I wrote a comment in response to a blog by Dr. Andrew J. Smith entitled "Pushing Kids into College" that turned out to be a post in iteslf. It bears repeating here.

Basically he feels that it is wrong to push students into college based on the 'fact' that a degree will ensure a great job, etc.

Here is my comment:

True... you don't need a college degree to get good work, and pay in your chosen field.

Look at me and my husband for instance. He makes six figures... and I am not talking 101,000.00 each year. He went to college for 2 years and took what he felt he needed.

Myself, I have two degrees, (paralegal degree my parents demanded and Fine Arts BA that I wanted) and I have never felt equipped to work in my choice of fields. Perhaps it is because my focus was split. Perhaps because a Fine Arts field demands a Masters degree. Right now, his earning power is 5 times what mine is.

False... you do need a degree to advance in your chosen field. My husband has felt ill equipped to ask for a CIO or any "Chief" positions whatsoever because of the holes in his education. He is currently working as a contractor in his field while earning his degree part time.

The solution. I think students should stretch their degree out for at least 6 years instead of four. By doing this you can work part time in your chosen field gaining experience while getting the degree that will help you further your career. If you choose to change your major because you found out that the REAL JOB was far less than glamorous that you thought, you still have plenty of time to switch gears.

Another major plus is that you can pay for your education at least in part, instead of finding yourself finally paying off your student loans 12 years later. (I made my final payment last month!)

I have to further state

I have no faith in formal education. Based on my own inadequacies after completing college and the lack of progress my own kids were making, I chose to homeschool my own.

I feel that formal education is nothing more than a big honking lie of a comerical for life: Consume, pay for education, consume, get married, consume, have kids, pay for education, consume. It's all about spending money.

While there is value in education, I will not lie my hopes and faith in it. We should not depend on anythings outside of God and ourselves in this life. No one is going to always love you or show love to you. No one is going to promise you great intelligence. No one is going to garantee you a job for life. We all need to get over it and accept education for what it is. A chance to take information and digest it to help us get to the next step as society has laid out. But to truly succeed you need to have faith that you can succeed, tenacity, and a willingness to not follow all the rules. These rules are only meant to control us.

~
write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser