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Add to NewsvineYesterday I was having lunch with a friend, who reflected on the fact that his plumber makes more money than he does, and has more job security, even though he holds two master's degrees. It made me wonder: when is this higher education bubble going to pop? That is, when are enough people going to realize that investing in a college education is, for more and more people, a foolish proposition, because it's going to get you deep in a ditch of debt that you cannot easily climb out of. This debt will delay your ability to buy a house, start a family, and get on with the real business of life.
I am against the idea that education is purely instrumental -- a form of credentialing that exists primarily to provide entree into a desired field -- but surely there must be some recognition even by idealists that there is a connection between what you learn in the classroom and your lifetime of economic productivity.
I am unaware of any specific research tracking the return on investment of a college education these days, so this notion of an educational bubble is mere speculation. Can any readers point us to statistical work done on this point? Beware that posting a link may get your comment automatically hung up in the spam filter. If you put something up and it doesn't appear, e-mail me to let me know and I'll see if I can rescue it.
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This only somewhat related, but I'm concerned about the proliferation of for-profit "colleges" and institutes. I believe in the free market in almost all areas - maybe even in charter schools - but not the heavily advertised for-profit post-high school programs that are expanding rapidly everywhere. As a free-market decisions, with college you've got problems - imperfect information, as it's difficult to really know the quality of the program and the alternatives before you enroll. Also, students are used to trusting information from education administrators and counselors, but the "admissions" people at these schools are sales people through and through.
Take culinary education in Dallas, for example. El Centro Community College in downtown Dallas has a great culinary program, at like $3000 for two years of school. The Art Institute by Northpark and Remington College have private, expensive programs that I expect are of lower quality. And now the international school chain Le Cordon Bleu is opening a school around Webb Chapel and 635. This program costs well over $20,000 for an industry where starting wages can be well under $10/hour. If the educational experience is superior, it might be well worth it to go to the more expensive school. But, from my experience and that of friends, the community college programs are actually of higher quality and have many more institutional standards than the for-profit schools who often seem to worry about business plans than students.
Posted by: Mike | May 22, 2008 8:10 AM
I agree that getting in debt for college is a terrible idea, however it's wrong to assume that you HAVE to borrow money for a college degree. If everybody stopped proceeding on that assumption, the cost of college would eventually come down! My daughter is a rising senior and she'll be going to whatever school we can afford with scholarships/financial aid/part-time jobs, etc. Of course, this may mean community college...that's the bitter pill to take...
Posted by: Betty Carter | May 22, 2008 9:22 AM
Financial aid means that someone else has less money so your daughter can go to college. That's immoral.
Posted by: frgough | May 22, 2008 11:03 AM
I'm trying to compile information and statistics about this on this YouTube video:
watch?v=cyPy--9vdFs
Posted by: nooffensebut | May 22, 2008 1:24 PM
I haven't seen any recent statistics, but I remember some from a graduate class (LOL) I took sometime around 1985. The issue was lifetime real income, assuming that you decided on a career the day you graduated from high school, taking into account average education costs and time value of money, and assuming that you were able to find steady work.
Becoming a medical doctor was the most lucrative career, I don't remember what was second. I think becoming a plumber was third. Becoming a lawyer was someplace in the top ten.
There are of course reasons to pursue a particular career path other than money. I'd be a lousy plumber.
Posted by: Jay Egenes | May 22, 2008 3:41 PM
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