University is still the best path for most people after high school. amirite?

University, Community College, Trade School, most of it is good. Some of it is worth the money, but you do have to be somewhat selective and you need to apply a cost-benefit analysis before you sign papers.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I don't think you understand what unpopular means

by Anonymous 2 years ago

OP needs to go to college to learn

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Is mayonnaise unpopular?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Is mayonnaise an instrument?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I would say that most people have jumped on the hype train that college = scam but what do I know.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Clearly nothing if genuinely think that the majority of people believe that.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I agree with you but this is not an unpopular opinion.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Strong disagree. I'm currently a sophomore in college and it's evident that <10% of people have any idea what they want to do. The average college degree takes 6 years, that's 2 extra. Don't you think that waste could be reduced by people taking a little time to figure it out?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

50% of university students don't graduate; 50% of graduates spend tens of thousands of dollars, lose 4 years of earnings, and don't get significant increases in career earnings. The reason university is a "scam" is most students leave worse off than they entered.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Do you have a source for your claim there isn't a significant increase in career earnings? Anything I have seen shows a pretty significant difference, but perhaps I am seeing bad data.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

No it's not, only for people with a clear plan and decent grades who like academics. Otherwise trade school is an awesome option as is apprenticeship for an artisan craft.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I agree, university definitely adds value and when applying for jobs, many hiring managers check for a degree due to the credibility. I see why this is an unpopular opinion, because most people think uni is a waste of money and time. For me, uni has value because I came from a poor family and my parents struggled financially (mom completed high school, dad dropped out). But I graduated uni and had good opportunities come my way

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I don't think it's fair to say that there is any general best path for anyone. The best path for someone, is the one that suits them. That could include university, but it doesn't have to.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

not long ago companies used to take on young kids and train them in the skills they wanted, now we have universities who give children knowledge that the universities think is important and companies have to train older, opinionated kids in the skills they want

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Also half of the university experience is making up for things they should have learned in high school.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Debt to income ratio, trade schools.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Really really depends on what your major is. Do not take out loans to get a gender studies degree. If your major is engineering, science, business, healthcare, you're probably ok.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I think there should be more emphasis on what your plan is for your major rather than what the major is. A major isn't just a one dimensional piece of paper that defines what industry you are going to work in. Each 4 year program of a major gives you a skillset to advertise on your resume. An aspiring lawyer for example would probably want to use gender studies as their undergrad major since the skillset provided from that emphasizes reading comprehension and articulating something after absorbing information. There's other majors worth taking out a loan for too if that's the path that's chosen (English, history, philosophy, economics, etc.). An engineering major would likely trend towards any job requiring insane problem solving skills or attention to detail like programming or IT, but that skillset can be applied to data analysis which can be a big leg up in a finance or marketing job. There's a way to use every major and as long as there is a plan, a loan could be worth taking out for any major

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Economists used to say that cost of living rises should be counteracted with regular wage rises. Weird how that was stuffed out after Regan and died entirely under Obama.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Nope. Accruing debt that may or may not be useless and impossible to pay off and is extremely difficult to avoid is not a great blanket plan for graduating students. It's perpetuating a terrible cycle.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

For most? Not so much. For many? Absolutely.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I think the main issue is people taking out useless degrees instead of what is valued in the market... People complain about not finding a job after graduating, but what would you expect if you have a bachelor in "gender studies"?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Well yes, educating yourself is indeed always good. But I can understand that you have to point it out vehemently in the US.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

HARD disagree. Starting your adult life off with a bunch of stress and debt seems like the absolute worst way to go. You can get drunk and have sex with strangers anywhere, you don't need to go to college for that.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

source: trust me bro

by Anonymous 2 years ago

This in nowhere near an unpopular opinion. The only people who say college is bad is the people who are to lazy to go to college and then cherry pick two examples.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Nope. Military service.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

ah yes, ptsd and brainwashing

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Former army sniper. 2 deployments. 3 years in Iraq. No ptsd, no brainwash. Paid for my college and got a monthly stipend… And so much more. It was awesome.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Lmfao. It's actually a pretty sweet deal. You do some basic training, and then like a desk job for a few years. Then you have access to countless perks. Also, it doesn't look like America (yes sorry I'm talking about my country here.) is going to get into another long costly war anytime soon, so no need to worry about fighting. And as for brainwashing, literally no idea what that's supposed to mean? Veterans notoriously hate war and hate the military system. But if you just want to get a good start for the rest of your life or something, joining the coast guard or navy is a perfectly valid option.

by Anonymous 2 years ago