I grew up in the United States but now live in Australia. It's given me a unique perspective on two very different economies and educational systems.
In the U.S., if you don't go to university, socially you are perceived as a second rate loser, at least where I grew up. College has become like a second round of high school. It delays growth in EQ and the development of character based traits like getting your ass out of bed in the morning and going to work. Instead, many uni students play xbox until 2am and roll out of bed at 11am.
In Australia, we have a very legitimate educational track for tradespeople. I've known many kids who leave high school at 16 to do an apprenticeship. They are at work by 7am and dog tired and in bed by 9pm. They are productive contributors to the economy and are also making good money now at 21. In fact, one of my good friends is 25 now, and after getting qualified as a carpenter he became a property developer and is now a self made millionaire.
Perhaps the over-emphasis on university is a result of becoming a service based economy. Whatever it is, unless the US reforms it's educational system and mindset toward blue collar work, its economy will continue to devolve.
Thanks for a great, thought provoking post.
This is interesting as Canada too has encouraged more students to go into trades due to the extremely high numbers of citizens and residents with advanced degrees. The government now offers training programs and apprenticeships at no cost to certain segments of the population including over-40s who have lost factory or labour positions. They're being retrained for employment in the Green industries. I don't believe there is any such thing as too much education but certainly, there is too much emphasis on getting advanced degrees depending on where you live. In Vancouver, for example, everyone has a bachelors's degree, many have a master's and just as many have doctoral degrees. I'm the only person in my family with both a bachelor's and master's degree but that's pretty much the norm here so in order to nab a great job you need to show other skills like volunteer experience, board membership, proven social media skills, coding and graphic design skills, etc.