Speaking during an interview with Stuart Varney on Fox Business, Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” fame spoke about the changing path to prosperity in America, saying that we’re entering a new era where those young people who want a stable and successful career are looking more at learning a trade than going to college. He also noted that the shift will play out over a long time, as it is like turning a tanker around.
Introducing the subject, Rowe told Varney that there is a “shift” in the path to prosperity and that, in his view, “we’re going to be entering a whole new time, where the smart money is going to be.” Explaining where that “smart money” will be in the shifting economy, Rowe told Varney, that younger people who want a career should “Go to a trade school and then learn a trade.”
He went on to note that “People are starting to pay attention,” meaning that they are noticing that there is money to be made in trades and that more people are seriously considering going to trade school instead of going to college. Indeed, the idea that trade school is a good route for a young person to take has become more popular in recent years, particularly with the fracking boom leading to large salaries for some skilled tradesmen like welders.
Rowe did admit that the shift will be gradual, saying, “It’s a bit like turning a tanker around.” He added that the shift will take a long time because people need to shift how they view the skilled trades and education that focuses on them rather than traditional college. Saying as much, he told Varney, “You’re talking about perceptions and attitudes, stigmas, stereotypes, all sorts of things.”
He then explained how that shift in attitude requires that people be “deprogrammed” and start to focus on what will make them more money and put them in less debt, rather than just take the path to college that often requires going into immense amounts of debt. “People in a lot of ways need to be deprogrammed about this idea that the best path for most people is a four-year degree, coincidentally, the most expensive path,” Rowe said.
Emphasizing that trade school is an excellent option for people who can work with their hands, Rowe added that the lack of debt and relatively good earnings skilled tradesmen earn make it a “clear path to something that looks a lot like prosperity.”
Continuing, Rowe explained that college is more of a purchase than an investment, saying, “It’s so expensive that, for as long as I can remember, we really haven’t talked about it in terms of a purchase. We talk about it in terms of an investment, but people are starting to smell a rat there, too.” He added that such a shifting viewpoint has changed how people regard degrees, saying, “I think more and more people are starting to look at that diploma on the wall and seeing it for what it actually is, which is a receipt.”
Rowe also noted that many people who start college don’t finish, meaning they end up in lots of debt for little, if any gain. “50% of people who start a college pursuit don’t finish,” he said. He continued, “those people, their debts aren’t forgiven, you still owe a bunch of money, you don’t have the degree, you don’t have any training.”
Rowe then told Varney that he thinks the current generation of college age, Generation Z, might examine college through a more critical lens and consider whether it’s a path they want to pursue, instead of just going because they’re pushed in that direction. He said, “I think Gen Z is just starting to realize they’ve been pushed in a direction that, frankly, doesn’t lead to a place they want to go.”
Watch Rowe here:
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