Many of these people feel (rightly) as if they have been sold a bill of goods. They have been told in high school that no matter what their level of academic performance or their ambitions, they should go to college. Indeed, Akers notes that some of these people are actually worse off than folks who just have a high school degree.
“High-school guidance counselors treat college as one big homogeneous thing,” says Richard Vedder of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. “As if it didn’t matter if you went to Harvard or Slippery Rock College. Or it didn’t matter if you major in sociology or electrical engineering.” As Vedder says, “The earnings differentials are mammoth, depending on the type of college you attend and what you do there.”
Students have been told that getting a college degree equals more money. In many cases it does, but students are taking big risks based on this generalization. They would be better served by starting out at a community college, where the costs are significantly lower and so is the price of failure. Certainly getting a vocational education would be more of a sure thing. We really do need welders. Heck, there is a shortage of long-distance truck drivers.
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