No one I know regrets going to college. The ones that regret their career are usually the ones that have the stress of unemployment or unable to make ends meet. If you make a career out of something you love to do, eventually you will resent it and lose your favorite thing.
I've... actually never heard anyone make this argument before. I've known plenty of people who came to regret their chosen career path too late in life after realizing they spend most of their time doing something they either hate or care nothing about simply because it pays the bills. I happen to be in the "money isn't everything" camp and believe it's a healthier choice to choose a career doing what makes you happy rather than simply what is "employable". Though, I will agree that this would be sound advice for someone who really doesn't seem to have a passion for anything. The problem is that most teenagers just haven't lived long enough to know what they want to do, and many grow out of the thing they were so sure they wanted to do their entire life. I mean hell, if you'd asked me in 1998 I'd have told you that being a roadie for the Misfits would be a sweet career path.
It's also not really fair to write off all liberal arts majors as unemployable (just most of them, haha kidding...) My girlfriend got her BFA and landed a graphic design position at an ad agency after college. It's possible. 
This is the part where the teacher's message might be irresponsible if you daughter doesn't have solid plans for a career out of highschool that doesn't require higher education. I don't think you qualify for scholarships if you take a break after high school before committing to college.
Exactly... I qualified for a near full-ride but took a semester off to "work and clear my head before more school" and lost eligibility. The majority of scholarships (in my field, anyway) were geared towards incoming freshmen and required continuous re-application each semester. Lack of guidance here really cost me.
Sounds like a down to earth teacher with great advice to me...my wife was pushed into college, changed her mind (like every18-22 year old) and now 10 years later we still owe 50,000!!
I think this is exactly what the counselor was trying to get at; "try to figure yourself out first; if you don't you're going to be wasting both time and money. Don't make major life decisions simply because it's what you've been told to do."
That doesn't make a bit of difference in my opinion. My dad Majored in History in college. He became a VP of GST shipping corporation. And he is completely happy with having a degree in History. After retiring- he was bored and decided to open his own shipping company.
After working for a state university for years, my honest assessment of US higher ed (for most schools anyway) is that it's more of a "proving ground" than actual job preparation for your chosen field of study. Very little of what I actually learned while in undergraduate and graduate school is actually applicable to my day-to-day at work.
Graduating college simply shows that you can reach the benchmarks of intelligence and dedication necessary to be a trainable, dependable employee in a professional field. I've been on a number of hiring committees and can confirm that relevant experience and personality was far more important than academic credentials. Having a degree basically only serves as a mechanism to get your application past the first threshold in the hiring process.
Obviously mileage will vary the more technical the position becomes, but in general I think this is how things usually work.
Edited by bachamn, 02 March 2015 - 12:54 PM.
