New Jerseyans still hooked on traditional college education

Even with the announcement that many high end universities around the country will still charge full tuition for online classes this year, people are still lining up to pay. But pay for what? In the case of Ivy League schools like Harvard, you're paying for access and connections. A degree from an Ivy League school can assure you of an open door to interviews in the fields of high tech, communications, finance and other high paying fields. In many cases you'll pay almost as much or more going to a less influential and prestigious school, just to come out with a diploma that is barely worth the paper it's printed on.

Yet parents are still convinced that without that brain washing, pointless four years of mostly useless information, their progeny will not be a success. Right now is a perfect time to reflect on exactly what that four year degree is worth or what it really gives your kid.

During the darkest days of the lockdown, if you needed a plumber, electrician or any other service person, you could get one, if you weren't too scared to have a skilled human being in your house. These essential workers aren't just essential when there's a government ordered shutdown, they're essential every day, all year, every year. Also the person that services hospital equipment was working all through this and so was every other person with the actual skill to do or make something.

People are slow to change and parents and guidance counselors continue to push kids(or mom and dad) into paying for something they can't afford and accumulate massive debt chasing a dream from two generations ago. The world has changed but some things still hold true, like if you have an in demand skill, someone will pay you well to use it. Then again, if you have the same degree that millions of other kids coming out of college have, good luck. We have been hammering the message to every kid in school for a couple of generations, that if you don't go to college you won't amount to much. Even that is a better alternative than not amounting to much but owing a lot.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis' own.