The Employer Mandate: A Necessary Impossibility

[sman]

I doubt the number of college degrees would increase all that much. You still have to put in the time/effort/brain power.

I agree, not everyone is college material. And I don't mean that as a negative. If I were going to college today, I would specialize in something. No Business Management or Marketing degree. Maybe an accounting degree and then on to get my CPA.

My new son-in-law graduated in May with a Computer Science degree with some type of specialty (that's all greek to me) and got a decent job right away ($80k per year and very good benefits). His best friend graduated at the same time with a Communications degree and still doesn't have a job.

I am a big fan of making 2 year degrees free... and at the same time making the content more rigorous and job focused. If they want a 4 year degree then Fannie can step in and help. At least at that point they should have some direction, academic history, and a solid career path.

I'm not a fan of making any of it free. We have Pell Grants for those whose income is such that they wouldn't be able to pay for it. When things are "free" people just don't value it as much.

But I think technical degrees are great. We need people who can and want to learn trades like heating & air, plumbing, electrician, etc. Those folks can make a decent living and can find a job much easier than the person with a liberal arts degree.