{"id":15280,"date":"2025-05-26T04:15:49","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T11:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=15280"},"modified":"2025-06-02T08:12:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T15:12:08","slug":"4-smart-reasons-why-college-isnt-for-everyone-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id15280-4-smart-reasons-why-college-isnt-for-everyone-3.html","title":{"rendered":"4 Smart Reasons Why College Isn’t for Everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"college<\/a>

Don’t laugh; after running the numbers he most likely decided it made little sense to attend a traditional American college.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some things in life are painfully overrated.<\/p>\n

Take camping, for instance. Or iPhones.<\/p>\n

I’ve never understood the allure of luxury cars or the Baby Boomer generation’s collective fascination with Bob Dylan either.<\/p>\n

Here’s one more thing that’s overrated: college.<\/p>\n

I know. They told you that if you want to be successful, you’ve got to earn a sheepskin from one of those hallowed venerable institutions of higher learning.<\/p>\n

Guess what? They lied.<\/p>\n

Don’t believe me? Well, here’s a few reasons why you should:<\/p>\n

For most people, college is a really bad investment<\/h3>\n

The cost of college has risen more than 1100%<\/a> between 1982 and 2011, far outpacing inflation in general – and it’s only gotten worse since then. If the price of other products rose as quickly as college costs have, today we’d be paying at least<\/strong><\/em> $13 per gallon for gasoline — and $22 for a gallon of milk. As the price of college continues to go through the roof it becomes more and more difficult — if not impossible — for folks to realize a decent return on their investment unless they pursue a technical degree, or study to become a lawyer or doctor. That’s why there’s an army of shell-shocked graduates out there right now with a worthless college degree and nothing to show for it other than a relatively low-paying job and a boatload of student debt. Besides:<\/p>\n

Not everybody is university material<\/h3>\n

If they were, 54% of all Americans who enroll into college wouldn’t eventually become dropouts<\/a>. Look, college is hard enough for those who enjoy it. For people attending who don’t really want to be there, it’s almost impossible. So it makes little sense for anybody to attend a university unless they’re fully committed to getting a college education, especially when you consider the average cost of tuition, room and board for a private four-year university is approximately $56,000<\/a> annually.<\/p>\n

There are often better uses of time than going to college<\/h3>\n

True, certain professions like doctors and licensed professional engineers require college degrees. But there are plenty of jobs out there where it makes more sense to skip college and immediately embark on a career because on-the-job experience is more valuable than a post-high school education. And while those who decide to skip college won’t have a college degree after four years, they will<\/em><\/strong> have accrued four years of valuable experience under their belt. Even better, they’ll be more than $350,000 ahead in the ledger book, assuming they earn a modest average salary of $40,000 annually over that same period.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of relatively good paying jobs available that don’t require a university degree<\/h3>\n

According to the latest US Labor Department projections, more than two-thirds<\/a> of all new jobs since 2022 don’t require a university degree. In fact, ZipRecruiter shows plenty of surprisingly well-paying jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree; many of those listed require just a high school diploma or equivalent including:<\/p>\n