Reply to NBC News Poll: dramatic shift, Americans no longer see 4-year college degrees as worth the cost

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Reply to "NBC News Poll: dramatic shift, Americans no longer see 4-year college degrees as worth the cost"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Hmmmm. A $120,000 Gender Studies degree or IBEW Local 26?

Easy choice.[/quote]

Except, the kid doing IBEW Local 26 is deciding between that and likely a business or engineering or other practical degree...and anyone getting a Gender Studies degree is not anyone who is likely cut out for IBEW Local 26.[/quote]

I’d hope that potential business and engineering majors would grasp both the threat of AI, and the delta between college debt over 4 years vs. 4 years of decent income.

If you had a 2022 high school graduate would you rather they went to college for engineering, or joined the electrical union? Next year is stacking up to be the worst year for college graduates since COVID. Couple that with the AI headwind and the electrician will be several steps ahead.[/quote]

While I know what you are kind of saying...the reality is that my kid already has an offer in CS for $200k plus bonus and options (and ability to work for the company at the same hourly rate during the school year) at an AI company, while his HS friend is doing an electrician apprenticeship in DC for $52k year.  His friend is a great "hands on" kind of kid who had terrible grades in school and would likely flunk out of college (but was smart enough to realize that college is not for him).

It's a great outcome for his buddy...and perhaps his buddy will have more stable long-term employment...but my kid has zero debt and is fairly optimistic about his own prospects...so maybe I can report back in 10 years how both have fared.

[/quote]

What a coincidence. A parent with a STEM grad the very same year as the example who already has a unicorn job offer A[b]ND a low paid electrician friend that shares his salary.[/b] Thanks for letting us all know.[/quote]

It's not low-paid...it's what apprentices make to start and he will see raises once he completes his apprenticeship and becomes a fully-certified union electrician (this is his 2nd year BTW).  Obviously, neither he or parents will incur college costs.

Also, they are HS friends...so of course it's the same year.[/quote]

+1, people around here call certain CS or finance salaries “unicorn” but then act shocked when they see that the actual electrician/plumber/mechanic salaries are not the $220k ones they heard about in a story once.[/quote]

This kid should be able to pull down $100k+ once he graduates from apprentice and puts in his time...so say late 20s/30.  I wouldn't be shocked if with overtime some of these union guys can pull down $200k+ when they are say 40.

Again, getting PAID $52k to learn the trade vs. paying for college is probably a good decision for this kid.[/quote]

And if his parents had money to cover the engineering degree, it could instead be working for him those four years while he is also getting paid…[/quote]

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