College is no scam.

I watched 20/20 at work tonight. The first part of the show was about that plane that crash landed in the Hudson River yesterday. Have to admit, that was pretty amazing. The second part of the show was called, "How Much Are You Worth?" The first part of that segment was about why people don't talk to each other about their salaries. Suze Orman(I think that's her name), the "amazing" financial expert, said that we should talk about our salaries. She said something about how we talk about sex, so why not talk about money? The next part of that segment was about college and the debate about whether college is some sort of scam.

First, I'll state the facts. As high schoolers, and even before then, we are encouraged to attend college and earn some sort of degree. The reasoning behind this is that as a college graduate, you will get a better paying job and be more successful in life. If you don't attend college, you will have a mediocare job and make less money. I guess these arent exactly facts, but what we grow up believing.

The show interviewed three individuals who attended college, got a degree, and then ended up not so successful. One woman who earned a degree had to move in with her mother because she oculdn't afford her apartment. She is working as a secretary earning about $11 an hour. She is also thousands of dollars in debt. The next one, a young man, also earned a degree and is now unhappy at his call center job. He too, is thousands of dollars in debt. The third guy has the same story. All three of them wish that they hadn't gone to college. They believe that they would be better off, and of course, not so far in debt.

Then the show interviewed a guy who counsels college students. He helps them figure out how to get a job after attending college. He talked about how if someone was in the bottom 4% of their high school graduating class, they should either attend a two-year trade school college or no college at all. He said that college is a scam, overcharging students and then not properly preparing them for life after college.

Ok, so here's my take on it. As I said before, growing up we are encouraged to go to college because it will help us to get a good job. I believe that a lot of people who fail after college have a certain mind set. They believe that it won't be hard to get a job in their field after college. It should be a piece of cake after graduating, that every employer will want them and that they will be rich. Obviously, this is not the case. The people who do succeed after college are the ones who realize they still have to work and try and put out effort. If you graduate and don't think you still have to work, you are sadly mistaken. You still need the drive to succeed. You still need to try. You can't sit on your ass and wait for an employer to call you. I think that for many people, college is a good, or even great, thing. For many people, college will help them succeed. But for others, maybe a different route would be best.