CMV: High School and College are a Complete Waste of Time for Those Who Don't Go Into Specialized Careers

So, the traditional viewpoint for most people in the US and probably many other countries, is that high school isn't enough and now even a college degree might not be enough to get a (good paying) job. There is, and has been for several years, a huge push to get everyone into college not only after high school, but now even at the high school age, doing dual enrollment classes at local colleges, to "get ahead" and "compete" in today's job market. I believe this is an absolute joke and a complete waste of time for those who do not need specialized training. <br><br>Let's take three separate people, who all graduate high school at 18 and lay out a framework for each character. Person A decides to forgo college and jump straight into the labor market, working full time and receiving full time pay at 18. Person B goes to a four year college and graduates with a degree in science with the intention of becoming a doctor, receiving no pay during this time but incurring student loan debt. Person C goes straight to trade school out of high school and trains to be an electrician. After trade school, person C is certified as an electrician but decides to go back to college and get a four year degree in business administration before looking for a job. Now, at 22 years old, person A has four years of continuous labor experience and has made a full time salary for four years. Person B has neither a full time salary nor labor experience for the past four years. Person C also has a full time salary and four years worth of labor experience, in addition to the training and a job guarantee in a different field should they decide to switch careers. The only difference is person C incurs additional student loan debt and pays for trade school. Person B will also have to spend additional time in school to become a doctor, so in reality they will be 26 or older before they make a full time salary as a doctor. <br><br>Another very important aspect here is student loan debt. Most people who graduate college do not find a career right away, many take several years to find a full time job with full time pay, and some just never find a job in the field they went to school for. There is also a large percentage of college graduates who never pay off their student loans because they cannot get a job that pays enough to pay off the loans, in addition to the basic cost of living. I believe that this is an absolute joke and the government should be more careful with whom it loans money to and what it loans that money for. There is also the common gripe that many college degrees do not guarantee a good paying job. There are many stories of successful people who never went to college and those who did go, only to end up working at Starbucks or something because they couldn't get a job. I know that correlation does not necessarily show causation, but in my opinion it is just too risky to take on additional debt for the mere hope of a better paying job. The fact that student loan interest is so high also bothers me. There is no reason a student loan should accrue interest at the rate of a credit card. In my opinion it makes it impossible to pay off the loans if they cannot be forgiven, which I believe is the status quo already. <br><br>I understand that some jobs require specialized training, such as being a doctor, lawyer, or electrician, and a college or trade school degree is absolutely required for these jobs, but for the majority of the workforce that do not need such training, what is the point of college??? The educational system should be reformed in my opinion and the traditional path to success be looked at more critically. I would be happy to hear anyone's opinion on this but please be constructive with your comments!<br><br>Edit: Wow, this has blown up. Thank you for all the constructive comments so far! I am currently at work and working with a customer, so I cannot respond to all of the comments, but I will do my best to respond to all of you when I get home in a few hours.