You can't expect the edus to say no to easy money. And the students are raised to think they are entitled tto success, whether they are cut out for that path or not.

It's PC to say "everybody gets a degree." The reality is, that's a very expensive empty promise.

We should really improve K-12 education. The fact that kids are not qualified for college after 18 years in public school is a travesty.

The fact that so many jobs require a college degree is a travesty. We should get teenagers into the workforce sooner and provide more relevant and on-the-job training.

Thos jobs will be replaced by AI. But let me see a Roomba fix your broken toilet.

That any kids still have the curiosity and intrinsic motivation to thrive in college after 13 years in public school is a miracle.

It's not they aren't qualify. It's that they are not wired (think personality type) for typical, mainstream, status quo, (typically) office / lab work.

Yet, the fact is, knowing this, we as a culture continue to insist square pegs force themselves into round holes. Drugs use is up? Depression / mental illness is up? Perhaps we open our eyes (and minds) to helping young adults becomes something that's meaningful - and career worthy - to them instead of forcing them down a path they don't want to go.

The fact that a fair percentage of people end up __not__ working in their major 10 years down the road seems to be saying something as well.

It's not that they're not qualified. They're just not college material __and__ there's not enough mid / highend jobs for them. At the same time, the trades are hurting for good people. But the entitled are too good to be fully employed. They'd rather taken on debt.

Given where AI is headed the higher edu route is not going to improve. Yet BHO, who knows better, kept beating the "higher edu for all" drum.

They're not entitled, they’re just not being compensated enough to do labor which has quite a bit of negative effects on your health and quality of life compared to office jobs.

Once you see people opting for the trades, then you will know they are getting proper compensation.

The trades aren't __that__ dangerous. Certainly not any more dangerous than sitting at a desk all day, stressed out, and putting on 30 - 50+ lbs. That sedentary lifestyle will kill you.

If you think being an office worker is more dangerous than being a roofer or a logger or a farmer, I can tell you I've just checked the statistics and actually such jobs are comparatively more dangerous.

"...entitled tto success..."

It's not being entitled to success, it's terror at being a complete and utter loser, because we spend eighteen years drumming "if you don't go to college you'll be dirt poor, live in a van down by the river, and flip burgers" in to their heads.

You're told constantly that if you don't go to college you're utter scum.

Of course, the implication that flipping burgers is shameful is something we should address. We might also consider telling kids about all the successful career paths that don't require college - if my kid were looking at US levels of student debt I'd be suggesting plumbing, metal fabrication, etc. like crazy. You don't need to go to college to learn CNC, and the debt incurred going to college can destroy your life and robs the world of a creative, risk-taking individual. How many people would be making great things or solving the big problems of our time but instead are doing bullshit jobs because they have an enormous mountain of debt?

Scum or not, the difference in outcomes is real [0]. Cultural memes about the importance of college are one part of how middle-class-ness is made to stick. The other part is money. For better or worse, the social contract is that education is paid forward across generations, from the middle class to their own children and from the rich to everyone. Crushing student debt load is the scar tissue that forms when when that social contract is violated, and a child receives the value system without the 529 account.

No one should want their child to be buried in a six-figure debt. But the answer, at least on the median HN reader's salary, is to save and invest 4-5 figures over each of your child's 18 years. That is what universities will expect when deciding what to charge you, and what the government endorsed when creating tax-advantaged accounts for that purpose.

I guess you could say "Not fair!" but the families that do this outperform the ones that don't, by wider and wider margins, and that right there is "rising inequality."

Just a few years out, my parents' investment has paid off handsomely. They don't want it back. They want it paid forward to my own kids. Morality notwithstanding, this particular belief system seems to be a winning a strategy.

[0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/233301/median-household-...

You're completely right. But those memes aren't only targeted to middle class kids.

I'm doing fine, and am not really worried about my kid affording college.

But too many of my friends are _not_ doing fine, and I have a strong suspicion college was not a good ROI for them. The combination of :

* "You MUST do this to be a successful adult"

* "Oh btw it costs several years' worth of your future income"

* "But guess what! Here's a big pile of debt that you can never discharge no matter what" (aside from death and some very, very extreme tax circumstances)

* "And because we're responsible adults who care about the next generation we made sure you attended horrible schools through your youth and have no cultural appreciation for mathematics giving you none of the tools you'd need to accurately determine if this is a good decision"

Past performance is not indicative of future success. Add in AI / automation and __many__ middle office jobs are going to be replaced.

Finally, as covered in Duckworth's book "Grit" brains / education isn't the key.

They are entitled in the sense that they pick majors / areas of studies with limited market value. Because mom said I can grow up and be whatever I want. It's as if the degree is more important than an employer seeking that skill set.

They are entitled in the sense they insist on going to some overly expensive exotic school to get that degree, because a state school isn't good for their ego. Because dad said I can do whatever I want with my life.

They are entitled in the sense they make these decisions without any sense of the debt they're going to take on. I hate to sound blunt but if you can't figure out (e.g.) 100k in debt isn't easy when you make 35k y/p (and insist on an apt with all mod cons, a new car, etc.) then perhaps you're not yet college material.

True story: I recently suggested to an average academic HS senior that he consider a year at the local community college to get the ball rolling. I explained he could transfer. I explained first year courses didn't matter. I explained it would save a __ton__ of money. I don't think he heard anything I said.