As a retired college professor I would have to say no. I suppose the world needs academics but it also needs bakers, welders, bus drivers, auto mechanics, farmers and much much more. This may sound like an attempted justification of the caste system in Huxley's "Brave New World" but it is the reality. Not everyone wants to be a "successful" lawyer or doctor or politician. I know I didn't. A college degree is only useful if it makes the person that earned it useful. Most of the degrees from major universities today have little or no market value. A liberal arts education "with emphasis on liberal" really does not prepare one for much. And yet it is these students that are most likely to complain that jobs for which they were trained are not available. There is an enormous unfilled demand for people with trade skills but most universities, especially the ivy league ones, regard this kind of education as beneath their dignity. I knew how to operate a lathe and milling machine before I learned how to solve a problem in algebra or geometry, my father saw to that. I also knew how to fly an airplane before I was old enough to get a license to drive a car. I didn't learn any of these things in college. When I went to college the main objective of a higher education was to teach you how to think, now it is to teach you what to think! The world is a much poorer place as a result.

College at the right school, which means a school where you actually are taught something about the world instead of being indoctrinated by the professor about how the world isn’t, would be good.

BUT, then to go into a profession which requires a license is to put all that education on the line at the whim of the political leaders of the profession. If anyone believes licensing is for the benefit of the consumer, that myth should be explored. Under the rock of “protection” is not only protecting the profession, but of the leaders of the profession protecting themselves from others in the profession. Indeed, it is the old guild writ large.

Interestingly, Peter Thiel, paypal founder and early investor in facebook, is actively encouraging HS graduates to start a business instead of going to college. He even provides scholarships for this..

I think the answer is, Yes.
Over and above anything else gained from University, degrees are door openers for future opportunities. The next, and maybe more important, one is at least exposure to 'learning how to learn', some degree of logical thought, and the self discipline needed to make it to class and get a passing grade without the strict regulation of high school.
Some would argue, and rightly so, that the child should have been shown much of that by one's parents; but it doesn't always 'stick' from a parent and often needs someway to be emphasized.
But within all of that is the opportunities offered by community and 2 yr colleges, or regional state university extensions, before moving on to a full blown university setting. Regardless of one's goals-professional, craftsman, salesman, etc., etc., there are certain basics that are necessary to progress that just are no longer taught in high-school.

The degree matters less and less in accordance with the time since you received it. But what you learn, if in a good education, remains the basis of everything else you gain through experience and continued learning. It's best to get that basis early when you can absorb and retain large amounts of information, but only if it is from teachers who can be trusted not to be comprachicos. Even with a good education in how to think, undoing early damage and correcting it can be difficult and time consuming, and even the best education today is riddled with undermining flaws, often only implicit. The basic question is often not whether to go to college, but what kind and which one for your purposes and potential purposes.

People tried to ram college down my throat too, but
I hated school too much. When I didn't make it in-
to the top singing group the teacher was forming in
high school, any motivation I might have had to go
(I might have gone for the music) was gone.--
But since then, I have gone through a consid-
erable number of tech courses,lasting a few
months apiece; and it doesn't get me a job.
(Wait; the business school closed down at the
end of 1970, about halfway through the course,
and in 1977 I got a job in a commissary kitchen
in a restaurant chain,part of which was helping
the boss-lady of the commissary with paper-
work--but if I had depended on my education for
support, 6 and a half years or so would have
been a long time to go without eating). And,
after I finished a keypunch course, I once got
a part-time, temporary job copying invoices on-
to a computer, which lasted a few weeks). It is
a matter of paying sometimes as much as about
$300, going a few months, and then not getting
the job. I do not regret that I was not suckered
into going to a four-year liberal arts college, go-
ing through all that pain and boredom, getting
into all that debt, and still not getting any
better job and money to pay it off with. Once
my former French teacher (who had had me skip
2nd-year French and go into 3rd, where I made
straight A's again, though I can't say as much a-
bout all the other subjects), said if I had gone
through college, "Then you'd have a college de-
gree."

"Yeah, then I'd be a street vendor with a
college degree," I replied, to which remark my
younger brother objected.-- Better to lose $300
and waste a few months, than $40,000 and
waste four years.

I think like you, awebb--if there is a specific
career for which it is really necessary, such as
medical doctor, that is one thing; otherwise,
don't bother. Also, the people in this country
need to boycott the colleges, and bring those
professors et al down off their high horse.

I may be one of the very few who have experienced both going and not going with my two sons. Son number one AKA Mr. Fixit could put together complicated electronics at age seven. He went to a Tech college, did well, and worked his way through, mostly. He became a successful consultant, worked for NASA and is now chief software guru at a national company. Son number two was a creative business type.At age 15 he made a five reel super 8 movie of the history of comic books. A high school teacher after viewing it said it could pass as a master's thesis. At age 16 with my initial financing he started putting on comic book collector convention, then record collector conventions and within less than two years was nation wide. After high school he was too busy for college, having segued into the rock and roll memorabilia mail order business, and eventually the publishing business. So, what it boils down to is allowing the kids to determine their future, under your supervision. They'll usually pick out what's best for them.

Thoreau noted the question is not "what do you want to be?" but "what do you want to do?" Over the years, I've accumulated a BA in Economics, Masters and Doctorate in education and, looking back, the graduate degrees were the result of being a truck driver. And I made a LOT more money (and enjoyed the hell out of it) being a truck driver. 2008, I grossed $246,768 driving in the gas fields of Wyoming. Most I ever made working as a child abuse investigator for the State of Wyoming was $41,000. I might note my wife is an ER RN and, when working in California, was making $118,000. Not bad for a high school dropout.And she loves her work.

Of course I would - why limit your child's potential by discouraging them from going to college? Sure, I did what I did without it - so far - but there are things (like advanced sciences and math) you don't get from High School. Sure you can make it without... but your opportunities are limited if you don't have the basic knowledge, or the ability to know how to gain additional knowledge.

as an engineer, I am prejudiced. . my dad had a degree
in botany and had wanted to be a forester. . mom had
a degree in sociology and wanted to be a social worker,
so dad got pragmatic and did ww2 army plus HR with
Sears, and mom did homemaker with 2 kids. . I did
engineer and they looked at me like I was from Mars,
loving Rand and cranking numbers with a slide rule.
since I never had kids, I would wish that they'd like a
science career which would bring them independence
to the max, and then figure out how school would work
with the individual. . my 3 degrees helped me. -- j
.

I learned tons of technical goo in college, including how to streak a Petri dish for isolation of a colony of bacteria and then take that isolated colony and perform biochemical tests on it to identify it. I could not have learned this from home study. In my 4 years, I took 3 classes (required) that were not math or science. This bachelors degree could not get me a job - lack of the degree excludes you from job markets, but the presence of the degree does not guarantee you a job (so I joined the AF).

I took some courses in JC (later in my life) and found them pathetic. For example: When I dropped out of a Psych class [long story], I took the professor aside and showed him my notes: I had attended his class for a few weeks and I had found two things he had said worth writing down. I asked him if I had missed noting anything important. He was aghast. He thought a while, and agreed with me - he said that he had not realized he had diluted his lectures that much since he had stopped teaching at the University. So I regard JC's more as extended High Schools than as colleges.

I had a boyfriend who was a genius. He had dropped out of college and was therefore relegated to working on assembly lines in tractor factories because he did not have the 'magic piece of paper'. Anywhere he showed intelligence and initiative, he was fired; no one wanted to supervise a maverick who was smarter than they were.

So, yes on college if classes are technical; no on JC unless you want to clean up what you missed in HS or learn a trade. Yes you need the 'magic piece of paper', but it will only keep you from being excluded from consideration, it will not grant you a job.

Jan

I would only if his chosen field required a college degree. If it didn't then I would actively encourage him not to go to college.

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know, In the UK they have tons of apprenticships! And I'm actually surprised I never really saw or known I could have had such an opportunity in the USA. I think I would have jumped at that sort of chance. I love hands on learning. There are quite a few in the UK, especially for kids just finishing school, and not sure if they want to go to University. And I never frowned at my friends that went to VoTec! I thought it was great! :) I still want to learn to weld!

One of my nephews has a wife with a college degree that has not worked out for her. She has moved to Seattle temporarily to take a 6-month training course in software development so she can get a good-paying job.

Colleges aren't for higher education anymore. They have mostly turned into indoctrination centers and laboratories for sociological experiments (with the students as the guinea pigs). People that have marketable skills working with their hands can make a lot more money at their trades than college grads with sociology degrees can with their diplomas.

Yes.

Just last week I ordered something for my son. He gets lackadaisical with his homework. So, I had several rubber bracelets made for him (since he'll lose them) that say, "Do your homework. Go to college."

One of the issues is that it has gotten very tough for a person to get a good education through 12th grade. That wasn't the case 30 years ago. That's just my opinion, of course. College was key for me and I attended a very good high school.

I think college is fine, but it's not nearly as critical as it's promoted to be. Our 7 y/o's teacher told his class that you have to get good grades to get into a good college so you can get a good job. It was the first time we've had to tell him his teacher is flat wrong about something. We asked him not to challenge his teacher needlessly on this point, but it is not correct.

... and just to note... the reason that I returned to college and university in 2005-2010 to complete an associate's, bachelor's, and master's was that without a degree, I could not even apply for work as a technical writer. My 20 years of experience was not enough. Did I learn technical writing in college? No. And my student debt is at $75,000. But it does not bother me.

I was pressured into college, failed to graduate -- and believe I'd have done better in the blue collar job I had planned for myself in high school before the pressure was applied.

I think we need to listen to people like Mike Rowe.

I also believe, if a child of mine (or I, that age again) were going to go to college, I would want to visit them and screen for problems such as excessive political correctness (including not only communists in the economics chairs, but also speech codes or indoctrination requirements about so-called "privilege", or busybody sexual codes). Most of the world's major universities are now part of at least one of these movements, and thus have in my view disqualified themselves.

And at any institution, silly degrees that don't lead to a well paying job are right out.

It doesn't help, of course, that federal subsidies, including student loans, have driven tuition prices up to ridiculous levels compared to 35 years ago when I attended.

We wanted our daughter to go to college. She did not know what she wanted to do, just go to college. I wanted her to work and then go when she had an idea. Her dad wanted her to geta degree right away. $100,000 later, she had two degrees in psychology and criminology, then a Masters in the latter. She never worked at either. She eventually found an artsy place where her natural marketing abilities and creativity allowed her to rise to COO position. She is now paying for an MBA. She ended up a fiscal conservative and a social quasi-liberal along the way.
When I did not know what I wanted to study, dad signed me up for what was the beginnings of computer programming, only via boards and wires, saying when I made up my mind, I had a profession and could pay for college. Later, working in that field, I indulged myself to the culture of English and philosophy degrees, for my own satisfaction, certainly not economic. I was able to choose a college which was not liberal all.
I fully respect the trades schools and apprenticeships, as they teach students early about real life. As a reporter, I interviewed enough students to notice these kids had a real grounded idea of life vs their university spoiled counterparts, who went to be "socialized" as their high school teachers defined the purpose of college and to be supported. It is never too late to take college courses or get degrees, and you might even know the pitfalls of socialism by then. Nothing hits home faster than getting that first paycheck and seeing all the taxes the government has taken from you.

Today, absolutely not! What little they gain, is too expensive and of minimal value. With a set of good texts and a mentor, much better education could be got. No piece of government paper, but a diploma today comes with a spot in mom's basement. If a trade is desired, most technical schools provide certification of the skills.

Maybe if they knew what wanted to learn and kept the college accountable for texting those things

I never went to college. I was self-taught, with help from tech schools while I was serving in our military. With self discipline, I've held good paying jobs in the technical sector for over 30 years. I have heard a number of positive comments from people (and their children) who attended community colleges.

We told our sons that college would be on them, if they chose to go, but we never pushed it.

Agreed.
If a child does want to do something that requires college, I would refer them to Hillsdale College or Prager University...at least they wouldn't be inundated with revised, confounded liberal nonsense. There is so much that can be done online also.
I myself have furthered my education with over 20 lecture courses from Hillsdale...it's amazing how tainted and inaccurate our education was even in the 60s/70s.

I'm not too worried about progressive brainwashing, but the price is another thing. I think a reasonable degree does help in most good-paying job fields.

Any of you out there have a thought on what is making college so expensive. Is it accreditation? I can imagine starting college of engineering. I think four or five good engineers could teach a small class and my math has me making more than I do as an executive teaching. Where does the money go? Administrators? trash collection?