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Yes. You know it just as well as I do.
Your teachers lied to you. No... Don't start lighting your torches
and grabbing your pitchforks yet. Most of the teachers lie about the
prospects of college with good intentions but even if they didn't
have good intentions, consider this:
A high school teacher CANNOT speak
negatively about college and keep their job safe. Imagine the uproar
of parents if a teacher told you all the information I'm about to
tell you. That's not to say college is a negative but knowing what a
teacher is not allowed to say can help you figure out where the whole
story isn't being told and where you need to look out.
1. You Need College To Get A Good Job
This is one of the most egregious lies
being told to high school students today. You do not need a college
degree to get a good job. In fact, there are many jobs without a
college degree that are easier to get and pay way more than some jobs
that require college. They're just a different category of jobs.
Most teachers don't even realize how
much they're lying when they say this. That's because they chose to
go down the college path themselves and, of course, there are some
major statistics that, on the surface, suggest they're right.
You might hear the statistics like,
“people that go to college make an extra million dollars in their
lifetime,” and assume that's because college gets you a better job.
That's misguided though. College does not necessarily increase a
persons salary just because there is a correlation. It's just as
likely to say, people that will become successful are more likely to
go to college.
To rephrase that, it's not necessarily
that college makes people smart enough to get more money. It can also
mean that people smart enough to make more money tend to go to
college. That's a major difference. People are told the benefits of
college their whole life. People with a good head on their shoulders
are waay more likely to consider it. These people may be just as
successful without it.
That being said, this lie could
actually hold some truth if you rephrase it:
You need training to get a good job.
Training can come from college. It can
also come from years of experience. There are tons of different ways
to get the training required for a job. Don't narrow down your focus
to exclude everything except college.
2. College Is An Investment
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Not understanding this point can cost
you years of your life.
More of my friends than I like to think
about are now suffering from the consequences of this mistake.
College is not an investment by nature. It's just not. Education
means very little economically and can cost you a fortune if you
don't plan it out like an investment. It's only an investment if you
treat it like an investment.
An investment is something that has a
clear way to pay you a return on your investment in the future.
School is not always that clear cut. You are not guaranteed a job
just because you graduate college. You're not even guaranteed an
interview. You need to look at the job market you're investing in
before you actually spend tens of thousands of dollars on college.
This might be painful but it will be a
whole lot less painful than paying down your student loans on a job
you could have gotten without your degree. College is only an
investment if you make it one. Otherwise, it's just a luxury.
3. It's Harder Than High School
Many high school teachers like to scare
students into focusing on their work. Instead of actually providing
their students a reason to learn the material, they tell their
students that they're going to fail out of college if they don't
learn to work hard now. That's the most common reason I've heard
teachers make this lie but there are a few other reasons I've
noticed.
Most people that graduate from college
and spend time talking about it are just the kind of person to brag.
While it's not every case, many people like to make a big deal out of
things that aren't all that much of a challenge to make themselves
feel better about it. Instead of trusting volunteered opinions about
the challenges of college.
Ask people that have graduated and
don't brag about it. Sometimes they'll tell you it's a little harder
but you won't get the average scare story you get from most people
that bring the subject up themselves.
Don't expect college to be much harder
than high school unless you're heading into a super challenging
degree (medical, etc.) or a super challenging college (MIT, etc.)
4. Go To School For What You Love!
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Yes. This is another unbelievably
dangerous lie.
The average teacher that tells you this
one is so confident in it that they're easy believe. Don't. Imagine
how you'll feel 4 years after college when you need to pay off
$30,000 worth of student loans with $10 an hour. My friends are doing
it now. It's not fun.
College is not the time to learn what
you love unless you have the money lying around to pay for it. As
mentioned before, you need to treat it like an investment. That means
you should be going for a degree that has a clear market for a job
after graduation. By market, I do not mean a few teaching jobs. I
mean jobs in just about anyplace you look.
You cannot count on being in the small
minority of women's studies majors that get a teaching job after
college. You might as well be going to the library and buying lottery
tickets because the odds are stacked up against you.
Oftentimes, you can make a reasonable
compromise with this kind of thing. If you want to go for some of
those more fun sounding classes then do it while getting a degree
with real potential for a job.
5. You Won't Go If You Don't Go Now
This is close to true. Most people that
don't go to college right after high school, don't end up going to
college ever. That is mostly related to the kind of person that
usually doesn't go to college. Responsible people are more likely to
go to college. The irresponsible people don't go to college. They end
up living paycheck to paycheck, and maybe accidentally having a few
kids. Eventually, they can't change their might.
Don't ignore another group though. What
happens to the responsible people that don't go to college? Well...
they don't limit their options in the future. Personally, I went to
college 2 years after I graduated. Working for a few years was one of
the best things I could have done. I learned more in those two years
of working than I did in school. All around me at my minimum wage
job, I saw people that I didn't want to be like. I saw them partying
and doing drugs and I stayed responsible because I knew I didn't want
to end up where they were.
If you're responsible then you don't
have to go to college now. The only thing that can keep you from
going back in the future is yourself.
Don't just take everything your
teachers tell you as fact. They're just as human as anyone else with
an opinion. Look at yourself logically and trust that you're capable
of making the right decision for yourself.
Do you want to learn the secrets to
studying faster than ever? Follow this blog and check out my books to
learn more.
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