https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 19 Apr 2026 05:29:54 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1473167 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 12:02:59 +0000 Mae 1473167@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: Right but you can't get THOSE types of factory jobs without a degree can you? I was talking more like--- GM factory. People who can get on the job training without formal education and make a career out of it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1473131 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 12:00:12 +0000 blackbird 1473131@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mae, i can see that. it's just hard for me to relate because that's the whole reason I'm here! And those are HARD jobs. But the specialized fields pay well! But you're right--it used to be no big deal. Now it's all about the office jobs </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1472887 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:32:01 +0000 Mae 1472887@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: I think there is a cultural shift away from having respect for blue collar workers, which coincides with a general "truth" that "the only way to succeed is go to college so you don't end up in a factory." So I do think there are less people who want to do those jobs-- because honestly those jobs are not secure or well paid! It used to be that working in a factory or in construction or whatever was both a respectable occupation and also afforded the worker the ability to live a decent middle class life. But at this point, with so many factories outsourcing/laying off in favor of machines, I think there is just no respect for blue collar jobs and people don't feel secure letting that be their life plan. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1472871 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:28:51 +0000 Adira 1472871@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: My parents were the same way with me and I plan to be the same with my kids. I wanted to major in English because I had dreams of being an author, but they felt like that probably wasn't the most wise major for me to take, so they suggested something more useful and encouraged me to continue writing in my spare time if that was my passion. I ended up doing Computer Science instead and am now a Software Engineer and am EXTREMELY grateful they wouldn't pay for me to major in English! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1472870 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:28:45 +0000 Mamaof2 1472870@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: yes!!! Most jobs I see these days require a Degree - doesn't matter what its in as long as you have one! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1472846 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:26:35 +0000 blackbird 1472846@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@808love, I know, we really need to work on fostering the sciences within the US. People always comment on it being too hard or boring. </p> <p>@anagram, you know, i'm surprised they didn't. Education seems like a separate thing to me. </p> <p>@looch, oh definitely. The whole Return on Investment thing...you can study anything, but damn, it's gotta pay your bills. Or double major. Or have a hobby. My husband always says it this way: " I will not pay for our daughter to major in basketweaving" :) </p> <p>@mae, that's a scary thought. I know for a fact that we have giant riveting machines that are automated that replace a good handful of workers. Good for the company, bad for manufacturing. But at the same time, are people still willing to work those jobs? Man, i hope so. I feel like we are getting soft as time goes on in regards to hard labor. The number of people willing to do sheet forming and welding as a career feels like it's lessening. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1472816 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:20:59 +0000 Mae 1472816@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it will widen. I don't think a college degree is really *necessary* for a lot of people, except that jobs use it as a way to weed through candidates because so many people need jobs. The more blue collar jobs that get shipped overseas or replaced by machines, the more people there will be for fewer jobs and the more employers who will require college degrees because why not have someone with a bachelors doing your filing instead of someone with a high school degree. Dumb, but reality. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1472811 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:20:32 +0000 looch 1472811@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think there are a few factors at play in the whole college education discussion...cost, usefulness of the degree, employability post graduation and world trends.</p> <p>Some people look at college as the opportunity to study whatever they want, because they'll never get the chance to do it again, and then can not find a job and are saddled with debt they can't repay. I am, quite frankly, not interested in supporting this for my son. I am not saying that I will declare his major for him, but I will not accept a major in "blah blah" and contribute to it financially. The purpose of him attending college or whatever higher education he chooses is to become employable on the global scale. </p> <p>I think part of the responsibility lies with the colleges and universtities to design majors that reflect the demands of today's world, not of times past.</p> <p>regarding outsourcing, I think it's important to look at what is being outsourced and determine if those are things we want to be in the business of doing or not. Do we want to be doing baseline coding? Probably not. Do we want to be developing the next coding language? Probably. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1472777 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:15:17 +0000 Anagram 1472777@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I feel like if they surveyed Education majors alone (instead of grouped together with social science majors), they would have seen a lot more regret and a lot lower income! ;-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1472713 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:07:16 +0000 808love 1472713@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I just scanned the article and will read later but I just wanted to add to your science comment. I learned from a keynote speaker that there are tons of college graduate jobs available in the US, but to science majors. They keep outsourcing because there are not enough Americans willing to go into the major. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college#post-1472660 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:00:14 +0000 blackbird 1472660@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I stumbled across this article and thought it was interesting. I think many of us are concerned about affording college for our children or helping out where we can. I think we are all keenly aware that college graduates make more than those with a high school education for the most part. </p> <p>I thought it was surprising that median income has remained flat over the last 40 years!!! What?!</p> <p>"The pay gap was significantly smaller in previous generations". </p> <p>There's also a section on the value of a college major, with sciences/engineering showing the least regret and being the most closely related to the job. </p> <p>I wonder if this pay gap will widen or shrink with the next generation. </p> <p><a href="http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/02/11/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college/" rel="nofollow">http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/02/11/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college/</a> </p>