+1 !!! I was lucky to grow up on a farm with a dad who really hated to pay someone else to do anything he thought he should be able to do, and even as a little kid I was expected to help when we built/maintained a house or barn, repaired machinery and vehicles, cared for livestock, etc. We had a well-equipped workshop which I was taught to use (safely!), and those manual trade skills have served me well all my life.
As for the real value of a college degree today, I have to agree. Back in the late '60s when I started at Southeastern LA College my tuition was (I think) about $100 per semester, books were available for cheap rental, and the state even provided bus transportation to school. I lived at home, worked part time, went to school full-time and graduated with a BS four years later. I think my final semester tuition was still less than $200. I was one of the first to sign up for Army ROTC, which provided a monthly stipend of $50 and a guaranteed job upon graduation. No student loans -- never even thought about borrowing money for that. Later, my wife and I drummed into our two daughters the importance of education and getting into a good field -- both are in medical fields and quite successful. They worked hard at school and part-time jobs, and we helped get them thru advanced degrees with no debt. Now I'm hoping to help my grandson do the same.
And I have to credit the Livingston Parish school system for providing my kids with a good education and foundation for advanced learning! And Ascension Parish for doing the same for my grandson.
I started in late 2005 at LSUS, each 13 hour semester ran me around $1500 or so. Books averaged $80 a piece. I went for 5 semesters because it was cheaper than doing fully booked semesters as I had a 8 semester scholarship, and wasn't going to need all of it.
I finished at NSUS in 2010. Tuition ran me $2200 for my final semester, licensure and all that jazz ran me $2-300 + the $20 for fingerprint cards and then some $$ for a background check, etc. I forget all the stuff I had to pay for, it was a blur at that point, but it sucked. Books averaged $100.
They bought them back for half or less what you paid, if they didn't have another book with 2 pages in different locations which invalidated yours and made it not eligible. We were forced to buy electronic test-taking devices ($50 or so), and STRONGLY encouraged to buy smart phones or iPad type devices. Now, I think it is a requirement.