Mike Rowe and Bill Whittle weigh in on the college issue.
Why this obsession with having everyone go to college?
Graduating with a degree in psychology, English literature, or women's studies will just about guarantee that you'll spend the rest of your life making coffee at Starbucks - until you're replaced by a robot, that is.
I see it here with every kid coming out of high school heading off to North Idaho College (community college) to take remedial courses in math and reading. I call it high school grades 13 and 14. Now, to be fair, there are some of the kids who are preparing for a career in medicine or engineering, but for the most part, they're just doing what they've been led to believe is necessary for their future. It's not.
Being in the "trades" has become a dirty word. It's reviled as being blue collar and only for the lower classes.
Really?
While I like my doctor, the people in my life I most revere are those who fix my plumbing, put a new roof on my house, make my electrical outlet work properly, keep my car humming, and cut down my dead trees. If I had children, a trained and certified nanny would be a blessing.
At Christmas time this year we had a toilet backup. It took eleven days to find a decent plumber. When I finally found one, he and his apprentice spent about 15 minutes snaking out our line, and the bill was $350.00. Was I upset? Oh, hell noes. I tipped them $20.00 to grab a coffee on the way to their next job. A few weeks ago they installed a new water heater in our home. Next up? A new bathtub.
Same thing when we needed a roof repair. The company I finally hired did such an outstanding job they have done complete roof replacements for a number of my friends due to my endorsement, and are booked months in advance. Now that's job security.
Electric? My newest best friend quickly fixed a faulty GFCI in our bathroom. It was hooked up to our outside outlet and the dang button wouldn't stay pushed in. After quickly fixing that, he installed a super duper cover for our outside outlet. His reward? He gets to wire our barn for electricity.
So what's the point? These people are making a very, very good living doing work that many consider below their station in life. Not everyone can be CEO of a major company. Over a lifetime, their earning could easily outpace even an engineer or an attorney. For one thing, they didn't spend many years in school and they didn't start their professional life 150K in debt.
And as Mike Rowe says in his video, they came to love their jobs. If they didn't start with a passion, most ended up with a passion.
Free college? For what?
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