My career advice to young men that age is to learn an engineering skill.

There is no reason to go to a 4 year college save for the following reasons.

1. Hard Sciences
2. Schooling to prepare for Medical School / Dental School
3. Schooling to prepare for Law School
4. You can get into and afford a school which is highly prestigious to use as leverage to move into the higher business echelon.

All other jobs and professions can be learned by working in the field with a competent boss, by self instruction, or by 2 year schooling.

It would be much better if parents financed a 6 month trip for their sons and daughters (~$5000) to travel the world and then gave them another $10000 to start their lives, start a business, get trained or go to technical school. This would save the parents >$20000 and the returns on the investment would begin sooner.

More money can be made by providing a service than by working for others. You may start small, but you can build a business once you are experienced, and become very comfortable. Even if you are not business minded, laborers like plumbers, masons, and electricians are always in demand, so a competent man will never go hungry, especially with the way the houses are so poorly made today.

Rather men should look at skilled trades, and women who wish to work, nursing. Those 4 years of college are a waste of resources, and a negative economic plan. You are spending money while bringing little to none in. Better to work until you understand who you are, do some investigation on how people make money, and then go to college if you really need it. If you are not doing what you love, you are working for money, and you might as well make the most you can.

Well, I'm in school for political science. I love it. I have to constantly either ignore or correct the propaganda, and some of the professors are real morons (I've lost nearly all the respect I once had for Ph.D. holders and now judge each by their merits as a teacher), but I like it a lot and am pretty confident I'll be able to be secure in my finances after school while working something in my field that interests me.

College isn't all that bad. I like to write, and college has improved my writing by leaps and bounds and inspired me to take a shot at writing a novel which has already been started (I just can't get up the inspiration or time to carry through with it right now), as well as given me the skill and confidence to volunteer myself to serve as editor on a local WN newspaper project.

One of the biggest problems with a lot of college kids, and thus the college system, is none of them really apply themselves. Yeah, your degree can be completely useless, but there's ALWAYS money out there for people with intelligence and some drive. Our culture is awash in money, and it's SO easy to cash in and cash in BIG if you just want it bad enough. You can be happy doing it, too.

My writing projects alone could probably pay the bills and keep me fed if I dedicated enough time and effort to it. I'll also have a place to help me find jobs as long as the institution is around (it's not going anywhere anytime soon, we've been around since the mid 1800's).

College is worth a shot if you fancy yourself a more academic type. But the advice given here is sage as well. Many kids just aren't meant to hit the books and would be much better served, happier, and probably make WAY more money by learning a trade. Sometimes I even regret not going to tech school.

If you're thinking about going to college for a 4 year degree....

[color="Red"]DON'T!

Yeah. Go shovel dirt with the mestizos or flip the burgers with the nigs. Let the yids, hindus and chinese give you orders.

A College degree is basically equal to what a high school diploma was twenty years ago.

If you can find a way to go,you definitely should.It made the difference of about $60,000 a year in my career.

Today the main criteria for almost any job is at least a four year degree.

College is an opportunity,if you miss it ,your only hurting yourself.

I would add that a good trade is certainly equal and maybe better than a college degree,but no easier to achieve.Many trades today are found in colleges too.

Well, I'm in school for political science. I love it. I have to constantly either ignore or correct the propaganda, and some of the professors are real morons (I've lost nearly all the respect I once had for Ph.D. holders and now judge each by their merits as a teacher), but I like it a lot and am pretty confident I'll be able to be secure in my finances after school while working something in my field that interests me.

College isn't all that bad. I like to write, and college has improved my writing by leaps and bounds and inspired me to take a shot at writing a novel which has already been started (I just can't get up the inspiration or time to carry through with it right now), as well as given me the skill and confidence to volunteer myself to serve as editor on a local WN newspaper project.

One of the biggest problems with a lot of college kids, and thus the college system, is none of them really apply themselves. Yeah, your degree can be completely useless, but there's ALWAYS money out there for people with intelligence and some drive. Our culture is awash in money, and it's SO easy to cash in and cash in BIG if you just want it bad enough. You can be happy doing it, too.

My writing projects alone could probably pay the bills and keep me fed if I dedicated enough time and effort to it. I'll also have a place to help me find jobs as long as the institution is around (it's not going anywhere anytime soon, we've been around since the mid 1800's).

College is worth a shot if you fancy yourself a more academic type. But the advice given here is sage as well. Many kids just aren't meant to hit the books and would be much better served, happier, and probably make WAY more money by learning a trade. Sometimes I even regret not going to tech school.

Exactly. I wish someone would have given me this advice as a kid with an average GPA coming out of highschool. The only thing I heard from everyone was "YOU HAVE TO GO TO COLLEGE UNLESS YOU WANT TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE", it seems to me the exact opposite is true.

Most of the kids my age are getting out of college and moving BACK IN with their folks because they are in debt 30-80 grand (or more) and can't find a job in their field of study.

In my case I lived with my folks through school because I didn't want to get into debt like this, however I still will have over $15,000 in student loans when I get out.

I'm not an academic, I like working with my hands. I enjoy building and making things, if I want to learn about history, science or learn another language I can teach myself.

If your parents can afford to put you through school you might as well do it....but starting your life out of college thousands and thousands of dollars in debt with nothing to show for it is utterly ridiculous to me.

If you expect this country to get any better you're lying to yourself.

A College degree is basically equal to what a high school diploma was twenty years ago.

If you can find a way to go,you definitely should.It made the difference of about $60,000 a year in my career.

Today the main criteria for almost any job is at least a four year degree.

College is an opportunity,if you miss it ,your only hurting yourself.

You graduated college like...25-30 years ago? NO ONE is paying college graduates with a bachelor's $60,000 out of college...no one. You'll be lucky to make 40k a year out of school. The reality is most of the people I know are working for under 30k a year before taxes out of college. Sure...you might make more in the long run but that's assuming there IS a long run. There is no job security anymore. I'd be much more comfortable having trade mastered than having a diploma when things really get bad in the kwa. You can barter with your trade on the other hand no one is gonna care that you have a diploma.