Options for High Paying Careers Other Than Going to College

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Options for High Paying Careers Other Than Going to College
Even as various survey results show that college graduates outperform those without a college degree on nearly every measure of career attainment and economic success, including personal earning to job satisfaction, there is increasing skepticism about the value of college in recent times. Given the soaring student debt coupled with high unemployment rates among college graduates, the perceptions and experiences of today's young adults are gradually changing. More learners are starting to consider options for high-paying careers other than going to college. With the gig economy and increasing number of jobs that do not require a college degree emerging, more people are finding ways to succeed without higher learning. The thesis of this essay is: Education no longer has to be traditional, and it is acceptable for a learner to explore other school alternatives to high-paying careers besides traditional college.
Even as acquiring a four-year college degree continues to be widely held as a worthwhile investment towards a high-paying career, a growing population of learners and employers are gradually considering other school alternatives as viable higher learning options. There are growing concerns that unlike in the past, where studies showed that the benefits of college outweighed the costs of a degree, including tuition plus wages lost during the schooling period, there are doubts that the situation is becoming less feasible given rising college costs and student debt, a more significant number of students dropping out, as well as higher unemployment rates. About 44 million Americans owe upwards of $1.5 trillion in student debt, and roughly one in four American adults is clearing student loans. 45% of Americans with student loan debts believe that college was not worth it. On average, undergraduate college students graduate with about $37,172 in student loans, a $20,000 increase from 13 years ago (Hess). Moreover, students who miss paying their student loans are likely to have incurred additional fees and lower credit scores.
The massive student loans often require college graduates to delay their life plans and other adult milestones such as marrying, owning homes, or saving for retirement. Studies show that more men and women had completed some of these milestones by age 30 compared to current college graduates. Worse, many recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed. The unemployment rate for recent college graduates exceeds the unemployment rate for all workers, including those who did not attend college: 4% for college graduates versus 3.6% for those without a college degree. The underemployment rate for all college graduates is 34% and 41.1% for recent college graduates: underemployment rates are even worse for minority graduates (Mitchell). Consequently, many college graduates end up working in jobs that do not require college degrees. A report by the Department of Labor indicates that as many as 17 million college graduates are holding roles that require a high school diploma or less such as parking lot attendants, taxi drivers, bartenders, and janitors.
Worse, a growing number of students are not graduating and dropping out in their first year, thereby incurring unwarranted student loan debts and wasting government resources. These realities speak to a declining perception of college as the only option for high-paying careers and achieving financial independence. While college graduates continue to earn more than non-graduates, with a bachelor's degree earning nearly twice as much as a high school diploma and most jobs requiring college education as a job requirement, the growing gig economy is changing the hiring and compensation fields. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, five of the thirty projected fastest-growing jobs in the last decade do not require a high school diploma, while nine require a high school diploma. Moreover, more employers are willing to hire a candidate based on work experience, skills, and organizational fit than education qualifications (Craig). There is a growing list of jobs that do not require a four-year degree and offer comparable salaries to those that require a college education. Some of the fastest-growing high-paying jobs that do not require a bachelor's degree include elevator installer and repairer, nuclear technician, web developer, dental hygienist, diagnostic medical sonographer, aerospace technician, private investigator, wholesale manufacturing sales representatives, radiologic technologists, executive assistant, occupational therapy assistant, electrician, and plumber, among many others.
Most of the jobs highlighted are in the STEM category, disproving the common belief that all STEM workers have advanced degrees. A significant number of America's highly-skilled technical workers do not have a college degree. Instead, most of their knowledge and skills have been acquired through relatively short periods of post-high school education, on-the-job training, and work experience. Most high-paying careers that do not require college degrees are unheralded STEM jobs that can be secured in every city and removed. Most students are unaware of the well-rewarding sub-bachelor STEM economy because it does not receive as much recognition and suppo...