Problem is we as a society cannot bear to say to any student, no matter how true it is, that they don’t have a viable path to both fulfillment and financial success that includes “university” and <insert their passion topic>.

In fact, we go the opposite direction, telling literally every student in high school that they will be throwing their life away if they choose to work after graduation, and that vocational training is for an underclass. Only university will do, we say.

Which is why you have graduates who majored in art because they like manga, or in ethnic/gender studies because identity politics sounds exciting to a teenager. All this is actually fine if you are doing it with an understanding that it’s about becoming more cultured and learned, and that it has nothing to do with career training. But people seem to think there are white-collar jobs waiting for them because of these degrees they’re borrowing to pay for, and then they’re very shocked and have no other plan to support themselves. The millennial generation, I think, is the first to be tricked into this fate en masse, and gen-z even more so.

It’s like 2 whole generations were lied to that the full implications of the decline of manufacturing and professional retail jobs that happened 1970-1990 are “only white-collar careers will exist” rather than the more correct “skilled trades and professional services are better bets than simply looking for a factory or clerk job at 18 and working your way up.”

It’s funny because I had a lot of renovations going on and the young men showing up to do electrical, HVAC, plumbing, etc all had really nice trucks, homes, many were married and getting their lives going, and no debt. Nice guys all of them too and eager to earn overtime, etc. All were on 100k+ with full benefits etc.

Talk about zagging when everyone is zigging.