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"Dirty Jobs" Mike Rowe on the High Cost of College
Townhall.com ^ | December 14, 2013 | Mike Shedlock

Posted on 12/14/2013 5:50:08 AM PST by Kaslin

Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs chimes in on the US education system in an interview with Nick Gillespie on Reason.Com.



click on above link if video does not play

Rowe: If we are lending money that ostensibly we don't have to kids who have no hope of making it back in order to train them for jobs that clearly don't exist, I might suggest that we've gone around the bend a little bit.

Gillespie: We are doing everything we can to push every kid to go to a four-year college. What's wrong with that?

Rowe: It's not working. You have a trillion dollars in debt on the student loan side. You have a skills gap, something [interrupted by Gillespie]

Gillespie: What do you mean a skills gap?
Rowe: Right now you have about 3 million jobs in transportation, commerce, trades, that can't be filled.

Gillespie: Anything from carpentry to electricians, plumbers,
Rowe: [interjects] Heating, electric, truck drivers, welders is a big one, jobs that typically parents don't sit down and say to their kids - look if all goes well, this is what you are going to do.

Rowe's advice is summed up in the following clip I took from the video.

Get Ready to Get Dirty



The video is a lengthy 41 minutes but Reason.com provides this synopsis so you can skip to topics that interest you.


Work Smart, Not Hard



The 3:20 mark discusses this higher education ad campaign thrust upon Rowe by Mr. Dunbar, high school guidance counselor

Picking up at the 7:50 mark ...

Gillespie: When did the idea disappear that you should learn a skill that is actually useful or in need?
Rowe: That's a good question for a real social anthropologist. My own opinion is there is a kind of inertia that most parents would agree that it exists. And it's a desire see something better for your kids than you had. The question of course is "what is better?" Is it better, right now today, to have $140,000 in debt but a degree from Georgetown, or is it better to be that kid I described in Butler.

It's an excellent interview, please listen to at least a portion of it.

My Take

  1. At the right price, college may be a good choice, but it's not always a good choice.
  2. Government interference in education has so increased the cost of education, and so many kids are pushed into totally useless degrees, that college is an increasingly poor choice until costs come down.
  3. Points one and two especially hold true for those in programs that qualify a person to do nothing but work as a retail clerk upon graduation.
  4. To help bring down education costs, we need more alternative courses, more two-year trade courses, more online courses, reduced administration costs, and termination of defined benefit pension plans for teachers. Simply put, we need more competition and reduced costs at every point in the system.
  5. The student loan program is an abysmal failure and should be abolished.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: college; dirtyjobs; mikerowe
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To: Yorlik803; Mathews
I'm a pipefitter. I've worked at the area steel mills quite a bit.

In all my years in the trade, there is no job dirtier or worse conditions than steel mills. Graphite falling like fine, black snow. Dirt everywhere, inches thick.

I've had bosses specifically ask for me for certain jobs, because of certain skills, but mainly because of my attitude. I'm a rather large guy, but will crawl in most anywhere that I can fit. My outlook is that somebody has to do the job and if I don't SOMEBODY ELSE will. And if they have somebody else, what do they need me for?

When asked why dirt doesn't bother me, my response is " I don't LIKE dirt, BUT I LIKE the money I get working in the dirt. I get paid good money doing what I do. I can buy an awful lot of Tide with that."

I got into a discussion the other day with a liberal guy who was bad mouthing the Tea Party. He was talking about an article in the paper about fast food workers "NEEDING" to be paid $15 an hour.

I worked fast food and bussed tables when I was younger. I know what its like. I then went to welding in factories. Fast food and restaurant work ain't nothing like factory work. And factory work ain't nothing like working in the trades. The guy asked me what I did now. His response "That would be fun."

Fun...180 feet in the air, on a blast furnace, in January, with single digit temps and the wind blowing 30 miles an hour isn't "fun".
Being IN the mill in the summer, when its 95 outside and 110 inside, while wearing fire protective clothing isn't "fun".

I tried to explain what a steel mill was like, but it was lost on him. I said that I work in conditions that most people would run away from, with their arms in the air, screaming.

But Hey...The pays good. I'll make in ONE 16 hour day, more than most people make in a week.

Of course...the fast food workers demanding $15 will tell you that I'm "LUCKY". :)

21 posted on 12/14/2013 7:29:37 AM PST by mountn man (The Pleasure You Get From Life Is Equal To The Attitude You Put Into It)
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To: Mathews

Hear the same thing from a neighbor that works

at the Hoeganaes plant about a lot of young people today.

Lazy as heck and afraid to get dirty.

Steel mill workers...tough smart people kinda job.


22 posted on 12/14/2013 7:33:16 AM PST by Harold Shea (RVN `70 - `71)
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To: Kaslin

Mike brings a great message. But to some, life’s success is about more than having a job and making money. I went and graduated from college to better understand many things, not to just have a well-paying job. Those who learned a single trade for which the market place has changed and who are now out of a job at 50 years of age, with no future prospects are paying for it. I am approaching 65, and due to my college education and foresight in choosing not to specialize in my field of training, I have not suffered a single day of unemployment since graduation.

I am not rich, but I am comfortable and have been able to provide for my family and for my retirement. If I had not graduated from college, that would not have been my story.

It is true that college is not for everyone. There is no shame in not going to college, and tradesmen should never be treated as second class citizens. In the same vein, college graduates should not be sneered at because they sacrificed their early years to hold out for something better, either.


23 posted on 12/14/2013 8:06:41 AM PST by Real Cynic No More (Border Fence Obamacare!)
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To: lacrew

You may be right. I think it is hard to find someone that will be 100% right on all issues coming from the entertainment industry. I would settle for someone 80% in keeping with Reagan’s 80/20 rule.

Right now, Boehner, Ryan et al are probably 60/40 (that is being generous). We can do better than that. 80/20 works most of the time, but if a candidate is anti-2nd Amendment, pro immigration “reform, or not serious about reducing the size of the Federal government, I am not going to vote for them. Both Boehner and Ryan are 1/3 on those.


24 posted on 12/14/2013 8:24:41 AM PST by 3Fingas (Sons and Daughters for Freedom and Rededicaton to the Principles of the U.S. Constitution...)
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To: Kaslin

Yeah he is same guy that confused the Time Bandit crew with Northwestern crew back last season

So Andy Hilstranded took You tube gave whole tree on who who on the boat

He kinda call him a loser LOL!


25 posted on 12/14/2013 8:26:24 AM PST by SevenofNine (We are Freepers, all your media bases belong to us ,resistance is futile)
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To: discostu

Ok....I swear during one episode he said he was from San Francisco. During one of his Ford commerciqls, he grazed closely to gpobal warming batiness. I understand its just a ‘gig’.

But I still wonder if he might disappoint on social issues like gay.marriage, etc.


26 posted on 12/14/2013 8:33:43 AM PST by lacrew (Mr. Soetoro, we regret to inform you that your race card is over the credit limit.)
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To: oh8eleven

There are lots of jobs here, but it’s hard trying to find folks who will do them. Why work when you can live pretty well on the dole?


27 posted on 12/14/2013 8:43:32 AM PST by Mathews (Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV), Luke 22:36 (NIV))
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To: mountn man

Then you know all too well where I’m coming from because you’re living it too. Fitters are a dying breed for sure, but they do get paid.


28 posted on 12/14/2013 8:45:19 AM PST by Mathews (Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV), Luke 22:36 (NIV))
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To: Mathews

By the way, you mentioned the average age of your guys is 53. I’m right there at 51.


29 posted on 12/14/2013 8:49:55 AM PST by mountn man (The Pleasure You Get From Life Is Equal To The Attitude You Put Into It)
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To: lacrew

Our culture has morphed from respecting scholars to giving undue credit to college grads. Most graduates in the Humanities are ignorant and can barely write a proper English sentence.

My husband and I were typical snobs about education and when one of our daughters married an auto mechanic we groaned inwardly. But he turned out to be a great blessing to our family. Honest and hardworking. Do you know how hard it is to find someone for an honest repair job? And he never charges us. We love him to death.


30 posted on 12/14/2013 9:00:24 AM PST by Liberty Wins ( The average lefty is synapse challenged)
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To: Kaslin

As a retired Ford worker, IMO it’s not a coincidence the company turned around shortly after they brought Mike on board as their spokesman.

Mike Rowe >>>>> Michael Bolton


31 posted on 12/14/2013 9:10:56 AM PST by Bratch
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To: Mathews
My son is sending his two to the Voke. In his and my opinion and mine you can make more money pulling wire, soldering joints, and fixing trucks.

I started out chipping slag from boiler tubes at GE. They and the other companies I worked for spent multiple thousands to educate me.

I retired well off, not bad for a person voted most likely to starve and live under a bridge by my HS Graduating Class. Focus, work hard, learn, nobody is holding you back but you!

32 posted on 12/14/2013 9:16:19 AM PST by Little Bill (A)
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To: Real Cynic No More
In the same vein, college graduates should not be sneered at because they sacrificed their early years to hold out for something better, either.I agree whole heartedly.

I didn't "graduate" from college. I originally went to a jr college for auto mechanics. Needed to take a welding course. Took one. Was told another, different one would be good. Took that.
Some where in there a light bulb went on, and I ran with it. Took every welding course they offered. Finished my auto, except for 1 course. Started welding in factories. Wanted more and broader knowledge, so I took some machine shop courses.

at 26 I got into the building trades. EVERYTHING I learned in school has been useful. My auto mechanic background allows me analytical skills required to trouble shoot. I understand the mechanics of how things work. My welding experience was varied before I got into the trades. Now my welding skills are extremely well honed. Because of the machining background, it has allowed me to understand tools better, but also, because of experiences I had in factories, I can build just about anything that needs to be built.

My point is, I fall somewhere between the 2. I went to a jr college, but did not graduate. I don't use my auto mechanic background as a auto mechanic, but it helps me on a daily basis. Welding in school just primed me for what I would learn in the trades.

School doesn't always have to be a 2yr, 4yr, 5 yr and graduate gig. For some, school can just be getting the education you need in a certain area to expand yourself.

Now on the other hand, there are people going to school with MAJORS in completely useless fields. Womyns Studies is useless in the world. What good is a liberal arts degree? I've met too many people with political science degrees (usually liberals) with no interest in law enforcement or law (usually working retail), but plenty of opinions about politics.

College has become a big business. Teaching people useless stuff, for the benefit of the college and instructor.

At 51, there are sooo many things I have an interest in. I wish my job were more stable and less demanding. Jobs can last 1 day or 1 year. I might be 15 minutes from home, I might be 1-1/2 hours from home. I might work 8 hours, I might work 16. Maybe day shift, maybe nights.
BUT... if things were more "normal", I'd love to take college courses or continuing education courses at the high school. Sooooo many things out there, to learn and experience, to expand ones life. Woodworking, photography, travel, language, cooking. The list could be endless. Not just learning, to put a piece of paper on the wall. Not necessarily learning for a J.O.B. But learning for the sake of learning.

33 posted on 12/14/2013 9:29:11 AM PST by mountn man (The Pleasure You Get From Life Is Equal To The Attitude You Put Into It)
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To: lacrew

That’s where he’s been living for as long as the show’s been on, but he was born and raised in Baltimore. He had a whole episode dedicated to Dirty Job that had green implications, but the big focus was they figured out how to make pollution (removing) profitable, and talked a lot about how the best way to clean up anything is to figure out where the money is in the mess.


34 posted on 12/14/2013 9:32:42 AM PST by discostu (This is Jack Burton in the Pork Chop Express, and I'm talkin' to whoever's listenin' out there.)
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To: Liberty Wins
I used to work with the jr high kids at my church. I had a guy years ago, comes from a VERY affluent family. The youngest child and very pampered. who is now a principal at a school. Boat load of education. Can't string a thought into sentences or paragraph's. Can't spell worth a darn. And I don't mean he misses a letter or hits the wrong key.
He's terrible at simple math. But hey, he has others to take care of that for him.

He's an educator, leading other educators, teaching todays kids.

I might be just a "dumb construction worker", but what passes for education today, is an embarrassment.

35 posted on 12/14/2013 9:40:58 AM PST by mountn man (The Pleasure You Get From Life Is Equal To The Attitude You Put Into It)
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To: Yorlik803
For 65K a Year, I would clean the toilets without a brush.

HA! I've done that for a whole lot less. (granted, I had a brush).

I'm a nerd now, and don't really get my hands dirty any more, but if it came down to a choice of welfare, or cleaning toilets, I'd go for the toilet every time.

36 posted on 12/14/2013 11:24:38 AM PST by zeugma (Is it evil of me to teach my bird to say "here kitty, kitty"?)
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To: mountn man

When self-proclaimed feminists complain that “men are paid (X%) more than women”, they leave out the parts about working conditions that you described so well.


37 posted on 12/14/2013 12:08:43 PM PST by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: Kaslin

I like Mike Rowe. He gets it.


38 posted on 12/14/2013 12:12:46 PM PST by Cyber Liberty (H.L. Mencken: "The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.")
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To: Mathews
Why work when you can live pretty well on the dole?
Amen. I live in Rochester, NY (suburb) and it was just listed as the 5th poorest city in America.
Interesting that it (Monroe County actually) was also listed recently as the highest taxed county in America. Lots of people making lots of money.
Why the disparity? Because soooo many of the "Takers of Society" live in the city (and the suburban Section 8 types) and there are too many "do-gooders" living in the area willing to give them a free ride, including the gubmint.
39 posted on 12/14/2013 12:25:32 PM PST by oh8eleven (RVN '67-'68)
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To: BwanaNdege

Agreed. It is certainly better than the Democrats “college for everyone”, which leads to better indoctrination but not skills we need to run civilization.


40 posted on 12/14/2013 4:41:14 PM PST by tbw2
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