The ROI on college investment

It's a 4-5 year party so in that sense it's very worth it.

Unless you are the one paying.

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Is getting a degree even worth the thousands anymore?

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Depends of the degree...some are absolutely required for employment.

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Companies are not paying for 4 year degrees any longer.

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Yes they are.

College ROI is great if you major in a subject that leads to a lucrative field. Even with higher student loans.

All a bachelors mean is that you are responsible enough to finish a program that last years to complete.

Those people usually show up for work and have some level of intelligence. (Education level =/= intelligence though).

For technical or professional degrees, absolutely. Now is it worth paying full tuition and out of state tuition costs to attend a “big name school” versus staying in state and getting a degree using TOPS, absolutely not.

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Now, out of state tuition at Auburn is $56k/yr…that is not worth it.

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It’s $31k/year.

I would say an engineering degree from Auburn with $120k in debt is still worth it. Maybe not the most financially sound decision, but average entry level salary for Auburn engineering graduates is north of $75k and easily can be advanced into six figures by an early part of their career.

I make more money on one skill that I learned over a summer than I do with my education. The education looks good on paper, the skills I learned are real-world and in demand.

I went CC for first two years and then an in-state school for the rest of my Bachelors. Went private for my Masters, but they were actually cheaper then some of the other public, in-state graduate programs.

I also went into private sector after working years of public, so I definitely wouldn’t be making the money I do now without both of those degrees. By the end of next year, my salary will have tripled.

That all said, it could absolutely be done cheaper and with less required courses.

I think it depends on your preferred career path. For my wife and I, I think it was a good investment. For a lot of people out there, some experience in the trades would be way more beneficial.

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A degree was a requirement of my job, so yes.

Do I need a degree to do my job, no.

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This is the problem right here, isn't it?

My great uncle was a mechanical engineer and only went to school until he was in the 10th grade.

He worked for a company called Cyclops and joined their apprenticeship program where they trained him to be an engineer over about a 6 year period. He was paid to learn his craft, and they taught him in a way that would be the most productive and efficient for his role.

The reliance on the excessively high cost of college, just to get in the door is insanity.