No one is advocating for NOT moving forward with post-secondary education goals but as some statistics come out, it is definitely worth reviewing whether the end justifies means….especially if you are not learning something you are either passionate about or can transition into a career. Below are 5 reasons why:
1.
Fifty percent or more of college graduates in 42 states have a debt of AT LEAST $25,250.
2.
53.6%, about 1.5 million, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 were jobless or underemployed as of last year, the highest share in at least 11 years.
3.
According to government projections released last month, only three of the 30 occupations with the largest projected number of job openings by 2020 will require a bachelor’s degree or higher to fill the position:
*Most job openings are in professions such as retail sales, fast food, and truck driving, jobs which aren’t easily replaced by computers.
Tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities increased at an average rate of 5.6% per year beyond the rate of general inflation over the last decade.
You might be paying off your student loan debt well into your 80s.
The Washington Post reports:
Americans 60 and older still owe about $36 billion in student loans. More than 10 percent of those loans are delinquent. As a result, consumer advocates say, it is not uncommon for Social Security checks to be garnished or for debt collectors to harass borrowers in their 80s over student loans that are decades old.