If US educational costs are too high for you, send the kids to South America, Caribbean or even China to get good education on cheap. Higher education gives them a better shot, why not think outside the box.

I dont understand why people read this negatively. It is not about privilege, but solid family structure with committed parents putting their resources to work for their kids, does help the kids. Can a kid without all that support, overcome it and still be successful? Of course. People like Larry Ellison proved it. But, there is still a slight advantage to have parents that are educated and can show the way to the kids.

Hope they taught those Liberal Arts majors how to say, "Want fries with that?"

"What’s more, the relationship between your parents’ education level and your future success is higher in the United States than in any other countries they looked at, including Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Canada."

More proof of our nations totally inept public school system.

Yes, the parents and how they raise their children are mostly responsible for the success of their children but this statistic shows that children with worthless parents can go to class and still be taught to succeed in other countries, wereas in the U.S. they go to school and see more lazy, unispired, "give me my paycheck and benifits", union teachers.

College educated moms and dads ( that are married) are likely to live in an area with above average schools. They are likely to make sure the kids are doing homework and staying off the crack. They are likely to set a good example about going to work, starting your own business, paying bills on time, and generally being a responsible and accountable adult. They will likely live in neighborhoods of families with similar ideas about education and personal responsibility. The kids see role models and peer pressure to make something of their lives. These families are likely in the to 10% to top 40% in income and wealth.

Contrast that with the teenage mother with 3 kids. No father in the picture. The kids get raised by grandma, who was herself a teen mom without a husband. There are no books in the home, only tv and X Box. No one makes sure the kids do homework. There is a culture of victimization instead of a culture of responsibility. Many of the kids look to gangs and friends for some sense of structure and belonging. These families and these kids are likely in the bottom 20%, maybe bottom 40%.

This is a broad generalization, but I see it everyday. It crosses racial lines. There are two parent educated African American households and single white trailer trash moms.

Yes, educated folks want to live in nice areas where they can provide a safe refuge for their children. This is not elitist or racist. No one of any race chooses to live in the ghetto or the trailer park.

Yes, there are individuals in the educated group that end up becoming bums. Yes there are progeny of single parent households that end up highly successful ( the military helps many of them) .

When we sit here and say raise taxes on the wealthy, when the answer is education, culture and responsibility, we end up with more of the same. We have been throwing money at the ghetto for 60 years and it really has not helped. ( I agree it has helped the aged from starving).

Choices that parents and children make determine their outcomes. Many of you find this harsh, but it is completely true.

I suspect this trend is largely due to the following:

1. College educated parents can help their college educated kids get internships (and jobs) at their companies.

2. College educated parents know the territory and thus their kids aren't blindly getting degrees and hoping they'll be worth something someday.

3. In competitive and lucrative fields like medicine (for example), having a parent who is in that field will help you on admissions and let you know what you really need to know to succeed - how to get into school and get top residencies, for example. Its like item 2, they've been there before and can give useful advice.

4. College educated parents have more money and thus their kids don't need to take out as many loans.

In my experience, teachers these days give out quite a bit of homework, but the kids with educated parents are the only ones who actually do it -- probably because they have parents like me who help them and check to make sure it's all done before their kids go to bed.

Don't believe everything you read..this is all BS.

To Gary and bg,

If you believe one of your points-of-view, you must accept the other. I believe it not not a question of one over the other but a combination of the two.

Bottom line is there are advantages to be gained from your starting position in life. Some are positive (attending a good prep school) some are negative (your parent can help you bypass the system and attain something others cannot, such as legacy admissions to a prestigious college). However the ladder climber will use whatever advantage they have access to.

Also, I believe that the American dream of changing your station in life is generally a fallacy. Yes, there are examples of rags to riches, but they are the exception that proves the rule. If you want to change your station, it will usually require multiple generations to make the change permanent.

Wealth begets wealth and poverty begets poverty, it takes a concentrated effort to change it. To quote Robert Wagner as Mr. Hart (Hart to Hart, an 80's TV show) "Turning $10 into $100 is difficult, but turning 1 million into 10 million is inevitable."

Educated parents have more connections because they work in those desired fields... Education being equal, who is going to get that job, the boss's son or that stranger who came up from the city?

Additionally, most med schools expect you to have a background working or volunteering in the field. Helps a little bit when mom/dad runs the practice.

@Gary 420,

I am a single mother, of a GIFTED (prior to pre-school), now 10 year old daughter, who, I have raised solely on my own. I do have college classes under my belt, but as of yet, no degree - due to my holding down a job, being very involved with my daughter's education - i.e. volunteering at her school, head room parent, over seeing homework, spending quality time together, NOT in front of the t.v. or x-box, but volunteering in the community, assisting in clothing and food drives, and monitoring my daughter's tutoring of neighborhood children who can not read, write, speak properly or tie their shoes, even at the age of 6-7 years old and instilling morals and good character in her, daily....

My daughter's "Father", holds a degree in finance.. (In a moment, you will see the irony in this) and has NEVER been in our home, doesn't even call to inquire about her day, her month, her schooling, soccer game, her birthday, etc. Yet, refuses to give up his rights to her and "punishes" her when she doesn't say, "I Love You" to him...

I understand this is the "EXCEPTION", but there are A LOT more EXCEPTIONAL people out ther, including single, blue collar father's, who contribute DAILY to their children's lives, instilling the power and importance of education, morals and the GOLDEN RULE... MORE THAN WHAT THEY ARE LEARING AT SCHOOL.

Recently, my fiance' was told by his 7th grade son's teachers that, "your son does not turn in most of his assignments. When he does it is incomplete or less than satisfactory. As per district policy to keep
students from losing interest or giving up altogether they are to receive a minimum of 39%."

And you want to pin this on the parents??!!

Wow, Michele. First, you don't have a degree and you explain that away because of the altruism of which you are clearly a victim and are obviously blameless. Second, you are the only good parent in the western world giving you the ability to judge your daughter's "Father" in who's roll I'm sure, based on your tone, you don't diminish in front of your daughter. Then lastly, your fiance's son is a victim of a school system that is passing him even though he refuses to do his homework??? Are you serious?

1) You don't have a degree because you put other priorities (and you proudly list them off) ahead of obtaining your education. You are a not a victim, you are doing this to yourself.

2) You do not have the market cornered on good parenting, and I thinks it's safe to assume that a conversation with the "father" of your daughter would provide any reader with a stark contrast to your assessment of your situation.

3) Your fiance's son, is failing. It's his own fault, and it's your fiance's fault. Teacher's can't make him do his HOMEWORK. They are not at your HOME!!!!! That's where the PARENT is supposed to step in!!! Stop this madness and accept the responsibility for your situation. YOU ALONE HAVE MADE THE DECISIONS THAT HAVE BROUGHT YOU TO THIS MOMENT. It's irritating to listen to someone make excuses and lay the blame elsewhere for their own shortcomings. If you want an education, go get one, and stop letting your altruism deter you.

I agree with everything you say, except I feel that the tone of the article is NOT in disagreement with you. If I read it correctly, their point was that in polls, Americans THINK there is a difference between a strong work ethic and educational background. In reality, as you point out, they overlap to a large extent.

I think you misread the article. Parents with degrees don't "convey" elite status...It's just much, much harder for people to move up in economic status than we generally recognize. If parents have a degree, the chances are much greater they are going to be able to make sure their kids have every opportunity. That's a bit of common sense borne out by the facts.

I agree with you to some degree. I was the first person in my family to go college and I did so by having academic scholarships and working a full time job at the same time. I earned my degree through hard work and many other people do to. This work ethic and willingness to sacrifice, more so than the actual diploma, are strong indicators of relative future success. However, a very large amount of students in my, and probably any, university were there simply because their parents had the resources to pay for them to spend four years binge drinking and maintaining a mediocre GPA with no or little actual interest in furthering their intellectual pursuits. These people will still enjoy the benefit of a college diploma when it comes time to look for a job. They will enjoy the further benefit of having social ties in circles of people with wealth and power.

In my reading of this article it points out the rigid demarcation of classes in our society, despite the relative myth of social mobility that our country was founded on.

Do you have a college degree? I ask because it seems like you didn't read the article, or at least comprehend what it is saying. I think you are a bit sensitive about what you call "elitist" thinking, which is nowhere in the article.

Here is a direct quote from the article. In pretty straight forward language is says that the social background of your family is more important than hard work and ambition. While probably true, I can't imagine that hard work and ambition aren't nearly as important.

Erin Currier, project manager for Pew’s Economic Mobility Project, said that when polled, Americans say that hard work and ambition are the factors that get you ahead in life. They also believe things like parental background aren’t as important.

“All of our data shows the opposite,” Currier said. “It shows the power of family background for really predicting where in the income (distribution) you would fall.”

joshua-fitch: And the 'power of family background' would include education now wouldn't it??? Since when does hard work and ambition exclude education??

I have to say I agree with the OP and not the article. My husband's grandfather was a lawyer, his dad has an Masters in economics, his mother has a BS. However, they live in a very small town in the rural midwest. So his parents always struggled financially because there weren't jobs for their degree in town. My husband has a technical degree (and maybe I can someday convince him to get a BS/BA) but his 24 year old brother is still hanging out at home in the basement and is a college freshman drop-out.

My father's parents were not educated but made a good living owning an onion/flibert farm. My dad went to medical school. My mom's parents were immigrants who came to the US because an engineering school on the east coast sponsored my grandpa to come and get his engineering degree. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete it due to the language barrier (limited resources in the 50s) and because working to provide for his family took over completing his education. My mom was a college sophomore drop-out. Out of 6 children, I am one of two who has a college education (the other has an MA). The two next educated have associate RN degrees. The last two have GED's.

It all comes down to having a sense of ambition in your personality, that's all. A drive to do something for yourself. You can instill ambition in your children by encouraging them to achieve anything through their own efforts and mental/physical labor. A diploma on the wall looks impressive but doesn't teach your kid anything.

I think also that poor families tend to have an outlook where everything works against them - and that itself is an attitude problem that inhibits success/education. The group you are around the most influences the decisions you make.

I agree with the article to a certain extent. My parents both had college degrees. They understood the importance of college and pushed me to excel academically. My cousins have either only one parent who completed college or none - college was not seen as a foregone conclusion. None of them have graduated college. Yet I would consider them to be far more hardworking than me (I worked very hard in school, but now they are the ones who are really burning the midnight oil - but in successful careers as well). They are also highly intelligent, but were never pushed to acquire the booksmarts that I acquired. For myself, I would expect any hypothetical children I have to go to college, but I would also would hope that they would acquire some sort of trade certification in addition. Trades are a lot harder to outsource - my friends who know trades like welding or HVAC are never too worried about going without work for very long. Not so much with the investment bankers and lawyers and marketing personnel I know.

I'd be careful with your own slants there. The college educated have no monopoly on ambition or hard work in this country. The system wasn't always as it is now. One used to be able to make a great living in a blue collar trade in this country. Those folks weren't lacking ambition. Their interests were just different than the people who chose to go study something for four years. Not better or worse, just different.

I wouldn't agree with a blanket statement regarding anyone and college. It would seem just as likely that those with characteristics of a strong work ethic, a will to constantly be learning, and who are always looking for ways to improve their lives would pass those skills to their children.

Both of my parents had Master's Degrees, neither used degrees in their careers, and their college experience was never particularly relevant in their parenting to any real extent.

I know plenty of people who wasted years going to college, have massive student loans to pay back, and who are skimping by on whatever jobs they were able to find. I skipped college entirely, and run two successful businesses. I'd hope my outlook on life would be engrained in my kids, regardless of me not participating in higher education.

As I opened with, everyone is different. Spend time teaching your children life's skills, regardless of your own education. They are going to choose their own path, regardless. That's the idea.

Being a corrupt member of congress gets you pretty far also.

I know, that's why i'm trying to master the art of being a backstabbing liar!! I work hard too, but you've got to do, what you've got to do. It's a dog eat dog world, and i'm wearing milk bone underwear.

Yeah, wouldn't want any more educated Americans now would we? That's be just awful!

Education itself is not the problem, but the problem is the skyrocketing prices of getting extra education. It's awesome to be educated and smart, but that doesn't mean more money. I've seen it and lived it.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2006 National Compensation Survey, pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters nationwide made an average of $23 an hour, or about $46,000 annually for a typical 40-hour workweek. An electrician with 10-19 years experience makes an average of 60K

Civil Engineer 101K
Physician 272K
Computer Programmer 75K
Accountant 55K
Fisheries Biologist 65K
Lawyer 150K

Trevor,

All these fields you listed require extended education to meet that salary level. The careers listed by Steve are the same, extended usually through trade school and apprenticeship. The difference the Plumber is PAID for the time he works his way up the ladder.

All of these are specialized fields with limited job growth. Show me one of these posted jobs that can be had with a standard BA/BS degree. You have the standard 60-200K generic degree, you have nothing to offer but your smile and the same level of inexperience as a high school student.

FYI, a computer programmer does not require a degree. I do not have one and I make double that in the field. Technology is a field based on intellect, not pedigree. The backlash to outsourcing technology overseas has already swung around and jobs are once again growing in the US. I hire some of my best people based on their coding they do for non-profits. Your actions are your resume.

My point was that a plumber/pipefitter making 200k is a myth...

My son is a pipe fitter with Shell and he makes 200 k a year

The common factor isnt a degree. Its having marketable skills.

@Valkahar - being an account does not require an advanced degree. My brother has a bachelors degree and is a CPA and earns 6 figures with huge growth potential.

And while I think it's great that you are willing to hire computer programmers with no degree, most companies expect a 4-year degree before they will even speak with you. I know because I am a computer programmer (with a bachelor of science degree). I've worked with one person who had an associates, but all of my other co-workers - in companies large and small - have held bachelor's degrees. They may have been in another field - I've worked with programmers with degrees in economics, physics, and music, among others, but they all had a degree or they wouldn't have made it past human resources. I think it's important for people to find where their talents lie. I would make a lousy plumber. But plumbing is an occupation where the work can't easily be outsourced and you can earn a very good living. Rather than sniping at each other, we should be working to ensure opportunities are available to those who want them - whether that's a college degree or apprenticeship in a trade.

I work for a fortune 50 company. It's not "me" that has this policy.

The degree is a lie.

I know plenty of skilled tradesmen who own their own plumbing, electrical, etc. businesses and they are making well into the six figures. Medians are misleading because there are a lot of apprentices making peanuts while they receive training. To use the OWS language, they are the 99% and the guy who owns the business is the 1%. Yet nobody complains because there is widespread recognition that the guy who owns the business worked his @$$ off to get where he is today.

If they are plumbers who own their own business then they are classified as small business owners or entrepreneurs, not plumbers. The guy they hire is classified as a plumber and will make less.

Valhakar, not having that degree, you will have difficulty getting past lower level IT management. Not impossible, but difficult. I know because I have a very close relative who hires IT employees for a fortune 500. (actually ranked in the top 100)

I'll send my kids to college, and you do whatever you feel is best for your kids and lets see who does better. There is really no argument you can make in a macro sense that would make any reasonable individual believe that a college degree is a disadvantage in the labor market. Then again, some people just aren't reasonable. It's a good thing that we don't practice medicine using this "Well, I have a cousin who makes a million dollars a year raking leaves so college is a waste of time" logic. You people wonder why the middle class is disappearing? It's because middle class americans lack the mental faculties requisite to appreciate that the game is changing. The physical jobs, they're going away folks..... Why pay an american to make cars when we can pay a chinese worker 3 cents a month to make it (exageration for effect). If you want to survive in the new america, with an economy that is information based, you had better have some information in your thick heads or you are going to get very hungry, very fast. There will always be work for your children though, cleaning my children's homes, washing their cars, cooking their food, and other stuff my educated children can afford to pay others to do for them because I went to college and payed for them to go. You keep your fingers crossed that everything works out for your kids.

Yes of course...let's keep children uneducated so those who rule America will have absolutely no competition . Brilliant plan for the information age.

I have no degree. I however have to keep up to date in my field constantly. I probably put in close to 100 hours a year in updating my skills and keeping my knowledge base up to date. People with a degree in my field seem less willing to put in the time as they feel entitled. "been there, done that" I have had security walk many an entitled idiot to the door when they refuse to put the education time in on their own.

Education being limited to colleges is the lie. "pay us or never get ahead" is a lie.

@valhakar - where does your extreme hatred for college stem from? Would you close down all schools? Should researchers, physicians, and other professions that currently require years of education just ditch education and jump right in hands-on? While I have a degree in computer science (which I obtained via academic scholarship and off-campus work, getting up at 4am to work as a computer operator, thereby graduating with NO DEBT), I also spend many hours every year keeping my skills up-to-date - I don't know who you work around, but I'm sure glad I don't work around them - or you. Oh, and much of the updating of my skills is via classes I take at the local university and at the community college. That whole college thing is still working for me (the local university has an excellent program in web design that has served me well in updating my skills). I'm sorry for whatever in your life has made you such a bitter person.

AP-1414066: if you think what generally goes on in school is "education", then you need a head. American public schools take 8 years to teach what could be learned in 100 hours, and even then many students aren't awake enough to get it. It is a total joke. Even college education has been hugely dumbed down. What do you expect, when the most common college major is Budweiser? when any student who really wants to learn is an outcast nerd? Why run a school system, if nobody is interested? Shut it down -- give us a huge tax break -- thrash the brats and send them out to pull weeds, and you might get a few to start desiring an education (and heck, some of them could lose a few pounds in the process.) That is how Abe Lincoln and Booker Washington and a host of other Americans were educated, before the good-for-nothing social planners took over. Then might you profitably send the motivated learners into formal educational programs (a lot shorter in length than the blasted 12 - 20+ year programs that we currently have.)

Furthermore, if you think our real national leaders are truly patriotic, think again. They are about "globalization": ie, the destruction of the United States of America. They have no allegiance to the USA and haven't had any for decades. Hence we get outsourcing of jobs, loss of American manufacturing, NAFTA, huge domestic and trade deficits, illegal immigration, babies having babies, the obesity epidemic, phony wars on drugs, congressional "gridlock", sham democracy, fruitless loss of American life (Vietnam, Iraq, etc), and the bankrupting of America. A nation of simpletons needs to shut off the TV propaganda and wake up.

Princess,

My "hatred" is for the assembly line education system that teaches us to send our kids to college immediately. My disdain is for the lemmings that think a Phoenix U degree will make them more desirable to an employer ( I shred most of those resumes). Simply put, the average 18 year old knows just enough about the world and themselves to get into trouble. Spending 30K a year so they can "find themselves" is pretty much cultural and economic suicide. Going into debt, which is the most encouraged method, pretty much is the next "hey stupid" bubble.

You do not need a college degree to be most things out there. With the integration of information systems, companies started finding more and more of their "college graduates" in mid to high level positions had no degree. The first reaction in the 2002-4 time frame was to fire them. Then they suddenly found they were left with a bunch of paper tigers. When they went to rehire these "undesirables" they found they were working and making as much or more. After reality set in, they decided that merit meant more than paper. Hiring practices changed overnight. This article fails to reflect that.

NO degree here. I make 6 figures in a professional world. The trick? The global company I work for is a meritocracy.

A standard non-specialized degree is a "bus pass" to mediocrity, allowing people to "get a job" worth a bit more with no extra effort. The down side they now have a huge debt to pay off and most people are simply not up to the task to perform well enough to make the piece of paper pay off for them. Do not get me wrong, it is a must have for certain fields. However, it is useless for most of the jobs out there and simply a rubber stamp of approval for the industrial machine.

The degree is a lie. Another form of financial slavery used to control the masses.

A degree is just another investment and like all investments, you need to look at Return on Investment relative to your alternatives.

@Valhakar

The position i hold about 75% of the people hold degrees and 25% do not. I can say for a fact that the people who hold degrees earn more. For doing the exact same job.

Then you also throw in male vs female; empolyees with a family to support vs those without and you get even more inconsistencies with pay. In a perfect world everyone's earning would equally match their abilities. I wish all companies would pay like yours does. But the fact is, they don't. and to get ahead, one needs to either play by the rules (set by their employer) or make their own (start their own company).

Valhakar, again, you will make good money, but why not just get that degree and eliminate that glass ceiling? You could be cutting yourself out of promotions.

Exactly my point to Trevor D Campbell above. Trade school, paid apprentice/journeyman, 100K+ at master level IF you have the stones to work hard enough.

There is no technology apprenticeship sadly. The establishment made sure they got their hooks into that trade when it was born. That being said most of the people that make steady income in technology hold no degrees or degrees they don't even list because they are outside their successful career path.

There are outliers in every sample population, but they are not representative. Bottom line, people with degrees ON AVERAGE earn more than people without, and people with advanced degrees earn even more ON AVERAGE.

It is possible to succeed without ever going to college. The crux of this article, however, is that a lot fewer people do so. Conversely, getting a college degree is not a guarantee of financial success.

You are trying to make people understand statistics that lack the knowledge base required to appreciate the large implications of this story. It's like trying to teach calculus to monkey. They just keep throwing their own poop at you out of frustration.

I respectfully disagree. My wife has a law degree, passed the Bar the first time, and filed as a nonpracticing attorney to go into contracts and supply chain in aerospace. She made great money..... until Douglass and the rest of the industry went belly up. Decades later, she faces direct competition from people with high school diplomas. They make about 10-20% less, what the statistics support, however they do not have the added cost of 7 years of schooling. Why pay 20% more for a piece of paper when its the person's work ethic and intellect you are hiring?

If you had taken that 60-100K in the 80s/early 90s and dropped it in the market, you would be looking at a huge nest egg today. Merritt over pedigree wins every time.

Valhakar: I'm very curious to know (seriously) in what part of the country and in what industry high school diplomas are prized over degrees? I know people in contracts and in aerospace in a variety of states and I havve yet to hear of one single corporation they are working for that would even consider someone without at least some college education. Ancecdotal evidence of one person having a tough time staying in the job market isn't exactly proof of earning power over a life time for millions. I believe its merit that wins every time, which for many jobs in the 21st century, includes showing you've earned consideration with an education.

DC metro area was the context of that example. Contracts used to be executive level and is now simply a corporate grind. You need experience in different areas. Experience > pedigree

We live in AZ now and the situation is the same for her.

I work for a fortune 50 company. Degrees are what HR posts and most of management ignores. Why pay more for someone with student debt when the experienced person costs the same or less and works harder... that is how they got their experience normally. Internal postings list a degree -=OR=- 5 years experience in the field as equal footing. 7 years experience = masters.

If you want top tier management you DO need a degree. However the company pays for it in most larger companies.

A degree should be a means to a goal, not a goal unto itself.

I'd agree with you the degree is a means to a goal--I'm in the DC area as well and I'd say you were actually quite the exception. Experience helps of course, but you've got to at least get in the pile for consideration. That's getting increasingly difficult to do without that degree (unless you can figure out how to get in the door and change their mind).

Valhaker, when this economy turns around that is if it ever does trust me when I say these employers will have to top college graduates to choose from. So If I was a employer looking for a draftsman and I can get one from high school with no experience or a college grad with experience Im going to pay more to get the better canidate. That being said I grant you some technical jobs pay more. But If I was designing the new world trade centers trust me I want someone with a degree from a prestigious school. And I don't mean a kid who took a semester of drafting in high school.

@ Valhakar

i think we all agree with you that merit SHOULD win over pedigree. But the fact for a mojority of people is that it doesn't. you/ we simply have to play the game with the rules that we are given. Or like i said in a post above...one needs to either play by the rules (set by their employer) or make their own (start their own company).

Those good old days? When my father, an electronics engineer, made less than an assembly line worker? Those "good old days" are part of the problem. By the 80s the assembly line worker was making far too much in comparison for the work they put in.

There has to be balance. No way should a guy turning a nut 500 times a day make as much as a Journeyman electrician. BOTH sides of the carefully constructed argument are wrong here. Hard work and skill should get paid the premium.

Actually, I know plenty of folks doing quite well with liberal arts degrees...not everyone has to be an engineer or a nurse. You just need to know the job market for your skill.

My father in law has a law degree. He acquired it after training and becoming a draftsman at Douglas aircraft. He gained a degree as part of a goal.

Sending our kids to college as part of growing up is a waste of money. Get a degree to meet a goal. The assembly line education system is a scam, pure and simple.

waste of money? Only 30% of Americans now have a degree. American corporations are lining up right and left as they do every year to push congress into increasing the number of Visa's for importing highly skilled workers, while thousands of American jobs go unfilled because of a lack of skilled workers. And you argue education is a "scam"?? That's a sure fire way to ensure the limited potential of the next generation and for the US to fall further and further behind those countries that get you're not going anywhere in the next century by using brawn, not brains.

Those skills do not come from college. those skills come from experience and continuing education. Something many American worker tends to ignore. I have so many techs that last 2-3 years then are suddenly walked out the door because the refused to keep up with their expertise. Those of us that were self taught/apprenticed know how to keep up on the bleeding edge.

Unless you are putting in 100+ hours a year of your own time in self education, you are ripe to be replaced by someone from India that is more than willing to pick up the book/tablet once a week for 2-3 hours.

Go to college to study restaurant management? Talk about a waste of money unless the employer is footing the bill for it. If my kid expressed interest in becoming a restaurant manager, I'd tell him/her to get a job as a waiter/waitress, bartender, etc. and then work up from there.

Same scenario with my cousin. Since I didn't go to college my parents paid for her to get a degree in restaurant management. She is waiting tables. She could have started there and saved the $$$$.

I totally agree. I've read so many articles about people who will never work their way out of debt - but they obtained that debt because they insisted on going to a "prestigious" university and then studied something like Women's Studies! Now, if you want to minor in Women's Studies, that's fine, but major in something that will be a bit more useful! And don't go way in the hole just because of name recognition. State universities are often very affordable, but what many people don't realize is the rack rate for private institutions is typically far below the advertised rate. If you look around and find the right school, that wants you as much as you want a degree, you can obtain an education without 6-figure debt. However, we DO need more Americans studying STEM disciplines - especially at the graduate level. Our graduate schools are full of people from overseas - why aren't Americans earning these degrees? (BTW - my parents did not go to college - I did, as did my husband, and our daughter is now working towards an advanced degree in Chemistry).

Too many left brained people and not enough or no creative people makes for a very dull, unimaginative and repressive society that absolutely does not EVER think outside the box. Sounds like a recipe to make SHEEPLE(complacent sheep people). Perfect, if you're red CHINA!

Not a slight toward anyone in your family, but you describe the root cause of the issue.

One creates results - Production

One creates the possibility of results - Excuses

Assembly line college education teach nothing but entitlement.

Hopefully your son will take his BA/BS and then get a skill set to go with it. Those people do well. Good luck!

Come off it, people. The average electrician in this country doesn't make anything close to $150 per hour. Nor does the average plumber make close to $100 per hour. And those that may make that much certainly don't get there early in their careers.

Some college graduates may make less than $30 per hour, most make considerably more. It depends a LOT on the degree and how long they've been in their field.

Just like the average practicing attorney doesn't make 125K a year. You have to EARN your way there. Most I know make 65-90K a year unless they wish to put in 100 hour work weeks. Those that choose to work that many hours are in a class by themselves.

Here is an eye opener. MOST of the service men/women that come out on say a plumbing call are not master plumbers. They have a tech cert and are journeymen. So pay is metered by experience.

Master plumbers/pipe fitters/electricians can make 150K a year easy with less than 60 hour work weeks.

Actually, the average attorney makes $129K per year. The average plumber makes $40K and the average electrician makes about $43K.

Really? Then, why I have two cousis who are attorneys, and are barely making 70K?!

Wow - did you go to college? Your critical thinking skills and "logic" are in the toilet - epic fail, here. Last time I checked, Obama, a democrat, is the president of the United States, and for 2.5 of those years of his presidency, he had full democratic control in both houses to do as he pleased. Why didn't he do "magic" then? The Tea Party has no, none, nada, zip, zero, zilch impact or influence on what decisions Obama makes or does not make. How many Tea Party members are there in the Senate? the House? Oh, that's right....none. So much for that bogeyman.

If you are brown or black, the unemployment rate IS higher - but why is that? Ummmm, could it be that those groups have not aquired the skills and education necessary to be competitive in gaining employment? Why yes!! That is the very reason - don't believe it? Read the annual outputs from the Dept of Education and Department of Labor as to why the disparity exists in the first place. The unemployment rate for college educated minorities is in line with that of college educated caucasians - 4.2% Read a little, learn a lot.

Four more years of Obama would be the biggest disaster for this country since 9-11, put the Kool-Aide down........

Actually, research has shown that genetics trumps environment. Adopted children are more similar to their biological parents and siblings than they are to their adopted ones. That goes for education, income, and even political affiliations. Religious affiliation does correlate to the adopted family but the degree of religious commitment (for example the frequency of attending worship services) correlates to the biological relatives. It's about 70-80% genes and only 20-30% environment.

I am taking a genetics class right now, the same class for pre-med students, and they are emphatic that genes are not primarily responsible for intelligence.

Crimson Wife:

I was adopted. I have two bachelor's degrees and a master's. No one in either my biological or adoptive families has even an associate's. Maybe I'm just an anomaly?

Duh. The cost of a college "education" will alway be just slightly more than the available money for a student to borrow.

Not if you get off your rear and get a entry level job in a large corporation. Suddenly they pay for it to invest in you. While you may struggle and not have the nice toys for a few years, you get a degree and experience.

I agree. This article seems thrown together in order to counter the attention brought about by the OWS protesters concerning their heavy college debt and the abominable lack of jobs available even after hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in Ivy League colleges for diplomas.

Pure BS.

screminmimi: so let me get this straight. The researchers sat around a few years ago and said...gee...how can we apply for a research grant so we can conduct a study, make up the outcome, and then time it exactly when there might be a protest movement about corporate and institutional greed? Oh yeah, and we can find a writer who will be in on the conspiracy too so we can get an article about it?

And it came out just now, right? They needed a research grant for this? I have seen more kids from families whose parents didn't go to college fight for the chance to go. The "research" is faulty and totally baloney.

AP-1414066: read the article again -- did it say when this research was done? I didn't see a date, or a journal of publication, so you needn't make assumptions.

More than once, I have seen media articles reporting studies, e.g. Cellphones cause cancer, and then, next day, lo and behold, another contradictory study comes out, also reported by the media, No, they don't cause cancer. What is the chance of study #2 being genuine?

You need to be less gullible.

Welcome to America, home of the stupid. The best thing you can do is wish your former friends luck and wave at them as you drive by in your mercedes. Look at it this way, for everyone of these people who scoffs critically at your degree, it's one less person to compete with for scarce resources. That's good economics my friend.