The US has fallem from 12th to 16th

[malaise]

in people between 20 and 34 with college degrees
Source OECD

[AtomicKitten]

1. Quite frankly I'm surprised the US scores that high in the rating.

[malaise]

2. What's worse is that most of them will probably finish payin goff student loans

in their 40s.

sp

[a la izquierda]

4. I'll be paying off loans from 3 degrees...

until I'm dead.

[AtomicKitten]

5. My son will be a junior at SFSU in Jan 2012.

He attended an art school here in SF that shoved him into private loans. He left after two years and virtually zero credits were transferable. He had to start over. Rumor has it Goldman Sachs bought AI (Art Institute) so they pretty much just cut out the middleman. My son has accrued a buttload of debt for nothing. Zip. Nada. Goose-egg.

[av8rdave]

10. No kidding....

Especially given that we have an entire political party that believes ignorance is a virtue.

[Selatius]

3. The cost of tuition is rising far faster than the wages of workers. The trend is unsustainable.

A lot more students are either opting out of college altogether or are going into trade schools as an alternative to taking on something the size of a car note or bigger, with no guarantee of that much money invested paying off in the form of a job that will remain there for a long time. A good number of people I knew went on to become welders, electricians, plumbers, auto mechanics, etc. after they couldn't find work in their field or found out their job was being sent overseas to India or China.

[Kalidurga]

6. My daughter will be going to a trade school next year,

I started talking to her about this strategy several years ago, she was in 9th grade I think. I didn't like the way I saw the trend going for those with college degrees. She saw the light a couple of years ago and started exploring career ideas and looked into what kind of career she could train for at a trade school and was quite happy with the thought that she could make up to 60k without getting a four year degree. So after three years of this I am glad she finally decided she is going to be a cosmologist. She probably won't make 60k in that field, but some of the other options she considered she would have had a real shot at that. In any case it appears that trade school is the smarter option now.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. Skilled trades are clearly a better way to go for many young people

Mike Holmes (the contractor guy out of Canada) is making that his cause. It is a good one.

Whether its bending hair or routing wires, it is needed and allows them to support themselves. Clearly a good thing

[Ilsa]

7. I'm concerned that this will be my son's route, too.

I wish we could leave for greener pastures, but at our ages, learning a new language, if needed, would be difficult. Also, my oldest is autistic. Putting him into a foreign language situation won't work.

[Ilsa]

8. On which topic page did you find this on their website? nt

[malaise]

9. I heard it on M$NBComcast will Willy Geist

It was his water cooler topic.

edit subject

[xchrom]

11. Takes the mystery out of why the occupy wall streeters

Appear so young.

[Javaman]

13. We are packlits, we are dumb. nt

[Viva_Daddy]

14. Yes, but the US is still Number One in some areas

We're Number One in the manufacture and sales of weapons.
We're Number One in the number of our citizens who are incarcerated.
We're Number One in the number of our citizens who get murdered every year.

USA! USA!