Education is an issue everyone faces as they grow up. It can be both the most important trait in a thoughtful and creative civilization and worst as it pertains to the indoctrination of said civilization. The current way people think of education is you need it and it is only worth it if you go to a big Ivy League university or renowned college, part of the indoctrination that starts from primary school. In a way, this is passively poisoning the market to undercut many good schools and colleges. So how do you get an education and not an indoctrination and also afford it? A question just about every parent and many young adults have these days. If you come out of college not being able to do a job, skill, or service you did not provide before, you probably wasted your money for a piece of paper. Fear not, hope is not lost as there are still graduates and schools that do not produce that outcome and do so without government.
One person who has helped people see the opportunity in skilled trade careers is Mike Rowe from the television show Dirty Jobs. He started a foundation and a website with many common sense and helpful tips about school, work, and life. He shows a side of the skilled trades that, to most people, has gone largely unknown. Mike is also a libertarian with a good way of applying those principles to daily life.
This is in line with the libertarian stance of the free market. Just how libertarians want to have a free market for businesses to compete, it also applies for education. I would like to help provide some ways to achieve an education without wasting your money and make the best use of the education market. One of the main indicators for a useful degree is to obtain a degree that is in demand from a university or trade school that focuses on teaching useful skills, knowledge for your career, and not a utopian world view. STEM degrees are seen as the primary source for high-income degrees with medical degrees being the only real competitor.
Trade schools are the most affordable and at the same time give you tangible and near instantly usable skills that universities just are not able to do. The education system has become more of a cookie cutter platform to regurgitate information than a system of education that teaches students how to learn so they can teach themselves. If you look at the top 11 fastest growing careers in the US, all of the top 10 have degrees or simple certifications that tech schools offer in all 10 industries. Some of which require no college at all. Four of the 11 are in the medical field which you can do without a traditional four-year university. Not to mention other professions like automatic techs, welders, plumbers, HVAC, green-energy techs, etc. that are in high demand.
Some want to get a career that pays well and in demand. A list of the top ten paying professions shows that with the exception of the top three from the previous list can be obtained with trade school and/or certification in that industry. For instance, a nurse practitioner will depend on the individual state and if you can go about it with trade school education or a traditional university. The average B.S. degree cost in a four-year private university is around $46,950 a year, versus the average cost of a B.S. degree from a two year public colleges which is around $11,970 a year. Finally, trade schools have an average of public $6,483 or privet of $14,680.
I have hired many people in my career, and I have personally found far more capable candidates from community colleges than from Ivy League colleges. For example, I interviewed a candidate from Harvard who talked an excellent game and also had a very extensive vocabulary. However, when I went into technical questions about information security, I received responses that failed to answer the question or show a fundamental understanding of the subject matter. I had her perform a practical examination of network data that she was not able to properly answer. I also had several people from the Community of Maryland do the same practical examination flawlessly. When it comes to STEM and skill trade careers, the days of Ivy League dominance are coming to an end, so choose wisely.
Will Jackson
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