Posted on 12/27/2012 4:08:34 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
The New York Times seems concerned that teens in the fracking belt of eastern Montana are opting to work in the new oil-field economy right after high school rather than going straight on to college. A front-page story warns: Taking a job is “a lucrative but risky decision for any 18-year-old to make, one that could foreclose on his future if the frenzied pace of oil and gas drilling from here to North Dakota to Texas falters and work dries up.”
Let’s see. Where is a teenager more likely to learn the basic and transferable virtue of showing up every day and on time, not to mention how to get along with a boss and fit into an organization — as a communications and binge-drinking double major at Missoula State University, or as a mechanic fixing broken rig equipment?
Too many high-school graduates are reflexively going to college as it is, without a clue what they are doing there or how to take advantage of higher education. Mandatory stints in the private economy before college enrollment could do wonders for study skills. If, by deferring or maybe even skipping college entirely, students were foregoing their one hope for immersion in Western civilization, there would indeed be grounds for regret.
But colleges’ own curricular decisions have long since destroyed their right to present themselves as a gateway for precious knowledge of the past.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
She obviously got into college on merit alone.
The problem with that, of course, is that they won't be indentured slaves of the feral government when they graduate.
Can't have that.
I have known a few erstwhile attorneys,teachers...
Who worked in the trades.
Most were Irish and their fathers were tradesmen who insisted they pick up the family trade.
My best friend was a teacher circa 1968-1974, who became tired of driving a cab every night so he went work with his father.
It is not possible to work your way thru college, it is just too expensive. You either get loans or family help. Boot strapping yourself like I did is not possible when college costs + 50K.
It is not possible to work your way thru college, it is just too expensive. You either get loans or family help. Boot strapping yourself like I did is not possible when college costs + 50K.
Even if the kid hates the job, it’s a lesson in itself- he’ll be more motivated to study hard in college so he won’t have to work such a nasty, dirty job when he gets older...mowing lawns and bagging groceries as a teenager helped motivate me towards getting my degree.
Attending university is a major financial investment, and therefore needs to be approached accordingly - what is the pay-off if one gets degree “X” from University “0” at the cost of “Y”. If Junior wants a BS degree in Anti-Imperialist Studies, then the pay-off is a low wage job - then Junior needs to attend college that teaches this subject where it is essentially “free” to Junior.
One other commenter above said it correctly that it takes 12 years to get an 8th grade education today. Guess there is no way we’ll ever be able to squeeze in a mandatory course on basic financial literacy that one has to pass before they are allowed to go to college, or run for Congress.
Yes, it is. You go to junior college for two years, and then go to a regular college for the last two, and only go when you have the tuition saved. You might not do it in four years, but being debt-free at the end is well worth the extra time.
The reason college costs have gone up 500% in thirty years is precisely because dumb young kids were willing to bury themselves in debt to pay extra tuition so the colleges could build nice new buildings and give "scholarships" to illiterate minorities.
It is possible. Go to a community college for your associates degree then to a state school. Add-in some correspondence courses and you have a degree relatively cheaply. Of course, you’ll also work part time during this. I know it takes some hard work, but so what? Remember, the average college student in order to graduate in 4 years has 15 hours PER WEEK in class. The average student should stop whining and start working hard. It can still be done.
“It is not possible to work your way thru college, it is just too expensive. You either get loans or family help. Boot strapping yourself like I did is not possible when college costs + 50K.”
i was able to put my self through university working summers and part-time in school for minimum wage, but that was many, many moons ago. unfortunately, that was not the case for my kids; however, they were lucky in that they received partial scholarships, but still needed student loans to get through.
“A good-paying job right out of high school, with no college debts, or no pay and large debts with no promise of work, certainly not work that pays well enough to pay off your debts. Hmmmm.... “
There will be plenty of work for kids right out of college: In the oil/gas fields. And it will be a good thing that it’s decent paying, because they’ll need the money to pay off all that college loan debt. I’m sure the guy that they will be working for - the one that started right after high school - will be suitably impressed with that Political Science degree.
Thanks for axing the right question.
Studying engineering IS a full time job. I worked my way thru school but my GPA suffered. I would say it is better to borrow an have a higher GPA upon graduation than zero debt. It is a tricky balancing act...
This is now, when college costs reflect the padded bill enabled by enticing dumb kids to pay extra because they aren't paying it now and are borrowing it instead, and the feral government lender encouraging them to become indentured slaves.
Our high school college placement guy would openly state that not all kids should go to college.
I’m surprised he kept his job.
It may be more difficult today than years ago, but not impossible, if you pick an “affordable” college (including living at home doing your first two years at community college, ride the bus, and live a very frugal life). But finding that job in the Obozo economy in order to work through college is an added disadvantage. . .
While I did work my way through college over 30 years ago, a small loan to bridge the difference was necessary to attend an affordable state university. I had a great job offer with a BS degree, but delayed to get my masters (at a time when non-PhD degrees were not cool) - AND I found a university that paid me a modest research stipend which I could live on very very frugally. That experience of living without a lot were very happy times; I learned a lot about myself both in and out of school.
The easy money available for college education today has grossly distorted the marketplace and allowed university to jack up the cost to cover all their overpopulated, overpaid unproductive faculty and staff. Until the easy money is cut off and a critical mass of students begins to pick schools and subjects using sound financial strategies, only then will things begin to change. That is, it would burst the bubble of college as a place to hang out and party for up to 6 years for a worthless 4 year degree subsidized by taxpayers. “Junior the dummy” won’t be able to afford to pay it back because he thinks he is entitled to continue to live an undisciplined life while he plays with all his high tech gadgets.
Just imagine a world . . .where the college loan is granted based on the value of the degree sought . . .The average student would become smarter before he enters college (!) . . . a lot of worthless college departments dry up. . . and the size colleges take on “smaller footprints” (eco-friendliness?!). . .degrees would become more competitive and valuable . . .
The NYT doesn’t want kids to be free to avoid commie wing brainwashing known as college.
In order to get my engineering degree in 4 years, I would have had to average over 19 hours in class per week. Each of those hours required 2 to 3 hours outside of class for an A~B average.
I tried to keep that schedule for over a year, while doing just a little side job for spending money. It was not possible and keep sanity. I stretched it out to 5.5 years. I worked long hours during the summers and breaks but I could not have made enough to pay tuition and board in less than 10 years.
That was starting 3 decades ago. Now jobs are mores scarce and college way more expensive. It would take a very long time to complete while covering all cost on your own and getting zero debt.
The NYT owns some four year diploma mill.
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