Message To White House: We Need More Plumbers
Message To White House: We Need More Plumbers Several months ago I wrote about a movement afoot to boost apprenticeship training. This was highlighted by President Trump signing an Executive Order directing the Departments of Labor and Education to look at new ways to jump
Mother Nature & The Trades
First, the bad news: In August Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath created misery throughout the city of Houston and Texas’ Gulf Coast, delivering unprecedented flooding and property damage. Scores of people lost their lives and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed or severely damaged
Reason #6 Why College Is A Lousy Deal
My past five blogs have explained why I think college is not a good idea for many of you reading this. A short summary of those reasons are: 1. The market for college graduates is saturated. 2. Grade inflation has diminished the quality of a
Reason #5 Why College Is A Lousy Deal
This reason escapes a lot of peoples’ notice. Most folks make a distinction between college and vocational education. They think of them as separate entities, i.e., higher education versus learning a trade. Even worse is the widespread conviction among the general public and high school
Reason #3 Why College Is A Lousy Deal
In my last blog, I identified grade inflation as Reason #2 why a college degree doesn’t mean what it used to. I explained that grade inflation started with the anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960s, when college students were exempt from the military draft and
Reason #2 Why College Is A Lousy Deal
A college degree doesn’t mean what it used to. In my last blog I explained that one reason is because so many people have college degrees nowadays (33% of American adults, vs. just 5% in 1940). As a result, some 37% of recent college graduates
Apprenticeships Get A Boost
Last week President Trump took aim at expanding apprenticeship programs for the manual trades, which has been applauded by the Business Roundtable, consisting of major employers. It’s about time apprenticeship has gotten a boost! Apprenticeship is a training system that dates back more than 500
Debt Till Death
Do you love your Mom and Dad? There are exceptions, but I suspect most people reading this would answer yes. If you do, do them a favor. Don’t put them in such a hole supporting your college education that they have to struggle in retirement.
Bad Driving Is A Killer – Of Careers Too
In recent years road signs have popped up warning against texting while driving. This has become an epidemic among young people in particular. I know many of you reading this are teens and twenty-somethings. To you, I want to say … STOP IT! TEXTING WHILE