...which is to say we live in a world where the pressure to consume is both enormous and a constant. There are folks/entities whose goals are devising and perfecting new ways to get people to consume. This of course exists around the world, but maybe not to the extent it occurs here.
A not atypical couple on HGTV House Hunters: “I’m Erin and I work part time at a scarf boutique and my husband Bob raises salamanders and we’re looking for a house on the beach under $1.5 million”
Most people fill up their income with offsetting expenses at nearly every income level until they get tired of stuff... then they spend it on travel and/or something else. I mean, it is kind of the point of money that you use it to enjoy 'things' until you keel over dead and broke.
My experience also. Dont know one college grad with regrets. All of my son's close friends (30 somethings) that went to UF are doctors, lawyers, a college professor, a business owner, a teacher, etc. I only know one that is still floundering and he actually dropped out of UF, transferring to a lower level school. Personally, if not for college, I have no idea where I would be, grew up poor with few options other than construction or Publix. Of course, I know a couple of people who have been very successful in the trades, but they are outliers. Recently had a conversation on the subject with a couple of Maga friends who voiced the same negative comments about a college education. Of course both have been successful having college degrees as do their kids. Finally, I think universities offer more than just a technical skill set.
It amazes me how many people on a college message board, with the freedom to post on a Friday afternoon, were not benefited in life by their college degrees.
Colleges isn’t for everyone, and that is ok. College folks don’t need to look down and non-college people don’t need to look up. Maybe just treat people with kindness. What’s the worst that can happen? You might make a friend.
"come on man"???? WTH is that about? I guess he can't tolerate your meeting his anecdotes with some of your own. SMH
My father drilled in us kids "Never judge a book by its cover or look down on another." This was because he came from humble beginnings and was only able to go to college and become successful due to the GI Bill after WWII.
Another site I tend to browse is reddit. Reddit skews MUCH younger than the ol' geezers on this board. In the personal finance subs over there, a recurring theme is the evil of student loan debt and how it impacts young grads. I think this current HS/college age kids are seeing that feedback and it's causing them to think twice about the cost/benefit of a college education. From my perspective, I'm all for a college education. But it was a lot cheaper in the 90s when I was at UF. It would have been very difficult for my wife and I to get where we are today without the education we picked up. While we're sharing anecdata, I will mention that our peer group at UF did VERY well. We were in the honors college, and lived in the honors dorm. Everyone in our close circle of friends went on to be very successful - engineers, lawyers, an accountant, a pharmacist, a doctor. The only one that did not go into a high paying profession was by choice - she wanted to be a teacher.
While not flattering, I thought a similar thing - it can become a self perpetuating cycle. As of right now a good chunk of right wingers have a lot of views that are completely based on fiction. If you’ve had a college education you are somewhat less likely to go down those rabbit holes. Also in terms of economics, the more they don’t go to college, the less they make, and the more they become bitter at the college educated “elites”. Rinse and repeat.
It’s been decades ago, but I did a year of community college and racked up a bunch of credit hours and transferred to UF. A buddy of mine did the same and ended up becoming an MD. Two other friends did two years and ended up becoming DO’s. Community college is a route where you can get almost all the benefits of a college degree at significantly less cost.
You miss the point of course though. Life has changed quickly since the days most of us were in college. It’s worth a potential change of perspective on the value of college nowadays.
