Why Are Americans Losing Faith in the Value of College? | Amanpour and Company 

It is also worth mentioning that colleges no longer have a monopoly on knowledge. Young folks seem to realize that information is free on the internet.

There’s an easy solution: Stop ignoring community colleges. Good community college programs help students get good job skills and, if it turns out they discover value in that experience, they can add third and four year experiences at more reasonable costs.

As a professor in the US, I see so many students that are not well served by college. They are not the sharpest individuals so aren't suited for impactful careers in highly technical fields. They are not economically well-off so the debt is not justifiable. The US should mirror Europe and have cheaper but more selective colleges. Those not going to college can still do well in trade and other schools or business and find upward social mobility outside the romanticized typical US college trajectory.

I remember landing my first job out of college and thinking what a waste college was. I didn’t need to study for four years to do my job. A one year certification would have been enough. My roommate didn’t know what she was going to do for a living and opened the back of her local newspaper. She ended up an administrative assistant doing data entry and filing. I think a lot of us in Gen X had the same experience. Told a college degree guaranteed a middle class life and ended up in jobs for which we were over educated.

College it just too expensive these days! This is horrible for our country and for the young people who want to follow their dreams by studying a subject that they love.

The value of a bachelors degree has been diminished because there are so many people with bachelors degrees that it is not as valued as it once was. More people now need a masters degree to stand out

I spent 6 years in college - two years in community college when I was 22 for business classes, and then, four years when I was 45 for an engineering degree. I never regretted it. You can greatly reduce cost by taking your first two years at a community college (smaller classes and a more nurturing environment are also a plus) and then transferring to a state college or university for in state tuition. College doesn't have to be a huge financial burden; it is high cost private colleges which are overrated.

I know the answer to this one. For a long time college was seen as a way for people to become educated, sophisticated etc. Then it got turned into a way to maximise your value in the workplaace. When that stopped working, its original value had been undermined and there was nothing left.

My first semester of community college in 2011 was $901 in total for 4 classes, 3 credit hours each. I paid for everything out of my own pocket, with no FAFSA loans needed. Tuition at this same community college has since skyrocketed to a point where a scholarship has been setup for students to attend community college for free. You shouldn't need a scholarship to attend a community college!

I started out at a community college and took my general education courses, and declared my major of Finance while at community college. Then I transferred into a university and got my bachelor’s in Finance and Economics worked my way through college. Then I got my MBA. It was one of the best things I could have done for myself. Because my parents only had high school diplomas coming from the segregated/Jim Crow south, which is an accomplishment in itself. I wanted to go further than my parents did. Don’t sleep on community college.

Not just the value of college, I found many Americans also losing faith in our K-12 education. Very sad for the country!

College is now all about job training, not about teaching people how to think. Employers used to hire smart people and then train them.

It wasn’t even a whole week ago that this show aired a report about ridiculous college spending on buildings, sports facilities, dorms, etc. Someone has to pay for these contrivances, I suppose. I have 4 degrees and I have seen significant benefits because of each of them. But, it’s becoming untenable. We cannot complain when other countries continue to overtake us in multiple ways.

Decline in college education and lack of confidence is mirrored in people's attitude toward the medical profession, This is because these altruistic fields are now so dominated by money concerns. Follow the money....

When one of your two political parties advocates for ignorance, here you are. You get what you ask for.

My father was illiterate so earning my BA & MA are the best things that ever happen to me.

Many professions require a college education : x-ray technicians, nursing , accountants , school teachers, social workers , licensed mental health counselors, psychologists , et cetera . Part of the problem is that colleges know that many people need a college education so the colleges take advantage of this and gouge people by charging too much and raping people financially . People should not have to go into debt for the rest of their lives in order to study a profession. College tuition , like real estate should be regulated and not allowed to be over priced.

My daughter was in the dual enrollment program from her junior year in high school and received her AA, concurrent with her finish of high school. She is 20 and about to enter grad schoo, having transferred to a 4 yr college to finish her studies. The community college offered 1/2 tuition to high schoolers; after her first year she received full scholarship because of her academic prowess. Look to community colleges, explore programs, form a plan. It's worth it.

Yet another thing that can be chalked up to greed. The COLLEGE that I work for only requires a high school diploma for many of it’s staff positions and they won’t even give us a penny more for having a college degree.

Um…value is whether you get something of quality for a good price. US college is hyperinflated and a terrible value. People don’t need college for decent jobs and we have to stop forcing every job seeker to have a college degree.

There’s an old saying that goes like this…”If you think getting an education is expensive, try ignorance”.

If these students are making so much more money because of their education why are they 'struggling' to pay their student loan obligations?

So easy to understand why. Placing blame is different. I'd like people who cannot afford to pay for college without massive debt, will be unlikely to repay loans on graduation, and will be unlikely to graduate, not to put themselves in massive debt. Make colleges provide value and attend for a better reason than fun or indecision.

I think the choice of major is the most important factor. The video comments that if you are a STEM student, you will do fine, but if you are in the social sciences or many other fields, you will probably struggle. Doesn't that clearly mean that the job market does not have enough jobs to offer graduates in those other degrees? There is an oversupply of social science graduates, therefore people won't pay as much for them to be employees. I remember reading a funny article about how colleges were struggling to tell their students in gender studies or women's studies programs what they could do with their degree. Laughably, they listed things like go to law school (which ANY degree holder can do), or teach (meaning, just continue propagating the species). College is way too expensive. Smart kids of modest means would be well-advised to go to a good low-cost state college and major in something where lots of jobs exist (and that you like). Maybe too many people ARE going to college, I'm not sure. In addition to professionals, the world still needs lots of skilled labor, entrepreneurs, etc.

Libera arts colleges/universities have become institutions of commerce aka making professors and administrators money. Just like healthcare has become less about actual heath, higher education has become less about enrichment and development of skills. There’s no guarantee for getting a lucrative job either.

With the dramatic rise in tuition fees, students are increasingly seen as a source of income by schools. In parallel with that there has been erosion of grade standards, and that erosion goes all the way back to middle school with the theme of leaving no one behind. At one time education was a way for underprivileged intelligent people to raise their socioeconomic class. With legacy sponsorship by alumni the ivy schools have locked down positions for students who have little talent beyond who their parents are. Here's a vote to return to the moral theme of making college inexpensive but really hard, with less emphasis on the quality of frat parties or residential facilities. Not all students are fit to graduate, and meanwhile technical schools need those kids.

I was graduated with a B.A. in English and philosophy. It never got me a better job, just years of student loan payments.

I don't blame the younger generation for balking at the cost of a formal education. As a younger Gen Xer, the cost of attendance when I went to my state university was approx $10k per year including tuition, room & board. I left with some debt and landed my first job paying just under $35k per year, and life as a young adult was manageable. My niece will be attending the same university where the cost of attendance has tripled. I can guarantee you that the average graduate will not be making 3x my starting salary. Yes you can always attending a community college, apply for scholarships etc, but the math just doesn't add up for the younger generation.

Great interview! It is wrong to expect that all students should have the same outcome. Students, parents, and counselors need to think clearly about the student's goals, abilities, and resources. It is magical thinking that a mediocre, unmotivated student can "buy" (with loans) his or her way into the upper class merely by attending Random U and majoring in Whatever.

To make your college affordable - take AP classes in high school, especially those that can be counted towards your gen ed, do gen ed at community college, finish your major classes at a state university in your own state in 2 years if possible, go to events that give free food, don't live on campus or buy meal plan (you can usually get away from it if you transfer from a community college with certain numbers of credits), and take a part time job (preferably something in your field so you get both $ and experience).

It’s something that’s hard to face as an adult in college, who had to postpone college for serious health issues that didn’t get properly diagnosed for over a decade. And I hadn’t expected it to be a traumatic experience as I had prior experiences, and it changed how I view people helping people like myself. Because there is cognizant dissonance between people who struggle with finding basic resources and others who never experienced that.

Countries that have free college tuition: Argentina, Austria, Brazil*, the Czech Republic*, Denmark, Egypt, Finland*, France, Germany*, Greece*, Iceland*, Kenya*, Luxembourg*, Malaysia, Morocco, Norway*, Panama*, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and Uruguay. * The asterisks indicate countries that even provide free tuition to American students!

California offers state residents a variety of college options. Getting students to take advantage of these options is like pulling weeds and while it's less expensive, the amount of time students spend to obtain their bachelor's degree is not advantageous to the student population. Also, colleges used to have better career placement objectives with major corporations/businesses in their area. That direct pipeline from degree to job has dwindled and that may play a role in why students feel a degree isn't worth the time/money.

People need to be smarter about their education. Go to your local community college for 2 years and then if needed finish your degree in one of your state colleges. Live at home as long as possible and always have at least a part-time job to either help with expenses or save for when you go to state college for expenses there.

Why is education the problem, when it appears that labour markets and financial markets are failing to fund and employ educated people? Maybe markets are the problem, because they get value wrong, and fail to allocate resources where needed. And how exactly could anything ‘feel monolithically liberal’? Liberalism is literally a neutral philosophy of inclusion of diversity and tolerance of difference. Rural conservative ideas are not somehow outside of that framework, or threatened by it.

I cannot tell you how many people I've worked with who have a degree in something, yet have no common sense.

It’s not just college, it’s the entire educational system K-12. Parents are pulling kids out at record levels. Based on what I went thru, it’s no surprise.

Meanwhile, we can’t find a plumber, electrician, mechanic, contractor to hire. The paradigm of quoting lifetime wages for college grads versus high school grads is severely flawed. The wage comes from being employed! The trades pay well with very low financial investment up front. Most everyone needs high school plus something to earn a living wage, but we need to stop equating that to college.the majority of jobs available do not require a 4 year college degree!

So sad. College was such a great creative period between living at home and starting a “working life”. Going straight from high school to a job robs a person the chance to discover who they are, what interests them, and improves additional educational cultural and personal awareness, more and broader exposure to life and it’s possibilities.

Some other factors to consider are the delayed entry into a career, especially if you end up taking longer to finish school, and the fact that going to college and entering the workforce in a highly-skilled or specialty field is a whole lot more complicated and stressful than going into a trade for example. We are also pushing a lot more graduate students through our university system and this is creating an over-abundance of people seeking a narrowing pool of elite positions. The number of PhD students competing for a single job opening has significantly increased over the years. The programs pushed by colleges also often do not match the job market. The priority is to make the college money, not to place their graduates into appropriate career paths. People are just increasingly becoming aware of all these things.

The problem is that corporations realize that College tuition is expensive so they're hiring individuals with certifications that meet their requirements to fill a position. Corporations don't really care whether you have a bachelor degree or master's degree they only care if you have a technical know-how to do the job.

When Paul Thomas talks about College degrees paying 60+% more, he neglects 4 salient facts. 1) Not all degrees pay the same after graduation. 2) Not all schools pay the same after graduation. 3) There are huge distributional effects in salaries 4) There is a selection bias in the College sample vs the non-college sample. Distributional effects and samples matter. A Harvard Law School grad has higher expectations for pay than a Liberty University Theology and Religion student. Also, someone who is able to get into Harvard or Yale or Stanford or whatever is likely to do better in life than someone who can't get into college, even if they drop out. The problem comes down to College education cost inflation plus a lot of degrees not providing economic payback. You really only need so many college educated people in any society, so we've seen an increase of people who got degrees in an economy that only wants to pay for so many degrees. If you've got a degree in a third tier subject from a third tier school and you have third tier grades, you may well have been better off learning a trade especially when taking into account the cost and opportunity cost of a school. We don't need all educational schools to be the same, as Paul Thomas says, we need US educational consumer to make much better choices, and we need to realize that for people on the margins in college, the right educational choice is not to go to college. If you have marginal grades and test scores in high school, and can only get into a third rate college, College may not be for you.

My husband and I are millennials and back when we graduated high school, we saw that the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. He got accepted to Lawrence technical University but even after scholarships he would end up in a six figure student loan debt by 2007. My husband is incredibly talented, and very smart but he didn't want to be in debt for the rest of his adult life. Instead he went to trade school and now makes $200,000 a year running an automotive repair shop. I pursued an associate's degree at a community college and then once kids came I was able to stay home full time with them. In the early days we got a lot of criticism for not pursuing a four-year degree,but now here we are out earning our college educated peers and we don't have their debt.

I borrowed way too much for my college. The debt has dominated my life for the decade since I graduated, even though I've been full time employed in the field I studied.

I have a PhD and tell people to skip college and get a trade.

You have to lie on resumes just to get interviews, they want people with a million years of experience

If you want to change the deep rooted problems, create a Grades 13 and 14. 4 tracks: A. Miliary track. (you earn money as per GI bill) B. Academic track. Free commiunity college supported by tax dollars and onto universities. C. Trade track. Spend 2 years learning a trade D. Entrepreneurial track. Some business classes along with working a business like landscaping, food truck, whatever. No kid is ready for life at 18 anymore.

1. The trend toward higher college tuition with the rationale that schools can use the excess $$$ to attract highly desirable students; 2. The idea that higher tuition sticker prices lend credibility to the school; and 3. the unreasonable student loan terms and structure which lobbyists go to extreme lengths to keep in place - should be re-visited. At its core, the US network of colleges is by far the strongest in the world and it has contributed mightily to the American miracle over the past 100 years. For the next 100 years to be as good or better, we have to come up with a more common sense approaches.

As a recent college graduate I would rather have my kids take up a trade (which is in shortage anyways). Colleges as a system are utterly inept at doing what you need them to. They continually build and so need to continually charge more money and require more gen ed and prerequisite classes that don't have anything to do with your major. Professors require books they have written for their classes and they cost hundreds of dollars per book to enrich themselves. I even had a professor require students to follow him on Twitter. This is a side from the "weed out" classes that are made to be nearly impossible to pass without a private tutor.

I’m struggling with $80,000/yr tuition estimates = $320,000 for a 4 year degree!?! To graduate and make $60,000? You’re net negative for more than 5 years if you pay up front - longer if you take out a loan (and who doesn’t!) your quality of life will be less than someone without a degree earning less for that period (plus the 4 years in school). I definitely see how the “wealth” is diminished. I read the article and concur that STEM majors are the only degrees that pay off in the end. My husband and I both have advanced degrees, but honestly I’d rather buy my kid a house with the same amount of money than send them to college. In the end, the property will probably be a greater contributor to their lifetime wealth.

Along with every other business in the US, colleges have gotten away with adding absurd numbers of obligatory & incomprehensible fees that students are unable to appeal, despite the fact that they never use a fraction of the items for which they're charged.

The fault lies in the lap of big corporations (and the politicians who allow this) to send jobs overseas so the corporations can pay people less and make more profit. At this point, if you're an American and not studying technology or medicine, you might as well not bother with going to college. It's a waste of time and money because most corporations don't give a damn if an applicant has a bachelor's degree. It has lost all value. Not even sure a Master's will get someone a better salary anymore.

Unfortunately the US is losing interest in education period, why not though when we have so many GOP voters who have Facebook and podcasts PHDs 😂

Excellent conversation. Thank you.

Yep. It's not that a degree itself has become any less valuable. Heck, certain degrees have become more valuable. It's that getting a degree is no longer a sure fire plan to get ahead in life. There is an open question, given the sheer cost of such an education today: "Can I pay it back?" The uncertainty of that question is what changes the dynamic. College stopped being a guaranteed way to get ahead, and thus, it's now one of many options. At a time when Colleges need to be financially competitive, they're pricing themselves out of the market. There are notable solutions. I personally served in the US military, which then paid my tuition allowing me to go to school debt free (I was one of the his "imaginary people", I paid with boots on the ground in combat zones and time, instead of in loans). There are also community college programs who offer an equal education at a less glamourous but lower price point. There are numerous scholarships opportunities. Not to mention, we really should restructure how higher Ed is handle in the US in the first place. Right now, half an undergrad is spent re-teaching composition and math, because our secondary schools have atrophied. Why does a college need to teach "core classes" that are a mimicry of secondary school, almost always outside the intended field of study? (maybe we should shore-up our secondary schools?) Or my personal favorite, when a transfer student or grad student is told they need to retake the exact same class, because they didn't take "our version". Then we allow foolish amounts of debt to be taken out by individuals in middle income or low income households, in fields that don't garner high wages... No kidding they're struggling. Many of those would have been better served going into an apprenticeship or trade school. The college system itself could use a serious overhaul. But, at the end of the day, the cost is only continuing to rise. Which will continue to lower enrollment. And they're doing it to themselves. Universities and financial lenders are trying to out-do each other in a negative feedback loop, putting the "the college experience" as the #1 priority. And it's the barrow, the student, who looses out. Most of which is built on the backs of federal student aid, which also needs to be overhauled... That is the dynamic which needs to be corrected. Until that happens, tuition will only keep going up. And enrollment will keep going down. Because as tuition inflates, it inflates the question: Can I pay it back?

A factor is the steady decline in the quality of professors. Why pay $80 k a year just to be brainwashed?

I graduated in 2009 with too much debt and a degree I don’t use. I still think it was 100% worth it. Two of the three jobs I’ve gotten since then required a degree and I was told I was the only applicant that had them. Additionally if I decide to leave my industry today I have some options available with a little bit of work. It’s worth it to finish and get a full time job.

Colleges have exploited the system and made their products far too expensive to be a good investment. The number of degrees that are out there have lowered the value of the degree significantly. The “college degree has you make so much more then high school graduates” has always been propaganda and becomes more false every year.

About time. College is way too expensive nowadays. It doesn’t offer the same economic advantages as decades in the past.

It’s a predatory racket that takes advantage of young people

I know a lot of colleagues who are 6-figures in debt, which is ridiculous. Had I known about the cost of college in Europe, I might have considered studying grad school there instead of the US. Out of state and foreign students pay a LOT more for tuition, and some schools literally depend on foreign students to keep running. You also have to consider the job market, where so much information is available online that you don't "need" a college degree. This is true for many tech positions, where I worked with a lot of people who didn't have a degree because it wasn't worth it to them.

I remember when education was considered an asset to the individual and society, even if you became a housewife. America is showing its values. Wouldn’t it have been great if all citizens were able to write well, understand math and science, and have a basic understanding of how we look at history. Anyone who thinks these skills are taught in K-12 is living in another dimension. The high cost of college in public institutions is the real crime.

I worked for a Fortune 100 company for 11 years...What I saw was that they kept dropping the requirements ( education and experience) for positions. This allowed them to no doubt pay less in salaries.

Well gee, its not like the cost was massively increased at the same time corporations payed less, reducing the rewards. Almost like the oligarchs didn't like a well informed electorate and a college education being a road to the middle class

Great job by Paul Tough (fellow Canadian) to breakdown the situation in clear and objective terms. Objectivity is rare on this topic -given that virtually involved has a stake in the game.

We ought to encourage more appreciateships both in high school as well as right after high school. Why would we offer a loan to the effect and cost of a mortgage to an 18-year old? What maturity has an 18-year old shown to be able to undertake that debt burden? Giving an entryway into professions at an earlier age will at the very least provide some insight into what professions young adults may be able to go into and at least have a more informed decision to undertake debt for a specific major or perhaps even a trade skill. Additionally a more robust and affordable public university system would greatly benefit the entire society. Take a look at the Nordic countries: higher taxes = visible higher public good. They all understand that when we invest in the society as a whole, we all benefit. But hey, it’s America so I guess we don’t necessarily want everybody to be able to do well.

This is where Europeans have a huge advantage. Americans need to grasp the fact that education is a right, not a privilege, and should be paid for by the state.

College has become obscenely expensive. Also, teaching requires a bachelors, plus 1 year in a teaching program. Do the math on teacher wages and you’ll quickly see why there’s a critical teacher shortage across the US.

Our society values sports and entertainment over education. Some college coaches make more than the university professor. I rest my case with my BA, MBA.

This is a disaster for all

Great discussion

This was such a good conversation!

I’m in college right now and it’s hard because I don’t really like any of the classes I’m taking and I’m realizing that I’m not that passionate about being a journalist full-time. I don’t wanna change my major because I’m already halfway done. So I guess I’m gonna just pull through these last two years

Admissions are currently 60% women and within five years it will be 66% women. College degreed women do not marry non-college degreed men. This is the bigger problem for our society.

As someone who has been in the academia for long, the only solution I see is - Bring back job oriented/vocational training courses like training plumbers/electricians/carpenters/computer hardware repairing etc. These courses are short term, prepare you for an entry level job immediately after you complete the course. The pay won’t be great in the beginning and you will be expected to work your way up. But at least, you won’t be unemployed. But, a prerequisite for this is - The government should work to bring back manufacturing, instead of outsourcing it to China. 4 year College degrees are not for everyone - it is too demanding (AND) so many college graduates cannot be absorbed by the job market. That is what is leading to under-employment and unemployment.

This is how it's supposed to be, college is not for everyone

I paid $120/semester in-State tuition at The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, through my B.S. in Economics and M. A. in European Studies during the 1960s. Since then, 80 % of faculty positions are called "adjunct" meaning by contracts which are cancelled if enrollment decreases within first two weeks, no social security, no health insurance. The money goes to the Administrator salaries and local construction of campus. I transferred for the PhD to Univ of Calif -- $72/quarter.

Since the Government likes to regulate things, how about regulating Collage tuition? (to make it lower)

Not only has education lost it's value, it is failing our culture by a lack of appreciation for our diversity, not facilitating the practices of robust discourse, failing to enable all students to find and contribute their voices and their experiences to this discourse. One place where this is especially true is the education of educators, compelled to adopt beliefs that are not free and respectful. This emerged as 'high stakes testing' and continues as books are banned and history is being whitewashed and children are being denied support for self-determination.

Interesting insights on higher education in the current economic context 👍🏻

Not everyone should go to college / College is not for everyone. Companies have screwed us all by insisting on a college degree, often a masters. The jobs don't need a higher education.

I think colleges all over the world suck. I’m in Germany and our course coordinator & a few of professors (who come from different countries) bully & blackmail students into submission by failing them to receive extended semester fees. It’s tough on international students as their permits are linked to the semester fees so they have no choice but to quit their studies and the country if the burden gets too heavy. In India of course there are private colleges that provide the bells & whistles of a fancy college experience but do not have qualified teachers.

It means less and less to each generation.

I think the issues is we have been over sold on college vs. trades vs. specialized associate degrees. Also, there are degrees that are jokes and are only being offered to accommodate students who really have a better path to follow.

It has grown insanely expensive, puts you in debt for the rest of your life, and doesn't get you a good paying job anymore.

I believe the equality in the college graduate and non-college graduate also must factor in cost of raising children. I am a single college educated mother. I essentially have the choice to have a retirement fund and save or I can invest in my children’s future. If I do both of those things, we would need to live in a one room small apartment and have sacrifices such as transportation and vacation experiences. Without a college education we would be in poverty

College is extremely expensive it’s not worth it. I’m not doing great living in the ghetto of Newark.

Who cares about knowledge now? Humanities. A well rounded education enhances comprehension

My son didn't want to go to college and I was fine with that. He is now 20 and is in EMT school, tuition $1700. My 13 year old daughter wants to go to college, which I'm not against. But I will be 60 then and will probably have to take a second job to help pay for it. I work full time as a public school teacher. I just hope that she chooses a major that will definitely help to get her a job...

Great topic!!

kid took a large number of AP classes in high school, then community college, earned an associates degree, combined the two and made a jump to grad school and pick up a master's and a doctorate ... total bill $190K yikes!!! ... however she will make enough money to pay it off in less than two years, buy a new hybrid and pay the rest of her bills ... it can be a great thing, if you choose your path wisely

College a place to outgrow the limitations of living in a conservative home. Seeing other lifestyles, learning other ways of thinking. “Liberal” is not a bad word. Liberal Arts is not a bad idea. Cost is the problem.

The value for dollar has gone down. You can spend $200K for college and never get it back in value of better jobs.

I can tell you from a recent career move that a Bachelor's degree is not as valuable as I was told 25 years ago. I recently got a commercial driver's license and my first driving job pays about $15k per year more than my STEM job in local government. I have a BS degree (definitely) and I have worked for government agencies for the last 23 years, with no significant promotions. The other side of the coin is the hollowing out of workplace organizations. There is now a corporate ladder with most of the rungs missing in the middle. That is detrimental to lifetime wealth attainment.

No job I ever had required much from me. All the good stuff I learned, Art History and Sociology and Anthro and Philosophy were lifelong interests but not required for my work. Many times I felt bored to tears, overqualified, superior-minded to my boss, and numbed by the dumb. Too many smarts can be too many smarts for ones co-workers. Bummer.

Gotta make state schools better and not be afraid to fail students

Looking back at my college education, I often think, what a waste of time.

Compound interest on those student loans are too wonderful to calculate based off individual variables of each student’s future earnings and debt payment habits.

The concurrent suppression of wages is an important contributing factor.

In today's world, attending traditional school is only necessary if your career demands it, or if you intend to network and access specific social circles like Pepperdine University, Brown, Princeton, or Harvard. If it's none of those, it may not be worth it. With online learning platforms and certifications, pursuing a four-year degree can often seem like a waste of time.