During my commute this morning, I was listening to a local radio show. Typically, I only half pay attention to it as I’m driving. BUT, this morning they were talking about a subject that made me pull over and dial in.
The host, Bert Weiss, shared that many of his friends are talking their kids OUT of going to college. This concept was mind-blowing for Bert. He had never thought about it because, like many of us, we were told, “you are going to college!”
Bert said there seems to be a trend of parents really taking a look at their kids and what they want to do in life. One of the hosts then mockingly said, “because I don’t want to pay for it.” This is the statement that made me pull off the freeway to call in.
While I wasn’t able to get through to talk to the hosts, here is what I would have said….
It isn’t about not wanting to pay for college. It’s about, do you have to? Parents are starting to take a hard look at the numbers:
- Almost 40% of students who start college never graduate with degrees.
- Six years is the current measurement standard for getting a four-year degree.
- Unemployment and underemployment rates for college graduates is at an all-time high.
- Total student loan debt is over 1.5 trillion dollars.
- Over 30% of student debt is past due or under forbearance, accumulating crushing interest.
So yes, as a parent, I am going to take a closer look at what the options are for my teen to get an education.
Think about when you bought your home. You didn’t just look at a couple of houses and purchased one. You probably spent hundreds of hours looking online, then many weekends touring different ones. Why did you do this? Because buying house is a HUGE investment.
College is a HUGE investment of time and money! Parents and teens need to treat it like you are buying a house. Here is what you need to do:
- Help your teen identify careers they are interested in.
- Find out the job outlook and salary of those careers.
- Research the education needed for those careers. There are companies that are no longer requiring a university degree for some of their top jobs.
- Pick the best option for your teen.
Of course, each of these steps has more to them for you to map out. Go to my website and get my free action plan to help keep track.
You can click here if you are interested in listening to the whole discussion on the Bert Show about this topic.