I run a construction company that works on a wide variety of mostly corporate or government projects. These build sites could be considered mid-range as we aren't exactly building skyscrapers nor are we qualified to, but we build things that are a lot larger than a house, for example. The people who work on my sites are mostly skilled or semi-skilled workers but we do have unskilled laborers and even some apprenticeships going on concurrently. One of the teenagers who works on my site for $10 an hour (he is unskilled but hardworking) recently asked me a question I never thought anyone would ever ask a blue collar guy like myself and it kind of made me think a lot.
He asked me "What do you think I should study in college."
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This was a difficult question for me to answer because of my own past and because of the fact that I really don't want to overstep my bounds as far as being a mentor is concerned. This kid has shown some interest in construction but I wouldn't say that he is in it for the experience, he is just trying to make some walking around money. I wasn't attempting to lure him into the construction industry because I don't think he really has a passion for it. When I was a teenager I was quite enthralled by construction as I ended up in the work in a very similar fashion to how this teenager got involved in it. My father knew someone with a construction company and asked him to hire me. He did and I did a pretty bang up job of it and found that I really liked the industry. I later went to college to get a degree in construction management and now own my own business that does pretty well. In a way I am very thankful for my father arranging that job for me 30 years ago because I accidentally found my passion.
Unfortunately, I don't think that very many people that go to college actually DO have a passion for what they are studying and they are just there to major in whatever because they feel societal pressure to go to college. I know that most of the people that I was in school with when I was in college didn't really enjoy what they were studying at all and most of them don't work in fields even remotely associated with what they majored in anyway. Then there were people that had "fun" majors like art and unfortunately for them, this is a rather stupid degree that doesn't really get you ready for the work force in any way. While I am by no means an expert, I don't feel like "art" is something that you can study and all of a sudden be good at, either you have it in you or you don't.
For this kid on my site asking me this question I kind of gave him a non-answer because just like when my father got me the job I had at 15 years of age, this kid's father is a friend of mine and that is why he got the job. He has a pretty good home life as far as I know so I don't think I am the correct person to seek advice on this topic from.
If I was being honest with him though, and I didn't feel like I could or even should be, I would tell him this:
If you don't already know what you are going to college for and are simply going there because the system dictates that you should, you probably shouldn't go to college. I saw tons of people fail out or get degrees in something stupid all because while they enjoyed college life, they didn't really have any interest at all in what they were required to study. I think of all the people I knew that were in college for business, marketing, or communications (whatever the hell that means) and they were just skimming by and doing whatever with no real idea about what this information was going to mean for their futures or even if the eventual degree that they would get was actually going to help them in any way.
I don't want to say that going to college was a waste of time for them because a lot of jobs have this really silly mandate that they won't hire you unless you have a 4-year college degree. I find this entire process to be really unfair and a bit stupid, but I don't make the rules.
This doesn't change the fact that I feel that for many or perhaps even most people, that college is a waste of money and you aren't actually going to use almost any of what you learn there in the real world. In my program the curriculum actually was very specific to exactly what I ended up doing as a career but for many other people, this doesn't end up being the case.
If this kid, or any kid, or even adults who are looking to get an education are truly interested in a particular field of study then I think college is a great idea that can be very rewarding. On the flip side though, I feel as though university education in the United States is one of the most overpriced things that we have in our existence and this is why so much pressure is put on high school students to go. They need fresh faces every year or these universities will go out of business. They pretend to not be businesses but they ARE businesses. Almost everything is a business and the idea that there is something altruistic going on there is a bit delusional if you ask me.
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that is completely ridiculous and there is no justification for it
So even though I didn't say this to the kid that asked me the question, my real answer to this is that if you feel like you need to ask "what should I study in college?" you probably aren't ready to go to college. Save yourself $50,000 and wait until you already know the answer to it, then go. Or maybe you will discover, as many have, that you don't actually need college in order to get ahead in life. Perhaps you will just be naturally talented enough that you can do what you want without it.
I wouldn't say that I really benefitted all that much from my college education other than the piece of paper being something I needed in order to open some doors for me. In some of my classes and because of my 4 years of experience in construction by the time I got there, I actually knew more about the topic matter than the teachers did - which is something I find completely unacceptable.
Is it really so necessary for kids to jump straight from high school to higher education? I really don't think so. They have a lot of time to figure that out and perhaps a few years of joining the workforce without a college degree to up your resume might actually help to open your eyes about what it is that you actually are interested in.
But what the hell do I know? I'm just a redneck.
I think the worst effect of going to college for any reason is that it can funnel us into a trap that lasts for a lifetime.
My degree, and an MA to boot, was in Mathematics, talk about useless. It was fun, I was passionate about it.
My career, however, was in feeding people - I had way more friends doing this than I did holed up thinking with other math nerds. Most of my employment has been in the kitchens of food businesses of various kinds. Foodies are very passionate about food! I got my training while earning out in the real world, opened my own businesses, and was able to retire in my mid-fifties. Not rich, but rich enough. Had I pursued math, I'd still be teaching math in a college somewhere, a totally different person!
My family did not support my leaving higher education to feed people. I was in my forties, married, kids, owned a lovely brownstone and was queen of a little food hill before my father finally stopped telling me to get a real job.
But college wasn't a waste of my time! Understanding the abstract in infinite dimensions is the closest I have ever come to the divine. I credit my experience of math with my ability to see that there is more than meets the eye.
We are all trapped by this educational system. The nature of the individual determines whether college is a waste of time for them or not.
This is great that you would share this. I knew a guy who went to college for Chemistry. This is an extremely difficult field that many people do through in order to perhaps pursue medicine. When he graduated he found that there really aren't many jobs for people with an undergrad in chemistry, so he was forced to do his masters, it was about halfway through his masters that he got a job in a kitchen at a rather fancy restaurant and accidentally found out that his true passion was also in the kitchen. He is now an executive chef at a ski resort and absolutely loves what he does for a living.
I'm sure his chemistry education is helpful for his cooking. Anything you pursue, really pursue, will shape how you go forward into any other endeavor. We have to be open to new experiences, and to not do anything just because someone else thinks it's a good idea. I'm happy for your chef friend. Feeding people can be so rewarding.
Do you want to be an engineer, lawyer or physician? Well, that's what you're studying in college.
Do you want a career in teaching? You want an education degree and a minor in a relevant field.
Do you want to go to college to pick up some general education credits? Go to a community college with proper accreditation.
Do you want to learn a trade? Community college, apprenticeship, or trade school is your path.
Just want to learn? Khan academy, your local library, and the wide world of podcasts have you covered for free.
These exact words are what the guidance counselors in high schools should be saying to students. Perhaps it has changed since I was a teenager but in our junior and senior years we were constantly bombarded with university representatives and basically bullied into applying to colleges. If you didn't have the money they would help you fill out the financial aid applications. Community colleges were almost never mentioned and if they were it was generally in a negative light.... that's a real shame.
There are a lot of job categories for which getting a college degree is important. Engineering, medicine, law, and various sciences all come to mind. These are all things you might not even get an opportunity to get any experience in without a college degree. But I agree that you shouldn't bother going unless you know what you want to do and a college degree makes sense for whatever that is. Especially if we are talking about something beyond an Associate's degree at a local college.
I think I knew what I wanted to do by the time I started high school. That actually seemed fairly normal when I was growing up. For whatever reason, it is definitely different these days. It seems rare that any kid, even high school graduates, know what they want to do. Which seems odd to me as it is a whole lot easier to learn about potential career paths today than it was pre-Internet.
I think waiting a year or two makes sense for some people. But I also think the longer you wait, the harder it is. Plus there are certain factors that might make waiting impractical. For example, in Florida the state will basically pay your tuition if your high school grades are good enough. However, I'm not sure how much allowance is given for deferring your start.
In any case, the absolute dumbest thing you can do is pay for an out of state or private school without that being a clear benefit for your chosen career path...which of course you would have to know.
I would say that this is likely very rare these days but then again I think if we were to ask most 13 year olds what they would like to do the number one answer would probably be Instagram influencer or something completely impractical like that.
I remember being approached by out of state private schools when I was in high school. It is completely crazy what they charge for that but when you are 16 or 17 years old I don't think the ramifications of what $100,000 in student loan debt can do to your future isn't really something you can even conceive.
I think if I had it all over I would be looking at becoming an electrician or plumber as I think that is more meaningful than learning something you have no interest in. Too many people attend college or university to walk away with meaningless degrees that have no bearing on life. As an employer I would rather take someone who doesn't think they are somehow better than others who haven't attended a 4 year course. We had graduates join us and were never great workers and never lasted that long.
I hear the electrician or plumber example mentioned very frequently and I totally agree. As a contractor I frequently work with these individuals and I have never met a member of either one of those professions that absolutely hated their jobs. The average office worker on the other hand is generally just staring at the clock all day long waiting to be allowed to go home.