There will always be people who give you bad advice. I know it's cliche to beat up on the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality that has grown in dominance, but maybe this is a legitimate beef against it. If kids grow up thinking that there are no winners and losers, how do they learn to discriminate when it comes to important matters like college, degree, and career choices?
I just wish the guidance counselors talked about the ROI of particular degrees
My guidance counselor in the 1980's told me to stay at an in-state school in Louisiana with a recommendation, "Why are you applying to Georgia Tech? That's so far from home." I ignored her. She meant well, but I didn't trust her to tell me what was best for my future.
I think it's great that some folks here either didn't receive that bad advice or ignored it, but the reality is, lots of people have gotten screwed with a lot of debt, by listening to their elders.
And I personally kinda hate that "everyone gets a trophy" mentality, because you know what? It was never us kids who were asking for trophies. It was always the adults coming up with that goofy shit and foisting it on us. And yet, somehow, my generation's the one accused of being a snowflake generation...
I managed to pay that debt off, and 5 years ago I figured out what I should actually do, went back to school yet again, and again I've spent the last 3 years again paying off the exact average amount of student loan debt in a job that seems to pay about $100k less than what the valley pays.
Just payed off the last of my student debt in one big lump sum on Sunday. I was super aggressive paying off my loans and I'm so very thankful they are done. Now in my mid 30's, used to living like a pauper but entirely debt free, and I can finally start putting my money towards things that matter. I really wish I'd gotten good advice about where I should probably head a decade and a half ago, when I still had savings and a larger support network. I would have only had to go through this once, though I know I'm one of the lucky ones in that I've been able to pay it off at all.
I'm not against student debt in general, schools unfortunately cost money, I just wish the guidance counselors talked about the ROI of particular degrees and pushed the trades and technical colleges harder. My ability to talk about the socioeconomic results of the black plague doesn't enhance my employability. Thankfully I figured out that SQL, Python, and C# does on my own.