The idea of college has become so ingrained among middle class people that apprenticeships are a tough sell.
Most middle class people want their kids to have a job where they sit in an office and work on a computer. Many think it’s a step down to work in a “blue collar” type of trade.
Today, with so many graduating college with so much debt, and not being able to get a good paying job, maybe attitudes will change. Why go thousands into debt to go to college, when you will end up working at a job which you could have gotten without college?
Anecdotal evidence is that lots of college graduates work at Target and Barnes and Noble and other retailers.
Many may have majored in subjects which don’t translate into jobs. Majoring in women’s studies won’t qualify you for a job after college. Majoring in many fields does not translate into a professional career after college.
Maybe young people need better information about which college degrees DO qualify you for some entry level positions afterward. Or better information about whether college is appropriate for them, based on what they want to do in life.
Seems like going to college is a mandate for success. Problem is more and more 30+ year old students living on the dole, avoiding growing up and contributing to society.
Everyone can’t and won’t be Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.
My neighbor's son is taking his newly minted engineering degree and working for a construction company. Last night I saw the steel toed boots line up in the garage. He will be working on construction sites. His parents are VERY proud of him and happy he will do something he loves. They are fairly well off, but understand that their kids have strengths that might not lead to a typical or office job (perhaps that's why they do so well).
Maybe young people need better information about which college degrees DO qualify you for some entry level positions afterward.
The information is out there at a lot of schools. A good school will let you know who is employing their grads, especially locally and regionally, how many go on to grad school, and the internships offered to their students. The problem is that this is often ignored.
I minored in studying women in college. Not much for job prospects, but the homework was fun.