in engineering fields.
My ex and I are paying for our two daughters. They go to in state colleges and have roommates which makes it a little cheaper. They do have some loans but will be comfy health care workers and be able to afford the loans they have. Ex went debt free, I had about $14K debt iirc. Every now and again either daughter will txt me for $pend money. Latest was a $60 xfer for a bachelorette party. I was annoyed, but whatever.
GI-Bill.
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I still think the “Northern Exposure” payoff plan works best. And, makes for great comedy!
The ending’s a little confusing though.
Are actuaries that rich that a 500k college bill is nbd?
OP is about sending 5 kids to college. No actuary has 5 kids. Too busy passing exams.
Some of them are. They tend to be the same ones who wonder why their kids turned out the way they did.
I think part of this equation is going to be how much of one’s salary is tied up in “the cost of living” . . .
That dude was trying to prove something to his ex-wife.
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College costs what people pay for it. You can get through a 4-year degree for under $15k, you just won’t have the big-name university on your resume and won’t get to do greek life and all that. Or, you still can.
I went to traditional university, but if I hadn’t gotten a full scholarship there’s no way I would have. A family member did 2 years at community college, 2 years university while living from home, graduated with like 30k in debt, which is mostly paid off in just a few years.
even CUNY in NYC is more than 15k and CUNY is what I think of when I think of a cheaper school. Where can you go for under 15K?
Alternatively I know people who are over $100k in debt and work as cashiers.