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There are better, middle-of-the-road alternatives, such as Trade Schools and Adult Education. Trade Schools ditch the concept of a 4 year degree for a more affordable, focused alternative, but which doesn't entirely ditch the concept of an education (still requires high school, still puts you through basic requisite courses). Because of the reduced time frame, they are also better matches for on-the-job training, meaning, lets say you decide you want to be an X, well, get hired by a company that does X, and have them directly subsidize your Trade School (you can get scholarships, but that's beside the point). You get a re-usable education, the employer gets a trained employee. If you decide your employer sucks, save a bit of money, and go another 2-3 years for a full fledged degree. Now you have work experience, and a completely re-usable degree. This goes hand in hand with the second concept, Adult Education. Lets say, everyone gets hired to work at age 16, only they get on-the-job training in the form of an Apprenticeship. Require employers (by law, potentially subsidized by the state) to provide you with an education, as a part of your training. Don't just limit it to 16-21 year old's, though - education should be something available to everyone - no matter your age. Notice that this sounds a lot like the previous paragraph - that's because it is basically the same thing. Some companies do provide on the job training, but apprenticeships are rare, and so are Trade School/employer combos. We should be combining the two. |