Actually, it’s difficult to put a price tag on this question.  From every angle, it’s worth a lot of money.  Money saved. Money spent. Money earned. 

Currently, the question asked of high school seniors is, “Where are you going to college?”  On the helpful-for-career-development scale, that question rates a 0.

The right question to be asking our seniors is, “How are you going to earn a living?”

To get even more helpful career information, these follow-up questions must be asked and researched:

• How are you going to earn a good living in a field that interests you and not go nuts?
• What training or education will you need?
• How much will it cost you?
• How long will it take? 
• How much will you need to borrow?
• What will your starting salary be? (So you won’t borrow more than 2/3rds of it)

In this article, "going to college" means going on to an academic institution that grants bachelors degrees. For those in the academic top 25 percent, especially those who know they will major in science, technology, engineering or math, gaining a university degree still makes sense. 

For those not in the academic top 25%, those who have no idea what they are going to study or those who are matriculating to university simply because they have been told to do so, gaining academic degrees is turning out to be a gamble, rather than a sure thing. You've got 2:1 odds of getting a job that needs a university education.

For the last thirty years, gaining a bachelors degree has been presented as the desired end point of formal education. Currently, hundreds of thousands of young adults have found continuing their academic education was a means to debt, low wage jobs and a decade of living with their parents.  Parental pride in the prestige of their child’s college choice turns to shock when their newly minted grad either can’t find work or is hired for several part time jobs that they could have gotten out of high school.  (Full disclosure: with the job finding skills of most college grads, it's truly a wonder so many of them get work at all.)

The real shocks are that parents, educators and students are making decisions on information that’s 15 years out of date or on no information at all. Gaining an academic degree remains the default choice, even though there’s plenty of research showing that it shouldn’t be.

How many high school seniors have studied current employment trends, what fields have jobs that are in demand or how many different jobs might match their talents and interests?  Not many.  With no job goals or knowledge of the job market, it’s impossible for young adults to make good career plans, much less develop a dynamic career.

We’re all familiar with the saying, “Garbage in; garbage out.” The same is true with the question, “Where are you going to college?” It’s a bad question that, in terms of career planning yields useless answers. 

I’ve used this quote before, but until US parents and their soon 2B high school grads change their behavior, I’m going to keep posting it:

        “Where you go to college and if you go to college are much less important that what you study.”  Rich Feller, professor, author and STEM skill evangelist

Once a teen knows... 

1. their best transferable or functional skills
2. their interests
3. what fields have jobs using those interests
4. preferred place to live
5. ideal young adult lifestyle

...it’s time to learn which of those jobs are in demand.  Because young adults lack both experience and networks of professional contacts (and are sometimes down right negative about making contacts), preparing for jobs that are in demand can give them a real competitive edge in the job market.  Once a young adult has had several years of work, they know enough about themselves and the world of work to make much better choices about future education and career goals. 

The point of this article is not to question the value of an academic degree.  That’s especially true if the jobs you desire need one. However, the timing of getting such a degree—other than for the top academic 25%--is greatly in question.  Even if you borrow no more than the current average amount of student loan debt, $25,000, you will have monthly payments of about $300 for about ten years, depending on loan terms.  Why not train for work that will let you save $300 a month for several years?  Since the average worklife will extend into the late 60s or early 70s, for most young adults there is no rush to gain that academic degree by age 24.

The point of this article is to help students and their parents to see that the narrow focus on gaining an academic degree, while high in prestige, is low in practical value for at least half the young adults who get one.  All post high school training or education is the means to an end.  What is that end?  How are you going to support yourself as a young adult and not go crazy?