Aquinas (above) and SAHM
Just keep in mind that most companies now use an online HR system as an application gatekeeper. For some companies, the lack of a college degree would prevent him from even getting an interview. It would really limit his options not to get one from any school.
Also, college provides a great opportunity to intellectually explore that is hard to recreate elsewhere. I'd focus on teaching your DS to take advantage of the opportunities available.
pretty much summed up my personal take on this. While I've become fairly cynical about the rat race surrounding higher ed, and the commoditization of the industry (I can't even believe how icky it made me feel to type that word), I still see no
real route around it for the generation of kids who are now 8-18yo.
With the automated HR systems now running screening, NOT having a degree means that you
only have networking as a workaround. Now, if you happen to be very good,
and in the right place at the right time, then that CAN work out. But that's like putting all of your hopes on winning the MLB homerun derby, isn't it? Sure, you may be talented, but there is an element of luck involved, too, and nobody can predict that or change it either.
I want my DD to have that opportunity and I want her to have enough BREADTH of theoretical knowledge/learning that she has a formalized way of demonstrating throughout her life that she can learn a wide variety of things. It's a certification process all right... but it's not job training. It's better than that.
My DH and I both have advanced degrees in fairly specialized fields. Both of us have been quite gainfully (and stably) employed in
related (but not integral) disciplines. Considering underemployment, either one of us could land a job in materials, chemistry, physics, related engineering disciplines, pharmaceuticals, toxicology, environmental science, or grant/technical writing/editing within DAYS, and that job would pay well enough to support a family adequately.
That kind of stability is an
amazing force in one's life, honestly. It enables things.
My DD sees that very clearly. We want her pursue what she loves, of course... but perhaps more to the point, we want her to be sufficiently pragmatic as to choose wisely, too. Some 'loves' are better left as sidelines.
I do
not buy all the hype surrounding elite/not-quite-elite college admissions, however. I simply do NOT think that an additional 40K annually can be justified over what the local state university costs. DD might apply just to prove to herself that she's good enough to get in... but I for one am not going to encourage (or even stay silent) if she proposes racking up more than 10K in loans. No way. You're borrowing against your future at the company store, kiddo...
I think of it in terms of "what if the worst case scenario came true?" What if you became unable to work through illness or injury? Could you still repay it? What if you were forced to drop out before finishing? Could you still repay it?
Any time the answer is "I'm not sure how I would do that" then that's a red flag, in my opinion. Educational debt is unsecured, and it's no longer easy to discharge.
