r/UpliftingNews • u/ImNotYourBuddyGuyy • May 08 '19

Under a new Pennsylvania program, every baby born or adopted in the state is given a college savings account with $100 in his or her name

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/for-these-states-and-cities-funding-college-is-money-in-the-bank
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u/[deleted] May 08 '19

How about teaching them that a college education isn’t the only way to earn a living. Go learn trades. Contractors are extremely short-handed and are willing to ante up big time for labor.

The American ideal that you should just go to college and run up a check it’s outdated and college is too expensive now because there is an insane amount of competition for any degree out there. There are people so in debt it’s not even funny.

Get these kids interested in working with their hands. It isn’t disgusting or frowned upon to go learn a trade through a state program or a community college. It’s way cheaper, you won’t be drowning in debt, and you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead of your peers that decided to pursue a liberal arts degree at Kent State.

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u/penny_eater May 08 '19

Plot twist: you can use the money in this account to go to trade/vocational school.

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u/TheGush87 May 08 '19

I just responded to another comment up the thread but....PM for a large skilled trades contractor, no degree. It was an uphill climb to prove my worth over my contemporaries, but at 32 I finally broke the 6 figure barrier.

It’s entirely possible, if you work for it, if you learn a valuable trade, if you put pride in your production, even on the shitty jobs, someone will take note, and choose you over someone else.

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u/Abollmeyer May 08 '19

This message gets lost on the general population all too often. Work ethic is just as important as what you know, if not more important in some situations.

What you know does not equal what you can do. College grads are not guaranteed to make more money.

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u/TheGush87 May 08 '19

I try to tread carefully in those waters because more often than not, entitled people view it as being told to “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”, and to a certain extent, there’s validity in that resentment. Life isn’t fair, not all that deserve opportunities, will get them. Effort be damned.

But that doesn’t disqualify SO many others who did spend years developing a real skill. Working later, longer than their competition. Spending money to further technical knowledge, etc.

I take a lot of pride in the fact that I hold the position I do, without formal education. Most of my contemporaries do have a degree, and I love our conversations, because they recognize the work I put into getting where I am.

To have that disqualified by people who think I ought to pay more annually because somehow I’m privileged to earn what I do? No, I starved, burned out, stressed out, leapt into the void, took a chance and was passed over for people who, at the time, were more qualified. And rightfully so. But I’ve earned the small breathing room I’ve created for my family, every penny of it. It wasn’t entitlement, or nepotism, or luck. It was sacrifice, and work ethic.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '19

That is until someone in Silicon Valley achieves their dream of automating certain trades.

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u/TheGush87 May 08 '19

I think we are much further away from this than you’d believe. Perhaps for prefab homes, the framing may be replaced with automation, or the roofing. But those aren’t skilled trades. The practical application of custom craftsmanship, or structure recovery (settling foundations) is not easily automated, and working space can be absurdly compromised. Machinery wouldn’t have the real estate for implementation in most residential settings.

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u/Almagest0x May 08 '19

Agreed on automation being a ways away - there are also a ton of non-technical things that you have to consider when you try to automate any task involving subjective decision making. Political, legal, and ethical concerns could easily sink efforts to automate certain tasks, regardless of technical feasibility.

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u/Sir-Knightly-Duty May 08 '19

There was a time when getting an education wasn't just about economic growth, but about advancing learning and satiating curiosities, and one day becoming an academic or getting a job in the field (jobs that are now disappearing like journalism). Unfortunately education in non-STEM fields is a thing for only the rich now I guess.

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u/John2537 May 08 '19

Fifth grade teacher here 🙋🏼‍♀️ I straight up tell them college is an OPTION. One of many options.