College's Broken Message

The Road to Opportunity?

Generations of Americans have been told that college is the road to a better life, that without a degree you will likely find yourself trapped in a dead end job and miserable. The children of America are taught to visualize the future through the increasingly narrow lens of a college education. But we have the message all wrong for two reasons.

1. College Isn't Always Financially Rewarding

This is important. To any disillusioned lower or middle class high school student, please take in this message. College is extremely expensive and the costs just continue to rise! For some the expense pays off, but for many it does not. 

The rise in the cost of education has far outpaced the growth of income over the past half century. Every year our students pay more and more to become educated at the collegiate level. Most students have to take out loans to pay tuition while in school. Let's take a look.

Here is the equally bleak picture. This shows that just in the ten years between 2001 and 2011, student loan debt grew by 500%. 500%!!! Right now, the average college graduate is $29,900 in debt. That's a high end car, a down payment on a house, maybe even a year's worth of income. That does not even account for the four years you spent NOT earning any money because you were in school. Not to mention the addition expense for those who continue on to earn advanced degrees.

What's worse is that many students graduate from college and begin in their career paths realizing that they are completely unprepared for life after graduation. College does not always teach the skills and concepts needed to succeed in the professional world. Classroom learning is always different from life after graduation and many people graduate mired in debt and may begin to regret all of those years in a classroom.

2. Money Isn't the Point of Education

Based on point #1 you may think that I am someone who thinks only about the financial impacts of college on life, but this isn't true. What I find even more important is arguably a bit more subtle. Society tells us that money is the point of education, but it isn't. Education is the point of education. 

Studying art, philosophy, music, literature, history, psychology, sociology, archaeology, latin and / or anything else is not supposed to make you rich. It is supposed to teach you something about the world and allow you to develop a passion for something and a greater understanding of the society in which you live. 

If you find something that you love to study, go and learn about it, become an expert. Frame your life around something that you are passionate about. Do something because you love it, not because you think it will reward you with a fat paycheck. You will be much happier following your dreams than doing something just for the money. 

Education and money are two completely separate things, so please treat them as such. 

Summary

Really my point is that we are teaching our children the wrong thing. We should be teaching our kids to love learning and not dollar signs. Life is really about doing what you love and finding happiness and not becoming rich. If you think that those two things are always one in the same you may be in for a wake up call the day that you graduate. 

How Worcester is Keeping College Graduates

I have lived in and around Worcester for most of my life and I used to think that when given a choice, most people would choose to relocate. However, Worcester has been undergoing a lot of changes over the past several years and I have begun to notice a new trend. As many of my friends who go to college in Worcester are graduating, I have noticed that many of them are choosing to stay put. I am about to enter my senior year and I am starting to think that I may want to as well because I have begun to see a lot of things that are actually attractive about living in Worcester.

Worcester is Cheap: Despite the fact that Worcester is the second largest city in both Massachusetts and New England, it has an overall cost of living about 15% below the state average. In particular, the cost of owning or renting a home is significantly less than in other areas. In contrast, Boston has a cost of living about 20% above the state average. Realistically, this means that the price of a three bedroom apartment in Worcester can equate to the price of a studio apartment in Boston.

Worcester Pays Well: I have always thought that many Massachusetts graduates move to Boston after college to find good paying jobs. I was wrong. I did some research and to my surprise, I found that starting salaries for college graduates in Boston are only about 2% higher than salaries for equivalent jobs in Worcester. When considering salary and cost-of-living, college graduates living and working in Worcester end up with between $5,000 - $10,000 more in disposable income on average per year. This is enough to feel significant for many college graduates.

Worcester Residents Work Everywhere: Even when graduates decide that they want to live in Worcester but would rather work elsewhere, they can. Worcester is approximately located between Boston, Providence and Springfield. This places four medium to large cities within commuting distance from Worcester, which greatly increases job opportunities. Worcester itself has begun to develop a base of biotech companies that tend to hire many graduates.

Worcester is a City in Transition: Worcester's importance as an industrial city peaked in the 1950's and then underwent a long period of decay. However, Worcester is starting to show new signs of life. Downtown is being completely redesigned through a long-term project called City Square. The project is a public-private partnership that is seeking to bring residential and commercial activity downtown by creating a new shopping district, better highway access and improved services. For a long time the project seemed to be going nowhere, but recently the speed has picked up and downtown is beginning to come to life. New businesses and restaurants are moving downtown and I have begun to feel an urban pulse for the first time while walking through the city. It seems now that Worcester is moving in a great direction and will continue to develop into a first-class city over the next several years.

As I begin my job search for after graduation, I think that I will strongly consider remaining put in Worcester.