Comment by jonahrd | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jonahrd | Hacker News Reader

There's something extremely depressing about how popular this attitude of "college is a bad ROI, do something else with your time" is.

For sure, in the US currently there aren't many alternatives, so this might be practical advice for the current situation. But that isn't how this argument is framed most of the time. Instead, it's often more akin to "poor suckers going to college, haha I beat the system!" as if skipping higher education altogether is something to be proud of.

In other countries in the world, university is cheap or free, has flexible time commitments, and isn't necessarily pushed as something you have to do at 18 or you will miss out. But there still IS widespread access to higher education.

I just find it depressing that we are turning to the idea of less education, not more, because the system sucks so bad that we can't envision change.

(I'm an American who moved to Quebec for college-- where university is $2700/year and there is a growing movement to make it free for all-- and then stayed here)

I don’t think 4 year college will ever go away, especially for great academic students. That said, the argument is that the cultural pendulum has swung far too much towards pressuring everyone, regardless of their life goals, into attending a 4 year college. There are so many great alternatives, especially if you don’t want to be a doctor/lawyer/ etc. as a society, we should elevate blue collar jobs and career paths, and not elevate the cultural value placed on 4 year degrees (esp from random non prestigious private schools). Most blue collar jobs (plumbers/electricians) are interesting, enjoyable, and fruitful work (150k+), but in the US many people look down on these careers and steer their children away from them.

IMO, that's why we're seeing these article. Going to college is/was pushed heavily by teachers/society/counselors as _the only_ way to 'make it'. Add that to the fact that college costs in the US have skyrocketed (thanks to bloated admins) on the backs of government backed loans, an economy that never recovered from the GFC, it's a tinder box waiting to explode. You can't promise people a better life--at great cost-- and then not deliver and expect no blowback.

I regretted college while I was in college, but I was already on a debt treadmill. I am a vocal anti-college (in the US in its current form) advocate. Start a business instead. Fail. Learn.

You can do an 8 week coding bootcamp and make 6 figures afterwards, or you can spend 100k and 4 years to do the same.

Seems obvious to me that the current college system is hugely antiquated and misaligned with student interests. The main thing perpetuating it is cultural attitudes, which does a huge disservice to the youth IMO

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