Have you heard recently that if you don’t go to college, you cannot be successful in this world?  Maybe your parents have told you that you have to go to college because it is the best way to get a good job.  This may have been truer in the past, but now more than ever it is harder to prove. 

I would never turn anyone away from college if that is what they truly wanted to do, but I am here to make sure that it is the right choice for you!

Just to paint a little picture, let’s do some quick math. (This is for individuals who cannot afford to pay out of pocket for school)

We will look at an in-state public school to keep cost down.  The average cost per year is $25,290.  More than half of all the students who finish a 4-year degree take more than the 4 years also, it is more like 4.5 years on average.  That brings us to a total of $113,805.  Now some of that will be taken care of by financial aid and scholarships. In the best care scenario that would cover about half the cost.  So now, in the perfect world you are graduating with about $57,000 in debt. 

Depending on the type of loans you took out, your payments on those loans after you graduate could be around $1,000 per month.  Now, depending on what you went to college for most starting salaries these days range from $40k-$70k per year.  It is true that you have the ability to move up from there but a lot of times that means getting a master’s degree of some sort depending on the industry you are in leading to more debt.

It is a major burden to have hanging over your head, especially when you are trying to get started with your life and trying to still have fun, work, travel etc.  

Now let’s take a quick look at one alternative, becoming a skilled worker.  There are thousands of skill jobs in the workforce right now and many of them have a great outlook.  I know that it may not be your passion, or your destiny but after watching many individuals chase after their passion by going to college, many wind up changing “passions” several times once they realize it is still work.  Many people say, “if you do something you love you’ll never work a day in your life”, I promise you that in most cases that is not correct.  Once you link it to the fact that it is still work the passion goes away quickly.  I see more individuals living happier lives when they accept work for work and find passions outside of that.

Let us just use a random skill position to draw a picture.  I will use my father as the example.  He is an operator for a paving company.  Sounds a little boring right.  Well maybe, but he gets to work outside every day, gets to take 4 months a year off in the winter, and still makes around $100k a year.  With the extra time in the winter he can travel, relax, run a side business to make extra income and he never went to college. 

There are many professions like this, and you can make just as much money if not more than many professions that force you to go to college.  Now, add in the fact that you are not starting a career with $50k-$100k in debt and we can get deep in the weeds and talk about the time value of money with investing earlier and how it would take a much larger salary after going to college but that will be for another time. 

All I ask is that you think long and hard about what your steps are after high school.  If you want to ask some more detailed questions or get a customized plan on what you should do, please reach out.

My name is Kollin and that is my Ted Talk.

Haha