Skepticism about higher education has reached a fever pitch in the United States, to the point that ‘College is a scam’ is a popular meme on TikTok and YouTube,” writes Nicole LaPorte in Town & Country.
This fever pitch reflects the fact that many Americans, including young people and employers, no longer believe a college degree is the best pathway to a good job and adult success. A Wall Street Journal/NORC survey found that more than half of Americans (56%) believe a college degree is not worth the cost. Such views are strongest among those aged 18-to-34, as well as college graduates themselves.
Americans want other education and training pathways to prepare young people for the world beyond high school. One important—and underappreciated—avenue is apprenticeships, which typically integrate paid, on-the-job training with formal classroom instruction, a learn-and-earn approach that provides both school and workplace experience. As National Apprenticeship Week, a celebration of the value and importance of these types of opportunities, draws to a close, policymakers and other education and training stakeholders should re-double efforts to expand this approach.
