[vet7279]

The conversation needs to be had and thanks for trying to get to the point.

There has been a tremendous amount of debate over the value of college vs trade school/military/etc. The current value proposition that “your are nothing without a degree” is over valuing our young people in their own minds. On the other hand, the image the military is receiving via the MSM (ptsd etc) makes employers skiddish to even consider hiring a veteran regardless of the applicability of their military field.

The bottom line I think, we have been marketed to death by the educational community, the MSM and even our own politicians (”if you don’t have a degree you end up like these guys”) with an image of self worth being determined by credentials rather than motivation and adaptability.

There truly are fields that require advanced education (medical, legal, aviation design for example) but for the most part, trade schools and/or military experience needs to get a better look.

[khelus]

. . . There has been a tremendous amount of debate over the value of college vs trade school/military/etc. The current value proposition that “your are nothing without a degree” is over valuing our young people in their own minds. On the other hand, the image the military is receiving via the MSM (ptsd etc) makes employers skiddish to even consider hiring a veteran regardless of the applicability of their military field.

The bottom line I think, we have been marketed to death by the educational community, the MSM and even our own politicians (”if you don’t have a degree you end up like these guys”) with an image of self worth being determined by credentials rather than motivation and adaptability.

vet7279,
You bring up a very good point. Part of the change being imposed upon our traditional culture is a denigration of those who perform actual work and glorification of management and bureaucracy. IMHO this is part of the push to have us all accept the micromanagement of our lives by our 'betters', over educated bureaucrats / technocrats blindly enforcing the politically correct line.

This denigration began with blue collar professions and has progressed into pink and white collar fields. Look at how much work has been off shored. That work which hasn't been off shored has experienced heavy suppression of opportunity and salary through flooding the country with illegals, and legal immigrants (green cards and guest workers).

The replacement of American workers at all levels has been justified with the mantra 'work Americans can't/won't do'.

I'm in IT and those of us in STEM fields not only compete with off shore workers who can live a good life on $5-10K per year, but guest workers who frequently pay no or partial taxes, and illegals in the form of visa overstays. Illegals and guest workers, despite anything the law says, have full access to our safety net.

Here is a brief list of jobs in which foreign workers compete with americans:

• Accountants and Administrators
• Executives, Managers, Administrators
• Software programmers and computer scientists
• All engineers and Technicians
• Research Associates and Scientists
• Lawyers and Tax Analysts
• Teachers and college professors
• Postdocs and Fellows
• Sports Instructors and Physiologists
• Doctors, Nurses, Med-Techs, Therapists, Pharmacists
• Surgical and Dental Assistants
• Fashion models, Secretaries, Clerks
• Architects, Musicians, and Artists
• Youth Counselors, Day Care, and Cashiers
• The List Goes ON and ON and ON and ON ..................

While 23 million are unemployed / underemployed, both parties are currently pushing to expand program which bring in new workers, and extend amnesty to those who are here.

This is why IMHO the best we can get out of the current election is a small slowing of the destruction and better window dressing. What we need is alluded to in post 13 - restoration of our traditional ethics and patriotism.