Setting up Your Kids for Failure

Hey parents! Spending a bunch of money on a college degree may be the worst investment ever. In the past 10-15 years, parents and high school students have been led to believe that a college degree is a must have to become successful. About 40% never finish college then believe they are a failure and go on to work in an unskilled job that will never lead to a rewarding career. In fact a larger and larger percentage of college graduates begin their careers in a job that requires nothing but a high school diploma, and they stay in it for years because they lack any skills that are needed in the workplace. They wasted time and money in getting a degree in something they found interesting, rather than useful. Seems no one is taking a look at the market and trying to find a skill, talent or career in something that people want to pay for.
I remember discussing this in one of my workshops and I mentioned a degree in Anthropology for example, as something that would limit your marketability. I had someone in the group tell me they had a degree in Anthropology. I asked her how long ago she graduated and what she was doing now and how much she was being paid. She said she graduated five years ago, currently in her fourth job since graduating. Since college has worked in various jobs in hotels and restaurants. Most recently she is working in a clerical position supporting a sales team. Current pay is $12.75 an hour. Still paying off student loans.

Recent studies have shown that a beginner plumbers apprentice, with no experience, makes more than the average four year college graduate. As the years go by, statistically, we are finding that over a lifetime, a person would be much better off financially in their career choices to get a job in the skills trades, simply because the demand is so high, causing the average pay to continue to climb.

Most of my customers are contractors and are struggling to find employees. When I ask what the qualifications are, I hear things like, "Someone who is willing to learn, drug free, will show up everyday, follows instructions well, good communication skills, knows how to use hand tools and is friendly and can work well with others."
Unfortunately, parents today don't raise their children with the understanding of how important these simple basic skills are to becoming happy and successful. I would bet if you asked the average 18 year old to go find a crescent wrench or Phillips screwdriver in a tool box, they wouldn't know what to look for. But I would bet money that they would be able to tell you everything about the life of Kim Kardashian or what the latest trends in shoe wear is.
We need to get our kids ready for life folks. It's going to be a very difficult future if we don't stop and realize that the future of our country is at risk here. Stop kissing your kids butts and telling them it's okay to waste all of that money and time on something they find interesting now. Encourage them to look at the job market and plan for the future. Otherwise their short term goals of being entertained in college will result in a long term feeling of being a dismal failure. Unless of course you are happy having them hanging out in your home and being taken care of by you the rest of eternity.