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Mike Rowe - one of the most sensible thinkers out there.


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Common sense, a rare commodity these days. Seems like society tries to avoid it every chance they get anymore.

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My father wanted to follow his passion, flying, after he left the Army Air Corp in 1945, but there were too many pilots going after too few jobs. So he did the sensible thing, got a job he trained for, a machinist. He was never thrilled about doing that but life is what it is, no point crying about it. Managed to raise 6 kids, and none of us is in jail!

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I could have used this back in 1968.

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Wish I had seen this in high school. Thanks for posting it. I have forwarded it widely.

 

Indeed. As odd as it may sound, though, in many respects, I wish I had been fortunate enough to really know what I was "passionate" about in high school, or even college. Then I wish that I had the courage, foresight and determination to follow said passion, or to carry it with me as he says. I was never passionate about being a lawyer. I was passionate as a lawyer about helping kids, and even families, but that was different. I was passionate about being a soldier and a medic, but I chose to do it as a part time job, so that Mrs. Doc would have me--a decision I do NOT regret. But if I could have had the foresight and became a paramedic, or doing something outdoors, say a park ranger or something, I believe in the end, I would be much better off in so many ways today.

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I did hear something like this in 1982, when I graduated, but it came in pieces. Unemployment had been high though my years in high school. I had worked 40+ since ninth grade on farms and in restaurants (remember Bonanza). Several older workers, including my Dad and uncles, said bits like 'work is trading your time and labor for what an employer needs done', 'the people making the most money are willing to do things that others are not (like getting a needed degree or working longer hours', and 'you have to like your career, you should love your family and interests.'

Mr. Rowes advice is missing for too many young folks and folks pursuing a restart.

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Good advice. I told both of my kids before they started college that they would need to select a major that was marketable. No Art History or Political Science or Sociology degrees. Those kids who graduate from Ivy League colleges with a unmarketable degree and $120,000 in debt are idiots. Unfortunately, they have made their bed and it will take 20+ years to get out of it.

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Good advice. I told both of my kids before they started college that they would need to select a major that was marketable. No Art History or Political Science or Sociology degrees. Those kids who graduate from Ivy League colleges with a unmarketable degree and $120,000 in debt are idiots. Unfortunately, they have made their bed and it will take 20+ years to get out of it.

 

I don't know that I'd blame the kids. They, and 2 or 3 generations before them, were told by parents, the government and commencement speakers that formal higher education was the key to happiness and prosperity. That may be true for some, but not for all. I realize that everyone wants to believe that their kids will become doctors and lawyers, but the fact is that many do not have the smarts, the dedication or the interest to do so. Pushing all of your kids to go to college and grad school in the mistaken belief that they will end up happy is a huge error, not to mention the debt. The government has made college tuition loans so available and enticing, and colleges have responded by raising their tuitions to ridiculous levels simply because the money is there. Now, it's time to pay the piper, and the kids cannot earn enough to pay them back, even though they are working like indentured servants.

 

The "gap" referred to by Mike Rowe is really not the result of kids failing to follow the path to employment because they are "following their passions" and falling short; most HS and college kids don't really have passions; they are still trying figure out who they are and how to find regular sex. If we want to correct the balance and fill those jobs, and at the same time provide financial security for our kids, we need to stop indulging them, without regard for their actual abilities, in the fairyland of universal college educations. Financial aid should not be available to those scoring below a certain level on SAT (or similar) testing; colleges who refuse to impose stricter test score and HS grade requirements for admission should be cut off from loan programs; colleges should be required to publish statistics for employment of graduates and earnings of graduates, broken down by major and locale. And we need to return to the days when trades were considered legitimate futures; if I had followed my HS guidance counselor's advice and become a plumber, I'd probably be richer and happier today :P .

 

LL

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Good advice. I told both of my kids before they started college that they would need to select a major that was marketable. No Art History or Political Science or Sociology degrees. Those kids who graduate from Ivy League colleges with a unmarketable degree and $120,000 in debt are idiots. Unfortunately, they have made their bed and it will take 20+ years to get out of it.

Actually the American taxpayer will end up assuming their loans and those same students will start over accumulating even more student debt pursuing yet another unmarketable degree.

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I don't know that I'd blame the kids. They, and 2 or 3 generations before them, were told by parents, the government and commencement speakers that formal higher education was the key to happiness and prosperity. That may be true for some, but not for all. I realize that everyone wants to believe that their kids will become doctors and lawyers, but the fact is that many do not have the smarts, the dedication or the interest to do so. Pushing all of your kids to go to college and grad school in the mistaken belief that they will end up happy is a huge error, not to mention the debt. The government has made college tuition loans so available and enticing, and colleges have responded by raising their tuitions to ridiculous levels simply because the money is there. Now, it's time to pay the piper, and the kids cannot earn enough to pay them back, even though they are working like indentured servants.

 

The "gap" referred to by Mike Rowe is really not the result of kids failing to follow the path to employment because they are "following their passions" and falling short; most HS and college kids don't really have passions; they are still trying figure out who they are and how to find regular sex. If we want to correct the balance and fill those jobs, and at the same time provide financial security for our kids, we need to stop indulging them, without regard for their actual abilities, in the fairyland of universal college educations. Financial aid should not be available to those scoring below a certain level on SAT (or similar) testing; colleges who refuse to impose stricter test score and HS grade requirements for admission should be cut off from loan programs; colleges should be required to publish statistics for employment of graduates and earnings of graduates, broken down by major and locale. And we need to return to the days when trades were considered legitimate futures; if I had followed my HS guidance counselor's advice and become a plumber, I'd probably be richer and happier today :P .

 

LL

 

Well said, LL

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When I was in High School, 64-68, we had shop classes that got you started. Wood, Metal, Auto, drafting and Metal shop. Enough info so you could go out and start a career in that area. In the 70's and 80's the higher powers decided that "vocational education was a waste of time. They stopped all of those classes. Now some school districts are creating academies in vocational classes. But they have added things like chef and other more current get started jobs.

 

I took Auto, Wood and Drafting. I got a job at an auto supply building engines right out of HS. But I also started college to become an Architect, drafting. I still apply my wood experience in my hobby.

 

Ike

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