It wasn’t long ago that most young Americans automatically went to college. Not going to college was regarded as a stigma and a guarantee of low-paid, menial work. Now, however, college is not in everyone’s plans.
Why? There are numerous reasons. In today’s Martin Center article, Sherman Criner, a recent Duke grad, gives us his insight.
He writes, “Historically, the prestige of higher education relied on a form of geographic and information monopoly. In 2002, the narrative surrounding a teenager’s future was tightly managed by local gatekeepers—parents, high school guidance counselors, and FCC-regulated television networks that uniformly reinforced the traditional American Dream. If these gatekeepers insisted that a bachelor’s degree was the sole gateway to a middle-class life, a teenager had few tools to verify or challenge that claim. The cultural value of the degree was artificially protected by a lack of visible alternatives.”
What has dramatically changed, Criner argues, is that young Americans can now see that it’s quite possible to have a fulfilling career without going to college.
He continues, “According to a 2021 poll, American boys ages 13-17 now most commonly list YouTuber and professional gamer as two of the top jobs they ‘want to be when they grow up.’ Where previous generations dreamed of being astronauts, today’s aspirational figures are different. The streamer in his gaming chair was a teenager not long ago. He is accessible, relatable, visibly wealthy, and he got there without a diploma.”
So, not having a degree is no longer a stigma. Learning what you need to know without sitting in classrooms works.
I think Criner is right — and that’s another reason why the college bubble will continue to deflate.