The Diminishing Value of A College Education

When I started college back in the late 90’s, it was a time in which such an education was largely considered essential. Sure, there were some exceptions like professional athletes, entertainers and brilliant or simply lucky business men who started something global out of their basement or garage. But as a general rule, if you wanted to be successful in life, you had to do it through a college education.

Fast forward a couple of decades later and so much has changed. One part of what has woken a lot of people up to this has been the economic consequences of government responses to COVID-19. With all the free money handed out to those not to work, it has become harder and harder for employers to find anyone fill their openings. This has forced employers to hire less qualified individuals because in many cases they are the only ones applying.

In addition, while colleges had already started to go the route of online learning before this, it has only expanded this as a more common option.

When we combine this with the fact that colleges seem to be putting more and more focus on “fast track” degree completion programs and woke culture including majors like “Gender Studies” which are of no use in preparing people for the real world, one must ask if college’s importance and value is on a rapid decline. Sure, these kinds of topics might be interesting but they have no place being majors and should perhaps serve as elective classes instead.

Recently, President Joe Biden announced a plan to forgive 10 to 20 thousand dollars in student loans for individuals who qualify. Sure, while current students and recent graduates may initially feel like jumping for joy, if you step back and think about it for a moment this really only makes things worse. First off, the funding will come from taxpayers which means students will eventually be paying for it one way or another. Second, as it pertains to this discussion on college itself, it essentially diminishes the value of a degree even more.

Some might claim that the college experience itself is something of value and can be quite essential for transitioning from a young person to an adult. Well, quite frankly, that’s a load of crap. What “experience” are we even talking about? Drunken frat parties and spring break? Dorm living? Come on. While there may have been some truth to this in the past, it has largely faded away with campuses becoming less active due to remote learning and less favorable toward open expression of competing ideas and viewpoints. College used to be about open discussion and ideas and now it is largely about suppressing them.

In addition, the country and world as a whole is lagging behind in people skilled in the trades. These are valuable talents that will always be needed in society and they do not require going to a four-year college or university. What good is it to have people who can work in offices or boardrooms if there is nobody available to build those building, install the electric and make sure the plumbing works?

The easier college is to access and complete, the less valuable it becomes to society. This may sound harsh and unfair but it is undeniably true. And given the fact that it seems like these school are now more and more focused on being business and earning money that providing a quality education, this is even more true. At the rate we are going, that degree people used to be so proud to hang on their wall will soon be worth less than the price of the paper and ink it took to print it.